In case you haven't been keeping up on Twitter, I've been in rough shape physically the past few days, so Ishinomori "Week" is getting a bit of an extension. Hopefully I'll finish up by this weekend and get back to the regular All-Rider diet next week. And a big thanks to all you leaving comments and questions, I'll try to get to them all as soon as I can!
Okay, there is another reason this one's taken me so long, and that's because when I first came up with the idea to cover some of the other Ishinomori Tokusatsu heroes, the two I most wanted to talk about were Arashi, and this one. It's one that I have some of the strongest feelings on, so there's a lot I have to say here. It's going to be a bit longer than usual and cover more ground, so there's spoilers a'plenty, so please be aware.
In this installment, we're looking at the follow-up to 1972's Jinzô-Ningen Kikaider...
Kikaider 01! Like its predecessor, 01 exists in comic, live action TV series and animated (this time direct-to-video) forms, and all three are unique. The animation is closer to the comic, but it deviates more than the first Kikaider animation did, and the live action series is practically a whole 'nother animal despite a similar starting point. I'm going to do things a little differently for this one and talk about the comic and animated versions before diving into the more famous Tokusatsu incarnation, though as usual the comic ran alongside the show, and keep in mind that the animation didn't come along until years later, post-Ishinomori.
Technically, Kikaider 01 doesn't have his own self-titled Ishinomori comic, but rather appears in the last few chapters of his then still-ongoing Jinzô-Ningen Kikaider comic. There are serialized 01 comics, but done by different artists that tended to stick closer to the simultaneous television series story while using Ishinomori's style as a base. I mentioned Henshin Ninja Arashi having one of these, as did the first Kikaider. Truth be told, almost every Tokusatsu creation Ishinomori had a hand in has multiple comic series, and many of the shows have comics by other artists, but not Ishinomori himself (this is true of a number of the Riders.) So what's the deal with that?
With Ishinomori being involved directly in the production of the shows, not to mention having his own non-Tokusatsu manga to create, it often fell to understudies and others to pick up the slack and create the serialized manga for the weekly/monthly children's magazines. Guys such as Yamada Goro, Tsuchiyama Yoshiki, and the always-popular Sugaya Mitsuru took on the task of handling those, though they often attempted to follow both Ishinomori's designs and the TV show's universe, which sometimes makes for some odd comics (i.e. Sugaya's version of Tachibana Tôbei looks like the bald, mustached butler guy from the Ishinomori comic, rather than the TV version. His character is essentially TV Tachibana though!) Actually, even with the primary Ishinomori Jinzô-Ningen Kikaider comic, he reportedly had a few understudies helping to complete it. Given how long it runs, I can imagine he needed the help.
His top three comrades join him as the bowgun-toting Red Hakaider, the whip-wielding Blue Hakaider, and the staff-slinging Silver Hakaider, together forming the aptly-named Four Hakaiders. After some monkey business with some mushroom guys and a Kikaider-vs.-Hakaiders rumble, the actual main story of the 01 portion of the comic gets rolling when Jiro finds himself drawn to a temple, where hidden within a statue of Buddha is his "older brother"— Ichiro, alias Kikaider 01.
Ichiro lacks even an incomplete conscience circuit, and is thus more reckless and impulsive than his 'bro. In a weird way he's actually more emotional than the level-headed Jiro, being kind of a smartass. Unlike his brother, he's also solar-powered and requires some time in the sun to recharge his batteries. Ichiro has been in the care of Fuuten, a disciple of Komyoji, and has been stored away until needed... and he's needed pretty quickly. The Four Hakaiders are in pursuit of a woman named Rieko and boy named Akira, who is in fact the son of Professor Gill!
Akira has on his body the schematics for a massive nigh-indestructible robot, the "Giant Devil" Armageddon. The Kikaider bros. join forces to protect Akira from the Hakaiders, but the brainy foursome aren't the only ones aiming to build themselves a giant weapon 'o doom. The mysterious organization Shadow also enters the fray, and they've got some seriously freaky hardware at their disposal. Giant Robot Crabs, Giant Robot Stingrays, Giant Robot Octopi... you get the idea.
The Hakaiders have a little trick of their own: they can combine to form Gattaider, a mega-monstrosity who gets his butt whupped by Shadow's Giant Robot Clam. Don't worry though, they get a rematch with Kikaider and 01, but are utterly destroyed and there's only enough spare parts left to ensure that Gill Hakaider survives. Shadow then takes center stage and its top guns, the cycloptic Shadow Knight and conjoined-robots Zadam engage our heroes as the story continues. Actually, if you've seen the live action show or the animation, most of this should sound more-or-less familiar, with a few noticeable differences, but I'll get to those later.
Where things in the comic really start to go down their own path is that we take some time out to catch up with the Komyoji's, who make tracks given how dangerous things are getting. Mitsuko (who has always had a "thing" for Jiro) bids a tearful farewell, and Komyoji is apparently good as new even after having his brain taken out, put into a killer cyborg, and then re-inserted all in the space of a few days. There's a cool scene where Jiro and Ichiro have a melancholy jam on their instruments (Ichiro plays the trumpet) to send off their creator. Unlike the TV versions, who use their instruments as a way to herald their arrival, the comic guys play them whenever they're expressing "sadness" or the android equivalent thereof.
Hakaider decides that for the moment, the Kikaider Bros. are the lesser of his problems and forms an uneasy alliance with them, bringing with him Rumi, Professor Gill's daughter and the other half of the plans that Shadow needs to complete that giant robot (an earlier incomplete version ended up going nuclear.) It's kind of interesting to see the even-eviler Gill Hakaider on the side of good, though if you think it's going to last I got a bridge to sell you.
The Kikaiders need all the help they can get. Rieko, who turns out to be an unknowing android in disguise (created by Gill to look after his children) is killed during a battle with another Giant Shadow Thing. On top of that, our heroes encounter another femmebot— Mieko, alias Bijinder, a Shadow agent who shows up to stir up some trouble. She convinces Hakaider to join in a coup against Shadow, fights with Ichiro (and drives him a bit loopy) and does a lot of talking with Rei about what it means to be a robot and all that.
Jiro deduces that she's not all that bad and she ends up turning against Shadow for real following an encounter with her "brother", Waruder. Unlike the others, Waruder doesn't really have an alternate mode, he's just a human-looking guy with a laser gun hand and a flying rock ship (long story there.) While the three Kikaiders and Bijinder deal with that situation, Hakaider grabs the kiddies and drives off...
Things all come to a head when the robotic foursome discover the completed Armageddon robot, but after being captured, the terrible truth comes out: it's not Shadow's making, but Hakaider's! Well, I guess you kind of saw that coming, but what he does next is where the fun stops.
Let's backtrack a minute though and talk about the animation. It's essentially an abridged version of the comic, though changes a couple big things. There's no Waruder, and Hakaider is the leader of Shadow from the get-go; they're more like Dark 2.0 than a separate entity. Shadow Knight gets a bigger role, and Zadam a smaller one. There's less gigantic robotic sea life aside from in the first episode, where Jiro's already got Rieko and Akira with him (and in the anime, Gill only has the one son, with no daughter.) Gattaider generally comes off looking a little more impressive since we didn't see him job to a Giant Robot Clam before the fight with the Kikaider bros, but he goes down the same way and the other 3 Hakaiders sacrifice what's left of them so that regular old black Hakaider may live.
OO shows up completed by Fuuten to defeat Zadam, and Bijinder's got a whole new back story where she's the "sister" robot to Rieko, who's death is considerably darker than even the comic (Hakaider does the deed, and the whole "pretending to be on Kikaider's side" thing never happens. He's a baddie start to finish.) Bijinder's turn to good is influenced by that, and a bit more clear-cut than in the comic.
In the cartoon big H is the boss of Shadow, so Shadow Knight & co. are all chillin' like villains as the Armageddon "God" starts trashing the city. On the side, it's at this point that I think they used up most of the budget for the animation, because the last episode infamously cuts a few corners, with static fighter jets and Hakaider inexplicably morphing into some weird-looking muppet as things progress. As I understand it, the DVD box version has some improved, redone animation, but I haven't seen it myself to confirm.
Jiro manages to get free by lying to Bijinder that he's turned to the
The animation adds in a weird bit where Bijinder gets possessed by the "ghost" of Rieko or something, and gets shot by Shadow Knight (who gets shot by Hakaider trying to stop him.) Already horrified that he might have killed his son, Hakaider then has to deal with crazy red-eyes Jiro, who destroys 01 and OO, then kills Hakaider in an especially nasty way: he squishes his head until his brain pops, all the while tearfully exclaiming how he has now and truly become human by committing such terrible deeds. From there are on things are pretty much the same as the comic, except Akira (who had been taken by Bijinder) is found by a little girl, and Fuuten watches as Jiro walks off alone.
And in case you ask, yes, Bijinder's decimated body is also seen reading Pinocchio, because hey, wouldn't you?
The animated version really goes for the emotional gut punch. I remember watching it open-mouthed, not believing what I was seeing (and I saw it before finishing either of the other versions.) It's kind of hard to say exactly how I feel about it. It's unpleasant, like falling headfirst into a muddy river, but at the same time you kind of have to admire how far they're willing to go. The animation gets pretty good at the end; I guess the budget went there. What puts it over the top for me is the music, which is beautiful, but relentless in trying to make you feeeeeeeeeeel something. I guess it was successful in getting me to pick up the soundtrack when I saw it cheap at Mandarake.
The comic is tragic, but it's a lot more understated, and Gill/Hakaider's end is brutally quick. In the anime, it goes on so long you practically start to feel sorry for the guy as he's as shocked as the audience at what's going on! This is what I mean about comic/animation Kikaider being more of a fable. It's not a "Yay! The hero has won!" kind of ending. It's a dark, tragic, twisted sort of end where you just don't know how to feel, with the protagonist having to do some terrible things and being punished with the eternal torment (well, not "eternal" but that's another story.) The final shot in both versions has Jiro walking off alone, with the narration asking that even though Pinocchio became a real boy, did he truly find happiness? And then the animation throws in one more close-up of Jiro crying. It sucks to be Jiro!
Of course, one thing should be evident from reading all that: 01 gets screwed! Seriously, in the comic it's one thing, but the animation is even called Kikaider 01: The Animation. But he's cut down as ruthlessly as anyone else. Ultimately it's still the Jiro show. Ichiro is a supporting character, something that I think even sort of carried over onto the TV version, at least for a time.
The live-action Kikaider 01 series is a strange animal. It's become one of my favorite non-Rider Tokusatsu series, maybe even edging out the original Kikaider, though it's also got its fair share of problems. Chief among them is it takes a while before it really figures out what it wants to be, though once it does, it's genius. The stuff before that is still pretty good though, and sticks to less of a formula than the first show. You never know what'll happen next in 01. One thing though: it's clear that they never intended to go the way of the comic, even though the premise is similar.
So far, pretty much like in the comic, though the Hakaider Corps in general are a lot more disorderly and with no sign of Jiro around, they run rampant like the super-powered motorcycle gang that they are. They also are fond of proclaiming "Heil Hakaider!" Red, Blue & Silver are pretty interchangeable on a personality basis; they're all evil creeps! I'll hold off on really getting into Gill Hakaider for the moment, but in the early episodes, where he's calling the shots, he's basically trying to channel Gill despite being played and voiced by different guys. He even plays Gill's flute on occasion!
That whole "build-a-giant-deathbot" storyline is present, so with things reaching critical mass, Kikaider 01 is awakened from a statue all on his own to save the world. And he is... very different from the comic/animation one. The visual details are the same: solar-powered older brother of Jiro who plays a trumpet and wears red and blue rather than yellow and blue. The big difference is that this Ichiro has a complete conscience circuit, making him immune to the problems Jiro often faced. He's a lot more confident in his mission and immediately takes to Akira like an older brother. He a rational and level-headed, unlike his comics counterpart. It would be easy to say he's less interesting without all those flaws, but the Tokusatsu Ichiro/01 has a secret weapon, and its name is The Ikeda Factor.
Ikeda Shunsuke was the actor who portrayed Ichiro/01, and I can't think of anyone else who could have played it the way he does. He throws himself completely into the role, playing Ichiro as everybody's "older brother". As crazy as this show can get, he is the glue that holds it all together and makes it work. I was particularly impressed on rewatching to prepare for this how his relationship with Bijinder works, but I'll get to that later. Ikeda has a couple of Tokusatsu roles, and he always brings it whenever he turns up, even when he's just a supporting player. Tragically, he passed away in June 2010, but he left us with some great memories, both on and off screen. He was well-known for his enthusiasm and kindness with fans in and out of Japan, and speaking from all-too-brief personal experience: Ikeda was every bit as cool in person as you've heard. Check out August Ragone's memorial for more.
As for 01 himself, it's another winner. While the asymmetrical look of the original Kikaider is probably more visually striking, I quite like the 01 costume, with the electronic part-gauntlets. He really does look more complete, and yet slightly older. Since I'm sure people want me to bring it up, here you go: Kamen Rider Double Heat Trigger Form is kinda-maybe-sorta a reference to 01 (their colors are on the same side; Kikaider's are the opposite.) I think 01 has one of the coolest Henshin scenes in all of Tokusatsu, up there with any of the Riders. He also has one of the best moves in Tokusatsu: while his signature Blast End is neat, the 01 Driver is amazing. 01 flies through the air, spinning around, and punches everything in his way, accomplished via a POV shot where the cameraman goes ballistic. Any time 01 pulls this out, you know it's going to be awesome.
Jiro turns up in episode 3 to lend a hand, which is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it's great seeing the Kikaider bros. in action together, plowing through Hakaiders and henchmen left and right, and the original guy has every right to be involved seeing as how this is all unfinished business for him. Plus Ban's basically always fun, and has some super chemistry with Ikeda (just watch any interview with them together.) On the other hand though, Kikaider becomes a semi-regular until the mid 20's, and is around for a lot of the early episodes. While this does make for some great fight scenes and lots of Jiro and Ichiro being badass bros, it does in a way detract from Ichiro getting to be his own guy. He's always "Jiro's older brother" or "the other Kikaider" through and through.
V3 does the "keep their appearances rare" thing, and that really worked. The Double Riders are there for the first two, then they
I will say that at least 01 still makes Jiro look good, which is one of the traps you can fall into when making a past guy a semi-regular, re: Kuuga in Decade (who I generally liked, but it's hard to say he was treated well in that show.) Kikaider kicks a ton of butt in this show! But again, at some cost to 01. For what it's worth, Ikeda puts in the effort so Ichiro's always watchable, but it's hard not to get the feeling that the camera needed to be pointed in his direction more than it was.
Not to mention it's a full boat already with all those Hakaiders running around! As in the comic and animation, they don't have human forms (no sign of Saburo at all here.) What they do have is the ability to become individual monsters: Red Centipede, Blue Gator, Silver Shrimp, and Black Dragon. And if those aren't sounding slightly familiar, then now's a good time to go review Faiz (keep in mind, the Japanese words wani and ebi can also mean crocodile and lobster respectively.) And yes: Rose Orphenoch's clear dome is an intentional visual allusion to the big H's.
They can also become Gattaider, who's less physically imposing than his comic/cartoon counterpart, but I think he's a greater threat, and he's one of the only villains in Tokusatsu that I can think of whose shoulder pad doubles as a weapon. Unlike in the other versions, when Gattaider gets blown up all the Hakaiders survive intact, though not for much longer. Blue & Red get totaled in episode 9, and Silver buys the farm by the end of 10, leaving only Gilly.
This is around the point where the show slowly begins figuring out how it's going to do things, with the introduction of Shadow. The Hakaider Corps are cool, but they by nature must lose to 01 and Kikaider on a regular basis, which in a way kind of diminishes Hakaider as a whole. In the original series he's Public Enemy #1, but with four of the guy running around, something has to give. The whole "turn into monsters" idea is cool, though each one gets to do that once and then there's Gattaider, but we're about 8 episodes in, and you can tell they couldn't keep that up forever. I'll get in-depth about Gill Hakaider's characterization later, because for everything I've said about him so far, what he becomes in this show is something kinda incredible.
Shadow make their entrance via Shadow Knight, who in the live action show is *awesome*. He'll get kind of pushed to the side later on and die fighting 01 rather ingloriously, though in the early days, he is a beast. In his debut episode alone he single-handedly whups the Hakaider Corps and pulls crazy stuff like walking in and out of photographs, and all whilst wearing a top hat. Bad. To. The. Ass.
Shadow in the live action series is generally better defined than in the comics or animation too. They're basically reheated Dark leftovers with some interesting new sauce poured over. They eschew the giant robotic things in favor of a mix of more humanoid creatures inspired by traditional Japanese ghosts and monsters, and repainted/retrofitted Dark monster costumes (which were obviously Toei trying to save some yen, but actually work pretty well given the whole recyclable aspect of the robots in the live action Kikaiderverse. I was impressed by how they took a few of them and made them even cooler!)
Even their henchmen, the Shadowmen, are ripped off wholesale from the Androbots, though given that they last longer and have that cool half red/half black look going on, they're rightly more famous. Shadow also has a boss, the aptly-titled Big Shadow, who only appears as a mysterious image on a screen early on, then is eventually revealed to be... well, some guy. Big Shadow's exact nature remains a mystery to the end, but he's basically one bad dude and is fond of exclaiming "Wonderful!" and "Very Good!" in English. Like you do.
Of course Shadow also wants to build that there Giant Devil Robot guy, so they move in and manipulate things in the background while the Brothers Kikaider and the Hakaider Corps rumble. About a dozen episodes in the Hakaider Corps is destroyed and Shadow is in control. They basically give Hakaider an ultimatum: join us or die! Big H wisely chooses the former, though ends up becoming a rival to Shadow Knight for position of the Number 2 guy. Early on Shadow Knight still pwns him at everything, and one of the best moments in the series comes when Hakaider needs to be bailed out by Shadow Knight in his big red convertible. In the old days, villains had great rides.
After getting a power-up from the ghost of Professor Gill (because Tokusatsu) Hakaider is more on the level though, and manages to beat out Shadow Knight in the eyes of the Big Shadow (who it's quickly established can boss around even Hakaider.) In another deviation from other versions of the story, it turns out Professor Gill had another son, Hiroshi, who is under the care of Misao, a pickpocket. Shadow eventually manages to capture both boys and creates the Giant Devil Robot (as it's called here.) Whereas it was an unstoppable menace brought down only by Jiro's ultimate sacrifice in the comics and cartoon, the immobile live action version gets blown up real good by Kikaider an 01's "Double Brother Power". Undaunted by this failure, Shadow presses on, though as the series progresses they become less about the robot and more about just trying to raise a little hell in general. Shadow's ultimate goal is world domination, accomplished like so:
1) Create some kind of super-duper ultimate weapon or evil scheme
2) Kill like ten million guys
3) ????
4) Profit!
To add to the fun Shadow brings in Zadam, the conjoined-twin robots who, like Shadow Knight, has a beefier role in the TV series. Zadam is basically the ultimate yes-man/men to Big Shadow, but he is/they are responsible for one of the best characters in the show later, so you got to give him/them credit.
The mid-to-late 20's have some real insanity. Episode 23's monsters have one of the most confusing powers I've ever seen, and 25 marks Zadam's debut, which also features Kikaider 01 going to the moon! The way he manages to escape is something special. 27 is Shadow Knight's finale (which also has an exploding kappa robot) and 28's a personal favorite, with a mermaid robot that even Hakaider approves of.
Episode 24 is pretty important though as that's where we learn Rieko's secret, and witness her tragic demise. While the animated version is more emotionally-charged, I think her death in the live action show is more heroic, sacrificing herself to save her friends. Misao then takes charge of both boys, which works rather well since she's basically like a big kid herself. This is around where Shadow just sort of gives up on trying to get the kiddies every week, and concentrates on different plans. As a result Misao, Akira and Hiroshi don't add much other than comic relief, though there's some episodes where Misao appears solo and makes for good support to Ichiro (this is one of those Tokusatsu where there's less than 5 good guys running around total at times, so everybody pitches in a little bit more.)
Speaking of comic relief, I almost forgot to mention Gunta: he's a photographer and the show's attempt at recreating the magic of Hanpei. This doesn't really work though and he's out before episode 20. I think the big issue is that he's basically given the same routine every time he appears: Gunta stumbles upon a fight scene or the Hakaiders/Shadow up to no good and freaks out/faints/has his camera destroyed/etc. Hanpei was part of the plot, serving up the laughs while also occasionally being brave and helping Jiro. He kept things from getting too serious even when they got pretty dang serious (i.e. the final 3-parter.) Meanwhile this poor bastard's basically a walk-on cameo. I do get a few laughs out of Ichiro's earnestness whenever he crosses paths with Gunta, but it's not hard to see why the character was dropped. New Kamen Rider tried a similar character years later, and it didn't work there either, though that show makes up for it with the magic that is Gan Gan G.
As we exit the 20's Ban Daisuke had to go off and star in Inazuman, so the show finally becomes a one-Kikaider story, though two other major characters are introduced that really raise the game. In fact, while 01 is the star, a certain female robot turns up in episode 30 and gets nearly equal billing. But first, let's talk a bit about Hakaider, who's still around and will be to the very end.
I think it's fair to say that most Kikaider fans prefer the original show's Hakaider. He's the more complex, nuanced version and the whole "evil version of Kikaider" idea is played to its fullest. His rise, fall and the brief-but-badass time in between are some legendary TV, and it's not hard to see why the character has basically transcended his origins to become every bit as popular as Kikaider, if not more so. By contrast, Gill Hakaider is a more 2-D villain, in a lot of ways the very thing the original despised: cruel, cowardly, scheming and willing to play any degree of dirty to get what he wants.
Once he's in with Shadow he goes out of his way to irritate everyone, but he's ultimately loyal to the same cause so he's content to be part of the crew rather than the bossman. Whereas his comic counterpart deceived the heroes and led to their ruin while simultaneously bumping off his rivals, the TV version buys more into the "allies through shared hatred" mentality and decides to throw in with Shadow. It means getting to kill those damned Kikaiders, so why not, right? And to me, that's kind of what makes him work.
Admittedly a big part of it is my introduction to the character. The first I saw of the original Kikaider was actually the last 3 episodes and the movie; by contrast I started 01 from the beginning and was already a good way in when I reached his debut in the original series. Any time you have some kind of a series, franchise or something with multiple parts/installments/whatever, everybody will have their first-something, their favorite-something, and they'll also have the something that's "their" version of it (usually a combination of the above.) For instance, my first Rider series is the original, and it's also my favorite, and I love Hongô to bits, but "my" Rider is Ichimonji, because it's while watching him that the show really sunk its teeth in and never let go.
Or another example for the original show, the Double Rider costumes. A lot of people prefer the original "old" style Double Riders, but for me it's the new silver & red versions that are what I think of when I think Rider 1 & 2, because I have the strongest memories of them. That's how they looked in all the later appearances, many of which I saw as a kid before even finishing the original show. I like the old ones of course, but my immediate mental image of the Double Riders is how they looked towards the end of the first series/V3 and beyond.
What I'm getting at here is, even though I'll admit the original Hakaider has a lot of strengths and is rightly admired, 01's version is definitely my Hakaider. Everything the character stands for; my whole idea of what Hakaider is; all that comes from the Gill-brained version. While the original is more distinctly an anti-hero, Gill Hakaider is a straight-up villain. But he's the ultimate Kikaider villain, even if he isn't the big cheese. And he takes a beating as the show goes on, both literally and as a character, but that's part of what makes him enjoyable: he can fall so far, yet stubbornly keep trying to claw his way back up.
It helps that unlike the comic and cartoon, but more like the first live action show, he's really his own character. Even Gill's ghost practically admits it. Hakaider in 01 is one of the best villains in the saga because he's the meanest; he's a heartles bastard who revels in causing chaos and committing acts of evil like it were going out of style. This is especially true later on, having lost the Hakaider Corps and ditching any dreams of being top dog (since Big Shadow holds that position) Hakaider is content to basically be a jackass to everyone and everything that moves.
He picks fights he clearly can't win, just because he can. One episode has him engaging in a Shadow plan that involves hoarding fruit (which will also be turned into bombs!) He does decidedly un-Hakaider stuff, like teleportin' around and turning into whatever human form he feels like. One of my favorite moments comes in an episode where he devises a killer kimono scheme. Part of this involves selling one to a kid trying to buy his sister a kimono, but lacking the necessary funds. Hakaider (disguised as a woman!) sells him it for everything he's got. So not only does his evil plan continue, but Hakaider just scored some pocket change for the next Shadow beer run. I love this guy.
Bijinder shares the animation/comic origin story of being a robot created by Shadow, and she fires lasers from her... well, not her eyes. The designs are roughly similar. Obviously on paper Bijinder looks more streamlined, but I actually have grown quite fond of the costumed version, thanks to some great body language. The similarities end there though. First off, this version of Bijinder also plays a harp which doubles as a bow & arrow. And those are some POWERFUL arrows, let me tell you.
She's also got a flower theme going on; they play a part in her appearance and she apparently has extensive knowledge of them (episode 45.) When she first appears, she lacks a conscience circuit, and thus is right in the middle of the whole good-and-evil deal, able to be pulled either way. Though actually, with Bijinder it's handled rather uniquely, as only her robotic transformed self is capable of willingly engaging with 01.
Mari, her human counterpart, is in fact kind and good-hearted, but lacking the ability to choose her own path, has no choice but to follow Shadow's orders. This is a million miles away from the Mieko of the comic, who is as different from Mari as Mari is from Bijinder (underlined by the fact that when transformed, a different actress does her voice, and her personality changes considerably.) She's also got a nasty weakness: Zadam created her with the intent to destroy 01, so her body contains a nuclear bomb! The bomb goes off if the third button of her jacket is undone, and Shadow's remote pain circuit in her will only switch off if said button is also undone. This leads to some unintentional humor where poor Ichiro has a flailing Mari in his arms, telling him to unbutton her shirt. To be fair to the show though, it plays this straight-faced, and Mari's agony is up there with Jiro's from the first show.
Early on Ichiro is able to install a partially-completed conscience circuit in her, at least on the level of Jiro's, which lets Bijinder more actively choose what side she'll be on. And yes, I said choose. Something I really like about Ichiro/01 later in the show is how he relates to Mari. Despite the fact that they meet as "enemies", Ichiro is never too quick to fight her once he realizes she's basically a good person deep down. He actively encourages her to join him in fighting Shadow and treats her as an equal, but he lets her make the final call. This pays off at the end, but until then a big subplot of the show is Mari/Bijinder trying to figure out what she wants to be. And enemy? A friend? Neither? It's compelling stuff. And to think viewers saw this story unfold at the same time as the Riderman saga over on V3. 1973 had some rockin' characterization.
Bijinder is my favorite character in the show, and a lot of that's owed to Shihomi Etsuko, who plays Mari. Then a relative newcomer to Sonny Chiba's Japan Action Club, Shihomi appears in some of his films and would later go on to star in the Sister Streetfighter series which I've decided recently I need to go watch. 01 was her first big starring TV role, and despite relative acting inexperience, she is really rather awesome in it, a nice contrast to the larger-than-life veteran actors around her. She makes Mari's innocence and struggle feel real, while also making many Shadowmen explode. Mari's no slouch in the fighting department! In the fights, Shihomi is noticeably intense, bringing a real sense of professionalism. This is helped by some incredible background music; I think the theme for Mari/Bijinder is one of the best pieces of music from any show ever.
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say she's one of the strongest female characters in Tokusatsu either. It's easy to point at the old shows and say "ho ho ho, the sexist old 70's!" but I think that undersells the fact that some of the older stuff actually have some remarkable characters who happened to not be men. Tackle for sure (and I think Bijinder even edges out the big T) and Tama Junko are high on my list, but there's others. And speaking as someone who has watched a lot of Tokusatsu made after that, I think female characters have always been a case-by-case thing, rather than specific to an era.
Back to Bjinder though, the show's not afraid to give her hell, but it does so in a way that you could see any male character enduring the same, and I like that she's often able to prove people's assumptions about her wrong. She's consistently able to beat up anybody, including Hakaider, and the only times she needs 01's help are when, were the tables turned, he'd need the same (and sometimes he does.) Even when there's the requisite "somebody falls in love with Mari" episodes, it's handled quite skillfully, as her non-human nature coupled with the guy's issues (he hates robots, as Hakaider killed his father) make for a really quite poignant end to the storyline that has you feel for Mari. By the by, the guy who falls for her is played by Sonny's younger brother Jiro (no not that one!) You may know him better as Taki in the original Kamen Rider!
Waruder is fascinating, a standout sort of character even for his type (the lone wolf/badass/guy-in-the-middle/etc.) He is basically the original series' Hakaider, but dialed up to 11 and with a totally different moral grounding. He is a samurai assassin hired by Shadow to take down 01. Where he comes from is never revealed, which is kinda cool; the only other detail we get about him is that he has some swords that have been passed down in his family for years. Heck if I know how that works!
Waruder is a crazy design, but it's grown on me. At first glance he looks like he's got a soup bowl on his head, and the permanently-sad-looking eyes are a nice statement about the general attitude of the character. He's armed with a sword and an extendable chain-thingy, and has a sweet bike too (as everybody does. Bijinder doesn't use hers until the finale, but she's got one too. With guns!)
Being a master-less samurai-for-hire, Waruder has an interesting moral code. He ultimately aims to destroy 01, but he wants the fight to be fair. Like the original Hakaider, he isn't keen on anyone getting the job done before him, though whereas that Hakaider would be perfectly willing to kill anyone who got in his way if he deemed it necessary (as he does to many a Dark robot) Waruder's a bit more complex. Lacking a conscience circuit, he's unable to tell right from wrong, but whereas Bijinder had Mari to fall back on, Waruder has no human form, so he's constantly trying to figure out where he stands. He does good deeds, but he's also gunning for 01's head. He and Hakaider don't get along at all, as the latter's methods offend Waruder's sense of honor (kind or ironic, that.)
Additionally, Waruder starts to fall for Bijinder, though given that they're on opposite sides of the fence over 01 (Bijinder and him are basically friends by the time Waruder arrives) he realizes it's not meant to be, though their relationship takes some neat twists.
The whole "can't discern good from evil" thing is part of what makes the character so cool (along with great voice acting and dialogue) as it leads to some interesting plot lines. Waruder has cynophobia, an abnormal fear of dogs, and thus Shadow starts killing off dogs before he arrives so he can get the job done (this leads to a rather darkly hilarious scene in which Hakaider bemoans having to do such a lowly job, yet simultaneously revels in it.) That seems like a weird weakness to give a character, but when you actually find out Waruder's reason for fearing dogs, it's pretty clever.
Another episode has Shadow creating a gun that makes living copies of anyone (out of their shadow, natch) which are stronger than the original, and the complete opposite. Though they only live for a brief time, they're tough customers. 01's and Bjinder's are of course traditional evil doubles, but Waruder's is different. Waruder's double is like him, incapable of telling right from wrong, so he fights the good guys and bad guys. That's a pretty cool twist.
As 01 enters the homestretch it's clear the budget went to Bijinder and Waruder, so the Shadow monsters 'o the week start getting really bargain-bin. I guess they ran out of old suits to reuse (the Blue Gator suit from earlier gets recycled as like 3 other monsters later on) so we have monsters-of-the-week that are guys in scuba suits with motorcycle helmets, astronauts, ninjas (of course) and samurai warriors with big straw hats. There's even Satan! And it's not the Arashi one!
Despite the lack of new monster suits and the plot basically boiling down to "robots fighting each other and exploding" I think later 01 is a masterpiece of character writing. The story is basically driven by the characters, with no giant robot plan MacGuffin anymore (Akira and Hiroshi? Who?) it's all about watching 01, Bijinder, Waruder, Hakaider and the rest of Shadow struggle with themselves and each other. It's great stuff and the last 5 episodes in particular are really strong. 42 had the double-making gun, 43 & 44 are the ones with Chiba Jiro guest-starring and Hakaider's fruity adventure, and 45 is Waruder's finale.
It's a pretty awesome episode. Things get intense as Shadow sends its own samurai robot dudes after 01, who has been marked with a special chemical that lets them find him wherever he runs. The "Bijinder-has-a-bomb" storyline is resolved as Waruder removes the bomb, but to do so must use some of his own parts and thus doom himself. Things get resolved and our heroes defeat the bad guys, but Waruder still has to settle his duel with 01 (they've fought a few times until now, but it always ends inconclusively for either side.)
You can probably guess who wins, but it's a surprisingly poignant end, and Waruder is rarely better than in this episode. Another of my favorite scenes in the series occurs here, where he has a surprisingly emotional moment, expressing frustration at his inability to choose one side or the other, but the show doesn't pull any punches. Waruder from that point on has basically realized his number's up. I like that they never really conclusively make him a hero or a villain. Bijinder obviously turned good, but Waruder's an enigma right up to his last scene. I think he's really about as close to a true anti-villain as I've seen in a Tokusatsu
The live action Kikaider 01 series ends with episode 46, which is one of the best "done-in-one" finales I've seen. It does everything it needs to. Jiro's back at last, only after a long absence it feels like a really big deal again. He's definitely playing second to Ichiro, but is treated with all the "special guest star" bravado he should be. Kikaider 01, Kikaider and Bijinder join up for one last battle royale with Shadow, who have kidnapped Doctor Komyoji!
Yup, the Kikaider's creator returns, something the comic and animation never followed up on. I rather like that, since it all began with him and he gets an important part in the end. Shadow is defeated, Hakaider & Zadam are blown to bits (multiple times!) and Big Shadow blows up as well. Basically everything blows up, though unlike the other versions, our heroes come out of it all pretty well.
And here's where I think I'll once again be in the minority. As much as it may seem I rag on the comic's end and the even-more-emotional animated finale, I do like them. A good bit of tragedy never hurts. But like I said last time, the live action Kikaiderverse is my favorite, and I think its overall message hits deeper than the other versions. A lot of it has to do with the closing moments of the Kikaider 01 finale.
It's practically the antithesis of the comic and cartoon ending, where a lone Jiro walked away from the audience, the narration wondering if becoming human is what he really wanted after all. Here, we've got Ichiro, Jiro and Mari coming together, joining hands for one last shake, then walking towards us, united, as the narrator reminds us that they will always be nearby. Bit of a difference there! But the scene before has Doc Komyoji telling Akira, Hiroshi and Misao what the live action show's message is once and for all: he believes that our mechanized heroes, deep down, desire to live as imperfect humans rather than perfect androids. It might not be something they can ever really have, but as we see them together at the end, we know that in their own way, they've already got it.
And that to me makes the whole difference. It's the culmination of what the live-action version of the Kikaider story is all about. Jiro's "more human than human" inadequacies are what made him different from the Dark hordes. Ichiro might be artificial, but the compassion for his friends has always been real. Mari, in the end, made her own choices and followed her own path. They may be robots in form, but they're as human as can be in spirit.
With a lot of fiction, and especially Tokusatsu, I tend to respond emotionally to the more subtle stuff. That definitely holds true for the last scene of Kikaider 01. It closes out on a positive note, but it's not afraid to be just the right amount of bittersweet either. While the animated version is more overt in trying to wrest some emotion out of you, I could never really get that invested in it. If anything, it just feels more weird to me than sad; it's not bad, but it leaves me feeling fairly neutral. Same goes for the comic.
The live action though? Yeah, I think I have something in my eye whenever I watch those closing moments. To top it all off, they use my favorite song from the series. So yeah, it's up there with the last scene of the original Kamen Rider or the "reunion" scene from the finale of Stronger. It manages to be a lot of things at once: uplifting, melancholy, satisfying and even just a little badass (check out Ikeda's "nothing's gonna stop us now!" look.) Truly a great send-off to three great heroes.
And that's Kikaider 01. Like seemingly every other Ishinomori character at some point, there's often been talk of a revival (Kikaider Axel anyone?) but so far, no dice. There is that darker re-imagined Mechanical Violator Hakaider movie, which is worth a watch, though it's really more of it's own thing with some nice visual allusions to the original. And there is of course S.I.C., which may be dominated by Riders now, but started off as a line of statuesque figures based on a darker, re-imagined Kikaider & company, including OO. There's also a comic called Kikaider: Code 02 which is... wait for it... a darker, reimagined version of Kikaider! Wherein Jiro often looks like a girl. Interesting story though, and the stylized art does grow on me.
I dunno, but I think if Kikaider ever does return, I'd dump the darker re-imagining thing and do a third sequel in the spirit of the originals, but set in the present. Hell, give me a million bucks and the rights to the Kikaider franchise and I'll do it right now! On the other hand, given that we're minus one brother, it just wouldn't be the same, and in a way I think the Kikaider story ended on the perfect note. Besides, if you ever want to see Kikaider or 01 in action again, the whole thing's been subbed on some great DVD sets!
So that's the end of the Kikaider story, at least on TV. The comic and cartoon story haven't technically ended yet, but that's a thread we'll pick up on next time.
"Where ever there is evil, I will go. Where ever evil appears, I will come. I'm the champion of justice...Kikaider 01!"
really nice article. though a bit long. maybe should have been two separate articles.
ReplyDeleteI definitely want to see the toku of 01 now.
Thanks! I said this one was going to be long!
ReplyDeleteI actually prefer writing (and reading) long, detailed, comprehensive stuff, but I don't blame anyone if they can't read it all in one go. The nice thing about text though is you can go do something else, then come back and finish it later.
This is the best article about Kikaider 01 that can be found on the Internet. Once again, I congratulate you.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I prefer the manga version, I watched much of the TV series, but found everything very confusing from start to finish. From the tone of the first article, I thought you did not like the manga/anime version, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that was not true. I just love the ironic tone that Ishinomori gives most of its conclusions. I really wish he had done his own version of Kamen Rider V3.
Your text really made me want to revise my ideas about Kikaider 01, I dropped the series even before the appearance of Waruder, but now I want rewatching it all again, to reevaluate my opinion.
Again, I see hints that your next article will be about Inazuman. I hope there is also included Inazuman Flash, which is one of my favorite series. The manga also can be seen as a remake of two other Ishinomori´s works, Mutant Sabu and Shonen Domei, both from the 60s.
Thanks,
Felipe Onodera
again an excellent review,although like travis said,its better if you split them in two,one for the anime/manga and one for the TV series IMO
ReplyDeletei never liked inazuman much,except for the fact that he has an awesome flying car,and that he also inspired kabuto's "cast off" thing....
i also wondered why you didnt mention the other red/blue toku hero metalder........it was supposed to be a reimagining of kikaider IIRC
as for hakaider's own movie,i've watched that 10 years ago,it looks more like terminator 2:the japanese version IMO,and surprisingly it also had a LOT of similarities with 555:paradise lost,
what's with the apocalypse&rebellion thing and the fact that hakaider fought a bigass mecha monster(wich has kikaider's face?!) at the end just like faiz vs giant orpenoch in paradise lost
Thanks guys! 01 did end up longer than any of the other overviews, so I get wanting to chop it up, but all told I'm rather happy with it. These are meant to include comparisons between comic and TV show (and animation where applicable), so I want to keep them as one article per series/character for easier indexing. So yeah, I will talk about Flash when covering Inazuman.
ReplyDeleteI forgot all about Metalder, but then I also forgot about mentioning Kikaider being in the JAKQ/Goranger movie! At least in the actual Kikaider part. The stuff that slips by...
At last, I make this comment I keep promising! (And glad I helped you make this happen, however I did.)
ReplyDeleteAs I've told you, I find the first handful of episodes of 01 to be an absolute trial. They have their moments, but really, it's pretty plain that everyone was floundering for an identity for this series. It looks for all the world that they put so much work into the end of KIKAIDA that they went "Ooops!" when it was time for 01, and had to make it up on the fly. Perhaps it's a miracle it's as good as it is.
Sticking it out really pays off, though. Bijinda is great, but Waruda might be even better. He's truly a fascinating character, and I may like him more than any iteration of Hakaida. To me, that's the real discovery of this series.