Jinzo Ningen Kikaida 1-5
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

If you are a tokusatsu fan chances are you have seen or heard of Kikaida in the past. Many of today’s leading fans of the genre will tell you that this is one of the best Japanese hero shows ever made. They love this show so much that they have been able to not only get the show back on TV (in Hawaii), but also managed to get a domestic DVD release of the series for its legions of fans (something that still eludes fans of more recent Japanese hero shows).

The question in my head before watching Kikaida for the first time was whether it really was as good as everyone made it out to be or just a phenomenon for those who grew up watching it. I'm happy to report that this is indeed a good program and a great DVD release, but there were some things that surprised me as well.

The Story

The Dark organization (headed by the evil Professor Gill) has kidnapped Dr.Komyoji and his daughter Mitsuko, forcing them to create several Destructoid robots, which would be used to help Dark take over the world. Thankfully Dr. Komyoji is also able to create a robot that has the power to stand up to Dark’s Destructoids and save the world, Kikaida.

In his human guise as Jiro and with the help of Dr.Komyoji’s children Mitsuko and Masaru, Kikaida’s mission throughout the course of the series will be to find his missing creator and put and end to Professor Gill’s evil plans.

My Take on Kikaida 1-6

After watching volume one of Generation Kikaida’s excellent DVD release, I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the Kikaida TV show. That being said however, I was not as blown away as I thought I would be, based on all the hype surrounding this show.

While Kikaida enjoys a very strong opening 2 episodes the following ones (3-6) fall into a very formulaic setup:

- Dark Destructoid shows up causing trouble
- Kikaida along with Mitsuko, Masaru and Hattori Hanpei try to figure out what?s going    on.
- Destructoid Reappears
- Jiro comes appears out of nowhere while playing his guitar, ready to stop that episode’s    Destructoid.
- Professor Gill plays his flute which takes advantage of Kikaida’s incomplete conscience    circuit, the only thing    keeping him from crossing over to Dark’s side.
- Kikaida overcomes flute, transforms and proceeds to save the day.

Is this to say that I didn’t have fun watching Kikaida? Not at all! This is still a very good tokusatsu program that should be required viewing for all fans of Japanese hero programs. Much like other series Kikaida’s early formulaic story format will eventually evolve as it moves forward and tells its story. It is just a symptom of the first episodes in what was at the time a new TV program.

One aspect of Kikaida’s storyline,which even at this early stage of the series caught my interest and made it stand out from the many other hero shows we cover here at JH is his struggle to understand who he is. Kikaida may be a machine with a motor where a heart should be and a computer where the brain would be in a person, but he feels like a human. This started becoming apparent in episode 3 when he refuses the opportunity to have his conscience circuit completed because he doesn’t want Mitsuko to see what is really inside of him.

Another aspect of the show that I fell in love with were the special effects, which while being obviously cheap & limited end up adding a lot of personality to the proceedings. The Destructoids costumes are especially noteworthy and even though they may not stand up to today’s more elaborate works they achieve their intended purposes on the program effectively.

DVD Overview

As fans we really need to hand it to Generation Kikaida and JN Productions. Their Kikaida DVD’s are really well done and show the obvious care that went into putting these releases together.

The video quality of the episodes is sharp & colorful and even though some parts like the opening and ending show some scratches in the film this is mostly negligible and probably due to the fact the films they used to master these are 30 years old. Needless to say this is much better than anything you could get in videos that are 2-3 generations away from the original source, which for a long time was the only way to see this program.

Sound is also very good given how old the source material is. Sound FX’s come across clearly and the music is even more fun now that it’s crystal clear and loud. Like the original program the sound is recorded and presented in mono.

The DVD also features some nice extras that are sure to be please fans of this series. They include Kiku-TV ads that were played in Hawaii to promote Kikaida’s comeback to TV, profiles of the Destructoids, and a hidden Easter egg.

Conclusion

Love tokusatsu? Then you need to get this DVD for your collection, simple as that. If you never seen golden age Japanese heroes then this might be the perfect entry series for you. Look forward to Generation Kikaida and JNProductions' future Kikaida DVD's, expecially those covering the infamous Hakaida storyline, which from what I've read is what has made this series the classic that it is today.

DVD Info

Kikaida - Volume 1 (Episodes 1-6)
Released by - JNProductions
Video - Full Screen
Audio - Mono
Region - 1
Format - NTSC
Language - Japanese
Subtitles - English
MSRP - $24.95
Available through the Generation Kikaida website.

Jeffrey Couto