is a Japanese

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, war, fantasy, or horror media featuring such technology but is someti ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

, created by

Shotaro Ishinomori was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and , creating several immensely popular long-running series such as '' Cyborg 009,'' the ''Super Sentai'' series (later adapted into the ''Power Rangers'' series), a ...

and produced by

Toei Company () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by ...

. 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 automation ...

on NET, now known as

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Com ...

. 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 Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer. ...

novel ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

''. 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 performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

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

Makio Inoue Makio may refer to: * Makio, grind used in Aggressive Inline Skating * ''MakiO'', the yearbook of Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus ...

portrays Xavitan.,

Kōji Yada was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator who was represented by Aoni Production. Kōji Yada was also his birth name, but was written with different kanji . He died in Tokyo due to chronic kidney disease on May 1, 2014. Notable voice roles ...

plays Evil, and

Jōji Yanami was a Japanese actor, 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 Kai or North Kaio), and ...

provides Gabra's gravelly intonation.

Plot summary

The program follows the adventures of three mutant superhero-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 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 bat ...

;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 kin ...

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 or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed ...

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, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine ...

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 figur ...

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 Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Kamen Rider'' media gener ...

'' (also created by Ishinomori) or ''

Ultraman ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with '' Ultra Q'' and then '' Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is ...

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

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

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

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music 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