It is Christmas night, and one hopes on Christmas (or whichever holiday you celebrate) that the world is at peace. Many people across the world take time to reflect and appreciate what they and their loved ones have in their lives.

You wouldn’t know this if you watch tokusatsu, notably Super Sentai. In fact, the Christmas season is actually canonically (???) the most dangerous time of the year. You could say it is similar to the first few modern Doctor Who Christmas specials, in which for some reason the world is about to end (again) and our heroes have to save it yet again.

Super Sentai, to its credit, has the advantage of the holiday season generally landing toward the end of their seasons. So Christmas episodes often feature the heroes utilizing all of their strength (with a gentle reminder to buy all their playsets and toys) to win the day for Christmas. Shows like Kyoryuger, for instance, featured a global battle in which the heroes fought multiple monsters all across the world.

…or it could be Zyuohger or ToQGer, where major plot elements were finally revealed and began each series’ course toward endgame.

…or it could be Lupinranger vs. Patranger, where it was a harmless, silly episode where the monster of the week manages to steal all the chicken in Japan, possibly forcing folks to eat salmon for Christmas instead.

But I would argue the show that benefited the most from a holiday episode was not a Super Sentai show, but actually Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. Before that episode aired, Ex-Aid was a weird, struggling series about young doctors using video game-themed transformation belts to battle against digital viruses.

But at the end of the episode, a true villain emerges and a notable character dies! It truly changed the trajectory of the series, and from here all bets were off and no one was safe.

Overall, one should always know that superheroes are making your holiday season safer. So cheer them on. Because they apparently need your support around this time of year.

Have a great night thread and hopefully a wonderful Christmas, everyone.