Now we make our way into the 80's. I forgot to mention this in the 70's post but a good chunk of the early Sentai suits were made of cloth, not spandex. So this decade is notable for a change in material even though early seasons in this decade still used cloth.
Denzi Sentai Denjiman:
These suits have a somewhat simple design and the white stripes across the torso help break it up a bit. The big D on the belt looks good as does the D on the chest. The white gloves and boots work well with all 5 colors as do the bands on them. The sculpted mouth-pieces look a bit rough to me but it helps with the team's distinct look so its fine. The glass covered circuitry, lights, and wiring in the helmets is a nice touch and it gives them a nice sci-fi/alien vibe. In addition to the visors being different shapes, the glass coverings are also different shapes so it adds some extra variety to the helmets. The yellow highlights on DenjiRed's helmet work well with the red. A nice little detail is that the belts includes their initials on the buckles. The scarves are also a really nice touch to have on Sentai suits in general.
Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan:
The suits look alright and I like the sun emblem on the chest. The white Vs on the chest looks pretty good and help break up the colors a bit. The helmets are the highlights of these designs imo as there is some nice detail on the animal designs. The shark on VulShark's helmet has gills and molded teeth. The yellow on VulEagle's helmet works well with the red. The silver mouth-pieces on the helmets look pretty good and add that little bit extra to the suits. I think it probably works best on VulEagle since the silver is flanked by the yellow. The colored Vs on the gloves and boots work well with the white on them. Also these suits have scarves which are just a cool touch in general that I want the franchise to bring them back.
Dai Sentai GoggleV:
The helmets look a bit too big for the suits to me but that might be due to the molding around the visor combined with the size of the silver mouth-pieces. The molding is gold on Red and Black and it works well with their colors. It also has this aged metal look to it which is a really nice touch. However, its silver on Blue, Yellow, and Pink and it works well with those three colors though I think it works slightly better on Blue and Yellow. The sculpted mouth-pieces look good though a bit too big but that is probably because they extend to the entire bottom jaw. It adds an extra bit of cool to them tho. The gems in their foreheads help add to the ancient relic vibe. The white on the chests works well with all 5 colors and the gold buckles on the belts work well. The gold emblem on the chest looks pretty good too and works well with the white chest. I like how the white gloves are broken up with a stripe matching each one's colors. The scarves on the suits are a nice touch but after how much I've gushed about scarves the last few times they've shown up, you probably knew I'd say that.
Kagaku Sentai Dynaman:
Two things to note right off the bat are the material and motif. This was the first Sentai to have spandex suits as they were made of cloth until this team. As for the motif, its probably well known by now but this was originally supposed to be a baseball themed team and you can tell. From the helmets to the torso to the lines down the legs, this sort of screams baseball Sentai. The white pants works perfectly with their colors and makes them really pop. The boots and gloves matching their main colors are a nice touch and I'm always glad to see Sentai suits doing this. The gold/yellow highlights on Red, Blue, and Pink work well with their colors. DynaYellow has all his gold highlights replaced with black and it helps make the yellow stand out a lot. The red highlights on DynaBlack look pretty good with the black on his suit. The gold on the helmets looks good with all five's colors and the silver mouth-pieces look good. Its a pretty solid design and a great first outing for the change to spandex.
Choudenshi Bioman:
The overall design is pretty simple and sleek but still unforgettable. They have this nice alien look about them while also looking pretty hi-tech. The circuit board going across the chest is a nice touch. The white compliments all 5 colors really well and makes the colors stand out more. The expanded white portions on the legs of Pink and Yellow makes them look a bit like they're some kind of wearing leggings on their suits. The helmets have super computer lights going through them and they can actually light up via practical effects. Its a nice touch and it feels like a step up from Denjiman's helmets. The panels on each helmet look great and the silver works well on each helmet. The silver headband look on top of the visors looks pretty good with the silver mouth-pieces. The Bioman emblem looks great in the belts and the gold contrasts well with the black on the belt. The silver bands wrapping around the white gloves and boots looks pretty good.
Dengeki Sentai Changeman:
These suits look pretty good. The yellow highlights on Red, Blue, and Black's helmets look pretty good and helps the colors pop. The pink highlights look pretty cool on Change Mermaid and really compliments the gold on her arms, belt, and boots. The white highlights on Change Phoenix's helmet look pretty good and compliment her color really well. The gold belts and bands look pretty good with all 5. Though I'd say it probably works the best on Change Mermaid for reasons mentioned earlier in this section. The white chest on all of them makes me think body armor and the emblems on all 5 helmets look pretty cool. The emblem on the chests looks pretty nice and I like how it shows off all 5's colors. Also the white portion of the emblem doesn't break up the symmetry of the chest design since its angled right where the corner of the design would be.
Choushinsei Flashman:
These suits are downright beautiful. It was discussing these suits with friends that actually made me want to do this series of posts. Whoever designed these suits got them perfect. They sell the sci-fi vibe really well. They're all pretty sleek looking and stylish. Each one's signature color works really well with the white portions and the black stripes going down the sides makes them pop, especially on the female suits. The helmets look nice and space-y and the prisms on them are a nice touch.I especially love the way the visor's open up. The silver mouth pieces look good with the white sides of the helmet and each one's main color. The colored bands next to the white gloves and boots look pretty cool. The bands above the boots look the best on Pink and Yellow due to the white leggings and the previously mentioned black stripe going down the sides. The suits manage to look both retro and futuristic at the same time so its a pretty timeless design imo. They are without a doubt my favorite suits out of this decade and some of my favorite suits in the franchise.
Hikari Sentai Maskman:
These are probably my second favorite suits from this decade. These designs are just straight up classic. They're pretty sleek and stream-lined and the big 5 logo looks cool. The white on the suits works well with all their colors and makes them pop. The white gloves look cool with the colored guards on the back. Its a detail I kinda wish Sentai would bring back. The white streaks down the boots look pretty good. In place of a belt, these suits have a white stripe between the torso and legs and it complements the overall design really well. The helmets look great with the white highlights and I love the earrings on Pink and Yellow. The earrings are a small detail you likely wouldn't notice outside of close-ups but when you do notice them, it makes Yellow and Pink's designs look even better. If I had to pick between the helmets, I'd say Red Mask's helmet is probably best because of how the white highlights are aligned.
Choujuu Sentai Liveman:
The helmets look fantastic and they capture each animal nicely. I particularly like the molded fangs on Yellow Lion and the horns on Green Sai. The white on all 5 helmets were makes their colors pop and the yellow beak on Red Falcon's helmet looks pretty good. I adore the silver mouth-pieces. The animals on each suit look great inside the giant white Vs. The white pants and sleeves help balance out their colors nicely and the blue trim on Blue Dolphin's skirt is a nice touch. The silver bands on the colored gloves and boots compliment all of their colors pretty well. The silver belts with the colored jewels in the middle look pretty good and work well with the rest of the suits.
Kousoku Sentai Turboranger:
The white going down their chests works well with all 5 colors. The yellow highlights around the chests of Blue, Pink, Red, and Black looks good and works well with their colors. However, I think the black highlights on Yellow's chest look the best. The emblem on the chest looks pretty good and it helps sell the car motif since its basically an engine. The helmets capture the car motif rather well and the silver highlights look pretty good on all 5 helmets. The silver mouthpiece looks pretty good with the helmets and as you can tell from previous sections, its shown up quite a lot during this era of Sentai. The gold bands on the gloves and boots look pretty good on all 5 suits but they are a little hard to see on Yellow's. They look pretty cool overall and are a nice way to close out this decade of suit designs.
This era of Sentai probably resulted in some of the most memorable designs in the franchise. Flashman, Liveman, and Maskman are probably the standout designs of this era. Denjiman and Sun Vulcan are alright overall despite being kinda simple and they still do have notable features to them. They feel a little like a hold-over from the 70s to me. Overall, the 80s are pretty strong decade as far as the designs go.
