Not much is explored in Janperson yet during episodes 7-15. Instead, we simply get one teaser (and a Subverted Trope IMHO) and some standard operations. Oh yeah, prepare for some incredibly weird stuff while there are some rather depressing episodes too. That's all before we cover the Janperson identity arc.
Episode 7
Enter Boddicker ahem Tatewaki with another scheme. TBH, I kinda wished we saw Tatewaki throw away one of his gang members in his first appearance... LITERALLY! Just imagine if we had Tatewaki stage a bank robbery, finding out the money was burned, and he throws away that member the same way Boddicker did with one of his gang members early on in the Robocop (1987) movie.
In this episode, we get Professor Phenomenus ahem Shoichirou Akaboshi who guest stars as the villain of the week. Like Boddicker ,we know Tatewaki is an insane man after power. I simply love how Shoichirou as Mr. Bald Guy With A Mustache and even dared to compare him to the late Jack Banning. Yes, Jack from Power Rangers in Space and Power Rangers Lost Galaxy - the guy who played Professor Phenomenus. IMHO, I think Shoichirou could've been a better Professor Tokimura in Choshinsei Flashman. Not that the actor Akira Ishihama was bad. I kinda just wanted it because Flashman never ceases to make me think of the overhyped Lost Galaxy.
It's a pretty standard episode. A bit of weirdness though when children of the week get involved. A young girl gets involved in a subliminal scheme. A boy dreams about it and it moves the episode. It's all about Tatewaki's desire to get a diamond for his collection. Almost feels like something you'd see in the Rescue Police Trilogy. Something that would be too easily solved in a minute if you sent GoGoFive and/or Lightspeed Rescue to catch the case. It was written also by Kyoko Sagiyama who I felt wrote better episodes in the Rescue Police Trilogy. I guess she was burnt out when she wrote this.
Episode 8
The episode where Lucio Tan Sr. ahem Kenichi Endo first showed up. For some reason, Kenichi didb't really has much of a role in Toku and when he did, it was a guest role. Some people may remember him as Vulgar in the Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger movie. Yeah, I've got a bad habit of skipping the movies though.
This episode is pretty weird. Shinichi Sato who appeared as the occasional butt monkey in Winspector is a killer here. I guess that's why we didn't like the Rescue Police Trilogy into Janperson or what? Machine Gun Joe is a criminal who ended up handing himself over. Kenichi's character Dr. Saionji creates a new half-brained plot - frame Janperson in the identity of Machine Gun Joe!
It makes me laugh really how Kenichi is one Large Ham. The guy would later have a short-lived role in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. This episode was written by Hirohisa Soda. Yeah, talk about how Soda wrote several great series but ended up burning during Kosoku Sentai Turboranger and Chikyu Sentai Fiveman. Both series had low ratings. Fiveman may be vindicated but it seems Power Rangers fans may still berate Turboranger (and some even berate Power Rangers Turbo A LOT) all for the sake of promoting Gekisou Sentai Carranger.
How did Soda do? Granted, Soda was doing sideline writing here. It was interesting to see him write one of my favorite episodes. Soda did some occassional sideline writing such as in Choriki Sentai Ohranger (which he recycled a plot from Hikari Sentai Maskman) and some of the best episodes of Carranger. Soda is also a reason why I wasn't too excited about Toshiki Inoue's return in Super Sentai. We all know how Inoue also burnt out during Kamen Rider Kiva too.
Episode 9
This episode starts another turn in a darker direction. The earlier episodes were rather standard. The first episode was a thriller. Eventually, we see the serious side of Tatewaki early on but got tainted by Sagiyama's not-so-good script. Now, it's time to see Neo-Guild's darker and more evil side.
This episode really defies logic in some way. We know how Robocop still defies logic. Janperson defies logic. Here, Neo-Guild has been reviving dead people as cyborgs. A father gets revived as a cyborg without knowing it. A child discovers that his father is acting strange. Neo-Guild plans to cause a nuclear explosion. Oh yeah, talk about predicting the tsunami that caused the nuclear explosion last 2011.
This episode also introduces Janperson's new weapon, the Jan Vulcan. It's obviously a tribute to the Giga Streamer from Winspector. The episode has a sad ending as the boy's cyberized father well... dies. I guess this is really where Janperson starts to head in a darker direction. Fortunately, it didn't cause it to end up like Metalder getting canceled after 39 episodes.
Episode 10
This is another Super Science Network episode. The modus operandi of Super Science Network (or its true aim) hasn't been fully disclosed (yet). The two "gods of luck" appear to create an episode about accepting reality. Nobuo Ogizawa did a good job introducing the Super Science Network where Tony Lechon ahem Dr. Shina was the guest antagonist. Here, it's a weird episode that might be a low-tier but it does develop an important lesson.
I think one of the best things to happen in Janperson was some lessons of the week - in some episodes. Soda did write plenty of lessons of the week during his tenure in Super Sentai. Too bad though that the lessons of the week are hardly done. Chojin Sentai Jetman almost did away with it as most episodes try to focus on working as a team.
It would be worth noting that Megumi Misaki is a guest star in this episode. I wonder why didn't Joji Nakata make a guest appearance here? Nakata was a guest star in Winspector and Solbrain as two different characters. Misaki appears as a concerned doctor as her patients are stuck in dreamland. It's all about accepting reality in the midst of a comical episode.
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See you again!
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