Janperson doesn't shy away from the hodgepodge of ideas, right? I guess one can already dismiss Gavan as an inspiration for Robocop. One can say that the character of Jiban is not only based on Robocop but also on Robot Detective K. Janperson, though is closer to Robot Detective K, for being fully mechanical while sharing Robocop's designs in part. We had Marie Lazarus brought into the show as Kaoru Saeugusa. Well, except Marie never had a younger brother and Shuhei ends up as a recurring kid of the week after many kids of the week in some episodes. Now, it would also visit the idea from the cult-classic Metalder - a show that only for freaking 39 episodes (presumably due to how serious it was) and it's rather rushed. Yup, I still will always love to point how Metalder was rushed and how JAKQ was rushed (only 35 episodes presumably due to lower ratings) to even as I point out that Disney Power Rangers seasons tend to rush things a lot.
Now, we're introduced to Gun Gibson. Gun Gibson is a Neo-Guild member and has a girlfriend named Carol. George Makabe shows he's not to be messed with even if he's practically Paul McDaggett lite. The first two episodes that introduce Gun Gibson are focused on the Neo-Guild. The introduction as a corrupt jail warden, Himoru, is pretty much a collaborator of Neo-Guild. The show has more than one source of robots that guest star. We had Tatewaki Konzern also manipulate some robots too.
Metalder introduced us to the villain Top Gunder. Top Gunder is introduced as one of the best henchmen of Emperor Nero ahem Emperor God Neros (I just love to throw that pun). Before that, I remembered seeing VR Troopers on ABC-5 which was aired side-by-side with that abomination called Saban's Mashed Rider. I compared the design of Dark Heart (Top Gunder in Metalder) to Mettlzer (who I knew first as Plasmamoid) from Bioman. It turns out that my suspicions were right - it's a repainted suit of Mettlzler with some modifications. Top Gunder ended up becoming a constant ally of Metalder. Metalder was far more depressing which eventually had Top Gunder eventually die.
The fight between Janperson and Gun Gibson gets interesting. Gun Gibson shows two different pistols - a dumb shot and a homing bullet. Earlier on, Janperson infiltrated a robot prison to find out what Makabe was up to for the nth time. Himoru the corrupt robot warden doesn't make it as he's destoryed by Janperson. Carol though gets shot down for her betrayal - a plot that would play itself in Gun Gibson's role as a sidekick. Gun Gibson practically becomes vengeance-crazed and ends up destroying some REFORMED Neo-Guild members.
Why Super Science Network was inserted is something. This episode also features Reiko's newest plot - creating worms that will hack into machinery! I guess Reiko was aware of Makabe's plans so in the Evil vs. Evil plot - she has to get rid of BOTH Janperson and Neo-Guild. I was thinking was that episode where Reiko was in a tribute to another BLACK RX episode? I find it funny that Atsuko Takahata's character as Maribaron seems to be referenced. Later episodes even had Crisis Empire uniforms being reused! This episode almost reminds me of "Rebellion of Scrap" episode from BLACK RX. Yeah, that episode scared me as a child and it was parodied during Saban's Mashed Rider. This episode does manage to make it scarier.
Like every villain's plan - there's a fatal flaw. The worms that Reiko breeds are weak to fire. The worms start to possess Gun Gibson and other robots. Gun Gibson begs Janperson to destroy him. Janperson uses Arc Fire and well... Gun Gibson is saved. Reiko sees her plan fall. How the worms in her laboratory perished isn't explained. Apparently, Reiko overestimated herself like any good Toku villain. Again, I love to say that Reiko is Juliette Faxx Lite. We can't have Reiko get a drug addict on life support, pull off the plug, get a chainsaw, and use the brain for her nefarious purposes right? I think Takahata herself has a spectacular performance whether it's in BLACK RX (which for me is a guilty pleasure considering how unpopular it was) or as Reiko. I just love Takahata's performance!
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Some few episodes later didn't always have Gun Gibson. It's pretty much like how Burai didn't always appear in Zyuranger after his six-part "Green with Evil" introductory arc. For example, Burai NEVER showed up during the episode where Dora Boogaran (Terror Toad) was the Monster of the Week. Gun Gibson didn't show up in the next episode or in the episode where Boddicker ahem Tatewaki decides to have a car to challenge the Jaycar. Though, Gun Gibson became more and more regularized as that cool Top Gunder. In fact, I dare say Gun Gibson is COOLER than Top Gunder.
See you again!
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