It's time for another rush review, right? I was looking at the next few Janperson episodes before the arc which involves two brothers trying to end all robotkind. I decided to write this one. Yeah, it was the time when Toei decided to focus on Metal Hero before finally ending it. I still assume that the revival of Kamen Rider caused Toei to finally end Metal Hero while still making references to it. I've accepted there wouldn't be any Metal Hero series. I guess it's for the best - that's until Toei Ltd. may decide to either let Super Sentai go on hiatus or not. Personally, I still feel Super Sentai should've had a few years off. Then again, Metal Hero has no unifying theme unlike Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. Speaking of which...
Episode 24
Kou Domon of Kamen Rider ZO fame (not Zi-O) guest stars here. ZO was a movie-only Kamen Rider in 1993. This episode is also written by Nobuo Ogizawa who's had a contribution in Metalder, Jiraiya, Jiban, and the Rescue Police Trilogy. This episode is a Super Science Network episode. Yeah, Reiko's plan to take over machinery with those evil bugs failed. In this episode, we've got Kamen Rider involved though not bringing up BLACK RX. Instead, we have ZO as a guest star!
This episode has Kaoru's flaw shown. Kaoru feels that the new super human, Modoki, should be destroyed. Janperson is left in a dilemma because Modoki still feels like a human does - even if he's artificially created. I'm reminded of a plot used in Tekken years later in Tekken 4 when Steve Fox got introduced. Not helping (really) that we had "Dr. Wily" as a guest star in a Neo-Guild episode. This episode features Naoya Hayasaka (a familiar face) as the villain of the week. Dr. Miyama's plan is to create a super soldier army for Reiko. This episode also has scary scenes such as stabbing and gun shot toward Modoki himself. Yeah, it freaked me out TBH.
This episode also features Toki Shibata. Yeah, Shibata herself was acting in different roles during the Soda era. She was Eri in Maskman, Sakura in Changeman, and the android girl Miki in Bioman. I feel this episode started to really get into me. Modoki later requested to be turned into a monster. Was that a throwback to Kamen Rider Shin even if he wasn't the actor? Later, Kaoru decided to help fake Modoki's death.
Episode 25
This is an episode where I recognized Rika Kishida. I think she's not married to the actor Kotaro Tanaka but to some unknown Japanese guy. Now only if that can be verified. This episode also features Exceedraft star Iori Sakabiara who play as Ken Okuma. I do keep reanting on and on how I wanted Janperson to be linked to the Rescue Police Trilogy. Heck, in my head, I called it the Rescue Police Quadrilogy because I count Janperson as a Rescue Police Hero.
Lugo is actually Django's brother. Django who was acted by Kazuo Niibori. Rika plays a doctor named Misa Yumino. This time, no child of the week. This episode has a battle of the mind. Gun Gibson makes an appearance and shows how impulsive he can get. This episode is a battle for the mind. It's Lugo's mind as he accepts a new cybernetic technology to FIRE A BULLET. It's all about revenge for Django who died as a result of the latter's own actions.
Boddicker ahem Tatewaki practically has lost his patience. Sarah is given one last chance to get rid of Janperson. TBH, I think Toei Ltd. wasn't too keen on letting us see Tatewaki literally throw off a gang member like Boddicker did in the Robocop movie. Janperson's words and kindness do reach out to Lugo. Lugo ends up regretting his actions, seeing his brother died as a result of one's own actions. Sarah also has her last episode before her clone guest-stars in a future episode.
Episode 26
This is another episode where Boddicker ahem Tatewaki shows up. I guess Tatewaki decided to try out another scheme to beat Janperson, right? This episode features a child of the week (who's really a robot) and a scientist father. Sarah is replaced by Maya. This episode is pretty much one of the most intense. Tatewaki wants a car to challenge Janperson's Jeycar. I really love the motor stunts in this episode! I did see this episode in Taglaog before as well like almost every episode here.
I could remember how Nikaido and Masaharu have tragic stories. What I love about this episode is the creation of a car that could beat Janperson. TBH, I think it would've been fun if Tatewaki actually had a few more scenes copied from Boddicker. Like Boddicker, Tatewaki seeks to eliminate rivals and become the most powerful crime lord. I think Tatewaki would probably still rat the less popular Dick Jones out if convenient. I think where Boddicker failed was not in having a contingency plan. It's also hinted that Tatewaki was trying to become someone else. Hence, Tatewaki later became Bill Goldy.
I think I can give plenty of credit for this episode. Jiban does have some children of the week. This one does present one child of the week who's a robot. Granted, Naoyoki Sakai did write the episode of where SEEPs manage to reform. I really felt like this episode was probably a nod to Jiban in some way. Not that I was a fan of Jiban. Heck, Janperson made me think Jiban wasn't as good TBH. This episode also introduced a new Bandai merchandise namely the Grand Jeycar.
Episode 27
This is one episode with a WEIRD TITLE. The true face of the Great Leader sounds like a title from the Kamen Rider series. People by now realize I've had a bad habit of calling the Great Leader the Not-So-Great Leader. I think Grand Lord Crisis from Kamen Rider BLACK RX is the Great Leader as well. Now, this is written by Akira Asada who wrote the episode trolling us of Janperson's origins. He also wrote the episode involving the gunshots. Now, this is one cool episode.
Okay, we've had Bad Boy Robin Padilla ahem George Makabe up to another scheme. We have Hiromi Yuhara who has made a few guest roles in Tokusatsu. I think she also appeared in Kamen Rider BLACK and was also a guest star in Jiban, Winspector, and Solbrain as three different characters. In this episode, her father is a scientist holding a miraculous plant that could extend human life. George Makabe wants it for a reason. Unlike his half-brother, Makabe only had a few cybernetic implants. The plant itself is highly valuable. Though, wouldn't that plant fit better in a Super Science Network episode? I even felt it was weird Reiko didn't want the plant. Would be interesting if Reiko decided to grab the plant.
There's a bit of bad boy Makabe's past here. Makabe was been a friend of the scientist. Here, Makabe sends a Doombot to attack the heroes. The Doombot is pretty powerful actually - that's until Janperson uses the Jan Vulcan to injure it. Makabe is seen bleeding for the first time. We see Makabe is human. It's obvious that his brother Ben was a cyborg and not a full robot. I think the Doombot here is meant to be one thing - a callback to the Not-So-Great Leader of Kamen Rider. The Not-So-Great Leader did leave some decoys in The First Kamen Rider and Kamen Rider V3 at the end of the episodes.
Episode 28
This is one creepy episode and perhaps another intentional throwback to BLACK RX. I find it weird BLACK RX gets some throwbacks in Janperson in some way. Wasn't it that BLACK RX was a failure? I guess people still praised Atsuko Takahata's performance as Maribaron. Heck, Maribaron is in charge of the Spirit Realm of the Crisis Empire! This episode has Takahata involved with GHOSTS. This has one weird nightmare fuel. I admit that BLACK RX had some nightmare fuel when it came to Maribaron's Spirit Realm monsters.
This episode is written by HIROHISA SODA. I'm amazed at after Soda burned out in Fiveman - he still gave us a couple of good episodes later on. Heck, I'm glad that he made a few episodes in Carranger which some of them involved Natsumi Shinohara who was pretty much a full-season Mika Koizumi from Bioman. Soda was also involved with Super Sentai involving a great degree of nightmare fuel. Soda manages to bring in Professor Akutsu a vengeful ghost and Professor Karube the villain of the week. Karube even goes as far as to allow himself to be killed to fulfill a mission.
The supernatural elements almost remind me of that haunted house episode in Kamen Rider BLACK. Though, we also had BLACK RX which had the Space Assassin Zonos (not brought into Saban's Mashed Rider) has GENUINE NIGHTMARE FUEL. The cheap special effects were still frightening nonetheless. The haunted house episode felt like it was taken from an old-school horror movie. A very intense episode overall by Soda himself.
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