Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

  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 depres...

I love watching the reviews of Kaiju No Kami -- even when he gave some shows I like a low score. For instance, his Kosoku Sentai Turboranger highlighted some problems that I failed to look into. Yeah, I could agree that Rehda was indeed a waste of the late Masashi Ishibashi. Kaiju gave some shows I liked a 3/5 stars -- a score he also gave to Tokosou Robo Janperson . The guy has some strange humor that I appreciate -- even when it comes to his unfavorable reviews to shows I enjoyed! Hey, it's a free market! I looked into the review and I was impressed by some things he pointed out. For instance, there were two cops and a reporter for the first few episodes. However, it's unknown why actors Naoto Tada and Junichiro Katagiri (Green Two and Yellow Turbo) left the show so soon. Were they just meant to be well... GUEST STARS? Was it because of real life issues? There were some things that could've been done with police drama. Instead, it seemed like a Real Life Writes Plot. I wa...

It's no surprise that Kidou Keiji Jiban is followed by Tokosou Janperson . Janperson is getting an official DVD release. Is it surprising that the second Robocop-inspired Tokusatsu is getting an official DVD release? I missed this and realized that man -- I'm getting old! Shout! Factory has been handling DVD releases. Meanwhile, this classic Janperson is what I'd call, "That BADLY-NEEDED release!"  What makes a Janperson DVD release exciting? Who can remember the Robocop (1994) TV series that came after it? I'd like to quote Shogo B'Stard's statement on the said series: So, the whole humanity of Murphy being what interests me about the character, I read that the show delves deeper into that, so that basically decided for me. But...the show tries, but just doesn't quite go to the levels that I feel it should, and it doesn't try to say as much as that first movie. For example: an early episode has religious zealots protesting the police because t...

  It's no secret that Janperson has taken a lot of pop culture references. Robocop was just one of them. Yet, Jiban was practically also a Robocop in his own right. Unlike Robocop, Janperson really had no human past even if he's visually designed after Robocop. I did rewatch both Jiban and Janperson . It would be easy to see how some of the weapons in Janperson were obviously taken from Jiban's arsenal. The Jic Cannon and the Spindle Cannon were taken from two of Jiban's weapons - the Daedelus Cannon and the Auto Derringer. Though, the Spindle Cannon was handled by Janperson's later partner, Gun Gibson. After doing an extensive Janperson review (which I didn't feel for Jiban ) - I felt of the nearly unspoken directives similar to Robocop.  These are the following directives that Jiban has been shown on-screen in the battle against the Biorons: Mobile Cop Jiban, under any circumstances, can arrest the criminal without a warrant. Mobile Cop Jiban, in case the enem...

After doing the Janperson review - I felt it was time to revisit a series that was literally Robocop Lite. That's the Robocop TV series that took place in 1994. It was a CANADIAN production where Robocop was given a new timeline. It was licensed from Orion pictures. Yeah, the original Robocop movie was never meant for children. This one tried to appeal to a younger audience in a similar fashion to how Conan the Adventurer pretty much lacked the brutality of Conan the Barbarian . I didn't watch more of this (and don't intend to rewatch it). Now, it's time to revisit a primetime show. Not surprisingly, ABC-5 aired Robocop TV Series before it aired Janperson. The tagline in Filipino was, "If America has a Robocop. Asia too has a Robocop! JANPERSON!" Obviously, Janperson's design was based on Robocop even if one can say that Robot Detective K had a greater amount of influence. Yeah, there were the Robocop TV Series toys. If I'm not wrong - there were also ...

Finally, we have our final arc which focuses on their deadliest enemy Boddicker ahem Tatewaki. Yeah, I love to throw that corny joke due to how Tatewaki behaves a lot like Boddicker. Now, this is where Janperson must know the true face of his final enemy. This also involves Kaoru Saegusa's "betrayal" which has a very weird way of doing things. Heck, Kaoru even creates Black Carol (and probably collaborated with the cops) to finally take down Janperson's deadliest foe ever! Unlike the other previous two gangs - Bill Goldy gets a four-part arc. I guess Bill Goldy had become so popular with the fans that he deserved a four-part arc. For some, Bill Goldy was most likely a cyborg version of Boddicker. It's said Boddicker became more popular than his contractor Dick Jones. Jones was more of the generic Corrupt Corporate Executive. Like Boddicker, Tatewaki is an insane guy who plots to remove all competition. These first two episodes are also a tandem writing of Junichi ...

After the downfall of the Super Science Network - we're taken to another villain organization. This time, Bad Boy Robin Padilla ahem Kazuoki Takahashi goes out with a bang. I feel this finale arc had Robocop 3 into the equation. Robocop 3 did screen in 1993 - sometime after Janperson aired in Japan. I felt the people at Toei Ltd. couldn't resist getting Marie Lazarus into the equation hence Kaoru Saegusa was born. The Neo-Guild robots were practically like Terminator units. At this point, we have George Makabe ending up as the Paul McDaggett of the series midway. I did compare him to Cain but it's too far-fetched. Now, it's time for the final end of Neo-Guild!  Junichi Miyashita gets a hand from Yasuyuki Suzuki for this ending arc. Interestingly, Suzuki also worked with Miyashita with two Solbrain episodes and an episode in Exceedraft . At times, I just wish that the Rescue Police Trilogy was somehow connected to Janperson instead of bringing the show over to B-Fighter ...

This is the finale arc which consists of EIGHT episodes in total. Yes, that's how the finale arc of Janperson is because of the multiple factions. The first one to fall is none other than the Super Science Network. The two episodes are written in tandem by Nobuwo Ogizawa and Takahiko Masuda.  I saw the finale episodes in Tagalog back in ABC-5. Now, I saw them in the original Japanese. This episode has some nightmare fuel, a probable reference to Jiban , and a guest star that Atsuko Takahata worked with back in BLACK RX . Yes, we're going to discuss the downfall of Reiko Ayanokouji. These two episodes make you think of the Well-Intentioned Extremist. Though, it seems rather out-of-place (or not) since most of Reiko's episodes were about her trying to gain power.  Super Science Network begins its final battle against humanity. Reiko decides to take things into her own hands by becoming the Super Beast God(dess). This new form allows Reiko to turn humanity into... FERTILIZERS?...

Janperson pretty much had a long journey - something Metalder wasn't able to do for a reason. Now, it's time to focus on the next few episodes before the fall of the evil organizations.  Episode 37 This is another joint episode. We have Naoyuki Sakai and Nobuwo Oogizawa joining up to write this episode. This episode also adds a robot named Silent (who freakishly looks like a modified Sol-Dozer from Solbrain ) and a female robot named Gelsomina. This is also a Tatewaki Konzern episode. This reveals how Boddicker ahem Tatewaki is willing to set up innocent people just to get the job done. It's plain genius (really) how Tatewaki sets up Silent. Tatewaki is a pretty crafty guy for someone with insanity. Tatewaki uses his Bill Goldy persona to murder Jelsomina AND set Silent up. Silent can't be silent anymore. Silent was a robot to do exploration. Gun Gibson can relate to Silent in many ways. Jelsomina is pretty much Carol's equivalent. Though, the robots were manufactur...

Here are the next two episodes I decided to lump together. These are two episodes that I think really are rather weird. A bit of a review - Jiban also had the Queen Cosmos villain who's an ALIEN. The Bioron in Jiban are a bio-engineering syndicate. Now, for what I'd call a couple of weird episodes. I guess Janperson never could deny Jiban as its predecessor, right? Now, it's time for another weird run. Episode 33 After the introduction of Boddicker ahem Tatewaki's new form as Bill Goldy - we get another Super Science Network episode. Are invaders really COMING FROM SPACE? This is one weird episode written by yours truly, Hirohisa Soda. The Soda era for Super Sentai ended with Fiveman . Yet, it seemed Soda was still willing to share his expertise even after his burnout. This is one pretty weird episode that had me entertained without end.  I guess the BLACK RX jokes can't stop so easily, right? The aliens are actually humans with telekinesis. Professor Horota dresses...

It looks like Janperson was NEVER going to run out of Robocop references right? There was the Robocop 2 movie and appropriately called so. Robocop 2 featured the Robocop-2 model which was rather impractical. This is also the episode where Clarence Boddicker ahem Ryuzaburo Tatewaki decides to take things into his own hands. This also has Junpei Morita guest-starring as a mad scientist Kogoro Tokizane. We also have the return of roboticist Keiichi Narumi.  This is where things get rather intense. Tatewaki knows he can't handle Janperson on his own. One thing worth thinking about in the Robocop movie was where Boddicker couldn't handle Robocop and ratted Dick Jones out. Jones himself is pretty much that generic corrupt villain. I guess Toei Ltd. never cared about him and gave Boddicker the honors. Unlike Boddicker, Tatewaki knows that to take on Janperson, he has to become somebody else. This is where the Bill Goldy project kicks in. It's time to create a biological cyborg or ...

Janperson 29-30 is yet another intense arc. This is written by Mutsumi Nakano who was also responsible for Exceedraft episodes 18, 24, and 37. He was also the writer of Janperson episode 14 to which was about U2 and Dollman. This two-parter is another Neo-Guild episode that is rather intense. Not so many people that George Makabe is human, maybe except for a few who knew about his human past. We have Makabe's quest for power and two children's quest for revenge. They called the machine Jesus-End which is rather ironic given the vengeful character of the two children, Koji and Masashi.  This episode has Makabe wanting more power. The new machine is meant to put an end to all robots. This pretty much puts Janperson and Gun Gibson as the two try to work with each other. This episode features Koji and Masashi as vengeful children who lost their father to Neo-Guild. A robot named Carman is created in their father's place. Makabe decides to manipulate Gun Gibson for some ulterio...

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...

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 Gi...