After a very very long delay, it is finally here.
Let us begin.
Characters and Story.
Juspion.
Juspion was orphaned when he was just a baby, his parents being killed by Space Pirates. Juspion escaped in a preservation pod which crash-landed on the planet Eijin where he was adopted by an old Sage from which the planet gets its namesake. Juspion was raised by him, where he grew alongside the titular creatures of the show; Megabeasts.
When he reached maturity, Juspion was tasked by Eijin with finding the rest of the Galactic Bible, a prophetic work of text telling the demise of a great evil conqueror known as Satan Goth(Gorth) As well as preventing the expansion of the MegaBeast Empire, which Goth rules over. Venturing out with his gynoid companion in his transforming spacecraft, Juspion searches the Galaxy before arriving on earth.
Juspion is portrayed by Seiki Kurosaki, who I think does a very good job in the role. Supposedly early on in production, he wanted something more challenging and requested the character be written more seriously as opposed to the goofball originally intended. I think this was a very good call on his part. While Juspion never got too goofy in the early episodes, it could have gone overboard. By ep. 11 the changes were fully implemented, even having Juspion's afro cut to signify the change. While the character did become more in tune with the current situation and took his duties more seriously, they still did have him be a bit silly too. It's a great way of having your cake and eating it, allowing levity when needed and for Juspion to maintain a personality quirk, but also grow as a character. Seiki Kurosaki does a good job with portraying this balance, capable of goofy antics:
But still able to deliver stern lines like this with complete sincerity:
Anri.
Anri is a gynoid created by Ejin meant to assist Juspion in his journey, mainly keeping him in line and doting on him like an older sibling. Although she can come off as cold and harsh at times, she is just as silly as Juspion and does ultimately care about him and those he wishes to protect...even if she has to twist an ear every now and then.
She does not get much to do in the show beyond escorting people out of danger and the aforementioned interactions with Juspion. They do give her some great action moments in the last few episodes, though I would have loved to had seen more of that. Regardless, her presence is always great and is very much appreciated as she's just ridiculously adorable. Her actress, Kiyomi Tsukada, is wonderful and she's just as good as Kurosaki when it comes to facial expressions, they play off each other incredibly well and you really do get a budding friendship from them.
I really think Anri is one of the best characters despite how simplistic the nature of her may seem. She's just a blast whenever she's allowed to go all out with the slapstick.
Stange Beast Miya.
After her parents are killed protecting Juspion, he takes her in as a pet of sorts. Over the course of the series she gains some degree of personality and takes an interest in cooking. Eventually, she even learns to speak to a limited degree. More or less she's just a cute monster. I guess she's a lot like Pigmon from Ultraman.
Eijin/Ejin
The old and powerful sage who took Juspion in. Ejin's role is somewhat limited in the show, he appears here and there, sometimes with some wise words for Juspion while also working on finding pieces of the Galactic Bible, and eventually does so when sets in motion one of the big plot points in the show in that the missing pieces describe something that can kill Satan Goth. Whatever it is remaining a mystery. Ejin becomes more proactive near the end of the show, assisting in the final moments.
Boomerang.
Boomerang first appears in episode 5 and would continue to make appearances sporadically until ep 10 before leaving for training purposes.
The closest approximation I can make with Boomerang is to Riderman. Although that should be taken with a grain of salt as I only mean that in comparison of power, which even then Riderman was probably still stronger or at least a better fighter.
As for his story, Boomerang's brother, an Interpol agent, was killed by the Empire when he was caught investigating their operations on earth. Boomerang seeks to destroy Mad Gallant in revenge.
Sadly, Boomerang's largest drawback is that he's just not a good fighter. At all. Most of his appearances involve him being kicked around pretty badly and not even able to take on the standard enemies. After an incident of him being made a slave and freed by Juspion, he heads off to train before returning in episode 31 as an international agent. Unfortunately, there really wasn't any improvement with Boomerang as a fighter, still falling into danger only for Juspion to save him. His arc concluding in episode 32 with him leaving Juspion to take on the Empire alone. This really makes Boomerang superfluous as a character and attributes to a personal belief that this was a failed experiment of the show to try and add a supportive character.
Don't feel too bad though, Boomerang was portrayed by Hiroshi Watari, who already played Sharivan in the previous Space Sheriff shows and would once again be given a starring role in the following series: Spielban.
Oh, and he's Married to Sailor Jupiter. That's a thing.
Princess Kaguya.
A fortune teller who is secretly a Meronian alien, a race dedicated to being servants of the Gods. The divine being informs Juspion of the missing piece to the Galatic Bible, something called the Golden Bird, which is the only thing that can hurt the otherwise invulnerable Satan Goth.
She only appears in one episode but she is instrumental for kicking things off with the show's plot McGuffin.
Rotto & Sachi.
Two defectors of the empire that escape with Juspion and Boomerangs assistance. Boomerang is able to provide a ranch hidden away from the Empire's eye. The two appear now and then over the course of the show, mostly in a supportive role, assisting when they can.
Nanbara Family.
Ken'ichiro Nanbara is a photographer that captures a photo of a mysterious golden bird, and in doing so becomes a target of the Empire, along with his two children; Kanoko and Kenta.
Ken'ichiro would spend a good deal of time searching for the golden bird on his own, both in an attempt to evade the Empire and to rediscover the bird before them. Meanwhile, Kanoko and Kenta would spend time at Rotto and Sachi's hideout until running away on their own to find their father.
The episodes with the two kids are very mixed. Sometimes working, yet at times frustrating as they often put their selves in danger for no good reason.
Kanoko would later play a great importance in actually discovering and the summoning of the Golden Bird, along with several other children.
Mad Gallant.
Played by Goggle/Dyna Black himself, Junichi Haruta. Gallant is a slimeball, straddling a line between a dictator and a cheesy car dealer. While Gallant's father may be the big bad of the series, there's no doubt who the main villain is from a prolific standpoint. Gallant has personality, he gets his hands dirty, he gives the orders, he plans and is delightful because of it.
One of my favorite episodes that I think perfectly encapsulates Gallant is 15, which introduces the Nanbara family. It's simple, he wants info out of Mr. Nanbara about the Golden Bird. Offering a great deal of cash upfront with more after discovering the creature. Nanbara never agrees to the dealing and later on, when he's having dinner with his kids, all smiles- you can see Gallant in the background, constantly watching Nanbara.
It's creepy and is just wonderful.
Four Generals.
Starting with episode 13 Gallant hires assassins to take care of Juspion. Among their ranks are:
Ikki
A cyborg with rocket first and an axe. In truth, his most notable aspect aside from providing a couple of really good fights is he was the first of the generals to perish.(As a side note, Wikipedia states he was the first human Juspion kills, but that's incorrect, as two cloned Amazonian women are killed several episodes prior to even the introduction of the generals.)
An android, former poacher, and member of the now destroyed Machine Empire. Zamba holds a personal grudge towards Juspion, as his parents were responsible for reporting Zamba's poaching to the Galactic Federation, which later went to war with the Machine Empire for unrelated reasons. Regardless, Zamba blamed them for everything and was the cause of the pirate attack resulting in Juspion's parents dying.
Gyol & Brima.
As early as episode 15 Gyol and Brima begin acting like bodyguards for Gallant, with this dynamic being driven more after Zanba's demise. In addition to serving as protectors, they are Gallant's most trusted compatriates, often going undercover or assisting in executing plans. Gyol is armed with a flute that can hypnotise people, conjure illusions, change her appearance, and cause vertigo. Additionally, it doubles as a blowgun. Brima is a skilled knife thrower and is armed with a crystal ball which allows limited cognitive abilities and electrical attacks.
Of all the generals, they stick around the longest. While Ikki and Zamba are dead by episodes 15 and 18 respectively, Gyol and Brima stick around all the way until episode 44.
Galactic Witch Gilza & Gilmarza
I'm going to level with you and admit I forgot these two characters for a time and that's pretty sad because they both play big roles and do have interesting backstories. Gilza revives Gallant when he's killed in episode 29 and is near immortal herself, even surviving decapitation, but can be and eventually is killed with her own personal weapon.
Her Sister Gilmarza I found to be more interesting. She is a cultist and political infiltrator. She has sprung up various cults to worship Satan Goth and has also manipulated leaders on other planets into war and self-destruction. She even has her own personal lackeys that are slowly taken down.
Part of the problem I think with both of them is that they are not in that many episodes, only 8 each. Granted neither were Ikki and Zamba, but they were grouped together with Gyol and Brima and I think they at least made Zamba more distinctive with his grudge and a pretty damn good end. What's funny is I can recall episodes where Gilza and Gilmarza are responsible for particular plots, but it seems the episodes themselves come to mind more so than the characters behind them. I admit that could just be me as I do think they're well enough, but perhaps could have been better utilized. I'm guessing that Gilza was intended to be in more but had to killed her off because of something to do with the actress. I could be wrong but it certainly felt that way.
Satan Goth (Gorth)
Born from the negative energy in a black hole, Satan Gorth is an immensely powerful being that has conquered many planets across the galaxy. He is near invulnerable with exception to the Golden Bird. Despite his near immortality, he will retreat from battle as he can still be easily fatigued due in part to his Vader like armor actually being a cacoon for his true form. As a result of being in a transitional phase, Gorth often relies on his son and other underlings to take care of tasks throughout most of the series, only directly intervening when truly necessary or greatly angered. Otherwise, he usually causes megabeasts to go berserk before retreating and recharging his energy.
The explanation of Gorth's cocoon phase does not come until late in the series, though I appreciate the elaboration, as it does work as a reason why Gorth doesn't simply crush Juspion and the Daileon. Heck, this is something a lot of Toku (Especially Sentai) tend to not address.
The series was written by Shozo Uehara, who wrote a great majority of episodes, and Haruya Yamasaki, who wrote a handful.
Uehara is by no means no stranger to tokusatsu, having credits as far back as Ultra Q and a noteworthy stint on the second half of Ultra Seven, alongside Ichikawa Moriichi. His work with Toei is even more notable, serving as the Main writer for Goranger, JAKQ, Battle Fever, and Denjiman before eventually kicking off the Metal Heroes series with Gavan all the way up to Spielban.
The main thing I will mention before getting into the show proper is that it's very experimental, and what I mean by that is they wanted to try and figure out what they were going to do with the Metal Hero Franchise now that the Sheriffs weren't around. Sorta new continuity, no previously appearing characters, whole new set up. etc. The end results are a mixed bag, one of great ambition but also some stumbling. There are quite a few moments of characters feeling awkwardly placed in or ideas not being fully realized. Take Boomerang, for example, his arc practically goes nowhere. Another is a one-off episode (10) featuring two Amazonian clones working for Gallant. They get killed off, but they must've really liked Gallant having female hench women because Brima and Gyol are practically filling the same roles, if more distinctive. The method can sometimes feel like they're just making it up as they go along. Mind you, not all of this is a bad thing. After all, I rather like Brima and Gyol becoming the two main people Gallant relies upon, it just seems bit odd given the previous episodes. The experimentation of the show is something of a weird draw. It makes me wonder how much stuff in Juspion affected later shows, in particular, the following series of Spielvan, as a good chunk of the villains are actually women in roles similar to Brima and Gyol.
As far as the day-to-day episodes go, the show is very similar to a sentai in its structure, with plot related episodes sprinkled throughout these transgressions. Most of the villains' plots are to either trick people into joining them, brainwash, cut off supply lines, make a particular monster more powerful, etc.
Oddly enough in some instances, I find these self-contained episodes more entertaining than the plot-relevant episodes about the galactic bible or Golden Bird. Perhaps part of that lies with the show's quick and compact nature. Now obviously this isn't the case for everything, after all, it's a good long while before the Golden Bird business is taken care of, that spans almost the entire series, and that's quite good on them. But a good simple episode often works better in Juspion's case. Most of the early Metal hero series are fairly simple stories when you get down to it and you're probably not going to find any particular deeper undertones at least until Metalder. But the shows do have their hooks and merits. In Juspion's case, it's the giant monster aspect that's a major appeal.
In that regard, I really like the presentation of the monsters, they're never really treated as malevolent in and of their selves for the most part. There are some that are just malicious, but most are presented as wild animals, often acting out only because of Satan Gorth's abilities to cause a blind rage.
This has a layer of unfortunate circumstances when Juspion has to fight and usually kill a monster. In some extreme circumstances such as when a friendly or a parental megabeast is berserk, Juspion will hold back a bit or even perform a half finisher in an attempt to knock some sense back into the helpless creature.
Sometimes it works, but in at least one instance Juspion has no choice but to kill the poor creature who was otherwise tame up until that point. This is something that really sticks out to me because the only other show or even franchise that comes to mind regarding the treatment of antagonists in this light is the Ultra Series. That's not to say Sentai and Rider don't have their share of friendly monsters, but it's never to this degree or frequency.
What information I could find about the show indicates that Bandai was having great success with Ultra Kaiju toys and suggested to Toei that they should feature more distinctive Dai-Kaiju in one of their shows. It's shocking to me they went with a Metal Heroes series over Sentai, but I guess things just lined up right for them to try something with the franchise since the main writer of the Metal Heroes series at the point did have prior work on some Ultra shows.
I will admit the overall story for Juspion is something I do not find particularly compelling. It's what I would call serviceable. I really like fantasy aspects, legends and all is up my alley. But the stuff with Juspion being tasked to find the Golden Bird to defeat Goth never really grasped me the way one would think.
I can still enjoy many of those episodes, but other things appeal to me more than the bigger picture the narrative tries to paint. To their credit, larger stories weren't much of a thing for Metal Heroes at this point. I dare call Juspion a big story, but in comparison to Gavan and assuming Sharivan and Shaider weren't much more complex, then Juspion probably was the most plot progressive at the time. Tthere are plenty of episodes that end up on the rather frustrating side of things. In particular, Juspion does have quite a few notable kid-focused episodes that I don't think work very well and can bog things down. I can see these being a point of contention with some people but while I certainly do find those episodes annoying, I find more enjoyment in others, plot-focused or not.
As for the actual revelations with the Golden Bird, they're okay. Basically what it comes down to is the Golden Bird being a Master Sword to Satan Goth's Ganondorf. There's also a baby touched by the light of the Golden Bird which is Goth's true weakness, a child that- like Juspion, was orphaned and is in a preservation pod. Ultimately the main lesson was about people across the universe, coming together to stop a great evil, which I can totally get behind.
Adorably, Juspion, of course, takes the baby in at the end of the show, naming him Tarzan.
At this point, it feels I need to talk about how Juspion most definitely has a very strong mythical almost religious element alongside it's sci-fi setting if that wasn't clear enough with a Galactic Bible and Satan. I wouldn't be surprised if this also came from the whole "be like Ultraman" thing. Because Tsuburaya himself did use a lot of religious imagery there as well.
There was also timing with the 80s really being into both sci-fi and fantasy aspects anyway. Clash of the Titans, Conan, Galactica, and especially Star Wars.
I greatly enjoy both genres and I'm always interested when a Toku delves into that sort of thing. I will say that Juspion's usage of both is surprisingly subtle and quaint. The elements are always there but yet they rarely seem overt with only particular episodes ever flaunting them, the ending especially.
I think a lot of that has to do with the series mainly having an earth setting. The first few episodes are all in space and on different planets. They are some the most incredibly captivating parts of the show to me because they are so different from other toku and even within the show itself. I kinda wish the entire show could have been like that, but I'm sure for budget reasons they could not. However, it was such a fun experience that I would love to see another series attempt the same. Juspion has these great bursts that hint at a larger world, a larger universe and I would've loved to had explored it more, see planets the Empire has conquered and how different each planet's culture is or has been warped by war and corruption. But I understand why that was not to be.
Hell, give me a manga series the way of Kamen Rider Spirits. I could easily see someone taking this and pulling a Jack Kirby's New Gods with a Japanese flair.
SFX
Let us start with Juspion and his metal-tec suit.
It's a really good design. Coming off the Space Sheriff trilogy, there were bound to be similarities in the aesthetic department, and yeah, Juspion fits right in with his suit, Plasma Blazer Sword and Scanner gun. But I also think they did well enough in creating something different in minor ways. Juspion has antenna on his helmet. His shoulders, legs and arms all have more angled armor as opposed to a more rounded design. But the thing where Juspion is most different in suits is that his chrome appearance almost never shows up. The chrome helmet shows up plenty of times, likely because it's the only one with a light up function for the eyes.
But the chrome suit in its entirety? It only shows up in the end credits and as far as I can remember, the last battle with Gallant for about 15 seconds. It's used so little it would not surprise me to learn that the suit that appears in Space Squad: Gavan vs. Deka Ranger, was the exact same one.
Why they use it so little I'm not sure, but my guess is they wanted to keep it in good condition as to not repair it, and instead focus on the Giant robot suit. That- and honestly it doesn't look as good as Gavan, Sharivan, or Shaider's shiny variations. It looks great in the end credits with all the fire and explosions reflecting off of it. But outside of that, it's kinda eh. Possibly due to the lack of a colorful light up chest.
That said I don't feel there is any great loss in not having the Chrome variation featured regularly if at all. I prefer the standard version and all the little details put into it. The colored squares, the target on the abdomen, and even the back get detailing with two tanks of some sort. It also just looks a lot better than the previous stunt suits used.
I would also be remiss if I didn't at least mention Juspion's civilian form. I mean good lord, what a look. Even without the Afro, it is out there with that leopard print shirt and vest. I guess they were going for a space Wildman thing with the animal print. I love it, it's ridiculous.
Mad Gallant.
Gallant's design is for the most part rather nice. The black contrasts well with Juspion's silver, the light going down the torsos adds a nice mix of colors, and his eyes light up a warm yellow color. My only issue with it is that the black color scheme ends up making a lot of the details muddled, which results in a very plain appearance unless the eyes and chest are currently lit up.
It feels like Gallant should have Yellow stripes along the mostly bare midsection, similar to the yellow dots along the arms and legs. Funny enough, when Space Squad rolled around, that's exactly what they did.
As for his civilian form, it's surprisingly subtle. Usually just a button down shirt, some jeans and always those huge sunglasses. Occasionally he'll have a suit on, but that's about it. Regardless, I actually like the look of it, he always looks like a greasy slimeball. Like a really corny used Car Salesman.
However, I greatly prefer his second appearance, which I find much more fitting for a dark prince. Not to mention it's an actual outfit which fits more in tune with the sci-fi fantasy aspect. He doesn't gain this look until episode 30 when he is rebuilt after a bit of an explosion incident.
Satan Goth
Satan Goth looks like Darth Vader, there's no mistaking it and it's kinda funny. Star Wars had a big impact in Japan like everywhere else and the result was a lot of borderline looking lawsuits in various Tokusatsu. The series following Juspion, Spielban, even had X-wings.
Honestly, I don't know what else to say about this look, it's very derivative, and not in a way that something like the Laser blades are, which can be chalked up as a general sci-fi weapon. Although speaking of swords, Goth has one that glows red.
Not subtle.
But with that said, it is better than his second appearance.
This is...wonky. Copying one of the most iconic villain appearances only to follow it up with a doofy mouthed demon is slightly disappointing, to say the least. Not helping that is the arms can barely move and the overall suit is pretty stiff. This is such a shame because there are really good monster designs in Juspion, so I'm not sure why the big bad ended up so half-baked.
Miya.
Speaking of questionable design choices, Miya has to get a special mention here, because this is one of the saddest things in Juspion. I don't know what the heck it was, but this suit just goes to hell. It gets dirty and never looks clean after the fact, the eyelids get all messed up, the mouth doesn't move properly.
They have at least three different suits over the course of the series and all but the last fall apart, and the only reason that happens is that the last one is introduced in the final 8 episodes of the show. This thing is incredibly sad looking.
General.
As for the smaller scale fights, they're adequate and at times really good. I've talked about how fights in Toku usually hit a middle ground for me because unless there is something that goes above and beyond most are competently done with nothing special to point out. That being said, there are bursts that go above the norm every now and then. Be it an impressive shot with some slow-mo or panning, a really good stunt, or a limb getting cut off in a really intense scene.
However, where I believe Juspion shines most is elsewhere...
Daileon.
This is something I've really looked forward to gushing about. Something that's unique to Juspion from other Metal Hero series is that it is the only show from the franchise to feature a full suitmation robo like a Sentai. Before and after, most characters had ships that could turn into a giant gun, drill, or were animal based. etc.
The robot was designed by the great Murakami Katsushi, who- in addition to creating Juspion's suit, has done countless design work in the world of Tokusatsu, toys and anime. Gavan, Golion, Kamen Rider Black, Daitetsujin 17, Winspector, Bioman, Jiban, Zyuranger, Mega Ranger, and the list goes on. I do not think Daileon is his best work, but keep in mind it's kinda hard to compete when you've got freaking Voltron and multiple Megazords on your resume.
But I do think Daileon is a good design. It's clean and sleek looking with an overall nice shape, if slightly simple and derivative in some aspects. The fists are a bit disproportionately large- a fact more noticeable whenever Daileon requires poseable fingers and they simply use the much for fitting Juspion suit gloves. That is a minor issue, but it is funny to think it has the opposite problem Daizyujin did.
Where Daileon and the indeed the show itself flaunts it's greatest asset is the stunts. I do not think I've ever seen a big suit be put through so much punishment and ambitious fight scenes. They toss this suit through the air, do flips with it and all sorts of things robos usually don't do.
The quality of these battles is incredible thanks to the wire work and the actor's surprising agility in such a bulky outfit.
Now, not every episode is like this. Hell, not every episode has a Megabeast. But there is a lot and it's far more than I ever would have expected. The amount of work that goes into some of the fights is hands down among the most exciting and interesting monster battles I have ever seen.
If there is a drawback to these great scenes it's the obvious nature of the wire work, and it's not just a simple here and there thing, it's pretty damn egregious at times, especially on an HD TV.
Likewise, most of the composite shots just look bad, and this applies across the board.
It's kinda weird that the composite shots for Juspion in 1986 look worse than the ones for Ultraman in 1966.
However, in the grand scheme of things I am able to look past them to some extent. To me, there's nothing so distracting that it takes away from my enjoyment of seeing these fights and knowing someone was in that damn suit doing all these crazy things that I have never seen elsewhere. I really cannot oversell how good this is.
Daileon isn't the only tool at Juspion's disposal. He also has access to a motorcycle called the Iron Wolf and a Giant Drill called Garbin tank which has a detachable section for a jet.
These are all very nice vehicles. My favorite being the Drill which I believe to have the most exciting usage. But nothing really compares to a Giant Robot, except maybe the Mega Beasts it beats up.
I don't think the Megebeast are super amazing, but they're very different from Sentai monsters and a lot of them do have unique aspects that cause them to stand out. We also have a good variety. My personal favorites are those that blend into an environment. Mountains, volcanoes, forests. The designs are made in mind as if these are- if albeit fantastical- living creatures, rather than the strange combinations of things like in a Sentai. You're not likely gonna see a phone crocodile here or walking tombstone lighter. Although there is at least two oddball designs. One of which is a Prawn chef and the other a seamonster with a functioning sub jammed through it's body.
The Prawn is the most out of place design in the entire show. Yet it almost makes it distinctive because of that.
There are other exceptions too, such as one that has an entire turret segment for an upper body. Though we can assume the empire at some point began modifying them. Either that or MB are much more like Pokemon where really strange and exotic ones exist.
Music.
Holy hell is this a solid soundtrack. Right from the opening, we're treated with 'Ore Ga Seigi Da! Juspion!' (I am Justice) by Ai Takano. Not my favorite track, but it kicks things off with a mix of synth, strings and horns, you know what you're getting into.
Ginga no Tarzan (Galactic Tarzan). Now we're getting somewhere. This track is performed by Metal Hero regular Akira Kushida, and as usual, he does a great job. The song is largely about Juspion's life as an orphan, how he was too young when his parents died to even remember them, yet also contrasts the sorrow with his own optimism, love for life, and how he still has friends.
Ryuusei no Senshi (Warrior of the shooting star). This is one of my favorite tracks, once again performed by Ai Takano. The song has such a great constant energy with a heavy presence of a guitar, drums, and a synth I love so much. The lyrics are great too, with them being about how (presumably Juspion) can't sit idly by and allow peace to be disturbed. The song just keeps going and builds up at the end when we get this sweet guitar wail and vocals screaming out until the song fades out. It's so 80s and I love it.
Chou Wakusei Sentou Bokan Daileon. (Ultra Planetary Battleship Daileon) This is another great track and it pairs with the above quite well. Much like Ryuusei no Senshi, it's about stopping evil, but the lyrics having more emphasis on traversing across the galaxy since it is about the ship itself. It's also not as fast-paced, sounding more like a triumphant march with a synthesizer in the background. Every time this track comes on I get a little excited, it compliments the scenery and battles so well. It honestly has become one of my favorite toku themes just by association of the great fight scenes. The only thing I can think to compare it to is Flash King's theme, which incidentally Juspion aired alongside Flashman. Toei just had some great people writing songs that year.
Ginga Ookami Juspion (Space Wolf Juspion) I love this track. It's really hard for me to pick a favorite song when there are so many good ones, but this is one hell of a contender, right up there with Daileon and Ryuusei no Senshi. As soon as this one starts you're slammed with a guitar and electric drums. The lyrics are a bit on the odd side, I don't really think there's a way to properly translate or interpret some of it. Then again, songs from the 80s were very metaphorical anyway. But that doesn't matter, what's there is still great. All I need is to hear about someone walking a lonely path in space and their soul howling. That's right on the line of cheesy and kickass. This track is so good.
And boy, what a nickname. Galactic Tarzan is cool, Warrior of the Shooting star is cool, but I think Space Wolf beats them all. It's no wonder Toei uses that for marketing over Megabest Investigator. (although that's pretty awesome sounding too)
Mabushii Aitsu. (Dazzling Guy) I think this song only appears in one episode. It's a bit of an odd one admittedly, very light-hearted and cute compared to everything else. It's by no means a bad track, I actually somewhat enjoy it. Kinda reminds of Junior Rider Tai no Uta, or Winspector's ending theme; Kyou no Ore Kara Ashita no Kimi e.
Itsu no Hi Heiwa ga (When will there be Peace) By BOBBY.
I couldn't find much about the singer, though I suspect it's the same that sang the theme to Lupin The Third: The Castle of Cagliostro "Fire Treasure".
As for this track, it's fine. I like the pacing of the lyrics- if that makes any sense. Also features a Jazz flute which really makes it stick out in the soundtrack, giving it a bit of a Gavan flair.
Powerful Fighter Juspion. Another great one by Akira Kushida and once again features a great Guitar segment. The only problem I think this track has is that it's best bit occurs too early. Once you're a minute and a half in you've already heard the most it has to offer.
Kyojuu tachi yo. (They are MegaBeasts(?)) By the Space Minstrals.
This is a weird one. It's not an unpleasant track itself, but it's very slow and kinda sad with the lyrics, which is the intent, but as a result, it really only works within the show itself during appropriate scenes. Which to its credit it does work very well. The song is about Megabeast lamenting the fact Satan Gorth is making them rampage against their will and how they will ultimately die as a result. Kinda dark.
I'm Juspion & A Wolf in Space Juspion by Henry.
I'm lumping these together because they're just English covers of the opening and ending. Absolutely hilariously bad covers. CClemon99 has done plenty of articles on this strange phase of toku, so if you want more info on that I'll link those here.
As for the covers, what can I say? Listen to them yourself and bathe in the glory of the Engrish, with lines such as: "You know you are boy, I know you are young" "Yes I do Justice for all" and "Let's do chasing love" "Might've be coward dog" And Yes these are both used in the show, but only once each.
The BGM is, for the most part, okay. Usually instrumental versions from the main soundtrack with some original stuff thrown in. The most commonly played is Keesen, a sorta funky track with a sweet sax. Although my favorite part is a bit when it really picks up with a high pitched guitar and becomes action oriented. I bragged about it in my episode one review and I still think it's a great track. Looking back on it, I've finally realized it's mostly just a remix of Powerful Fighter Juspion.
Michiaki Watanabe was the composer for this series, continuing his work for the Metal Heroes franchise while developing a more contemporary sound. I actually wasn't 100% sure it was the same composer at first simply because it did have a more distinctively 80s sound whereas the Space Sheriffs series leaned more towards a late 70s sound with a heavy disco and jazz vibe, which is what Watanabe's work is most famous for. But sure enough, it's still him and it sounds great.
Final Thoughts
Juspion is a series I've flipped back in forth on a lot. I've never disliked the series, but some days I felt that for the time it did an above average job and was incredibly bold in a lot of the SFX they pulled. Indeed, it easily beats anything Sentai was doing in terms of robot fights, and I don't want to be harsh on it when there is so much I enjoy. Other days I feel as if I'm giving it too much leeway, and while it's certainly no worse for wear than any other toku of the time period, that should not be used as an excuse for its rather easily avoidable misgivings.
I've finally come to the conclusion that Juspion is a very rare instance of style being a substance of its own. The story is decent enough for framework, the characters are very likeable, but it's the technical aspect where you will find the most enjoyment in Juspion, or at least where I found the most.
This is not something that I can say is common even for Toku where the special effect is a big part of the draw, but there is still always that old George Lucas adage that a special effect without a good story can be very boring, which is absolutely true. But Juspion manages to just squeeze by and bank on those phenomenal stunts. It is fantastically unique in that regard and deserves every bit of praise for that. As far as stunts in a bulky robot suit go, I feel Juspion has no equal and by this point in time, it will likely never be matched.
Juspion is a lightning in a bottle series, things just line up for it and I don't think any other show could pull off the same things it did. At the end of the day, the visuals and music captivate me. Harsh as I am on some of the story elements, I love this show and it has something about that can never be replicated.
And now, at the time of this final addition, Juspion is getting a US release from Discotek. I never would have thought I'd see a series like Juspion get a release in the US. I always figured maybe Shout would do a MH series like Metalder or B-Fighter if they wanted to branch out from Sentai, but thank god that hasn't happened yet since Shout has been really screwing up subs more and more lately. They can't even sub things that are said in English correctly (seriously).
Discotek meanwhile is actually using MegabeastEmpire's subs as the base for Juspion's subs. They're working with them, giving them credit, they're correcting any errors that occur, making things consistent so we don't switch between Gorth/Goth, Rotto/Lotto etc. and that's great, I think it's so wonderful and smart to take this approach. Especially since if the subs are good quality, might as well, right? I'm very thankful to MBE's Lew and Champ. FortMax/bunnyhat for helping get Juspion out in the first place, and Now Discotek is giving it a proper release with special features. I'm looking forward to that and am preordering ASAP. Not to mention August Ragone is working on those Special features and considering how good the information on the V3 set I reviewed was, I can't wait to see that and learn about all the people that put this together. Truly amazing that a little show like this is getting a release. I'm still shocked that this is happening. I hope it does well and we can get more MH, or hell, maybe even some Kamen Rider.
Also, once I have the Bluray I will be taking a look at the special features and will do a mini review on what you get and such
And please make a poster of this cover, holy shit I want Juspion hanging in my room.
Thank you to all those that made such a fascinating show and those providing this show to a wider audience.
And thank you for reading my review. I hope it was informative and enjoyable.
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