Ishinomori Week: Jinzô-Ningen Kikaider

After an impromptu break, it's time for another installment of

1972 was kind of a landmark year for Tokusatsu; thanks in large part to Kamen Rider kicking off the "Henshin Boom" plus the literal return of Ultraman in 1971, super heroes and special effects series were all the rage once again. The number of Tokusatsu programs more than doubled from the previous year, and the remainder of the decade would see plenty more one-offs as well as the formation of long-lasting franchises (it's kind of amazing to think about now, but there was a time when Super Sentai basically didn't exist.)

Over the course of the year, viewers could tune in to see the conclusions to the previous year's shows (Return of Ultraman, Mirrorman, Spectreman, and Silver Mask) plus see the rise of a host of new series: Chôjin Barom-1, Henshin Ninja Arashi, Iron King, Rainbowman, Kaiketsu Lion Maru, Emergency Order 10-4 10-10, Thunder Mask, Triple Fighter, Assault! Hyuman, and the always-popular Ultraman Ace. The entire year was covered by the original Kamen Rider of course, and for all the Godzilla fans out there, this was the year of the Gigan.

There was one other show, and that's what we're talking about this time. I think most people have heard of it, if not already seen it:

Jinzô-Ningen Kikaider is arguably Ishinomori's most famous non-Rider, non-Sentai Tokusatsu creation. Certainly it's the most well-known outside Japan, thanks in no small part to the phenomenal story of its success in Hawaii (and, I'm told, success in parts of California.) And even if you haven't seen the live-action show, you've probably at least heard of it by reputation, or are familiar with the much later animated adaptation. And maybe you've even read the comic!

I have to take a moment to address one of the long-standing disputes of this series: the title. I'm not exaggerating when I say I've seen fans get into heated debates over whether the title of the series and name of the main character is Kikaider or Kikaida. As I understand it, when the show aired in Hawaii, it was titled Kikaida, and as a result a lot of the fans who grew up with that version prefer that. When romanizing the name, Japan generally goes with "Kikaider" as the elongated "aa" of キカイダー is usually romanized as an "er" (just like in ライダー, or Rider.) Also, the name is supposedly a combination of Kikai (Machine) and the English word "Rider", so there's that.

So which is right? Heck if I know anymore. Call him Kikaida, call him Kikaider, call him Fred if you want. For purposes of this article I'm going with Kikaider since I feel that was probably the original intention (an earlier version of the character was to have been called "Zero Diver", and probably not "Zero Diva".) Also Toei is pretty insistent on the show's "official" English title being "Roboman Kikaider"! But I don't see any problem with the "Kikaida" spelling and I think there's really no right or wrong way. And of all things to get stuck on, a two-letter difference shouldn't be one of them. And now that I've spent a whole two paragraphs on that, let's get on with this!

Kikaider tells the story of Professor Komyoji, a brilliant scientist, robotics expert, and creator of our titular hero. Forced against his will to work for the nefarious organization Dark, Komyoji secretly constructs Jiro, an android (Jinzô-Ningen) with three prime directives: 1) Protect Komyoji's children 2) protect everything else that is good and true and 3) kick some serious Dark butt. Able to "Change!" into his super-powered self, known as Kikaider, and armed with a smooth ride known as Sidemachine, Jiro takes Komyoji's daughter Mitsuko, busts out of Dark HQ, and the story begins! At least on the TV version.

Ishinomori's comic has the same basic principle behind it, although when it opens Komyoji has yet to actually be properly captured by Dark, but he's practically under their thumb and Jiro/Kikaider serves the same basic function. After that things get a little more complicated, so let's stick with the TV version for the moment.

An accident in the lab during the big breakout results in Komyoji escaping, but getting amnesia in the process. After saving his son Masaru and fighting off Dark's Grey Rhino King and Converse-wearing henchmen (the ever-popular Androidmen), Jiro and co. embark on a nationwide search that is the main story for a large chunk of the series. They get some help from Hattori Hanpei, a bumbling P.I. and descendant of the legendary ninja, who provide's the show's comic relief (and occasional moments of surprise badassery.) As Kikaider, Jiro takes on the colorful new Dark Robot monsters left and right, destroying each in turn with his signature killing move, the Denji-Endo (Electro End), which is so powerful it cracks the TV screen!

However, there's some interesting aspects to Jiro that hinder his seemingly-unstoppable potential. Lacking a complete "conscience circuit", Jiro is not always fully in control of himself, a fact that Professor Gill, Dark's insane leader, often exploits. Gill has a sonic flute that he not only can use to command his legions, but to influence Jiro as well, since he is, in a roundabout way, a Dark robot. Due to having a partially-completed circuit, Jiro can usually resist total submission, but he experiences great agony (and on some occasions, can be made to do things against his will.)

This usually provides an ideal opportunity for Dark's hordes to beat up on him, but there's a catch: should he be able to block out the sound and compose himself long enough to become Kikaider, he's then immune to the tortuous effects of the flute. As an android, Jiro often has a hard time dealing with and understanding humans and their emotions, though he has his moments. The one everybody always talks about it That Time Kikaider Cries, but my favorite comes in episode #34, with his heartfelt regret at being unable to save a Dark Robot's child (long story there.) One of the underlying messages of the live action series is that it's Jiro's faults which in fact make him more human; he comes to accept the way he is, and passes up the chance to have his conscience circuit completed.

Jiro is brought to life by Ban Daisuke, who is one of those Tokusatsu powerhouses like Miyachi Hiroshi with a number of heroic roles under his belt. Armed with his trusty red guitar (which he uses to announce his entrance/sometimes swing like a Louisville Slugger) and clad head-to-toe in primary colors, Jiro exudes a lot of cool just by turning up in a scene. Kikaider is, quite honestly, one of the best costume designs ever at least in terms of concept.

The execution's good too, but I think to really appreciate it you need to check out the close-up cleaned-up "hero" version of the suit with the more leathery-looking body and insanely-detailed head, or the comics/animated renditions. The exposed electronics are a great touch, a reminder of how Kikaider is incomplete, and there's of course the meaning behind the diametric color scheme (in that there's good and evil in us all.) Another early title for the show was even "Jinzô-Ningen RedBlue"!

Kikaider has some great enemies too. Professor Gill is played by Andô Mitsuo, and he's one of the classic big league baddie actors who also turn up in weird small non-baddie roles. Case in point: in Kamen Rider episode 49, he plays a guy who gets eaten alive by a walking anemone-man. As Gill, he is totally bonkers, though his best stuff comes in the 3D Kikaider movie, where he breaks the fourth wall like nobody's business. Dark's robot hordes may look a little less threatening than some other Tokusatsu enemies out there, but they've got it where it counts, and some of them are infamously sadistic. Personally I think that the chunky, organic look is part of their charm, and what really sets them apart from the robotic villains from some later shows.

One early aspect of Dark I find interesting that sadly seems to get dropped by the wayside is that they're as much about scoring some bank as they are about taking over Japan/the world/etc. and destroying Kikaider. The main idea behind the Dark robots is that they're to be sold off to foreign powers for their own agendas, making Dark a sort of high-level arms dealership. Professor Gill may be crazy, but even he knows that you can't run an evil organization without cash.

At first glance, Jinzô-Ningen Kikaider seems like a fairly episodic show. The plot of a basic episode is that amnesia-afflicted Komyoji will turn up somewhere, followed by Jiro & friends, though they will rarely actually cross paths thanks to dramatic irony. Dark turns up as well; they want the Komyoji kids and Komyoji if they can find him. Jiro will drop by, fight, endure the flute-thang at least once per episode, then as Kikaider he'll defeat the enemy. Wash, rinse, repeat.

This isn't to say that the show is boring though; it's anything but. The ongoing story is interesting enough and there are enough variations in the plot-of-the-week to keep things fresh. For instance one week our heroes might encounter a relic of the past, another Komyoji-created robot (or in one case, his "original" elder son!) Another might have them intervening in a larger Dark plan, often by accident. The advantage of working to a formula is that the show lulls you into a sense of complacency, so when it pulls out the rug, you're in for a jolt.

Things really kick into high gear towards the end, but let's backtrack a bit and talk about the comic version and the animation. As mentioned earlier, the comic follows the same basic outline as the live-action series, but things really start to differ once Kikaider is activated. On the original TV show, Mitsuko had also been captured by Dark and knew of Jiro/Kikaider right off the bat. In the comics, she and Masaru are as free as their father, but following an explosion at the lab, he and Jiro disappear and it's not 'til later that our main man cross paths with the Komyoji children (their father pretty much vanishes from the comic for a long stretch, rather than being the constant fixture he was on the show.)

The comic is a good deal darker than the live-action show in some ways. Komyoji's wife was in fact a Dark spy, and really only had the kids as part of her cover story (the animated version dials this up to 11 when she actually appears to reveal this. In the comic, Mitsuko gets a big info-dump courtesy of a recording-bot thingy.) Like all Ishinomori comics, the violence is a bit more intense than even what you'd get on TV, though the TV show ain't no slouch in that department either. It's certainly not afraid to show Jiro committing more heinous acts when under Gill's control. Oh yes. Poor Jiro.

Comics Jiro is a heckuva lot more conflicted than his TV persona, who seemed to basically have his objectives clear even if his conscience circuit wasn't. This Jiro spends chapters wandering around, trying to understand just who he is and why he was brought into this world. He still exists to fight Dark, but he's got to figure that part out along the way. He generally tries to avoid Mitsuko and Masaru for long stretches, fearing the threat Dark (and he) poses to them. Hanpei does show up, but has a considerably smaller role than in the live action series (he does get a sidekick though, and both play an even bigger role in the animation.)

Gill's flute has a nastier effect on him as well; often prompting him to violence against Mitsuko and others. This happened on TV, but Jiro is usually aware enough at the time to fight back, and always horrified at what he's being forced to do (there's an awesome scene later in the series when Jiro, already a wanted man, is being commanded to kill a little girl, and Ban goes the distance to show you how hard Jiro's struggling to resist.) In the comic, he basically gets murderous red eyes and goes into KILL-KILL-KILL mode, making him a little harder to trust. He's not quite Hayate in the Arashi comic, but Jiro's hero street cred takes a beating when done in manga form.

And if you think it sucks to be Jiro in the comics, the anime goes even further, though not totally wacky until the very end, and since that's technically 01 territory I'll hold off on that for the moment. The actual 13-episode original animation more or less sticks to the comic, though removes or changes some stuff. For instance, the Silver Bear storyline. In the comic, Mitsuko gets mad at Jiro over the outcome of that, whereas in the cartoon it was Masaru. In the comic version Jiro then flies off to America to fight some robot dinosaurs, and then there's a lengthily chapter where Doc Komyoji returns. Around that point, in the animation, we get the aforementioned "Mitsuko and Masaru's Mother" episode, which lays out some of the back story that the comic already established much earlier.

To talk briefly about the animation, I liked it okay, though as you'll probably deduce after I cover Kikaider 01, the live action shows are my favorite version of the Kikaider universe. Ishinomori's comic is pretty good, but like his original Henshin Ninja Arashi it's kind of a stretch to call it a superhero story. Kikaider the comic really feels more like a modern fable (well, 70's fable), which shouldn't be surprising given how heavily it's influenced by Pinocchio. His Conscience Circuit is even called "Jimminy!" (or Gemini, depending on who you ask.) There's still robots kicking each other's metal butts, but it's all a bit more straight-faced about it. The live action show is at its heart pure escapism; the comic and its animated adaptation on the other hand want to remind you just how ugly the world can be.

On the original TV series, Jiro is the hero, and the story is about his battle against Dark (and his own shortcomings) and his struggle to reunite his "family". In the comic and cartoon, Jiro's role as the hero is often up for debate, as he's caught between his desire to do good, and the reality of what he is beneath his synthetic skin. Both of those latter versions are a bit more upfront about their messages on technology, humanity, and free will. The comic even lays out Asimov's Laws of Robotics at one point! By contrast the live action version handles it more subtly, always giving top priority to the action and face-value story.

It's around this point that the stories of the original TV show, the comic, and the animation all kinda converge in a way, with the introduction of Kikaider's most famous enemy: Dark's ultimate weapon, Hakaider! The black leather-clad gun-slinging cyborg is arguably as great a creation as his nemesis, and eventually got his own re-imagining in movie form (which is fascinating in its own strange way.) Hakaider has several major factors going for him: 1) He looks cool as hell, with that exposed brain and emotionless-yet-sinister face 2) he's got an interesting moral code, making him not-quite a straight-up bad guy, and 3) he uses a gun so powerful it can shoot holes in practically anything and he cruises around on a motorcycle called White Crow. Rockin'.

On the moral code thing, Hakaider's deal is that he's created to be the ultimate anti-Kikaider, and is obsessed with destroying him (and he lets everyone know it.) However, he's not a bad guy in the traditional sense, as he has no aspirations beyond the destruction of Kikaider and isn't interested in Dark's usual nonsense. In fact, he looks down upon them with disdain, and will interfere with their schemes if it jeopardizes his ability to destroy Kikaider, or he simply disapproves of their actions (for instance, he dislikes cowardly tactics such as hostage-taking.) While the various Kikader versions generally agree on the major points, they do vary in some ways and I think the live action show actually gives him the most fully fleshed-out characterization, especially when it comes to this moral code.

To make matters worse, that brain in Hakaider's noggin is in fact Doctor Komyoji's! This makes things difficult as Kikaider cannot destroy Hakaider without killing any chance for the now-recaptured Doc to return to normal. This also sets up an interesting Freudian situation where Hakaider is both Kikaider's "brother" (Komyoji was forced to help build him) and his "father" (since he's got Komyoji's brain.) Even more crazily is how Hakaider is also a character in his own right, with his own "human" alter-ego of Saburo. In the comic/cartoon, the sunglasses-wearing Saburo has a whistle with which he can control Jiro even more effectively than Gill, making him rob a jewelry story for kicks at one point. On the live-action show, he generally uses this just to announce his presence, Jô Shigeru-style, but he also knifes a monster every now and then.

Having a human brain has its drawbacks though, as Hakaider requires regular blood transfusions to keep him going, and his high level of independence coupled with his own code of honor cause him to clash with Dark more and more. As a result, Professor Gill soon realizes his favorite new toy is turning against him. Once more the live action version, the comic and even the cartoon all take different paths here. In the comic, Hakaider succeeds in literally disarming Kikaider and brings him to Dark HQ, but is betrayed by Gill for not following his orders to the T (he was supposed to have Jiro kill Mitsuko, but oddly, relents.) In the animation Doctor Komyoji's brain overpowers the programming so Hakaider has a face turn, though Gill prepared for this and mass-produced some totally robotic Shocker Hakaiders that overpower the original.

In the show, a Dark Robot succeeds in blowing Kikaider to pieces, and here's where I think things get really cool. Now lacking purpose, Hakaider goes nuts, attacking Gill and demanding to know more about why he was even created if his whole purpose is now scrap metal. It's a pretty neat twist; the guy obsessed with destroying Kikaider now realizing that with the one thing he wanted gone, there's nothing left for him to do. As in the other two versions, Hakaider eventually falls, but Komyoji's brain is returned to his body, Gill and Dark are brought down by Kikaider, and it's a happy ending from there... or is it?

The comic actually pretty much keeps going, even showing us that things ain't over when a critically injured Gill orders his top men to save him by any means necessary. The next chapter features some weird mushroom people, and then we launch right into the Kikaider 01 stuff. The animation has more of a cool-down period for its ending, and the live action show ends fair and square, even if the very next week the sequel would come along. The original series can be watched pretty much as a standalone, though if you've made it through the show, you're probably going to want to see the second half of the story anyway!

Fortunately, doing so is a lot easier than is used to be, as Kikaider (or Kikaida, I should say) is licensed in the US on R1 DVD, fully subtitled, along with the sequel series, plus Inazuman and some other show with a bug guy. Check it out at generationkikaida.com.

As for the comic, of the 6 collected volumes it's traditionally broken up into, the stuff pertaining to the original series ends early on in volume 4, so of course you'll want to keep reading. As for the cartoon, my suggestion is to at least check out the original 13 episodes. The later four episodes... well, I'll talk about those next time as we continue with the story of Kikaider 01.

"Change! Switch On! One! Two! Three!"