The is a
metaseries
A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...
of
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 ...
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 series produced by
Toei for Japanese television.
The protagonists of the ''Metal Hero Series'' are mainly
space
Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
,
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
and
police
The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
-based characters who are typically either androids, cyborgs, or humans wearing metallic armored suits. Henceforth, most of the Metal Heroes are also referenced as another example of the "Henshin (transforming) Heroes" genre. Usually, the genre revolves around a technological theme where technology, in the right hands, can be used for the greater good.
The shows were produced by
Toei from 1982 through 1999 in conjunction with their other Tokusatsu superhero shows, ''
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 ...
'' and ''
Super Sentai
The is a Japanese superhero team media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi. The shows are of the '' tokusatsu'' genre, featuring live action characters and colorfu ...
''. Initially only 1993 ''
Janperson'' and the series released between 1985 and 1989 (''
Juspion'', ''
Spielban'', ''
Metalder'', ''
Jiraiya'' and ''
Jiban'') were considered part of the ''Metal Hero'' franchise while ''
Gavan'', ''
Sharivan'' and ''
Shaider'' were part of the ''Space Sheriff'' franchise and ''
Winspector'', ''
Solbrain'' and ''Exceedraft'' were part of the ''Rescue Police'' franchise. It was only in late-1990s that Toei Company incorporated the ''Space Sheriff'' and ''Rescue Police'' trilogies as subseries of the ''Metal Hero''. ''
Blue SWAT'', ''
B-Fighter'', ''
B-Fighter Kabuto'', ''
Kabutack'' and ''
Robotack'' were also incorporated into the franchise afterwards.
In addition to
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 ...
, they are also popular in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
and
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
. During the 1990s,
Saban Entertainment
BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it ...
used some of the shows to produce programs similar to their ''
Power Rangers
''Power Rangers'' is an American media franchise created by Haim Saban, Shuki Levy and Shotaro Ishinomori built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. It is currently ow ...
'' series. Some of the ''Metal Hero Series'' even spawned such sequels which followed the continuity of the previous shows, resulting in the genre developing sub-categories based mainly on space, military and police-related characters.
List of ''Metal Hero Series''
Staff
Theatrical releases
* 1984: ''Uchuu Keiji Shaider: The Movie''
* 1984: ''Uchuu Keiji Shaider: Pursuit! The Strange Kidnappers!''
* 1987: ''Choujinki Metalder: The Movie''
* 1989: ''Kidou Keiji Jiban: The Movie Great Explosion at the Monster Factory of Fear''
* 1993: ''Tokusou Robo Janperson''
* 1994: ''Blue SWAT: The Movie''
* 1995: ''Juukou B-Fighter: The Movie''
* 2012: ''
Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie''
* 2012: ''
Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie''
* 2013: ''
Kamen Rider × Super Sentai × Space Sheriff: Super Hero Taisen Z''
V-Cinema releases
* 1998: ''B-Robo Kabutack: The Epic Christmas Battle''
* 1999: ''Tetsuwan Tantei Robotack and Kabutack: The Great Strange Country Adventure''
* 2014: ''Space Sheriff Sharivan: The Next Generation''
* 2014: ''Space Sheriff Shaider: The Next Generation''
* 2017: ''
Space Squad: Gavan vs. Dekaranger''
* 2017: ''
Girls in Trouble: Space Squad Episode Zero''
* 2018: ''
Uchu Sentai Kyuranger vs. Space Squad''
;Televi Magazine Super Video/Special DVD
* '' Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters vs. Beet Buster vs. J ''
* ''Space Sheriff Gavan Special DVD''
International adaptations
United States
During the 1990s,
Saban
Saban or Šaban may refer to:
People
* Saban (name), for people with the name
* Sabans, a small indigenous ethnic group of Sarawak, Malaysia
Other uses
*Saban Capital Group, a private investment firm investing in music and entertainment
*Saban C ...
adapted ''Metal Hero Series'' shows for American audiences; stock footage from ''Metalder'', ''Spielvan'' and ''Shaider'' was used in ''
VR Troopers
''VR Troopers'' is a syndicated live-action superhero-adventure television series produced and distributed by Saban Entertainment from 1994 to 1996. The show tried to profit from the fascination with virtual reality in the mid-1990s as well as t ...
'' (1994–1996), and footage from both ''B-Fighter'' series was later used in ''
Big Bad Beetleborgs
''Big Bad Beetleborgs'' (later ''Beetleborgs Metallix'' for Season 2) is an American live-action superhero television series by Saban Entertainment and was co-produced with Renaissance-Atlantic Films, Toei Company and Bugboy Productions. Two sea ...
''. Both shows ran for two seasons. As of 2018,
Discotek Media
Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
History
Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retr ...
has licensed
Juspion for release marking the first release of the Metal Heroes in the US. Both ''Jiraiya'' and ''Gavan'' were used for the ''
Power Rangers
''Power Rangers'' is an American media franchise created by Haim Saban, Shuki Levy and Shotaro Ishinomori built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. It is currently ow ...
'' franchise with Jiraiya as Sheriff Skyfire in ''
Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel'' and Gavan as Captain Chaku in ''
Power Rangers Beast Morphers
''Power Rangers Beast Morphers'' is the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh seasons of the American television program ''Power Rangers''. The first season premiered on Nickelodeon on March 2, 2019, while the second season premiered on February 22, 2 ...
''.
Philippines
''
Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan'' was greenlighted by Toei as a sequel to ''Shaider'', with characters who are descendants of those in the original series. Toei later halted production, instead authorizing a spin-off series set 20 years after the end of ''Shaider''.
Current status
Other similar heroes, such as ''
Nebula Mask Machine Man'', ''
Kyodai Ken Byclosser'', ''Lady Battle Cop'', and ''
Choukou Senshi Changéríon'', were also produced during the time that the ''Metal Hero Series'' were on the air, but are not included as part of the ''Metal Hero Series'' for various reasons. ''Machine Man'' and ''Byclosser'' were 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 ...
, while Changéríon aired on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.[Super Sentai
The is a Japanese superhero team media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi. The shows are of the '' tokusatsu'' genre, featuring live action characters and colorfu ...]
and
Kamen Rider Series
The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until '' Decade'' and except Thailand), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Ka ...
of shows, allegedly due to the passing of Shotaro Ishinomori. However, many of the traits of the series have been adopted into the newer installations of the Super Sentai and Kamen Rider shows. Today, the present versions of this type of heroes are also merged in with the "Henshin Heroes" description.
Some Metal Heroes have also made cameo appearances. In 2004, a special ''
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger
is a Japanese Tokusatsu television show and the twenty-eighth production of the ''Super Sentai'' Media franchise, metaseries produced by Toei Company, Toei. It aired from February 15, 2004, to February 6, 2005, replacing ''Bakuryū Sentai Abara ...
'' stage show had a special appearance by Gavan, who assisted Hurricane Red from ''
Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger
is a Japanese Tokusatsu television show and Toei's twenty-sixth production of the ''Super Sentai'' metaseries. After Toei filed the trademark for the series on November 22, 2001, it aired from February 17, 2002, to February 9, 2003, replacing ...
'' and Aba Red from ''
Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger'' in battling various Alienizer monsters from ''Deka Ranger''.
In 2005, Toei released some ''Uchuu Keiji'' trilogy merchandise. Later that year, Bandai released a "Souchaku Henshin" figure of Gavan, followed by "Souchaku Henshin" figures of Sharivan and Shaider in early 2006. In May 2006, a
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
video game titled ''
The Space Sheriff Spirits'' was released. The game featured Gavan, Sharivan and Shaider all teaming up to battle past enemies from their series. In early 2008, the trading card company Cardass announced a new, Metal Heroes based expansion to their ''
Rangers Strike'' card game, entitled ''Special Metal Edition'', featuring characters and vehicles from the various ''Metal Hero Series'' for use within the game.
Despite no more television series having been made, the Space Sheriff Series re-emerged in the 2010s with feature films, including new actors portraying successors to Gavan, Sharivan, and Shaider. Some of them are stand alone entries, while others feature crossovers with other Super Sentai and Kamen Rider characters.
Notes
References
{{Metal Hero Series, state=expanded
Toei tokusatsu
Bandai brands