is a Japanese

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, created by

Shotaro Ishinomori , né , was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, writer and director. Known as the "King of Manga" (漫画の帝王 (''Manga no Teiou)'' or 漫画の王様 (''Manga no Ousama)''), he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential mang ...

and produced by

Toei Company , simply known as Toei Company or Toei, is a Japanese entertainment company. Headquartered in Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo, it is involved in film and television production, distribution, video game development, publishing, and ownership of 34 movi ...

. The series premiered on Tuesday October 7, 1975, at 7:30, and ran for 38 episodes in that

timeslot Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or season-long schedule. Modern broadcasters use broadcast automatio ...

on NET, now known as

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

. The series remains obscure outside Japan, but was popular and renowned in its home country. The series was followed by a sequel called ''Chojin Bibyun'' which used rejected designs from the Kamen Rider series as its hero designs.

Production

The program frequently alludes to the famous

Alexandre Dumas, père Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

novel ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

''. Due to the inhuman nature of the main characters, the primary protagonists and antagonists were portrayed exclusively by

stuntmen A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

, with only their voices being portrayed by professional actors. Because of this, an unusual number of well-known

voice actors Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

star in the series, as the voices of the main characters.

Makio Inoue was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is most noted for his two longstanding roles, as the title character in Captain Harlock from 1978 through the 1980s and 1990s, and Goemon Ishikawa XIII of ''Lupin III'' from 1977 to 2011. Career Inou ...

portrays Xavitan.,

Kōji Yada was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator who was represented by Aoni Production. He died in Tokyo due to chronic kidney disease on May 1, 2014. Notable voice roles Anime television series *Star of the Giants (1969) (Jirō Masuda, Tsuneo H ...

plays Evil, and

Jōji Yanami was a Japanese actor, Voice acting in Japan, voice actor and narrator who was affiliated with Aoni Production. Some of his major voice roles included the ''Dragon Ball'' anime series, which he narrated and voiced Dr. Briefs, Kaiō-sama ( King ...

provides Gabra's gravelly intonation.

Plot summary

The program follows the adventures of three mutant

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

-refugees from the "Akuma Clan" ("Devil Clan", in English), a vast empire that exists below the surface of the Earth, and their efforts to stop the Akumas from attacking the surface world. The three warriors are Xavitan, a half-demon swordsman, Evil, a somewhat vain and foppish sharpshooter, and Gabra, a slow- and dim-witted strongman. Together, they make up the superheroic team of the show's title. At the end of the series, the heroes' bodies are destroyed, but their souls survive to be reincarnated in the direct sequel to the show, '' Choujin Bibyun''

Characters

Akumaizer 3

* : A fencer who actually the son of an Akuma male and a human female. As a result, Xavitan leaves the Akuma Clan to defend the humans from them. Other using his Xarado blade, Xavitan can use his Xavitan Nova shoulder cannons. Though posing as Ippei, he later assumes the form of Takeshi Nagumo and works under him. * : Member of the Discipline group sent after Xavitan. Though he captures him, Xavitan saves his life as he never killed anyone. As a result, Evil joins Xavitan. Other than his Elado blade, Evil also uses the Jo Gun and can execute the Evil Finish attack. * : A water demon who was a member of the Discipline group sent after Xavitan. Though he loses against his target, Xavitan spares him and later saves his live. This prompts Gabra to join Xavitan. Armed with the Garado sword and Denball and chain, Gabra can remove his muscle restraints to fight at full power. He can also transform into the ostrich like Gabracho bird.

Totou Times

* Jun * Ippei Shima * Mitsuhiko

Allies

* Darunia * **Basugaru **NaameNaameda **Nobera **Nobera Jr

Akuma Clan

The Akuma Clan are a race of magical cyborgs who live deep within the earth, plot to invade the surface world. * : The Akuma Clan's leader

Episodes

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Songs

;Opening theme * **Lyrics: Shotaro Ishimori **Composition & Arrangement: Chumei Watanabe **Artist:

Ichirô Mizuki , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on theme songs for anime and tokusatsu. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese film, televisio ...

and

Koorogi '73 were a Japanese backing vocals group best known for their contributions to the Super Robot series and Toei's Super Sentai and Kamen Rider Series. The group was disbanded after 1990. The Japanese word means "a cricket Cricket is a Ba ...

;Ending Theme * **Lyrics: Saburo Hatte **Composition & Arrangement: Chumei Watanabe **Artist: Ichirô Mizuki and Koorogi '73

Merchandise

The series was released on Region 2

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in October 2005. In December of the same year, a boxed set of

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...

s of slightly redesigned versions of the three characters was released as part of

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

Super Imaginative Chogokin Super Imaginative Chogokin (aka S.I.C.) is one of Bandai's popular line-up of die-cast metallic figurines (''chogokin'') based on the Kamen Rider franchise and other characters created by Shotaro Ishinomori and his production company. The figure ...

series. Many toys and action figures have been released in connection with the series.

Cultural influence

While ''Akumaizer 3'' has not achieved the fame or international recognition of its ''tokusatsu'' contemporaries like ''

Kamen Rider The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until ''Kamen Rider Decade, Decade'' and except Thailand), is a Japanese superhero fiction, superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by ...

'' (also created by Ishinomori) or ''

Ultraman The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series '' Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fi ...

'', it is not without cultural resonance. In the 2007

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

, '' Lucky Star'', in which the characters sing popular songs

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

-style, over the end credits, the character Konata sings the series' theme song in the second episode. Additionally, the main antagonists of the film '' Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Wizard & Fourze: Movie War Ultimatum'', the Akumaizer, are directly inspired by the heroes of the original series.

References

Footnotes

{{Shotaro Ishinomori 1975 Japanese television series debuts 1976 Japanese television series endings 1970s science fiction television series Shotaro Ishinomori Toei tokusatsu Tokusatsu television series TV Asahi original programming Transforming heroes