Known as
Samuari Troopers (full: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers) in Japan, this short 38 episode
anime series originally came to the US in 1995 to several stations, and can now be seen in the US on the Cartoon Network's
Toonami. The show is remarkable for one important reason: it was unedited in it's entirety -- there were no cuts, no censoring (the violence is not graphic and not very realistic in nature). Featuring 5 teenaged boys who mysteriously came out of nowhere, mysteriously were able to put on suits of mysterious
Samurai Armor, and mysteriously get their asses kicked several times by a bunch of bad guys (the
Dark Warlords and their boss,
Talpa).
Cye of the Torrent, Kento of Hardrock, Rowen of the Strata, Sage of the Halo, Ryo of the Wildfire all have special powers they receive when they put on their armor (an animated sequence that takes no less than 5 minutes each time it occurs). In the TV series, their battles are almost always fought against Dynasty Soldiers, the Dark Warlords (Anubis, Sekhmet, Cale and Dais), or Talpa.
The plotline goes something like this (forgive me for any inaccuracies, it's been awhile since I saw the show): Talpa's Evil Dynasty has broken into the mortal realm, and people across Japan are disappearing like crazy. The Ronin warriors show up, and with the help of a young woman (Mia), and a little boy (Yuli), and Ryo's white tiger (Whiteblaze), defeat Talpa & the Warlords, only to travel to the Evil Dynasty's Nether Realm to defeat them again.
In all, a really cool show.