is a 1977

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

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 ...

live action

television show 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 platf ...

featuring Japan's own version of American

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 ...

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

. It was the third in the Baron series, following ''Red Baron'' in 1973 and ''Mach Baron'' in 1974.

Background

Serialized television shows starring superheroes started appearing in Japan in 1957, following the success of ''Superman'' in the United States. ''Ganbaron'', translated as "Fight Hard Man", was one such show.

Synopsis

Teru Tendou is a young reporter for the ''Shonen Times''. In times of trouble, he could transform into Ganbaron and save the day. The plot revolved mostly around Teru keeping his identity a secret from his friends. The opening narration was "Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Ganbaron! Faster than a

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

! Stronger than

Kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...

!" Similar to

Tetsujin 28-go , known as simply ''Tetsujin 28'' in international releases, is a 1956 manga written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, who would also create '' Giant Robo''. The series centers on the adventures of a young boy named Shotaro Kaneda, ...

and Giant Robo, Ganbaron could call a giant

robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...

named Daibaron ("big baron"). Unlike those two however, Daibaron was a combining robot similar to

Getter Robo is a Japanese Mecha anime and manga, mecha media franchise created by Ken Ishikawa (manga artist), Ken Ishikawa and Go Nagai. An anime television series produced by Toei Animation was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 4, 1974, to May 8, 197 ...

Golion is a Japanese super mecha anime television series. The animation from ''GoLion'' was edited and trimmed to create the version of the American series '' Voltron: Defender of the Universe'', with new names and dialogue. In 2008, ''GoLion'' was ...

Voltron ''Voltron'' is an American animated television series franchise that features a team of space explorers who pilot a giant super robot known as "Voltron". Produced by Peter Keefe (executive producer) and Ted Koplar through his production comp ...

. The show was sponsored by Bullmark which advertised toys based on the show, such as the "Zincron Deluxe Daibaron".

References

External links

* Superhero television shows 1977 Japanese television series debuts 1977 Japanese television series endings Tokusatsu television series Nippon Television original programming {{Japan-tv-prog-stub