After watching Kaiju No Kami's Janperson review, I noticed that the reviewer gave Janperson a 3/5 rating and a higher score for Jiban. Jiban was one show I grew up watching. However, I didn't really find my Jiban rewatch all too entertaining. I watched both Janperson (as a teenager) and Jiban (as a child). Rewatching Janperson doesn't appeal to my inner child either. Janperson is actually MORE VIOLENT than the Robocop TV series! The Metal Hero franchise even created four shows that were actually MORE MATURE than one thinks -- even if they were AIMED AT CHILDREN!
Janperson started with an air of mystery. Just who is Janperson? The show opens with something that may no longer make it in today's Super Sentai shows. Just think how Super Sentai, since 2001, began a Lighter and Softer direction. Not even Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters in 2012 could match the depressing vibes of Mirai Sentai Timeranger. I had a guilty pleasure of liking Timeranger that much for its depressing atmosphere. Meanwhile, I can understand why some Power Rangers fans watching Super Sentai would say otherwise. A Power Rangers fan watching Super Sentai may choose any series that are considerably MUCH LIGHTER!
The Rescue Police Trilogy has colorful toys in mind. However, I grew up being a person who watched the shows while not caring too much about the toys. If the toy I'm looking for ISN'T THERE then I'd rather walk out EMPTY. I always looked for a Kamen Rider BLACK toy, but there were more Kamen Rider BLACK RX toys. I didn't find BLACK RX all too appealing. Yeah, I enjoyed it years later since because Saban's Masked Rider was just too horrible!
Jiban had the standard formula. Jiban was a monster-slaying Robocop with directives from the Biorons. Jiban's origins were that he was rooke detective Naoto Tamura.Naoto dies in the LINE OF DUTY against a Bioron Monster. The show takes some Robocop influence and has some unusually depressing events later on. However, what I'm NOT going to deny is how Jiban was too typical with the MOTW formula. Not so much crime drama. Winspector came the following year with a Knight Rider inspired show. Winspector was a show that can be more mature compared to GoGoFive. GoGoFive could easily lightspeed rescue several events thanks to Megazords. Winspector explores the limits such as the five-minute limit of the Fire suit. Winspector carries a sci-fi rescue theme without a central organization. Solbrain continued the story with a new protagonist (and Fire became rightfully sidelined). Exceedraft ended as a pretty strange show -- a show that tried to imitate The Flash from DC Comics in some way! Oh, that was a few years after Maskman had Oyobu as an evil version of the Flash!
Janperson went with its first episode with the hero not showing up ASAP. We've got some androids almost similar to the Terminators showing up. Suddenly, there's this new guy in town and his name is JANPERSON. Janperson terminates the Guild androids. The child is saved thanks to this mysterious hero. However, the hero's identity isn't revealed until episodes later. Was it planned that Janperson was supposed to have an Alex Murphy-type identity? Was it planned that Tatewaki would've been responsible for Janperson's rise? Thankfully, Toei decided to explore the whole what if Robocop had no human past involved. Janperson's design is blatantly based on Robocop. There are Robocop references left and right. I just wonder why we never saw Janperson shoot a maniac's birdie off though. Okay, I'm being sick in the mind, wishing it was there!
The show decides to go with some "more realistic" criminal elements. The show didn't shy away from creating Tatewaki -- their own version of Clarence Boddicker from the Robocop film. Both Tatewaki and Boddicker are psychologically unstable criminals. Toei probably hated Dick Jones and decided not to create anyone based on him. Instead, Tatewaki literally is the show's Boddicker. Sure, we don't see Tatewaki throw anyone off the car or do the more brutal stuff that Boddicker did. However, Boddicker while maintaining some Bond Villain Stupidity, can be a more realistic villain in some way. It's a deviation from Super Sentai villains, who operate more like Saturday Morning Cartoon villains with more liberties.
The show doesn't fail to mix some good and bad endings either. The three-way conflict between Tatewaki Konzern, Neo-Guild, and Super Science Network can get entertaining. I dare say it's better done than what Boukenger did with its multiple villain factions. Boukenger is a show I watch to enjoy reckless fun rather than actual plot. I still love Boukenger, but I don't think it's all that good like I used to. Janperson offers some more mature conflicts while remaining a show primarily aimed at children. Added to that was Gun Gibson, who was a former Neo-Guild baddie, turned Janperson's ally.
The show remains for children while appealing to older audiences. Every episode tries to set into some degree of realism. Both Janperson and Gun Gibson don't face a MOTW. Instead, they face certain sci-fi crime of the week. The whole show has crime drama x sci-fi written all over it -- to a greater degree than what's allowed with Kamen Rider's serialized storytelling since Kamen Rider Kuuga.
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