# Metal Hero Series

The Metal Heroes or Metal Hero Series (メタルヒーローシリーズ, Metaru Hīrō Shirīzu) is a metaseries of tokusatsu superhero TV series produced by Toei for Japanese television.
The protagonists of the Metal Hero Series are mainly space, military and police-based characters who are typically either androids, cyborgs, or humans wearing metallic armored suits. Henceforth, most of the Metal Heroes are also referenced as another example of the "Henshin (transforming) Heroes" genre. Usually, the genre revolves around a technological theme where technology, in the right hands, can be used for the greater good.
The shows were produced by Toei from 1982 through 1999 in conjunction with their other Tokusatsu superhero shows, Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. Initially only 1993 Janperson and the series released between 1985 and 1989 (Juspion, Spielban, Metalder, Jiraiya and Jiban) were considered part of the Metal Hero franchise while Gavan, Sharivan and Shaider were part of the Space Sheriff franchise and Winspector, Solbrain and Exceedraft were part of the Rescue Police franchise. It was only in late-1990s that Toei Company incorporated the Space Sheriff and Rescue Police trilogies as subseries of the Metal Hero. Blue SWAT, B-Fighter, B-Fighter Kabuto, Kabutack and Robotack were also incorporated into the franchise afterwards.
In addition to Japan, they are also popular in France, Brazil, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. During the 1990s, Saban Entertainment used some of the shows to produce programs similar to their Power Rangers series. Some of the Metal Hero Series even spawned such sequels which followed the continuity of the previous shows, resulting in the genre developing sub-categories based mainly on space, military and police-related characters.

## List of Metal Hero Series

| # | # | Year | Title | Full title | Full title | No. of episodes | Subseries | American counterpart |
| # | # | Year | Title | Japanese | International | No. of episodes | Subseries | American counterpart |
| | 1 | 1982 | Gavan | 宇宙刑事ギャバン Uchū Keiji Gyaban | Space Sheriff Gavan | 44 | Space Sheriffs | |
| | 2 | 1983 | Sharivan | 宇宙刑事シャリバン Uchū Keiji Shariban | Space Sheriff Sharivan | 51 | Space Sheriffs | |
| | 3 | 1984 | Shaider | 宇宙刑事シャイダー Uchū Keiji Shaidā | Space Sheriff Shaider | 49 | Space Sheriffs | VR Troopers |
| | 4 | 1985 | Juspion | 巨獣特捜ジャスピオン Kyojū Tokusō Jasupion | Mega-Beast Investigator Juspion | 46 | | |
| | 5 | 1986 | Spielban | 時空戦士スピルバン Jikū Senshi Supiruban | Dimensional Warrior Spielban | 44 | | VR Troopers |
| | 6 | 1987 | Metalder | 超人機メタルダー Chōjinki Metarudā | Super Android Metalder | 39 | | VR Troopers |
| | 7 | 1988 | Jiraiya | 世界忍者戦ジライヤ Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya | Olympic Ninja Jiraiya | 50 | | |
| | 8 | 1989 | Jiban | 機動刑事ジバン Kidō Keiji Jiban | The Mobile Cop Jiban | 52 | | |
| | 9 | 1990 | Winspector | 特警ウインスペクター Tokkei Uinsupekutā | Special Rescue Police Winspector | 49 | Rescue Police | |
| | 10 | 1991 | Solbrain | 特救指令ソルブレイン Tokkyū Shirei Soruburein | Super Rescue Solbrain | 53 | Rescue Police | |
| | 11 | 1992 | Exceedraft | 特捜エクシードラフト Tokusō Ekushīdorafuto | Special Rescuers Exceedraft | 49 | Rescue Police | |
| | 12 | 1993 | Janperson | 特捜ロボジャンパーソン Tokusō Robo Janpāson | Robot Investigator Janperson | 50 | | |
| | 13 | 1994 | Blue SWAT | ブルースワット Burū Suwatto | Blue SWAT | 51 | | |
| | 14 | 1995 | B-Fighter | 重甲ビーファイター Jūkō Bī Faitā | Beetle Fighter | 53 | Beetle Fighters | Big Bad Beetleborgs |
| | 15 | 1996 | B-Fighter Kabuto | ビーファイターカブト Bī Faitā Kabuto | Beetle Fighter Kabuto | 50 | Beetle Fighters | Beetleborgs Metallix |
| | 16 | 1997 | Kabutack | ビーロボカブタック Bī Robo Kabutakku | B-Robo Kabutack | 52 | Herotack | |
| | 17 | 1998 | Robotack | テツワン探偵ロボタック Tetsuwan Tantei Robotakku | Ironclad Detective Robotack | 45 | Herotack | |

### Staff

| Title | Series director | Head writer | Music composer |
| Gavan | Yoshiaki Kobayashi | Shozo Uehara | Chumei Watanabe |
| Sharivan | Yoshiaki Kobayashi | Shozo Uehara | Chumei Watanabe |
| Shaider | Shinichiro Sawai | Shozo Uehara | Chumei Watanabe |
| Juspion | Yoshiaki Kobayashi | Shozo Uehara | Chumei Watanabe |
| Spielban | Makoto Tsuji | Shozo Uehara | Chumei Watanabe |
| Metalder | Takeshi Ogasawara | Susumu Takaku | Seiji Yokoyama |
| Jiraiya | Makoto Tsuji | Akira Nakahara | Kei Wakakusa |
| Jiban | Michio Konishi | Noboru Sugimura | Chumei Watanabe |
| Winspector | Shohei Tojo | Noboru Sugimura | Seiji Yokoyama |
| Solbrain | Masao Minowa | Noboru Sugimura | Kaoru Mizuki |
| Exceedraft | Kaneharu Mitsumura | Noboru Sugimura | Kaoru Mizuki |
| Janperson | Michio Konishi | Junichi Miyashita | Kei Wakakusa |
| Blue SWAT | Makoto Tsuji | Junichi Miyashita | Kei Wakakusa |
| B-Fighter | Shinichiro Sawai | Junichi Miyashita | Eiji Kawamura |
| B-Fighter Kabuto | Shohei Tojo | Junichi Miyashita | Eiji Kawamura |
| Kabutack | Taro Sakamoto | Takashi Yamada | Katsunori Ishida |
| Robotack | Katsuya Watanabe | Takashi Yamada | Kei Wakakusa |

## Theatrical releases

* 1984: Uchuu Keiji Shaider: The Movie
* 1984: Uchuu Keiji Shaider: Pursuit! The Strange Kidnappers!
* 1987: Choujinki Metalder: The Movie
* 1989: Kidou Keiji Jiban: The Movie Great Explosion at the Monster Factory of Fear
* 1993: Tokusou Robo Janperson
* 1994: Blue SWAT: The Movie
* 1995: Juukou B-Fighter: The Movie
* 2012: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie
* 2012: Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie
* 2013: Kamen Rider × Super Sentai × Space Sheriff: Super Hero Taisen Z

### V-Cinema releases

* 1998: B-Robo Kabutack: The Epic Christmas Battle
* 1999: Tetsuwan Tantei Robotack and Kabutack: The Great Strange Country Adventure
* 2014: Space Sheriff Sharivan: The Next Generation
* 2014: Space Sheriff Shaider: The Next Generation
* 2017: Space Squad: Gavan vs. Dekaranger
* 2017: Girls in Trouble: Space Squad Episode Zero
* 2018: Uchu Sentai Kyuranger vs. Space Squad

#### Televi Magazine Super Video/Special DVD

* Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters vs. Beet Buster vs. J
* Space Sheriff Gavan Special DVD

## International adaptations
### United States

During the 1990s, Saban adapted Metal Hero Series shows for American audiences; stock footage from Metalder, Spielvan and Shaider was used in VR Troopers (1994–1996), and footage from both B-Fighter series was later used in Big Bad Beetleborgs. Both shows ran for two seasons. As of 2018, Discotek Media has licensed Juspion for release marking the first release of the Metal Heroes in the US. Both Jiraiya and Gavan were used for the Power Rangers franchise with Jiraiya as Sheriff Skyfire in Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel and Gavan as Captain Chaku in Power Rangers Beast Morphers.

### Philippines

Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan was greenlighted by Toei as a sequel to Shaider, with characters who are descendants of those in the original series. Toei later halted production, instead authorizing a spin-off series set 20 years after the end of Shaider.

## Current status

Other similar heroes, such as Nebula Mask Machine Man, Kyodai Ken Byclosser, Lady Battle Cop, and Choukou Senshi Changéríon, were also produced during the time that the Metal Hero Series were on the air, but are not included as part of the Metal Hero Series for various reasons. Machine Man and Bicrosser were created by Shotaro Ishinomori, while Changéríon's armor is not metallic and aired on TV Tokyo. It is unknown if Lady Battle Cop is part of Toei's shared universe.
Currently, the Metal Hero Series is one of Toei's defunct properties, as the company rather favors the Super Sentai and Kamen Rider Series of shows, allegedly due to the passing of Shotaro Ishinomori. However, many of the traits of the series have been adopted into the newer installations of the Super Sentai and Kamen Rider shows. Today, the present versions of this type of heroes are also merged in with the Henshin Heroes description.
Some Metal Heroes have also made cameo appearances. In 2004, a special Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger stage show had a special appearance by Gavan, who assisted Hurricane Red from Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger and Aba Red from Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger in battling various Alienizer monsters from Deka Ranger.
In 2005, Toei released some Uchuu Keiji trilogy merchandise. Later that year, Bandai released a "Souchaku Henshin" figure of Gavan, followed by "Souchaku Henshin" figures of Sharivan and Shaider in early 2006. In May 2006, a PlayStation 2 video game titled The Space Sheriff Spirits was released. The game featured Gavan, Sharivan and Shaider all teaming up to battle past enemies from their series. In early 2008, the trading card company Cardass announced a new, Metal Heroes based expansion to their Rangers Strike card game, entitled Special Metal Edition, featuring characters and vehicles from the various Metal Hero Series for use within the game.
Despite no more television series having been made, the Space Sheriff Series re-emerged in the 2010s with feature films, including new actors portraying successors to Gavan, Sharivan, and Shaider. Some of them are stand alone entries, while others feature crossovers with other Super Sentai and Kamen Rider characters.