is a

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated 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 ...

. A two-season tokusatsu series titled ''

Android Kikaider is a ''tokusatsu'' television series based on the superhero manga '' Kikaider'' by Shotaro Ishinomori. The show was produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions, and was broadcast in Japan on NET (now TV Asahi) from July 8, 1972, to May ...

'' (''

Kikaider 01 (Pronounced as ''Kikaider Zero One''), is a tokusatsu superhero TV series, and a sequel series to '' Android Kikaider''. Produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions, it was broadcast on NET (now TV Asahi) from May 12, 1973 to March 30, 19 ...

'' in season 2) was 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 ...

and

Ishimori Productions is a Japanese production company that develops works created by, and also serves as the literary estate of manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori, headquartered in Yoyogi, Tokyo. Such works include ''009-1 is a Japanese manga series written an ...

in early 1970s. A 18-episode

anime series 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 ...

based on the manga was created by

Radix In a positional numeral system, the radix (radices) or base is the number of unique digits, including the digit zero, used to represent numbers. For example, for the decimal system (the most common system in use today) the radix is ten, becaus ...

in early 2000s. The

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 ...

series from 1972 is especially popular in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. The anime series aired in the United States on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

’s

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

Action in 2003. The complete DVD series is available with English subtitles through JN Productions.

Publication

The manga series was serialized in '' Bessatsu Shōnen Sunday'' (and later ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...

'') from 1972 to 1974, with its chapters collected into 6 ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes. A remake of the original manga called showing more detailed illustrations compared to the simple design of the original manga was released with a total of 7 ''

'' volumes published by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...

. The story was written and illustrated by

Meimu Meimu (or Mei Mu, born 24 September 1963), real name , is a Japanese manga illustrator. While attending classes at Osaka University of Arts, he made his debut as a manga artist. Meimu's talents have been featured in various genres of storytel ...

. The manga was licensed by

CMX Manga CMX was an imprint of DC Comics, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment. It was DC's line of manga translations. CMX was known for its censored release of '' Tenjho Tenge'' and the print version of Fred Gallagher's ''Megatokyo'' web manga ...

for the English version. Another remake created by Meimu is . The manga serves as an alternate sequel to ''Kikaider: Code 02''. The manga was based on Inazuman chapter "The Boy with the Guitar" and mainly follows Inazuman's story.

Volumes

;Original series

Adaptations

Tokusatsu

*''

'' (1972) (TV series and film) *''

'' (1973) (TV series) *''

Mechanical Violator Hakaider is a 1995 Japanese tokusatsu film directed by Keita Amemiya. Based on the television series ''Android Kikaider'', the film features Hakaider in the role of an anti-hero as opposed to his typical portrayal as a villain. Production ''Mechanical ...

'' (1995) (spin-off film) *''

Kamen Rider Gaim is a Japanese television series, a tokusatsu drama that is in the Kamen Rider Series; it is the 15th series during its Heisei run and 24th overall. The series, written by Gen Urobuchi and directed by Ryuta Tasaki it began airing on TV Asahi from ...

'' (2014) (TV series where Kikaider appears in one episode as part of a crossover) *'' Kikaider Reboot'' (2014) (film)

Anime

*'' Android Kikaider: The Animation'' (2000–01) (TV series) *'' Kikaider 01: The Animation'' (2001) (4-part

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

) *'' The Boy Who Carried a Guitar: Kikaider Vs. Inazuman'' (2002) (

special)

Superhero safety

In the past, the ''

Super Giant is a Japanese superhero featured in a successful series of serial-like tokusatsu short feature films produced between 1957 and 1959 by Shintoho (the non-union branch of Toho). He is also known in Japan as , is known in The United States as St ...

'' movie series and shows like '' Moonlight Mask'' (the first TV superhero in Japan) became controversial when younger viewers began imitating the stunts performed. The original ''Android Kikaider'' series was one of the first

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 ...

TV shows to add safety bumpers at the end of each episode, warning viewers not to imitate the stunts performed by its superhero.

References

External links

TV.com show details

Official Site
* {{Weekly Shōnen Sunday - 1970–1979 2000 anime television series debuts 2003 anime OVAs Bandai Entertainment anime titles CMX (comics) titles Robot superheroes Japanese drama television series Mecha anime and manga Shotaro Ishinomori Toei tokusatsu pt:Kikaider