Jinzo Ningen Kikaida 6-10
By Jmaruyama

Episodes/Villains

#6 “Black Horse Ga Shiteijo De Matsu” (Black Horse: Showdown at the DARK Execution        Ground) – Black Horse
#7 “Kaibutsu Blues Kong Ga Ou Abare” (Bull Kong: Malevolent Monster Mayhem) –      “Blues”/Blue [Bull] Kong
#8 “Carmine Spider Ga Fujimi Ni Warau” (Carmine Spider: Menacing Blood-Sucking         Laughter) – Carmine Spider
#9 “Danmatsuma! Yocho Red Condor” (Red Condor: Screech of Death) – Red Condor
#10 “Sasori Brown Ningen Bakudan Ni Kuru” (Scorpion Brown: The Ultimate Weapon) –          Brown Scorpion

Summary (From Box Cover)

A sinister organization launches a wave of audacious attacks in an attempt to gain world domination. Commanded by the evil Professor Gill, masked androids and fearsome DARK Destructoid monsters terrorize innocent victims and wreck havoc throughout Japan.

A solitary figure emerges to combat the menace.

Whenever DARK attcks, a denim-clad road warrior appears, strumming a haunting refrain on his guitar. His name is Jiro, and a cret lies at the heart of his lonely existence. Jiro is a mechanical man.

Vulnerable to Professor Gill’s shrill flute wooing him to the DARK side, Jiro battles the evil menace by transforming into the mighty red-and-blue android known as …Kikaida.

The Review

I must admit at the offset that I’m not a fan of the Kikaida (or Kikaider) series. I always found the series somewhat goofy on the whole, even when I first watched it as a kid in California almost 30 years ago.

The basic premise of the story is actually quite intriguing. With shades of the fable “Pinocchio”, Kikaida is the story of an android searching for his creator (Dr. Komyoji), while battling the evil organization that helped to create him. The character of Jiro I always found as somewhat of a tragic figure; a lone hero trying to search for his place in the world and finding that even though he looks human, he is still feared by those around him(ironically he is in many instances even more “human” than most humans).

Ishinomori Shoutaro’s Kikaida character design is probably one of the most intriguing in Tokusatsu History. With its psychedelic, two-tone (Red/Blue) color scheme and his mechanical “see-through” head, Kikaida was a truly “cool” looking hero. Yet, despite this great premise and the Kikaida character’s great design, the show was marred by several flaws, mostly notably the campy aspects of the DARK robots.

While the individual stories themselves are on the whole average for Tokusatsu, the running plot of finding the amnesiac Dr. Komyoji is fairly well done and adds some drama to the overall series as does the relationship between Dr. Komyoji’s two children Mitsuko and Masaru and Jiro. The series will eventually peak with the introduction of the fan favorite Hakaida later on in the series.

The DARK robots (or Destructoids) are themselves quite bulky and clumsy looking and it is almost comical how they lumber about (in the Black Horse episode, you can actually see the stuntman trying in vain to keep his “head” from falling off while running). The Android Men with their gray leotards and spray painted “Chuck Taylor Converse” high-top sneakers also come across as more laughable than menacing. Professor Gill (played with over-the-top glee by Ando Mitsuo) was also a bit wacky looking (he would often talk directly to the audience during his scenes).

And then there is the character of Hattori “Hanpen” Hanpei (AKA The Japanese Sherlock Holmes), one of the “the” most irritating characters ever to befall Tokusatsu. With his bumbling antics and constant whining, he truly was the bane of the series (although some fans found him actually “funny”).

All in all however Kikaida has been called one of the most influential shows in Tokusatsu (oddly enough Kikaida is often overshadowed in Japan by Ishinomori’s other seminal series Kamen Rider). Kikaida has become an unbelievable cult favorite in Hawaii, where it has a large and loyal fan following. JN Productions (KIKU TV 20) has been showing it on TV for the past couple of years and has often sponsored “live action” shows with the costumed characters and has had autograph signings featuring the actor Ban Daisuke.

I must congratulate JN Productions on their Kikaida DVD series. It truly looks like a labor of love and it shows. Unlike many of the recent Japanese Region 2 DVD releases of Toei Tokusatsu shows such as “Himitsu Sentai Go-Ranger”, “Giant Robo”, and “Kamen Rider”, JN Productions has released one of the best (if not the only) truly “feature loaded” Tokusatsu DVD.

Menus

The changeable menu system is an interesting highlight of this disc set (you can either display DVD menu text in English or if you want Japanese).

The Menus are supported by scenes from the Kikaida TV series (you can also hear the haunting refrain of Jiro’s guitar solo in the background).

Languages

The original Japanese soundtrack is available with or without subtitles.

The subtitles are fairly easy to read and aren’t overly distracting.

While some of the translations are a bit “liberal” (Kikaida’s ultimate attack “Denji End” is translated as “The End” and DARK’s “Hakai Butai” (Dark Robots or Army of Destruction) are given the more elaborate and modernized name of “DARK Destructoids”) I found them to be pretty much on the mark.

Video

Given that the series originally aired in 1973, the picture quality of the TV episodes here is quite good. While there are some instances where the age of the film print shows some wear (especially in the opening credits) colors are generally very sharp and bright. Images are clear for the most part and special effect animation shots are very clean. For this DVD release, the episodes are presented in a 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio, just as they were originally broadcast on television. This is probably the best print one could hope for.

Audio

The DVD features a Dolby Digital audio track. The audio is clear and audible, rendering the dialogue and action sound effects perfectly clear. The BGM, OP and ED songs all sound great and definitely benefit from the improved sound. Other than that, the audio here is nothing special but quite sufficient.

Extras

The Kikaida DVD - Vol. 2 definitely offers a great set of extras.

In addition to the standard Cast and Crew Profiles there are quite a few fun DVD features:

DARK Destructoid Monsters with Sound – A fun little encyclopedia of all the “Dark Robots” whom Kikaida battled in the series. The encyclopedia features a brief bit on each enemy, punctuated by neat sound bites of the monsters.

KIKU-TV Promotional Spot – A brief commercial plug for the Kikaida TV Show Revival (the series is currently airing on KIKU TV in Hawaii).

Behind-The-Scenes Factoids: Ep. 1-10 – One of the better features of the DVD. Informative trivia bits complements of Tokusatsu authority and HenshinOnLine Webmaster August Ragone concerning the Kikaida show. August reveals a lot of interesting notes on the show (my favorite being the history of the “Bull Kong” name).

Kikaida Trivia Game – Another fun feature of the DVD. A multiple-choice trivia game which you can play for points. Most of the questions are fairly easy but there are a couple that are really quite tricky (“What is the License plate number of Jiro/Kikaida’s motorcycle?”) Based on your score you are graded and labeled accordingly (low scores mark you as a “Dark Android” while high scores mark you as being “Jiro”, a perfect score yields you the ultimate “Kikaida” label).

Easter Eggs

A list of three “Easter Eggs” has been reported by Tokusatsu authority Stuart Johnson (AKA Kewalaka) and can be found at the following website.

Information

For more information on the Kikaida series, please visit August Ragone’s informative series overview at Henshin Online.

While the DVD is said to be restricted to sale within Hawaii only, Kikaida Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 Collector’s Edition can readily be purchased via independent sellers on E-Bay and through online stores such as Amazon.com and TowerRecords.com

Inquiries can also be made to JN Production’s Kikaida DVD website at www.generationkikaida.com

Price

$24.95 (SMRP) (*Copies have been available on E-Bay for $13 -$14).

DVD Specs

Episodes 6-10
Color
Running Time: 2 hrs. 5 min.
NTSC/Region 1
4:3 - Full Screen
Dual-Layer Format
Dolby Digital Sound
Digitally Remastered Picture and Sound
Original Japanese Track with English Subtitles

Cast

Ban Daisuke – Jiro
Kikuchi Toshiaki – Kikaida/Kikaider
Izu Hajime – Dr. Komyoji
Mizuno Jun- Komyoji Mitsuko
Kamiya Masahiro – Komyoji Masaru
Ueda Shun – Hattori (Hanpen) Hanpei
Ando Mitsuo – Professor Gill

DVD Credits

Executive Producer: Joanne Ninomiya
Kikaida Series Translation: Roy Mashime
DVD Cover Design: Brian Onaga
Acknowledgements: Ban Daisuke, Ikeda Shunsuke, Hiroshi Miura, Greg Chang, Marc Miyake, August Ragone
DVD Production Team:
Robby Gaskall
Robert Furukawa
Sereny Suzuki
Karen Corpuz
Ruby Nagao
Chance Gusukuma
Yuko Manatod
Steven Chung
Erwin Baracao
Devin Sakai
Lillian Masamitsu Kam

Jmaruyama