[Sunred]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

Kaiketsu Zubat delivered

If I recall correctly, this was the show that Miyauchi had the most fun with and considers it his most favorite putting it above all his other shows.

[GoldenXtreme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpsilonX

I can't find the questions thread for "other toku," but it seems like you're on a similar topic, so I'll ask it here - I'm interested in watching some older, non-big-3 toku. How does Winspector hold up? I absolutely adore the aesthetic and costumes, so it has my interest. Also, what are some other shows from the 70s and 80s that are worth watching? Your discussion about Zubat seems interesting, would you recommend it?

I would absolutely recommend Zubat: it was an outrageously fun, serious, silly, and unusual tokusatsu. Even if you end up not liking it as much as me, the show is relatively short, so it isn't a huge commitment.

I also highly suggest Kikaider, which has the same writer as Zubat. I think it strikes a really great balance between being a funny, kitschy Showa-era show and the more poignant, serious elements to its story. Jiro is an interesting protagonist too. In contrast to Showa-era Riders, who have had some of their humanity stripped from them, Jiro is an android who desperately wants to be more like an imperfect human. I really enjoyed it!

[GuardianAngel87]

I only managed to watch the first eleven episodes of Kikaider myself. I really need to watch the rest of the show at some point.

[GoldenXtreme]

Coming back in here to say I watched Space Sheriff Sharivan. It wasn't incredible, but was pretty solid!

I learned as I watched this show that apparently the first 5 Metal Hero shows all had Shozo Uehara as head writer, which probably explains why the three I've seen so far have all been so similar. I think Sharivan manages to pull ahead of Gavan and Juspion though, largely on the merit of Sharivan being much, much weirder. I complained about Gavan being too boring when I watched it, but this one managed to be pretty consistently entertaining with its surreal visuals and plots about the spirit world, even if it carries forward some of my complains about Gavan, like the chaotic video editing. Heck, I ever think the atmosphere manages to make up for the out of suit action feeling weaker and the episodic plots often being very abruptly ended. The whole thing is actually a pretty good case study in how important "the vibe" is to these shows. Good Showa-era tokusatsu junk food.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuardianAngel87

I have decided to get back to the swing of things for the Metal Heroes franchise. This time it's for Kidou Keiji Jiban.

Oh, good choice!

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpsilonX

I can't find the questions thread for "other toku," but it seems like you're on a similar topic, so I'll ask it here - I'm interested in watching some older, non-big-3 toku. How does Winspector hold up? I absolutely adore the aesthetic and costumes, so it has my interest.

Winspector was my first Metal Hero. Personally, I thought it was decent and it has Miyauchi Hiroshi as the mentor so that's cool. Whether or not I can recommend it to you depends on how much you can enjoy shows with virtually no plot. Basically each episode is its own one-and-done story, so if that's not for you, then maybe watch a different Metal Hero instead. Hope that helps.

[EpsilonX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Winspector was my first Metal Hero. Personally, I thought it was decent and it has Miyauchi Hiroshi as the mentor so that's cool. Whether or not I can recommend it to you depends on how much you can enjoy shows with virtually no plot. Basically each episode is its own one-and-done story, so if that's not for you, then maybe watch a different Metal Hero instead. Hope that helps.

Huh, interesting. I guess it really depends on how it does it. I enjoy how old the original Ultra Q and Ultraman are basically anthologies of mini kaiju stories, but I find some of the older Rider and Sentai seasons to be a bit too repetitive. Winspector is more focused on rescue operations than on actual fighting, right? Maybe that'll keep my interest more because I haven't seen it done to death in every Sentai/Rider show out there.

Which Metal Heroes series would you recommend for something that's more story-based?

[GuardianAngel87]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpsilonX

Huh, interesting. I guess it really depends on how it does it. I enjoy how old the original Ultra Q and Ultraman are basically anthologies of mini kaiju stories, but I find some of the older Rider and Sentai seasons to be a bit too repetitive. Winspector is more focused on rescue operations than on actual fighting, right? Maybe that'll keep my interest more because I haven't seen it done to death in every Sentai/Rider show out there.

Which Metal Heroes series would you recommend for something that's more story-based?

Choujinki Metalder springs to my mind. Even though, it is a Showa era series, it never feels all that episodic and it's, at least to me, not even repetitive. And as an added bonus, the show only has 39 episodes.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpsilonX

Huh, interesting. I guess it really depends on how it does it. I enjoy how old the original Ultra Q and Ultraman are basically anthologies of mini kaiju stories, but I find some of the older Rider and Sentai seasons to be a bit too repetitive. Winspector is more focused on rescue operations than on actual fighting, right? Maybe that'll keep my interest more because I haven't seen it done to death in every Sentai/Rider show out there.

Which Metal Heroes series would you recommend for something that's more story-based?

Yeah, Winspector, Solbrain and Exceedraft are all part of the Rescue Hero Trilogy, which is set in the future of 1999-early 00s. So I'd say it's kind of like a mix of GoGo V and Dekaranger with robots, but with less MOTWs and more focus on fighting organized crime and saving lives.

If you want a more conventional story-based Metal Hero, from my experience I can recommend Spielvan and Jiban. I'm currently 30 episodes in to Janperson and I'm enjoying that as well.

Or there's Sekai Ninja Sen, if you like ninjas.

[GuardianAngel87]

I am currently 16 episodes into Jiban.

[TokuKnight89]

Still keeping with Spielvan, but it gets somewhat repetitive. It has a tendency to pad the episode times by repeating the same facts and backstory that the audience should already be aware of. Granted, it was the '80s and syndication wasn't like we understand it now, but it's still grating and compounded by the clearly recycled footage of Gaios and Gran Nazca blowing up ships and jets and tanks.

Another note worthy detail is how they replaced the original ending theme with the "Kesshou Da" insert theme around Ep. 11, but still used the former as an insert theme.