Dengeki Sentai Changeman

is a Japanese television series and the ninth installment of the Super Sentai metaseries. It aired from February 2, 1985, to February 22, 1986, replacing '' Choudenshi Bioman'' and was replaced by '' Choushinsei Flashman'' running for 55 episodes, making it the second longest after '' Himitsu Sentai Goranger''. It is the third Super Sentai series after '' J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai'' and '' Battle Fever J'' where the Yellow Ranger is absent, followed by 2013's ''Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger'', 2019's '' Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger'' and 2024's '' Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger''. The international English title is listed by Toei as simply ''Changeman''.

Plot

After conquering hundreds of planets, the Star Cluster Gozma sets its sights on Earth. To defend it, the Japanese military forms an elite Earth Defense Force. Under Commander Ibuki, the force begins rigorous training.

Meanwhile, as their first act, the Gozma decide to eliminate those who pose the greatest risk of interfering with their invasion: the military. After a brutal day of training, the Earth Defense Force recruits are fed up with Ibuki's cruel ways and leave the training session. Soon afterwards, they are attacked by Gozma troops. Five surviving officers gather together, beaten and exhausted but refusing to retreat from the threat. The Earth trembles, empowering them with the Earth Force, giving them the power of mythological beasts and becoming the Changemen. With the mystical power of the Earth Force and military technology, the Changemen begin their war against Gozma.

Characters

Changeman

The eponymous Changeman are all former members of the various branches of Japanese military who were hand picked by the Earth Defense Force to combat Gozma. As the Changemen, they derive their powers from a mysterious energy called , which gives its users the power to protect Earth from any threat to it.

* : Hiryu was previously an officer from Kōchi Prefecture in the Japanese Air Force before becoming the red-colored . Tsurugi is a passionate leader with a kind heart, often getting so focused on a task that he does not think of the possible danger he puts himself in to complete it. He is a sharpshooter and a skilled motorcycle driver. He was also his high school's best baseball player until an accident forced him to quit the game. As Change Dragon, Hiryu is a master of airborne attacks as well as close-range and long-range attacks, even adding some of his baseball skills into his techniques.
* : Sho was previously a Japanese Army Ranger from Aomori Prefecture before becoming the black-colored . He's a narcissistic womanizer, often combing his hair before entering battle, though it's an exterior for his kind personality.
* : Yuma was previously a Branch Officer in the Japanese Army before becoming the blue-colored . He serves as the group's tech member with the ability to tap into superhuman strength. As the youngest, he tends not to respect authority much and often associates himself with the children that the Changemen help. Yuma also has a dream to open up a tonkatsu shop after getting enough money to start it up.
* : Sayaka was previously a task force officer in the Japanese Army before becoming the white-colored . She is the team's strategist, and sometimes focuses too much on the etiquette of her fellow Changemen. However, Sayaka has a loving and caring aspect of her seen in animals and her feelings for Hiryu.
* : Mai was previously a spy for the Japanese Army before becoming the pink-colored . Like Hiryu, she is also skilled at motorcycle driving. Though appearing to be a tomboy who is rough around the edges, Mai is a caring figure and good friends with Sayaka despite their differences.

Allies

* : The head of the Blitzkrieg Squadron who seems cruel at first but has a caring side too. He is eventually revealed to be Yui Ibuki of Planet Heath which was destroyed by Gozma.
* : A group of people from various military organization like the Changemen, who function as the team's support. They help out the Changemen in certain situations.
** Captain Inokuma: A Blitzkrieg Squadron mechanic who works on the Auto Changers

Aliens

The Changemen meet other aliens who end up on Earth because of Gozma:

* : A young girl from the planet Rigel with superhuman abilities. She is used in tipping the scales for Gozma for when Rigelian girls reach an age they release a massive energy which would give power to whoever is caught in its path. Though aged by 20 years old thanks to Giluke's scheme to become stronger, Nana gains telepathic abilities along with heighten physical abilities.
* : An alien from
* An alien from , also a Space Beast Warrior.
* : A boy who has the blood of .
* : Gaata's wife and son. Their role in the plot grows towards the end of the series because Waraji is able to play in his ocarina a tune which induces homesickness on space creatures, and is eventually used against Gozma members themselves, causing them (even a reluctant Gaata) to target the boy, who angrily breaks the ocarina and storms off, declaring he has no father. Zoorii, in the meantime, becomes pregnant with her and Gaata's daughter, forcing him to abandon Gozma for good.

Great Star League Gozma

The is an interstellar criminal shogunate that devastates planets and uses the survivors as warriors to invade other planets. The group is based on the battleship .

* : Bazeu is the leader of Gozma who only appears to his followers as a giant blue limbless torso, which is an illusion created by his true form: the living planet who absorbs other worlds throughout its interstellar conquest of the universe. Though he spares some planets, Bazeu uses them as a means to intimidate his minions with their destruction as both a drafting method and to ensure no failure. He manages to approach Earth undetected by hiding himself into the tail of Halley's Comet, but is ultimately destroyed by the Changemen after they ride the Change Robo deep onto his body and destroy its core.
* : Originally from , Girook is the invasion leader and secretly plots on overthrowing Bazeu, his first attempt ending in failure. He uses a sword made for the strongest warrior from his homeworld. After being killed, he comes back in a ghost form called after fusing with the body of Space Beast Warrior Zados in the Space Beast Graveyard and then force grows Nana to be endowed with the backlash of her energies to become before becoming the Space Beast Warrior . He is finally defeated by the Changemen.
* : Booba is a former space pirate who has been conscripted to be one of the lieutenants of Giluke. Wielding the Buldobas Sickle, Booba is the rival of Change Dragon. Eventually, learning of the brain washing he went through after seeing his former love, Booba helps free Sheema from the control of Gozma's before dying in a duel against Change Dragon.
* : Sheema is the former princess of , whose people are able to fight with psychic powers called . When her planet was conquered, she was taken in by a Space Beast Warrior named Uba and raised on its milk, turning her into a cold Gorgon-themed Space Beast Warrior with a deep male voice and no memories of her past. Thanks to Booba, she manages to return to her former self and joins forces with the Changemen.
* : Ahames is the former queen of who joined with Giluke in his attempt to overthrow Bazeu. After the attempt failed, Ahames's whereabouts were unknown until she arrives to Earth. After Giluke is killed the first time, she takes over as the leader of Gozma's forces until his return. With all her minions defeated or defected, she was transformed into a Space Beast Warrior by Super Giluke, and used her newfound powers to pinpoint the secret base of the Changemen. Regaining her original form, but not her sanity, she destroys the base completely, killing herself in the process.
* : Gator the navigator of the Gozmard, originally from the , is a reptilian humanoid who reluctantly joins Gozma for the safety of his family. Also for the sake of his family, he eventually defects, siding with the Changemen through the rest of the series.
* : A one-eyed creature from the planet of the same name who is used by Gozma to enlarge its minions. Left alone into a derelict Gozmard, he is rescued by the Changemen and aids them in the final battle against Bazeu.
* : Jangeran is the familiar of Ahames. It is a two-headed dragon/bird whose left head fires a cone of ice while its right unleashes a torrent of flame. When Bazeu grows impatient with Ahames' lack of results against the Changemen, he splits Jangeran into two separate beings called and .
* : Gozma's foot soldiers, these blue-skinned zombie-like aliens are feral creatures that use their talons as weapons. If wounded enough, a Hidler would bleed steam before evaporating within seconds.

Space Beast Warriors

The are inhuman alien warriors that work for Great Star League Gozma. Gyodai would be dispatched to enlarge the Space Beast Warriors in order to fight Change Robo. In their normal size, they can speak. In giant size, all they do is roar.

Episodes

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Films

* Changeman theatrical short
* ''Changeman Shuttle Base! The Critical Moment!''

Cast

* Hiryu Tsurugi: Haruki Hamada
* Sho Hayate: Kazuoki Takahashi
* Yuma Ozora: Shiro Izumi
* Sayaka Nagisa, Fake Sayaka (episode 22) and Icarus' mother (Episode 41): Hiroko Nishimoto
* Mai Tsubasa: Mai Oishi
* Commander Yui Ibuki: Jun Fujimaki
* Officer Suzuki: Genshu Suzuki
* Officer Shoji: Hirokazu Shoji
* Officer Watanabe: Minoru Watanabe
* Officer Nomoto: Nahoko Nomoto
* Officer Kikuchi: Kaori Kikuchi
* Waraji: Kazuhiko Ohara
* Nana: Tokie Shibata
* General Giluke: Shohei Yamamoto
* Queen Ahames; Voice of Maze: Fukumi Kuroda
* Star King Bazeu: Kazuto Kuwabara
* Adjutant Booba: Yoshinori Okamoto
* Adjutant Sheema: Kana Fujieda

Voice actors

* Star King Bazeu: Seizō Katō
* Adjutant Sheema (Male voice): Michiro Iida
* Navigator Gator: Hiroshi Masuoka
* Gyodai: Takeshi Watabe
* Zoorii: Makoto Kōsaka
* Narration: Nobuo Tanaka

Crew

* Directors: Minoru Yamada, Takao Nagaishi, Nagafumi Hori
* Writers: Hirohisa Soda, Kunio Fujii, Kyoko Sagiyama
* Action Directors: Junji Yamaoka, Ryoujirou Nishimoto

Songs

The opening theme is and the closing theme is . Both have lyrics by , music by , arrangements by and were sung by Kage.

Broadcast and home video

* In its home country of Japan, the series aired in TV Asahi from February 2, 1985 to February 22, 1986, airing every Saturday at 6.00 p.m. Both of the Changeman films were released on VHS. ''Dengeki Sentai Changeman: The Movie'' and ''Dengeki Sentai Changeman: Shuttle Base! The Critical Moment!'' as well as on DVD for "Super Sentai THE MOVIE BOX" on July 21, 2003, later released on "Super Sentai The MOVIE VOL.3" on July 21, 2004, and a Blu-Ray release on June 21, 2011 as part of the "Super Sentai THE MOVIE Blu-Ray BOX 1976-1995." In 2009 from June 21 till October 21, the full series was released on home video for the first time with five DVD volumes and each volume contains 11 episodes in a 2-disc set. Seven episodes (being 1, 33, 43, 51-53 and 55) are included in the Super Sentai Ichimi Blu-ray 1982-1986" released on April 14, 2021 for a Blu-Ray release.
* In Thailand, the series was aired with a Thai dub in 1987 on Channel 7, distributed and licensed by TIGA Company, Ltd. There were also two Thai dubs made for home video over the years, one released by Square Video and another later on by Focus, bringing the total of three Thai dubs.
* The series was broadcast in Brazil under the title ''Esquadrão Relâmpago Changeman'' (Lightning Squadron Changeman) and was readily available on VHS throughout Mid-1987 with all 55 episodes dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese (produced between 1986-1987) and available as it was sold throughout several volumes, licensed by Everest Video Do Brasil when Toshihiko Egawara got the official rights from Toei to bring it over. The series then got extremely popular when it first aired on Rede Manchete on February 22, 1988 when it aired on prime time and became a huge hit. Changeman is the first Super Sentai series to air in the region and has enjoyed unprecedented success along with another Toei tokusatsu series MegaBeast Investigator Juspion (which aired as O Fantástico Jaspion) as that aired on the exact same day on the same channel, causing them to air more tokusatsu shows. Years later, it continued re-runs on other channels as well. On July 23, 2009, it even started receiving a full DVD release in two volumes by Focus Filmes with all episodes included with both the original Japanese audio with Brazilian Portuguese subtitles and also the Brazilian Portuguese dub included. Sato Company acquired the license to the series in 2015, until it expired on June of 2021, due to Hasbro owning and controlling broader international rights, due to the connection of Power Rangers which adapts from Toei's Super Sentai, outside of Japan and the rest of Asia. This even includes the Sentai entries that were never adapted.
* In South Korea, the series was imported and dubbed in Korean in 1993 exclusively for home video by Daeyoung Panda and released under the same title as the original Japanese title (전격전대 체인지맨, ''Jeongyeogjeondae Cheinjimaen''). This marks the first and only time that a Korean dubbed Sentai kept the title as is. As for the Korean dub of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, it was officially renamed as ''Power Rangers Changeman.'' (파워레인저 체인지맨)

References

External links

*

{{Super Sentai

Super Sentai
TV Asahi original programming
1980s Japanese television series
1985 Japanese television series debuts
1986 Japanese television series endings
Fictional soldiers
Works about legendary creatures
Television about alien invasions
Military television series