Chojin Sentai Jetman (1991)
Produced by: Toei
Episodes: 51
By Jeffrey Couto

Overview

Following on the heels of Toei’s 1990 entry (Fiveman) in the long running Super Sentai series, Chojin Sentai Jetman set a benchmark that is yet to be matched, even by shows like Time Ranger and Grandseizar, both of which have received many accolades from fans across both sides of the pacific.

Join us as we take a closer look at this timeless show and explore what it is that makes it such an endearing favorite of so many tokusatsu fans.

The Story

A new form of energy dubbed Birdnic has been discovered and scientists are now interested in harnessing this power and bonding it with human beings. For this purpose five test subjects have been selected to undergo the prototype bonding procedure, among them Ryu Tendo and Aoi Rie, a loving young couple.

As the procedure begins on the first subject (Ryu) aboard an orbiting space station the Vyram suddenly appear and begin attacking the laboratory where the experiment in being carried out. This results in the complete destruction of the station, but not before Ryu and Ayachokan escape and the machine that held the birdnic energy releases 4 waves of power, which fall to Earth and strike four random people throughout Japan.

Back on Earth and after realizing that he lost the love of his live, Ryu begins the search for the other four people who were struck by the Birdnic energy, with the goal of convincing them to come together as the only human group powerful enough to protect the Earth from the invading aliens, Chojin Sentai Jetman.

And so a new taskforce of complete strangers from diverse backgrounds and walks of like band together to form a new fighting force and Earth’s last line of defense against the evil invaders.

The Characters

What is it about Jetman that made it such a fan favorite? I tend to think that it was the way in which it handled the themes of friendship, love and family, three subjects to which we can all easily identify with. More so than the other entries in the series, Jetman explored these subjects to their fullest potential, perhaps yielding the truest surrogate family in all of Sentai.

Super Sentai has generally dealt with these themes, but this series was the first to truly make them the heart of the show and the driving force behind most of its key storylines. From lost loves, to uneasy friendships/alliances, and betrayal, Jetman had it all.

As far as the main story goes, it relied on the true, tried and tested alien invasion plot, which by itself doesn’t make Jetman much different than the other shows in the series. What made this one stand out were its unusually strong subplots, which supported the main storyline, such as the one centered around Ryu and Rie's relationship, which ran the course of the series from the first episode, when she is taken from him and turned into the evil Maria, all the way into onto the dramatic end of the program, when Ryu finally recovers her only to lose her again…

Other highlights included Ryu and Gai's rivalry on the battle field and over love interest Kaori, the Vyram’s own power struggle between Radiege and Toranza, and the introduction of other secondary characters and support mecha such as the Neo Jetman, Jet Garuda and TetraBoy; all of which helped set the stage for many serious and sometimes rather dramatic episodes.

The story is as good as Super Sentai stories have ever been and then some, but how about, the action scenes, the giant mecha battles, and the evil monsters of the week? In these areas while not surpassing some of the creativity exhibited by Toei’s staff over the past decades Jetman managed to hold its own with many nicely executed battle scenes that rely heavily on wirework (to make the Jetman fly in certain scenes), great special effects and always impressive pyrotechnics.

Rounding off this perfect package was some of the best music ever composed for a Super Sentai series, from the hopeful and very sticky opening theme, to the exciting and energy packed battle BGM, Jetman’s soundtrack was second to none. Some of the in-show songs were also some of the best songs to hit any tokusatsu series, featuring such memorable ones as the Jet Garuda and Jet Condor's theme songs. Needless to say I recommend that everyone hunt down the CD’s (Anime Jungle usually has one or two used copies in stock from the various CD compilations)

Conclusion

I've called this the greatest Super Sentai show ever made (even though Carranger is my personal favorite) and I will stand by that opinion until something better comes along...if it does.

While some shows have come and gone that were brilliant in concept aand character development none of them handled the human element of their stories in the way Jetman did. The mecha, the battles, the Vyram invasion…they were all secondary to the characters and the exploration of their humanity.

To me Jetman represents the pinnacle of what tokusatsu can be. All fans of these shows should make it a point to collect this series and see why so many of us hold it in such high regard.

To learn more about Jetman in fuller detail make sure to visit Jill's Jetman webpage.

Jeffrey Couto