AKUMAIZER 3 10/7/75 - 6/29/76 "Akumaizer 3," yet another live-action series created by Ishimori Shotaro (who also created Kamen Rider, Robocon, and Goranger, among many others), was a sort of tokusatsu retelling of "The Three Musketeers." The three main characters, Zabitan, Evil, and Gabura, wielded fencing foils and could transform into various creatures and vehicles. Zabitan transformed into the spaceship-like Zaidabeck, Gabura into a big bird called the "Gaburacho," and Evil into....a bucket. No joke. Try and figure that one out, because we sure can't. BANKID 10/3/76 - 3/27/77 The full title of this show is actually "Flying Saucer Battle Bankid," and it's basically a sentai show that features kids and teens as the heroes -- kind of like a tokusatsu version of "Menudo." BATMAN May 1939 - present Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27, in 1939. Eidai's toys are apparently based on the designs of the campy 1960's live-action TV show, which featured the paunchy yet lovable Adam West. BIBYUN 7/6/76 - 3/29/77 The full title of this show is "Bibyun, the Super God," and it was a continuation of the story laid out in "Akumaizer 3." Just as with its predecessor, it was created by the unstoppable Ishimori Shotaro. CASSHAN 2/10/73 - 6/25/74 A very popular series that was created by the same team as "Gatchaman" ("Battle of the Planets"). Casshan's robotic canine sidekick, Friender, is one of the more memorable designs from the series. CONDORMAN 3/31/75 - 9/22/75 Not to be confused with the live-action Disney kiddie-flick of the same name. Killed in the line of duty in the Nevada desert, Mitsuya Isshin is ressurected as Condorman, a superhero with the ability to transform into the airborne Golden Condor or the land-based Dragon Condor. DENJIN ZABOGA 4/6/74 - 6/29/75 A live-action series most notable for the fact that the human-sized Zaboga was a mindless machine controlled by the main character, the perpetually jeans-jacket-clad Yutaka Daimon. In spite of being a live-action creation, Zaboga featured a complex series of gimmicks (including the ability to transform into a motorcycle.) The latter half of the series featured a powered-up version of Zaboga called "Strong Zaboga." UFO SENSHI DIAPOLON 4/6/76 - 9/28/76 This animated series ran for a paltry 26 episodes in mid-1976. Takeshi, a friendly, human-looking visitor from the planet Apolon, helps Earthlings fight against the evil alien "Dazan Army." Everything from the costumes of the five-member team to the Apolon robots themselves featured an oddly-concieved football theme. (In that respect, it's kind of an answer to the live-action Mach Baron, which featured zombie football players as enemies.) The show was later re-edited and re-recorded -- without any new animation -- to make a show called "Diapolon II: Action Series." It tanked. GAISLUGGER 4/12/77 - 8/30/77 Animated. GANBARON 4/3/77 - 9/25/77 Yet another "one season wonder," Ganbaron was a live-action show about a young boy who could "henshin" (transform) into the robotic superhero Ganbaron. It was indended as a sort of lighthearted sequel to the Red and Mach Baron shows, but actually shared almost nothing in common with them (the previous two had focused on the exploits of piloted giant robots rather than individual transforming heroes.) Ganbaron had three mechanical vehicles at his disposal which could be combined into the undisputed king of the show (from a toy standpoint, anyway) -- the multi-purpose super big-ass kung-fu battle robot Daibaron. GATCHAMAN 10/1/72 - 9/29/74 The spirit of high-tech teamwork in this smash-hit animated series laid the groundwork for the entire Sentai ("Power Rangers") series of televison shows. A brutally edited version entitled "Battle of the Planets" became a hit in America as well, despite being a sanitized shadow of the original Japanese show. HURRICANE POLIMAR 10/4/74 - 3/28/75 "Hurricane Polimar" was created by Tatsunoko Productions, who were also responsible for "Gatchaman" ("Battle of the Planets") and "Tekkaman, the Space Night." It's a fairly generic superhero show, and was also the subject of an early-1990's animated remake by the same name. The show is mainly notable for the numerous variations in the translation of the name: "Polymer," "Polimar," "Polymar," "Polimer," etc., etc...... IRUKA FAMILY 1975 A bizarrely anthropomorphic dolphin wearing cowboy boots and jeans, Irutan was the mascot of the 1975 Okinawa Oceanic Expo. It's a total mystery as to why Eidai decided to produce a diecast rendition of the character. MAHA GO GO GO 4/2/67 - 3/31/68 The Japanese smash-hit "Mach Go Go Go" became an instant sensation and pop-culture fixture when it was translated and broadcast in the US as "Speed Racer." MEKANDA ROBO 3/3/77 - 12/29/77 The insanely colorful Mekanda Robo character is one of most underrated giant-robot designs of all time, and the star of an animated series featuring the strugle of a five-member team against the alien (of course) Hedoran empire. Although the transforming and combining Mekanda Robo is often thought of as an archetypal "hero robot" character, there's actually more here than meets the eye (pun intended). This show introduced several conventions -- such as the use of mass-production robots and a limit to the amount of time that Mekanda Robo could be used before running out of energy -- that make it a sort of bridge to the more "realistic" giant-robot shows of the early 1980s. BOHKEN ROCKBAT 3/31/75 - 9/27/75 A bizarre action-comedy series about "Animal Country," a doppelganger of Earth populated by humanoid animals (actors in suits), Bohken Rockbat didn't feature a single human character. When the town of "Animal Forest" is threatened by the evil Doradanuki, Professor Zuku gets mad -- and builds the robotic duo of Rockbat and Blazer to kick ass and take names. In spite of his name, the silly and careless Rockbat looks like a rotund, masked housecat; his purely mechanical bro Blazer backs him up when things hit the fan. (Okay, I'm exaggerating. This was a kids' series, not COPS.) The relatively organic-looking Rockbat features a chest full of buttons that can be pressed to engage "super powers"; Blazer is one helluva cool-looking mechanical man that can fly through the air and transform into a car. STINGRAY 1962 - 1964 A British live-action pupppet series from Gerry Anderson (who would later create the smash-hit Thunderbirds series). A cult classic among British college students and Japanese sci-fi fans, Stingray featured the adventures of a super-submarine and crew in the year 2064. SUPERMAN 1938 - present In an odd twist, Grip created several diecast portrayals of the legendary American superhero character. TEKKAMAN ("Tekkaman the Space Knight") 7/2/75 - 12/24/75 This mid-seventies animated series was created by Tatsunoko productions, the same guys responsible for "Gatchaman" and "Casshan." The eponymous main character is a human who suits up to battle the evil "Walderstar" organization. Tekkaman is only mildly popular as a toy character, but his huge robotic sidekick Pegas is a perennial collector favorite. THUNDERBIRDS 1964 - 1966 This long-running British "supermarionation" series, another creation of Gerry Anderson, caused a sensation when it aired in Japan. Similar to a "sentai" show, the Thunderbirds were a high-tech international rescue team. The mechanical designs in particular seemed to deeply resonate with Japanese fans, and influenced science fiction there for years afterwards. An entire array of Japanese companies produced toys and models for the series, including Popy, Bandai, and Imai, among others. Toys from several other Gerry Anderson shows, such as 'Joe 90,' and 'UFO,' were also incorporated into Eidai's 'Thunderbirds Series' as well. TIME BOKAN 10/4/75 - 12/25/76 "Time Bokan" was an incredibly popular comedy that featured a time-travel theme. The real strength of the show was its incredible cross-over appeal to both boys and girls. It spawned a whole series of sequels that lasted until the early 80's. The "Mekabuton" design in particular is one of the most popular in the world of Japanese toys. ULTRAMAN LEO 4/12/74 - 3/28/75 The sixth installment in the insanely popular Ultraman series. Ultraman Leo followed the adventures of the straightforwardly-named MAC ("Monster Attacking Crew"), and their battles against those giant monsters that so regularly ravage the Tokyo metropolitan area. The MAC was headed up by Moroboshi Dan, previously of of Ultraseven and temporarily bereft of his Ultra-powers. The Monster Attacking Crew, which oughtta be a band name if it isn't already, featured some of the grooviest, craziest costumes of the 1970s. World-famous toy companies Takatoku and Bullmark also produced toys for Ultraman Leo. ULTRAMAN TARO 4/6/73 - 4/5/74 Resurrected by the Ultra Mother as Ultraman Taro, Higashi Koutaro battled those pesky Ultra-Kaiju that meanaced Japan on an all-too-frequent basis in the 1970's. Ultraman Taro was the fifth installment in the Ultraman series. YATTAMAN ("Time Bokan Series Yattaman") 1/1/77 - 1/27/79 Yattaman was a sequel to the insanely popular Time Bokan series, and was almost as big a hit as Time Bokan itself. Although the characters were different, the story was roughly similar (more time-travelling wackiness), and the toys were bright, playful, and heavy. Uni-Five, a toy company subsidiary of Bandai, recently released an updated, re-done version of the "Yatta-Wan" toy and several sets of all-plastic enemy figures from this show. The name, which is often mistranslated as "Yatterman" even by the Japanese, translates roughly into "I-did-it!-man." ZUBAT 2/2/77 - 9/28/77 A bizarre, highly individualistic live-action series produced by the legendary Ishimori Shotaro, "Zubat" took the paradigm of the transforming superhero to new heights. When groovy hero Hayakawa Ken straps on his special pleather outfit, he transforms into the superhero Zubat -- but the suit is so poweful that he's got to take it off after five minutes unless he wants it to grind his human body into a chewy, pulpy mess. Zubat's enemies took the form of ninjas, tennis pros, french chefs, and maniac trumpet players, among many others. back to Data Files