Jinzo Ningen Kikaida 21-25
By Jmaruyama

Episodes/Villains

#21 “Zangyaku! Murasaki Nezumi No Doku Kiba” (Brutal! Purple Rat’s Poison         Fangs/Purple Rat: Brutal Fangs of Poison) – Purple Rat
#22 “Shiro Nokogiri Zame – Akumu No Jyu Niji Kan” (White Saw Shark: Twelve-Hour         Nightmare) – White Saw Shark
#23 “Ki Iro Ari Jikoku San Kyodai Kenzan” (Yellow Antlion Three Brothers         Assemble/Yellow Antlion Brothers: Alphabet Attack) – Yellow Antlion Brothers
#24 “Ma Shou No Onna?? Momo Iro Arumajiro” (Evil Woman?? Pink Armadillo/Pink         Armadillo: Sinister Temptress) – Pink Armadillo
#25 “Dai Dai Katatsumuri Koroshi No Kuchibue” (Orange Snail: Whistle of Death) –         Orange Snail

Summary (From Box Cover)

"A solitary, denim clad road warrior known as Jiro battles the sinister Professor Gill and his squadron of fearsome DARK Destructoid monsters. Vulnerable to Gill’s shrill flute wooing him to the DARK side. Jiro transforms into the mighty red-and-blue android – Kikaida"

The Review

In annals of Tokusatsu History, Kikaider must have some of the most ridiculous looking villains. When compared to the Destron villains in Kamen Rider V3 or the BAD Robots in Robot Keiji K (both of which aired at about the same time), the “Dark Robots” (Dark Destructoids) come off as almost a joke. Even Professor Gill in his black “Kimono” looks more comical than threatening. Perhaps that was the whole point. In any case, JN Production’s latest addition to its Kikaida DVD series (Volume 5) has some of the worst designed villains I can remember. With villains such as Purple Rat, Pink Armadillo and Orange Snail, one finds it hard to really take them seriously. Even as a little kid, I thought these guys looked stupid. As we reach the midpoint of the series, Kikaider certainly suffers immensely with banal stories, unfunny comical hi-jinks, confusing plotlines and ludicrous villains who lumber about like so much dead weight. Where is Hakaider when you need him? (Unfortunately, it won’t be until around Episode 37 when things finally get better with the introduction of Hakaider)

Bad stories aside, JN Productions should however be commended for their efforts in providing good quality episodes of the Kikaider series on DVD at affordable prices. I am continually disappointed with Toei Japan’s Region 2 Tokusatsu DVD releases such as Go-Ranger or Kamen Rider X, which are almost double the price of the JN Production’s DVDs and yet offer very little in the way of extras. At least JN Production’s DVDs are an attempt to appease fans of the Kikaider show and provide the definitive Kikaider DVD collection.

While Vol. 5 features some laughable stories, I still feel that this DVD Collection is a far better bargain than Toei’s various Tokusatsu DVDs (i.e. Go-Ranger, Kamen Rider X or Inazuman) which cost upwards of $100 and have little or no extras at all.

My only continual gripe with the Kikaider DVDs is JN Production’s policy of repeating features from the previous installments. Granted, the Monster Encyclopedia is a fun and novel idea but does it have to be included with every single DVD? Or how about the JN Kikaider Promo? Does anyone really look at this over and over? The inclusion of Easter Eggs is a great start, but unless you’re really patient or have a lot of time on your hands, most people will probably not even bother. I still think the inclusion of footage from all the various Ban Daisuke’s autograph signings around Hawaii or even clips from the recent costume show at the Okinawan Cultural Center on Oahu would be great DVD features and of interest to others outside of Hawaii. Even footage from the Gill’s Gala Event, which JN Productions held at the Japanese Cultural Center would make a far more interesting feature than the Monster Encyclopedia.

Menus

The changeable menus 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.

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. 5 offers a few extras.

DARK Destructoid Monsters with Sound – An visual encyclopedia of all the “Dark Robots” whom Kikaida battled in the series. The encyclopedia features a brief bit on each enemy, punctuated by sound bites of the monsters. A continual carryover from the previous DVD installments.

KIKU-TV Promotional Spot – A brief commercial plug for the Kikaida Show Revival (the promotional spot ran on Nov. 4, 2001). A continual carryover from the previous DVD installments.

Behind-The-Scenes Factoids: Ep. 11-20 – One of the better DVD features makes a long-overdue return. Informative trivia bits, compliments of Tokusatsu authority and “Henshin Online” Webmaster August Ragone. August reveals a lot of interesting notes and trivia behind some of the previous Kikaida episodes. Oddly enough there are no trivia bits on the episodes that are featured on the DVD.

There is only one new DVD feature included in this installment but unfortunately it’s not that great of an extra.

Ban Daisuke Interview Part 2 – Conducted by KIKU TV President Joanne Ninomiya, this nine (9) minute interview (which was originally part of an hour long KIKU TV Special called “Kikaider In Hawaii”) is a continuation from the previous DVD volume. It touches upon a few interesting trivia regarding the series but is mainly a retrospective session with Ban Daisuke.

One of the more interesting parts of the interview delved into the supposed rivalry between Ban Daisuke and Miyauchi Hiroshi (Kamen Rider V3). All-in-all the interview concluded with some interesting insights into the show.

Easter Eggs

The following Easter Eggs were reported by Stuart Johnson (AKA Kewalaka) and August Ragone on the GenerationKikaida Message Boards:

#1
Go to to the Special Features menu.
Move down until next to the KIKU-TV Promotional Spot
Press right arrow
Press down arrow
When Kikaida’s head outline appears, press enter to see 20 still photos from the episodes on this disk

#2
Go to the Interview
Press left arrow
Press up arrow
When Kikaida’s head outline appears, press enter to see the Vol. 4 promo

#3
Go to Factoids
Press up arrow
Press right arrow
When Kikaida’s head outline appears press enter to see 12 still photos from appearances of the Kikaida cast in Hawaii during the 70’s.

#4
Go to factoids
Scroll through to the last factoid
Press up arrow
Press right arrow
When a blue Kikaida head appears -- push the cursor and you get a 30 second commercial for Kata Communications' Kikaida Trading Cards!

Jmaruyama

Information

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

The Kikaida Collector’s Editions can be purchased via independent sellers on E-Bay and through select specialty stores like Amazon and Tower Records.

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

DVD Specs

Episodes 21-25
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 (White)

Cast

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

DVD Credits

Executive Producer: Joanne Ninomiya
Kikaida Series Translation: Roy Mashime
DVD Cover Design: Erwin Baracao, 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 Manatad
Steven Chung
Kristine Yoza
Devin Sakai
Lillian Masamitsu Kam