Chōjin Sentai Jetman
Shout! Factory released this series in North America on September 25, 2018. This is the 10th incarnation of "Super Sentai" to be released in North America and, , the only one released so far in North America without a "Power Rangers" counterpart. Plot. This series takes place in 199X. On the Earth Ship, the command center of a defence 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. Ryuu Tendou, 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 Ryuu'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 Tendou 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 Ryuu as he learns of Rie's survival and enlistment in the Vyram forces, as well as a love triangle between Gai, Ryuu, and Kaori. Characters. Earth Defence Force Sky Force. is the military organization the Jetmen belong to. Jetmen. Based at the , a high-tech base provided by the Sky Force, the Jetmen are formed by five people who gain superhuman strength through exposure to Birdonic Waves: one intentionally and the other four accidentally. Each Jetman  is equipped with a wingsuit uniform known as the that allows them to glide in the air, the right-handed Wing Gauntlet, a combat sword known as the Bringer Sword, and a handgun known as the Bird Blaster. Ryū Tendō. /: Born at May 10, 1965. He 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 Ryū and encourages him to stay true to his own belief in justice rather than revenge. Three years later, he marries Kaori. He is portrayed by . Kaori Rokumeikan. /: The  22-year-old heiress of the Rokumeikan Enterprises empire. She is taken care of by her butler, Jiiya, since her parents reside in New York City. She becomes a Jetman to escape the boredom of her heiress life. She is good at Kendo and is the best shot among the Jetmen. She was in the middle of a love triangle with Ryū and Gai. She was also learning through hardships brought on by her new profession as it clashed with her life as a spoiled rich girl while figuring out what are truly important to herself. She was once engaged  to a wealthy businessman named Soichiro Kitaoji and was close to marrying him, but she quickly ended their relationship when she saw his selfishness in contrast to her team's selfless determination as warriors of justice. She does sometimes use her wealth to help the team, like when she purchased a large number of diamonds and other jewels to try and snap Ako out of the curse of the dimensional monster Diamond Dimension. At the end of the series, she marries Ryū. She is portrayed by . Raita Ōishi. /: A 22-year-old large-framed, eyeglasses-wearing nature lover who enjoys  vegetables, Raita hates Vyram for their destruction of nature. He was raised by his grandmother, Kiyo, because his parents were busy running a restaurant. He harbors a crush for Kaori, vowing to be there for her even if he has no chance with her, although eventually, his ultimate subject of affection turns out to be his childhood friend, Satsuki. As Yellow Owl, he specializes in raw strength techniques like head butts, body blows, sumo-based techniques, and hurling boulders. Three years after Vyram is defeated, he runs a farm with Satsuki. He is portrayed by (Credited under ). Ako Hayasaka. /: An  18-year-old senior student at Miharakita High School, Ako is a bright and cheerful girl who wants to marry a rich man. She first thought of being a Jetman as just a high-paying job, but her first battle helps her sense of justice take hold and makes her realize that she must use her newfound power to protect Earth. She is best friends with her classmate, Kyoko, who learns of her true identity during the Voice Dimension incident. From the Trash Dimension incident, the monster being her childhood toy "Teddy", Ako learns of how wasteful humans can be . She debuts as an idol singer three years after the fall of Vyram. She is portrayed by . Gai Yūki. /: The 26-year-old second-in-command of the Jetmen, 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 Ryū, though he fights dirty and hits below the belt sometimes. He initially clashes with the straight-laced Ryū when drafted against his will but eventually comes to respect Ryū's  largely principled disposition (Ryū 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 Ryū  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 Ryū 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. He is portrayed by . Allies. Aya Odagiri. Commander Aya Odagiri is portrayed by . Supreme Commander Akira Ichijou. : A Sky Force officer who cares only  for himself and bears a grudge against Commander Odagiri for being the commanding officer in the Jetmen project, which fell to civilians. With his Neo Jetmen, Ichijou gains appointment to assume command of Sky Camp base, bent on making Odagiri suffer while removing her Jetmen from the picture. However, he subsequently proves himself to be utterly incompetent in his new capacity when Bio-Dimension Beast Meteor BEM infiltrates and wreaks havoc within Sky Camp, being instantly demoralized at the first sign of Meteor BEM gaining the upper hand, refusing to even defend himself when offered the option to do so , and trapping his own Neo Jetmen team (and Commander Odagiri, who is attempting to aid the Neo Jetmen at the time) with the monster in a futile act of desperation. It is implied at the end of Episode 41 that Sky Force has since removed Ichijou from command and reinstated Odagiri in the aftermath of the attack. Supreme Commander Akira Ichijou is portrayed by . Dimensional War Party Vyram. The 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 , 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. Radiguet. Radiguet is portrayed by (credited as ). Tran. (1-36) / (36-47): A psychokinetic child who  suggested a game to settle who would be Vyram's new leader. He specialized into creating toy-ish monsters to satisfy his fun desires, and thought both enemy or ally fatalities as "just part of the fun". Being the youngest of the Vyram was a big complex to him until his failed attempt to take out the Jetmen during their retreat to the Yamada Ranch was the last straw. The constant anger became unbearable to the point of Tran using it to accelerate his growth. With his new-found power and maturity, Tranza easily defeats both his comrades and the  Jetmen for underestimating him before seizing leadership of Vyram. In addition to his psychokinetic powers from his gauntlet, and new-found arrogant nature, he can now assume disguises and wields the blade. After his giant robot Veronica was ruined by Radiguet, and after completing his new Bio Gun, Tranza heads out to hunt both him and the Jetmen down. Fighting the entire Jetman team on his own, Tranza uses his Bio Gun to turn each Jetman member into a rock plate until only Ryuu remained. However, with Radiguet aiding Red Hawk before betraying him, the Bio Gun is destroyed by  Red Hawk's charged Bringer Sword and the others are freed with the destruction of Tranza's gauntlet as they use the Fire Bazooka on Tranza. Though he survives the attacks, Radiguet tortures Tranza before sparring him to live with a severe brain injury at the Joutou Neurosurgery Hospital. Tran is portrayed by . Tranza is portrayed by . Maria. (1-49): She was formerly known as , ranked Sky Forcer W3, a love interest of Ryuu's who plays the piano. Though originally to be a Jetman, Vyram's attack on the Earth Ship resulted with Rie being sucked into space. However , Rie is saved by Radiguet, who brainwashed her to be devoid of her memories as a human and made an official of Vyram. However, though he loved her and tells her that she is his, Maria defies Radiguet to suit her own agenda to be leader of Vyram. She loves to battle, and her methods are cruel and cold. She is armed with the Necrod, which has sword, gun, and whip modes. The monsters created by her were often motivated by envy, and attacked mainly women. Since the Camera Dimension incident, unconsciously playing the piano, Maria develops a relationship with  Grey. Since then, she played piano music for Grey despite not knowing why, until her identity was found out and the relationship got difficult. Grey was willing to let her go if it made her happy. During the Demons incident, Maria momentarily reverted to Rie until Radiguet forced her back to her Vyram persona with a vendetta against Red Hawk. Eventually forfeiting their contest, Maria accepts Radiguet's proposal of ruling by his side in return of becoming even stronger than she is now. As a result, Maria is infected by a cell born from Radiguet's blood that turns  her into a vampiric beast as she targets men, though unaware that she would transform into mindless puppet overtime. While fighting Ryuu, Maria assumes her monstrous form as she battles Red Hawk before assuming Rie's appearance to catch him off guard as the cell transfers itself to Ryuu in order to have him take out the Jetmen. While Ryuu manages to return to normal, Maria is in the final stage of her transformation as she defeats the other Jetmen before Ryuu arrives and manages to reach Rie, causing Maria to remember her true self as she reverts to her  true form. When Radiguet comes to reclaim her, Rie pretends that she will go with him, only to stab him in the back before he mortally wounds her. Before her death, Rie asks Ryuu to leave her out of it before being spirited away by Grey. Her ghost later appeared in the finale, saying farewell to Ryuu after his marriage to Kaori. Maria is portrayed by . Grey. (1-50): A robot who ironically was always the most reasoning member of the Vyram. He is armed with the , , and . Despite being a robot, he showed human feelings, especially love for wine , music, cigars, and particularly Maria, learning to play the piano from example. As a result, Grey supports Maria in shielding her when fighting Jetman, seeing Gai Yuuki as an ideal rival. Learning of Radiguet's plan for her, Grey attempts to talk Maria out of it to no avail. This forces Grey to ask the Jetmen to save Maria. However, he instead takes her dying body away as he takes her death hard. With nothing to live for other than his code as a soldier, Grey calls the Jetmen out in a final match, with Gai wanting to fight him  alone. Eventually, Grey is mortally damaged as Gai lit one last cigar for him as a sign of acknowledgment as a worthy rival before Grey shuts down. Grey is portrayed by . Production. "Chōjin 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 Yuuki/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 Ryuu 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 . 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 Ryuu and Kaori's one-year-old daughter Aya Tendou 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 , who is empowered by Birdonic Waves after a  meteorite crashes next to him, and becomes 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 "Chōjin 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: 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 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: The game features four difficulty settings, a password option , and a Battle Mode where the player can fight against any of the first five bosses. Reception. As of 2015, the series has become one of the most popular and darkest entries in "Super Sentai". It officially gained a much wider audience and got a rating of 7.1% average, beating Fiveman's 6.5%. Despite the series also receiving criticism for adding "romance drama to a children's show", Gai Yuuki became an instant hit with Japanese mothers, who sent clemency pleas to TV Asahi so that they did not kill him off. It is still today considered to Sentai fans  a masterpiece and topped the number 1 popular vote in both Bandai's B-CLUB magazine and Toei's "Super Sentai Request Tournament". In the end, total revenue from the series greatly exceeded 15 billion yen. Jetman was one of the Super Sentai series originally going to be adapted into the first season of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", but Saban chose its successor, "Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger" to be the first instead. Home media. In 2018, Shout! Factory announced that it will release the series on DVD on September 25, 2018, in Japanese with English subtitles, marking it the 10th Super  Sentai installment given an official DVD release in North America. It is the first pre-Mighty Morphin Sentai to be released in North America on DVD.