Ronin Warriors, known in Japan as lead=yes, is a Japanese anime series created by Hajime Yatate and animated by Sunrise. The television series, co-produced by Nagoya TV, aired across Japan on the All-Nippon News Network from April 30, 1988, to March 4, 1989, for a total of 39 episodes. A manga adaptation was serialized on Kodansha's Comic BomBom from November 17, 1988, to April 5, 1990, and the chapters collected into 2 volumes. A sequel to the original series premiered on January 6, 2026.
Plot
Talpa, ruler of the Dynasty, is bent on conquering the Earth. Standing against Talpa and his four Dark Warlords are the five Ronin Warriors, each in possession of mystical armor and weapons. They are assisted by Mia Koji, a young student-researcher; Ully, a child; and a mysterious warrior-mystic known only as the Ancient One.
Media
Anime
Ronin Warriors was originally licensed in the United States by Graz Entertainment and distributed by
Cinar (now
WildBrain), and it was recorded by the
Vancouver-based Ocean Productions cast.
Ronin Warriors first aired on American television during the summer of 1995 and subsequently appeared through syndication, as well as the
USA Network (1995),
Sci-Fi Channel (1996) and later on
Cartoon Network (1999).
The series was released on DVD in 2002, including the original Japanese version with English subtitles on the reverse side of the disc.
Crunchyroll later added the anime series for its streaming.
The opening and ending sequences and the were replaced with new ones, and the Japanese title cards were removed; there were no substantial cuts to the bodies of the episodes and the episodes retained most of the original music.
A line of action figures based on the anime was released by Playmates Toys in 1999, with a limited rerelease by Re:Play in 2001.
Three OVA sequels were produced: Gaiden ( Side Story), The Legend of the Inferno Armor, and Message. There are numerous novels and audio dramas based on the anime. While all the sequels have been released on DVD, the manga and audio dramas have not been made available in English.
Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers
A sequel of the original series, titled "True Legendary Armored Samurai Troopers", was announced on June 11, 2025. It will be produced by Sunrise and directed by Yōichi Fujita, with Shōgo Mutō handling series composition and episode scripts, character designs by Yuhei Murota, villain designs by Tsukasa Kotoboki, Yoroi Gear design by Takuya Suzuki with original Yoroi Gear design concepts by Hideo Okamoto and Shūji Katayama composing the music.
The series will air in split-cours, with the first cours premiered on January 6, 2026, on
Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "YOAKE" (Dawn), performed by blank paper, while the ending theme song is "POWER", performed by ONE OR EIGHT.
is streaming the series.
Music
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Yoroiden Samurai Troopers Debut Album: Kimi o Nemurasenai (King Records, December 21, 1988, 4 weeks on Oricon chart).
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Yoroiden Samurai Troopers: Best Friends (King Records, June 5, 1989).
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"Stardust Eyes", the opening theme for season one's episodes 1-20, was composed by Yasuhiko Shigemura. Its ending theme, "Faraway", was composed by Midori Karashima. Both were sung by Mariko Uranishi.
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"Samurai Heart", the opening theme from season two's episodes 21–39, and "Be Free", its ending theme, were composed by Yasuhiko Shigemura. Both were sung by Hiroko Moriguchi.
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The first OAV Gaiden features "Stardust Eyes" and "Faraway" as its first episode's opening and closing themes, and "Samurai Heart" and "Be Free" as its second's.
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The second OAV Legend of the Inferno Armor features "Stardust Eyes" as its opening theme and "Samurai Heart" as its closing theme for its four episodes.
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The third OAV Message has no opening theme but its ending theme, "Tsukamaeteite", was composed by Ami Keizou. Episode 5 also features an insert song, "Hoshi no Lullaby", composed by Ritsuko Okazaki. Both were sung by Kaori Futenma (née Futenma).
Video game
In July 2020, a crossover with
Ragnarok Online was launched.
External links
