Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

It's no secret that Winspector is about to turn 30 years old in the same year with Fiveman. Strangely, Lightspeed Rescue will go 20 too. I decided to revisit a highly ambitious show when the Kamen Rider franchise had no new series except the 1992-1994 movie series. So, let's get started with a bit of the rather unique series itself. It makes the heroes a little less powerful. While Super Sentai and Kamen Rider show the heroes aren't invincible - the vulnerability of the heroes in Winspector makes them a little more relatable, right? It's no secret that before this show - there was the Robocop-inspired Jiban. This show was going to take a lot of stuff together to create a rather unique Tokusatsu. Does it feel like the typical Metal Hero shows before it? No monster to defeat, not-so-fancy mecha, and it's more of the case-of-the-week scenario. I'd probably wish Toei referred to it as the Rescue Hero series rather than the Metal Hero series. They operated very di...

I thought about reviewing the now inactive and maybe never-to-return Metal Hero series. Kamen Rider's Showa era ended in 1989 with what some called the Kamen Rider BLACK RX meltdown (but I still have a soft spot for it). Without Kamen Rider in the workload -- Toei could have had more time to devote itself to developing Metal Hero until its inevitable demise when Robotack ended. 1990 was a turning point of a year since Super Sentai was having some problems until Jetman saved it in 1991. That year was also the year of Winspector when Noboru Sugimura shifted from the first Robocop inspired series Jiban. Sugimura was now tasked with doing something more "mature" with Winspector and Solbrain. Superheroes aren't so powerful, especially they could only use their special suits for a time limit. It was also sort of trying to do a Japanese version of Automan and Knight Rider except it was ironically for children. Winspector was different was that there was no main villain ...

Maybe one reason why I tend to prefer mostly old school Tokusatsu from the 80s to 90s is most of them tend to have the more "mature" feel. Okay, it doesn't mean I'm not enjoying new school Kamen Rider (which I prefer over old school Kamen Rider) and Ucchuu Sentai Kyuranger. I'd like to talk about Metal Hero shows that didn't look too much like a kiddie show. Tokkei Winspector The very first of the Rescue Police Trilogy. The series itself has no real main villain. It's almost like a strange blend of American shows Automan and Knight Rider. Although the setting is pretty much science fiction but it has a LOT of lessons that seem to be more fit for grown ups than children. There's a lot of real gun action, some blood and criminal cases aside from the fantasy-based environment. Think of it as Tokusatsu version of Rescue 911. Tokkyu Shirei Solbrain Winspector ended after 51 episodes with the first villain they faced as the final villain. Now comes...

Sailor Otaku (or alternatively called as Weeaboo Shogun for some reason) has been releasing Solbrain subs and it's been 29 subs. I find myself on a break from watching Kamen Rider Super-1 because Kamen Rider EX-AID is taking over my mind as well as I'm not truly a fan of the Showa era of Kamen Rider. I guess it's always ironic how I usually prefer older Super Sentai (but not before the Soda era) and I enjoy most of the new school Kamen Rider. But I'd like to talk about Solbrain as Winspector's successor. Solbrain presents a lot of stuff that can't be found in Dekaranger or GogoFive. Dekaranger may be a popular series but lacks the depth found in Winspector or Solbrain (I'm yet to see Exceedraft). Not all the criminals just do crime for the sake of crime. It sought to expand on why some people do what they do and that the problem is in modern day society. One good example is how episode 26 featured a cold-hearted police officer who only sought to get rid ...

Tokusatsu has had a series of mentors now and then. I have my extreme favoritism for Commander Aya Odagiri from Jetman, Commander Naoyuki Miura from Ohranger, Miki Masaki in Gekiranger, Sanjoru Sugata from Maskman. There are also others like Commander Stanton from Lost Galaxy and Captain Mitchel from Lightspeed Rescue who are also worth commending. But I really have one Tokusatsu mentor that I tend to have my current attention on. It's the one and only Captain Shunsuke Masaki. It's not just about Hiroshi Miyauchi the true legend that kicks Jason David Frank's ass in several levels. It's all about how he's been written and how he's that commander you can't mess with. He's been involved with two teams namely Winspector and Solbrain to help combat sophisticated crime. At the same time, he's the kind of chief who looks at the root case to why these sophisticated crimes happen. That's been the theme of Winspector and Solbrain under his watch.

It's no secret that Toei and Saban both worked together to create Power Rangers. Localizing for an American audience is no easy task. Don't believe me? Do a side by side comparison between Timeranger and Power Rangers Time Force. Compare the seriousness of Power Rangers Time Force with the much more serious Kamen Rider Faiz when it comes to the issue of racism. After watching Winspector (and currently Solbrain), it's a much bigger challenge to localize them than GoGoFive. GoGoFive isn't that serious compared to the Rescue Police. After watching Metalder and some bits of Spielban, I can't watch VR Troopers the same way anymore. Metalder had a real plot going on that VR Troopers can't beat. If Toei and Saban decided to localize Rescue Police, it could come out pretty mediocre. Anybody can argue that there are good Power Rangers seasons, sometimes Power Rangers can do some things better (but not most of the time IMO) but I usually stick to the Japanese. It's...

I admit that while eye candy doesn't stop me (but it does DELAY me from ever bashing a bad show) but it can help me overrate a good show. I couldn't forget how I overpraised Shinkenger over Mako or just any good Tokusatsu series with a hot girl in it. Stupid huh? The same happened during Winspector and I do have an immature reason to say it's better than GoGoFive or any rescue related show. She's really hot and she's one cool action lady so why didn't they make her another suit? Not that she's useless without it. She's proven herself to be able to fight without the need of enhancements and she's a necessary force in Winspector. I think Reiko in Solbrain's more utilized since she goes out and helps her partner Daiki. Ryoma's just confined with two robots while Junko knows better. Come on, why didn't they give Junko a power suit? She does look qualified to wear that suit. I think she could endure wearing that kind of suit. I guess this o...

After I refuse to really give too much of a big comparison between GoGoFive and Lightspeed Rescue since one are a group of siblings while the other isn't (except for Grandienne and Bansheera because I felt that Grandienne's plot didn't make it due to executive meddling), I just thought what if this happened at Morphicon 2016? Let Sean CW Johnson dress up as Ryoma Kagawa and let Mike Chaturantabut dress up as the main heroes from Winspector and Solbrain. I guess that would be a better treat than them wearing the Lightspeed Rescue jackets. Neither GoGoFive jackets nor Lightspeed Rescue jackets really look much better than the other. I think trying other Tokusatsu hero costumes would be better. While Super Sentai did birth Power Rangers but there's still other shows that may be better (for some anyway) than certain seasons of Super Sentai and Power Rangers. That event wouldn't feel complete without Hiroshi Miyauchi going to Power Morphicon. He's the man. He ...

The ending of Winspector was sort of everybody's graduation as they move to Paris. In the end, they battled the very first villain they encountered and saved everyone. In the end, Captain Shunsuke Masaki though he doesn't coddle crime, he started to think that some criminals may still be redeemable and not delete approved. So in a matter of two years (script-wise), Solbrain is established as a new organization. Newer, bigger and better equipment. Solbrain tries to help some people out of their wrong choices since some of the criminals they have dealt with are petty criminals. The new organization was created to replace the Winspector organization. The name is definitely all about saving the soul and the brain of people and not just the life. How will Solbrain be for me? I can't tell yet. I admit that I really find Winspector to be a fun show. It's too early for me to critique Solbrain based on two episodes. Will I end up saying that Solbrain is better than Winspect...

From Winspector Episode 15 which has shades of "The Blob", the blob-like creatures came out as a result of reckless development. I felt like these words by Captain Shunsuke Masaki should ring a bell to everyone.  Scientific development is good and necessary. But there's one thing that Captain Masaki wants to warn us about... The problem is when we think "change is necessarily good". No, it's not always good. While I'm for innovation but just accepting it for the sake of it or to believe change equals progress is an unhealthy view. Some technology are environmentally friendly but others exploit the environment. Then nature ends up fighting back in some way. I'm afraid most people just don't take it to heart these days. The whole episode warns us that while technology can be good but if left unchecked, it can be terrible. A certain group of people need to keep that in mind and that's why I'm selective with change. I must accep...

I'll admit the whole category is pretty much apples and oranges. So why am I thinking Winspector's better than GoGoFive, Lightspeed Rescue and Dekaranger? Well, I can't give a real solid reason. But here's one thing that Metal Heroes had as an "advantage" over Super Sentai: a certain level of maturity that the other doesn't have. Now I know there's the later end with Robotack and Kabutack which spelled the end of the franchise, but I thought Metal Hero tends to appeal to older audiences and I guess, it's my age. Or two, GoGoFive takes place after the Carranger era... basically the era where Super Sentai tries to tone things down and SUCCEEDED. Metal Hero tried to do the same but ended up in failure. Winspector's a show that's it's own. So okay fans may go ahead and think GoGoFive, Lightspeed Rescue, Dekaranger and Power Rangers SPD have their merits. But for Winspector, I really think the tone of the show may fit well for my age. I a...

While I'm waiting for GoGoFive to end, I thought of watching one thing I thought was pretty weird. What? No main villain for a Tokusatsu series? While I've watched Flashpoint or other police series where there's NO central villain, Winspector does the same and its successors Solbrain and Exceedraft. They're not your average transforming heroes but it's a sci-fi crime show. What's up with the first seven episodes I've seen? It's sort of a hypothetical setting of technology, what if you had a super suit for rescuing and you were accompanied by two robot companions to help you do your job. Then you've got a lot of day to day crimes that are "upgraded" because of the show's non-existent technology. Then you've got guests from other Tokusatsu shows who are appearing as either victims or criminals of the week. Plus, you've got good old Hiroshi Miyauchi as Commander Masaki. Until then, I'm still trying to finish this otherwise...