Back in 2019, I reviewed the first entry of the Metal Hero Series; Uchuu Keiji Gavan, a show laden with impressive stunts, a unique style completely different from either Rider or Sentai, and an incredibly magnetic lead in the form of Kenji Ohba.
My overall thoughts on the show remain the same, so feel free to go take a look at the review if you need a refresher on the series itself and more detail on why it’s a great show.
When Discotek (the same company behind Juspion’s release) announced that Gavan would be getting the same treatment, I was ecstatic. Discotek is one of the very few home media distributors that have a solid track record of not only caring about the art but going above and beyond for whatever that art may be. It can be an obscure ultra-niche show from decades ago with a fanbase of like 50 people, but they will dig through archives for old master tapes to get new transfers, resyncing the audio, and restoring missing scenes. You need only look at their work with Ronin Warriors and Cyborg 009 to see how much work can go into any one release. The only other media outlet that goes to such comparable lengths for preservation is probably Vinegar Syndrome.
That said, not every release needs that amount of attention. But the point is they will go to it if applicable, and the attention to detail doesn’t stop at the feature presentation, as they typically throw in a few worthwhile extras. It’s that last bit I’m interested the most in, because- just to get this out of the way- the episodes are the same as the gorgeous Japanese Bluray that I’ve already covered in the original review. It’s crisp and clean, and a proper HD transfer.
That goes for the subs as well. Just like with Juspion, they are based on the Fansubs which were already good, and honestly, I don’t even recall them having any errors so they may not have changed that much. This is the best way to watch Gavan as is.
Another area I don’t want to linger on too much but still want to highlight is the packaging. Very eye-catching, the slipcover art is different from the main case, all the discs have great art. The presentation is great...With one caveat. I want to point to two areas, both with the same discrepancy. The back cover, and disc 4.
You have the usual information. Format, audio, subs, run time, etc.
There’s no mention of special features anywhere on the packaging, or even the disc, which is a big mistake.
Firstly, it freaked me out because I worried that maybe there weren’t any despite news to the contrary. After all, Juspion was supposed to have special features and it didn't upon release. Don’t worry, Gavan's are here.
Secondly, Gavan has some of, if not the absolute best special features I’ve seen on a Toku release in NA, and they are well worth boasting about as a selling point.
First is “Memorial roundtable with Kenji Ohba and Director Osamu Kaneda”
This is ripped straight from the JPN Bluray and is an hour and twenty-three minutes long. In Japan, this was across the two-volume release, but here it’s one long continuous video.
The first half is strictly a discussion between Ohba and Kaneda, who was the action director on Gavan and many other shows before and since. Part 1 is pre-Gavan detailing how Osamu Kaneda and Kenji Ohba first joined JAC (Japan Action Club, now called Japan Action Enterprises, which Kaneda now leads) and the various roles they performed once they got on board with Toei. In addition to directing, Kaneda worked as a stuntman himself and often alongside Ohba, both doing work in and out of suits in Kamen Rider, Kaikaider, Robot Detective, Spider-Man, and various Yakuza films.
As little information is readily available pertaining to tokusatsu-related material, this is a wealth of knowledge that is sadly seldom seen outside Japan. While the information is truly enlightening, it’s also full of fun stories, accidents, and quirky situations that occur on and off-set.
About 40 minutes in we come to part two, in which Jun Murakami, Gavan’s primary stunt suit actor, joins the conversion as we get into the production of the show, from the conceptual stages to the actual filming portion. Murakami discusses the nuances and challenges of handling stunts, how to come up with poses, and how restrictions of the suit can inform how a pose is done.
These discussions between Ohba and Murakami on how they pose and fight are probably the most interesting to me in this part. Learning the process of having continuity between the two, yet also enough of a dichotomy to show the suit as something more. And how even if a pose or move can be done in a suit and looks good, maybe it doesn’t fit the character. Maybe Gavan’s kick is a little too close to Kamen Rider, and it becomes a process of figuring out how this can be changed to be different.
Other behind-the-scenes info highlighted includes Kaneda pointing out that stock footage of a jump would be inserted if Murakami sprained an ankle or the like. Specific moments of the show are also brought up, including that iconic bridge stunt, which was evidently the second take because the rope got caught on a bolt in the first go-round.
The second bonus feature is a photo gallery, and not to gloss over it, but there’s not much to say. There are a lot of production stills, high-quality scans of promotional images from magazines, and concept art with a total of 67 photos overall.
I feel this sorta thing is sadly skipped over by a lot of people, but I’m someone that loves seeing these images, and although there's not much to say, I’m glad they’re here.
Finally, we come to the final special feature which is a wonderful write-up and overview of the series by Mike "Mach" Dent. I would put this on par with the round table talk in terms of being a great source of knowledge covering the entire production. It touches upon the pre-production, the soundtrack by the late Michiaki Watanabe, that the particle effects were done by Den Film (the same company behind the Spacium Beam for Ultraman) and the immense pressure Toei put on the entire production to not fail. It even shoots down that old Robocop rumor that I too believed for the longest goddamn time.
Honestly, I could go on more about this, but I don’t wanna share too much. It's a very concise and well-put-together addition that I hope to see more of going forward.
Discotek outdid themselves with these features.
This, at least to me, sets a new gold standard for how a Toku release should be handled. You look at Shout Factory’s release of Kuuga and that’s a solid release, it looks great and is well worth getting. But it’s bare bones. There are no special features on it, no interviews with the cast, and no documentary on the series. All of these are pre-existing features on the Japanese Blu-Ray, I might add.
And Millcreek's handling of Ultraman doesn't even deserve to be in the same league considering they don't even bother to correct spelling errors.
Granted, I’m sure the process to get special features from Toei is a nightmare and a half, especially with Rider compared to Metal Heroes. There is also sort of a trade-off even with this Gavan set, which is that it’s a tad higher than most other shows on the market. The MSRP is around $70-80 which is $20 higher than your Rider and Sentai releases. But, I got mine off Rightstuf, which at the time of this writing is still selling at a discounted price of around $45.
That’s pretty comparable to the discounts Rider and Sentai sets, and an absolute steal for what you’re getting. I got Gavan plus a Lupin The Third manga and movie for the price of Gavan at full price.
I should also mention that this is the first release of Discotek’s new TokuTime imprint. They see this as an avenue worth exploring and I hope they’re proven right. Outside of B-Fighter, Spielban, Metalder, and possibly Shaider, they have the entire Metal Hero series to do releases for. Winspector, Janperson, Blue Swat. They’ll probably set their sights beyond Metal Heroes, maybe Robot Detective, or freaking Spider-Man would be impressive. And hey, why limit it to Toei? Pretty sure P Productions has some shows long out of print over here.
Or they could get freaking Kamen Rider Black. Sure, holy shit. That’s a day-one preorder.
And that's a perfect note to end this review because next time I'll be taking a look at the much anticipated Kamen Rider Black Sun. It'll be a relatively short and spoiler-free review, nonetheless, I can't wait to talk about that show- it's one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises in quite some time.
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