Metal Hero

Toei's third hero franchise, seventeen series and eight hundred and twenty seven episodes, and in February 2026 it took over Super Sentai's slot.

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Where to start with Metal Hero

Start with Space Sheriff Gavan from 1982. That is a rare thing to be able to say about a Toei hero franchise: unlike Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, where the answer is start anywhere, Metal Hero has a real beginning, and the three series that follow it are a genuine trilogy with a shared universe and a handover between leads.

  1. 1
    Space Sheriff Gavan, from 1982 Space Sheriff Gavan

    Forty four episodes, the first of the franchise, and the show that fixed the format: one hero, one metal suit, and a transformation timed to take a fraction of a second. If you only ever watch one Metal Hero series, this is it.

  2. 2
    Sharivan, then Shaider Space Sheriff Sharivan

    A real trilogy. Gavan turns up in Sharivan and hands over, and the three share the Galactic Union Police universe. This is the only stretch of the franchise where watching out of order costs you anything.

  3. 3
    Tokkei Winspector, from 1990, for something different Tokkei Winspector

    The Rescue Police trilogy swaps monsters for emergencies, and it is the clearest tonal break in the run. Winspector, then Solbrain, then Exceedraft, which was written separately and folded in afterwards.

  4. 4
    Gavan Infinity, from 2026, if you want the current one Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity

    On the air now, in the Sunday morning slot Super Sentai held for fifty years. Toei describes it as neither a reboot nor a continuation, so it needs nothing before it.

Then what? Everything between 1985 and 1996 is standalone and you can pick by premise: Metalder for the darkest, Jiraiya for ninjas, Janperson for robots, B-Fighter for the one that became Beetleborgs in the United States. Two soft links are worth knowing because no title hints at them: Jiraiya from 1988 and Jiban from 1989 share a universe despite being completely different genres, and B-Fighter Kabuto is set ten years after B-Fighter although it aired one year later. The films are where the ordering actually gets hard. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie and the two Next Generation films are sequels to series that ended thirty years earlier, so watch the original series first. The four crossovers all need something from outside this franchise: Gokaiger, Dekaranger or Kyuranger, all of them Super Sentai. And Girls in Trouble: Space Squad Episode Zero is a prequel that came out the same year as the film it precedes.

A suggested way in, not an official one. The full list is below: tick anything off in either place.

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The Space Sheriff trilogy

  • Space Sheriff Gavan 1982, 1 season, 44 episodes
  • Space Sheriff Sharivan 1983, 1 season, 51 episodes
  • Space Sheriff Shaider 1984, 1 season, 49 episodes

The rest of the 1980s

  • Juspion 1985, 1 season, 46 episodes
  • Jikuu Senshi Spielban 1986, 1 season, 44 episodes
  • Choujinki Metalder 1987, 1 season, 39 episodes
  • Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya 1988, 1 season, 50 episodes
  • Kidou Keiji Jiban 1989, 1 season, 52 episodes

The Rescue Police trilogy

  • Tokkei Winspector 1990, 1 season, 49 episodes
  • Tokkyuu Shirei Solbrain 1991, 1 season, 53 episodes
  • Tokusou Exceedraft 1992, 1 season, 49 episodes

The 1990s

  • Tokusou Robo Janperson 1993, 1 season, 50 episodes
  • Blue SWAT 1994, 1 season, 51 episodes
  • Juukou B-Fighter 1995, 1 season, 53 episodes
  • B-Fighter Kabuto 1996, 1 season, 50 episodes

The final two

  • B-Robo Kabutack 1997, 1 season, 52 episodes
  • Tetsuwan Tantei Robotack 1998, 1 season, 45 episodes

The 2026 revival

  • Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity 2026, 1 season, 21 episodes

The films that matter

  • Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie 2012
  • Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie 2012
  • Kamen Rider x Super Sentai x Space Sheriff: Super Hero Taisen Z 2013
  • Space Sheriff Sharivan: The Next Generation 2014
  • Space Sheriff Shaider: The Next Generation 2014
  • Space Squad: Gavan vs. Dekaranger 2017
  • Girls in Trouble: Space Squad Episode Zero 2017
  • Uchu Sentai Kyuranger vs. Space Squad 2018

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