JIBAN JIBAN! I remembered the cool theme song though I just feel like this is another low-tier show for me. Okay, it did come after the ninja-themed Toku called Jiraiya (who also guest-starred in Nininger) in the 90s then the next show to follow it was Winspector. Robocop was a popular R-18 film which had the story of a slain police officer revived into a cyborg law enforcer. The concept was carried into Jiban but only in that aspect. Other than that, Jiban seems to derive inspiration from other popular American movies about genetic engineering. I even have the Species vibes too.
So what makes Jiban different from Robocop aside from him performing capital punishment on Bioron mutants for murders that the monsters commit PER EPISODE? It's the fact that the main character Naoto Tamura doesn't have a wife and son like Alex Murphy does in the Robocop continuity. He's a rookie cop who got killed in action by a Bioron monster. Naoto becomes Jiban when he needs to and wears his former human identity as a disguise -- something Alex wasn't allowed to have in Robocop. Jiban is also way lighter considering it's a child's show. Though the Robocop-inspired show that followed it a few years later namely Janperson feels more like a show meant for a more mature audience.
The show's main antagonist is Dr. Giba who leads the Bioron syndicate. He's obviously not human and he hates humanity. Talk about a messed up thing. He's a white man dubbed over by a Japanese voice actor. What's more interesting is that Jiban's actor Shohei Kusaka would later run into Jason Faunt of Power Rangers Time Force. Ransik is also a result of a laboratory accident too just like Dr. Giba. Dr. Giba seeks to take over the world for mutant freaks like himself in a power struggle. Dr. Giba felt like what it'd be if pollution and biological waste disposal were to gain sentience AND seek revenge against humanity. The scientist who was responsible for the mess decided to create Jiban to counter that mess. Dr. Giba also shows that two wrongs never make a right as most of his activities are just as dastardly any human villain would commit. Ironic, how Winspector would actually be the next Metal Hero series after Jiban -- a show that focuses on humanity getting corrupt in the midst of technological advancement.
It's said that Gavan inspired Robocop's design then Robocop inspired Jiban. Jiban has the laser blade similar to Gavan and Robocop's former human turned cyborg -- something that Janperson wasn't. Like Gavan, Jiban upholds the law and slays monsters that have murdered a lot of people per episode. It's like Jiban was created to shoot down criminals that day-to-day cops can't handle. Yet, Jiban's human identity is a day-to-day cop himself. He pretends to be a bumbling idiot as not to let anyone know he's actually the cyborg hero Jiban. Later on, he couldn't keep the facade forever as Mayumi starts to suspect something unusual about Naoto.
Maybe, I just need to give Jiban more credit that I gave it when I was younger. While I do still feel Janperson is the superior Robocop-inspired show -- Jiban is probably that seed. I mean, notice that after Jiban -- you had Winspector, Solbrain, Exceedraft, and Janperson following it in sequence. These shows felt more like a primetime TV show for older audiences than a kiddie show -- though there's still some cartoony series such as a stupid detective surviving a running truck incident without getting injured in Winspector's first episode. I guess Jiban's success and the desire to innovate outside the box all went together.
What would be more interesting is that somehow Janperson (which hardly had a monster of the week) would probably still have shout-outs to Jiban. Janperson had the Jan Blader weapon which he seldom used against Neo-Guild minions. Janperson's finale arc also had Reiko turning into a Bioron-type monster and her having genetically-engineered soldiers helping her. Tatewaki also had two female secretaries like Dr. Giba. I guess I need to give Jiban more credit then than I did!
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