Chōjin Sentai Jetman

Plot

This series takes place in 199X. On the Earth Ship, the command center of a defense agency called Sky Force, the guardians of peace on Earth, scientists have developed "Birdonic Waves", a newly developed technology that gives the subject superhuman abilities. Experiments called "J-Project" were successful. Aya Odagiri, the director of the project, chooses five elite Sky Force officials from Earth to use this technology. Ryu Tendo, one of the Sky Force officers, is successfully exposed to the Birdonic Waves, making him the first Jetman, the Red Hawk.

However, the Earth Ship is suddenly attacked by Vyram, an evil outer-dimensional organization bent on inter-dimensional domination. They successfully destroy the ship, apparently killing Ryu's lover and fellow candidate member Rie. In the chaos, the remaining Birdonic Waves for the other four officials become scattered on Earth, hitting four civilians. Odagiri and Tendo successfully escape and begin searching on Earth for the four remaining Jetmen, training them to aid them in stopping Vyram's plans of conquering their dimension.

The series later follows the tribulations of Ryu as he learns of Rie's survival and enlistment in the Vyram forces, as well as a love triangle between Gai, Ryu, and Kaori.

Characters

Earth Defence Force Sky Force

Earth Defence Force Sky Force (地球防衛軍スカイフォース, Chikyū Bōeigun Sukai Fōsu) is the military organization the Jetmen belong to.

Based at the Sky Camp (スカイキャンプ, Sukai Kyanpu), a high-tech base provided by the Sky Force, the eponymous Jetmen are five people who gain superhuman strength through exposure to Birdonic Waves (バードニックウェーブ, Bādonikku Wēbu): one intentionally and four accidentally. They utilize the Cross Changer (クロスチェンジャー, Kurosu Chenjā) bracelet to transform. While transformed, the Jetmen are clad in wingsuit-like uniforms known as Birdonic Suits (バードニックスーツ, Bādonikku Sūtsu) whose pair of Jet Wings (ジェットウィング, Jetto Wingu) allow them to glide in the air. They also each carry a Wing Gauntlet (ウイングガントレッド, Uingu Gantoreddo), a Bird Blaster (バードブラスター, Bādo Burasutā), and a Bringer Sword (ブリンガーソード, Buringā Sōdo), the latter two of which can combine to form the Jet Hand Cannon (ジェットハンドカノン, Jetto Hando Kanon). Each Jetman later gains a Beak Smasher (ビークスマッシャー, Bīku Sumasshā) handgun, which can combine with the Bird Blaster to form the Smash Bomber (スマッシュボンバー, Sumasshu Bonbā) rifle.

Ryu Tendo (天堂 竜, Tendō Ryū)/Red Hawk (レッドホーク, Reddo Hōku), born on May 10, 1965, is 25 years old at the beginning of the series, but his 26th birthday occurs in episode 13. He is originally a Sky Force soldier codenamed "W6" and leader of the Jetmen. Being the only member of the Jetmen who is of military background, his policy is to be always professional and never let feelings affect himself in battle, and he expects the same from his teammates. This leads to a conflict when he discovers that his beloved Rie has become Maria, eventually coming to terms with the revelation as he resolves to save Rie from the Vyram control. However, Rie's death at the hands of his nemesis Radiguet proves to be the last straw, causing him to challenge Radiguet alone before Kaori consoles Ryu and encourages him to stay true to his own belief in justice rather than revenge. Three years later, he marries Kaori.

Attacks: Wing Punch (ウイングパンチ, Uingu Panchi)

Ryu Tendo is portrayed by Kōtarō Tanaka (田中 弘太郎, Tanaka Kōtarō).

Gai Yuki (結城 凱, Yūki Gai)/Black Condor (ブラックコンドル, Burakku Kondoru) is the 26-year-old second-in-command of the Jetmen and a loner who hates being told what to do. Gai loves challenges and risks and is a womanizer and an avid if occasional gambler. his fighting styles are street fighting and mixed martial arts: his combat skills match those of Ryu, though he fights dirty and hits below the belt sometimes. He initially clashes with the straight-laced Ryu when drafted against his will but eventually comes to respect Ryu's largely principled disposition (Ryu falters only over the issue of his lost girlfriend, something Gai, being a womanizer, can sympathize with), ultimately becoming friends with him. He loves Kaori and often tries to flirt with her, leading to much frustration due to his initially unreciprocated feelings. When she finally accepts him, they frequently have problems in their relationship as they are too different. He later develops a rivalry with Vyram general Grey. He defeats Grey in their final encounter, in which a part of his helmet was damaged. Three years after Vyram's defeat, while buying a bouquet for Ryu and Kaori's wedding, he intervenes in a robbery and is stabbed in the stomach for the trouble. He makes it to the church after the wedding and talks to Ryu before he dies of his wound, passing it off as a hangover, satisfied that everyone he cares for has found happiness. In the manga, his position on the team is taken by Jeffrey Kensaki, a new hero who takes on the powers of Green Eagle.

Dimensional War Party Vyram

The Dimensional War Party Vyram (次元戦団バイラム, Jigen Sendan Bairamu) appears as a clan of outer-dimensional nobles, who conquered many worlds in the Reverse Dimension, and are now moving on to Front Dimension, ours. They boast about having achieved godhood, while they despise humans and see them as stupid and worthless. Their base of operations is the Demon Castle Vylock (魔城バイロック, Majō Bairokku), a brain-shaped castle capable of traversing dimensions and sending its forces to Earth due to its Dimensional Transfer Machine. After their leader got lost in the Reverse Dimension, its four leading members compete in a game to defeat the Jetmen with the prize being full-leadership. Tran eventually becomes powerful enough to assume command, but is deposed by Radiguet, who leads Vyram up to its destruction.

Back Dimension Count Radiguet (裏次元伯爵ラディゲ, Urajigen Hakushaku Radige): A cold-hearted fossil-themed officer who is the nearest presence to a leader of the Vyram, refusing to acknowledge anyone above and will do anything to accomplish his goals including being the one who kills the Jetmen. In battle, Radiguet wields the Secret Sword Bloody Gate (秘剣ブラディゲート, Hiken Buradi Gēto) and can transform into his true form, Evil Beast Radigun (凶獣ラディガン, Kyōjū Radigan), when enraged. When Juuza returned to power, Radiguet attempts to kill her and ends being punished for his treachery by living as a human with no memory of his life in Vyram. Cared for by Saki, a girl on the verge of death, Radiguet unconsciously saves her life with his power. But though he wanted nothing to do with his past, Radiguet eventually regains his memories and helps the Jetmen in fighting Juuza. After killing Juuza to acquire Semimaru, Radiguet kills Saki to discard his humanity before nurturing Semimaru to assume its adult form though it was destroyed by the Great Icarus. Radiguet later attempts to bring the Demons under his control, managing to succeed with Ramon when he absorbed Gorg. When Tranza takes over the Vyram throne, Radiguet attempts to kill him, only to be made an example of by the stronger opponent and forced into humbling himself before Tranza. Baring a terrible grudge against Tranza since then, Radiguet allied himself with Maria and Grey to summon the meteor used to create Meteor BEM to take out the Jetmen, enraged to find Tranza used his plan as a springboard from his own scheme. Attempting to sabotage Veronica, Radiguet is hooked up to have his life force sucked out. However, instead of having the life sucked out of him, Radiguet drains Veronica's power. Later, after using the Jetmen to do his dirty work, Radiguet tortures Tranza before breaking his mind and leaving him powerless, becoming Vyram's leader. Ultimately, the side effects of his power boost manifest in his newly gained giant form, the armored dinosaur-themed Raguem (ラゲム, Ragemu). After killing Rie so Red Hawk could not have her, Radiguet battles him until the other Jetmen arrive. After the five Jetmen defeat him, Radiguet assumes his Raguem form which not even the Great Icarus is a match for until the Tetraboy punches the weak point Rie made. To counter their advantage over him, Raguem assimilates the Vylock into armor that he uses to overpower Tetraboy. The Great Icarus separates and Ryu uses the Jet Garuda to rip the armor off and the others destroy both the Jet Garuda and Raguem. Radiguet says that his soul will continue to curse the Jetmen for eternity from the Reverse Dimension before he explodes. Radiguet is portrayed by Masaki Tachi (舘 正貴, Tachi Masaki), who is credited under Daisuke Tachi (舘 大介, Tachi Daisuke).

Other villains

The following villains are not part of the Dimensional War Party Vyram.

Majin Ramon and Gorg (魔神ラモンとゴーグ, Majin Ramon to Gōgu): Two Majin who were sealed away during the Taiko Era. Radiguet tried to get them to serve the Dimensional War Party Vyram upon freeing them.

Majin Mu (魔神ムー, Majin Mū): A Majin that worked for Majin Ramon and Gorg.

Strange Dimensional Lifeform Hell Medusa (異次元生命体ジゴクメドゥーサ, Kaijigen Seimeitai Jigoku Medūsa): An internal defense mechanism that protects Demon Castle Vylock.

Supreme Commander Akira Ichiro (一条総司令, Ichijō Sōshirei): A Skyforce member who is the Supreme Commander of the Neo-Jetmen and Aya Odagiri's superior. He has a grudge against Aya for being the jet of the Jetmen Project. Akira is later removed from Skyforce when his motives are exposed.

Great Tomato King (トマト大王, Tomato Daiō): An outer-dimensional being called Metamol assumed this tomato-themed monster from Raita's childhood nightmare.

Production

Chojin Sentai Jetman is the first Sentai series that paid homage to another show, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman with the same birds and the Jet Garuda being a clear influence of God Phoenix. There is also some influence from the 1985 American movie The Breakfast Club. Ryu wears a sports jacket very similar to Andy and is also the more athletic of the group, Kaori, the princess, like Claire; Raita the geek, like Brian; Gai, the bad boy, like John; Ako the greedy girl similar to Allison being a Kleptomaniac. Developed before the ending of Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman, Toei chose Keita Amemiya to be the series' director and searched for actors who would play the main characters. One of them was Toshihide Wakamatsu who would go on to play Gai Yuki/Black Condor. Before the series, the members were all referred to by their color but both Amemiya and Suzuki said that "this [was] unnatural" and decided the characters to refer to each other by their names instead of their colors. Episodes without the characters transforming and fighting were also proposed but was opposed by Bandai until the later half of the series.

The more mature themes such as drama, romantic love triangles and tragedy were in the series' after Takeyuki Suzuki watched Tosho Daimos, and wanted to capture its "high romance". Both the comedy and dramatic tones influenced the series' overall popularity and had become its defining part.

Related media

Novels

Following the conclusion of the TV series, the series main screenwriter, Toshiki Inoue, wrote a trilogy of Jetman novels from 1992 to 1995 that retold the events of the TV series. The novels were written specifically for adult fans of the TV series and included mature content, such as detailed descriptions of sexual intercourse between Ryu and Rie, Gai and Kaori, and Radiguet and Maria. Empress Jūza, a one-off villain in the series, had an extended role while the Dimensional Beasts and giant robots were eliminated, with the Jetmen fighting humans subjected to the Vyram's experiments instead.

Manga

A manga sequel to Jetman was published in 1996 authored by Akiko Fujii, in cooperation with the series' writing team (still under the Saburo Yatsude pen name). It was titled Chojin Sentai Jetman: Toki o Kakete (鳥人戦隊ジェットマン 時を駆けて; "Chojin Sentai Jetman: Time Flies"). Set five years after the series (and, therefore, two years after the story ends), it shows the four remaining Jetmen rejoining to battle a revived Radiguet, who had possessed Tranza's broken body. Radiguet kidnaps Ryu and Kaori's one-year-old daughter Aya Tendo and, much in the same way he turned Rie into Maria before, he accelerates her growth and brainwashes her into becoming Ruma, whom he considers a daughter. Meanwhile, Gai's empty spot in the team is filled by a young rock guitarist called Jeffrey "Jeff" Kenzaki (ジェフリィ・剣崎, Jefuryi Kenzaki), who is empowered by Birdonic Waves after a meteorite crashes next to him, and becomes Green Eagle (グリーンイーグル, Gurīn Īguru) whose suit is Green instead of Black. In this manga series, the Jetmen uniform is slightly different, with the helmets more closely resembling those of Gatchaman (translucent, protruding visors, and uncovered faces).

Video game

A video game version of Chojin Sentai Jetman was released for the Famicom on December 21, 1991. The game was published by Angel Time (a subsidiary of Bandai) and developed by Natsume. It is a single-player side-scrolling action game where the player assumes role one of the Jetmen members as they fight against the forces of Vyram. The player can choose which Jetman they want to control at the start of each stage, each having their own weapon and maximum hit points:

Red Hawk and Black Condor: Bringer Sword, 8 hit points

Yellow Owl: Wing Gauntlet, 7 hit points

Blue Swallow and White Swan: Bird Blasters, 6 hit points

The initial five stages, Area A to Area E, can be played in any order, while the sixth and final stage, Area F, becomes available once the others have cleared. Each stage begins with a standard side-scrolling level in which the player fight their way to the end of the level in order to reach the stage's boss. Each Jetman has three types of attack: a weapon attack, a kick, and a special attack that destroys all enemies, but can only be used once (unless a replenishment is found). The boss segments consists of one-on-one battles between the team's giant robot, the Great Icarus, and a giant monster (all of them based on monsters from the show). The player has a four-level power gauge that will gradually fill up during the course of battle, which can be used to perform one of four possible special attacks.

The following is a list of bosses in the game and the stages where they appear:

Mirror Dimension (Area A)

Camera Dimension (Area B)

Bus Dimension (Area C)

Light Armadillo (Area D)

Dimensional Mammoth (Area E)

Destruction Beast Semimaru (Area F)

Cast

Ryu Tendo (天堂 竜, Tendō Ryū): Kōtarō Tanaka (田中 弘太郎, Tanaka Kōtarō)

Kaori Rokumeikan (鹿鳴館 香, Rokumeikan Kaori): Rika Kishida (岸田 里佳, Kishida Rika)

Raita Oishi (大石 雷太, Ōishi Raita): Ikko Tadano (ただの いっこ, Tadano Ikko) (Credited under Tomihisa Naruse (成瀬 富久, Naruse Tomihisa))

Ako Hayasaka (早坂 アコ, Hayasaka Ako): Sayuri Uchida (内田 さゆり, Uchida Sayuri)

Gai Yuki (結城 凱, Yūki Gai): Toshihide Wakamatsu (若松 俊秀, Wakamatsu Toshihide)

Aya Odagiri (小田切 綾, Odagiri Aya): Mikiko Miki (三輝 みきこ, Miki Mikiko)

Jiiya (じいや): Yūzō Hayakawa (早川 雄三, Hayakawa Yūzō)

Rie Aoi (藍 リエ, Aoi Rie)/Maria (マリア): Maho Maruyama (丸山 真歩, Maruyama Maho) (Credited under 丸山 真穂 that shares the same reading)

Radiguet (ラディゲ, Radige): Masaki Tachi (舘 正貴, Tachi Masaki) (Credited under Daisuke Tachi (舘 大介, Tachi Daisuke))

Tran (トラン, Toran): Miku Kuga (久我 未来, Kuga Miku)

Tranza (トランザ, Toranza) : Yutaka Hirose (広瀬 裕, Hirose Yūtaka) (Credited under Takumi Hirose (広瀬 匠, Hirose Takumi))

Grey (グレイ, Gurei; Voice): Hideaki Kusaka (日下 秀昭, Kusaka Hideaki)

Narrator: Tsutomu Tareki (垂木 勉, Tareki Tsutomu)

Songs

Opening theme

"Chojin Sentai Jetman" (鳥人戦隊ジェットマン, Chōjin Sentai Jettoman)

Lyrics: Toyohisa Araki (荒木 とよひさ, Araki Toyohisa)

Composition/Arrangement: Gōji Tsuno (つの ごうじ, Tsuno Gōji)

Artist: Hironobu Kageyama (影山 ヒロノブ, Kageyama Hironobu)

Ending theme

"Kokoro wa Tamago" (こころはタマゴ; "Your Heart Is an Egg")

Lyrics: Toyohisa Araki

Composition: Kōji Tsuno

Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto (山本 健司, Yamamoto Kenji)

Artist: Hironobu Kageyama