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Choujyu Sentai Liveman
1988 Japanese television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Choujyu Sentai Liveman (超獣戦隊ライブマン, Chōjū Sentai Raibuman; Super Beast Squadron Liveman) is a Japanese tokusatsu television series and the twelfth entry of Toei Company's Super Sentai metaseries. The last Super Sentai title of the Shōwa Era,[1] it aired on TV Asahi from February 27, 1988, to February 18, 1989, replacing Hikari Sentai Maskman and was replaced by Kousoku Sentai Turboranger. Its international English title as listed by Toei is simply Liveman.[2]
This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a particular audience. (August 2024) |
This article uses a non-standard episode table. |
It was the first Super Sentai series to have a female Blue Ranger as well as the first Super Sentai series that introduced animal-based mecha. It was also the first Super Sentai series that introduced a super-combined robot (that is 2 or more robots put together); the first Super Sentai series to have three members from the start, with two additional members joining later on; it was the last Super Sentai series that had its mechas transported to the battle through a flying fortress on a regular basis, which would not occur again until Bakuryū Sentai Abaranger; and it was the first Super Sentai series to have both a Green Ranger and a Black Ranger in the main five, as opposed to interchanging one with another, which would not occur again until Engine Sentai Go-onger 20 years later.
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Plot
Academia Island is an elite school that various genius students from across the globe attend. Among them are Yusuke Amamiya, Joh Ohara and Megumi Misaki who with Takuji Yano and Mari Aikawa sought to create a suit strong enough for space exploration. However, three of their classmates and friends Kenji Tsukigata, Rui Senda, and Goh Omura felt their talents were being wasted and leave to join an evil organization called Volt who offers to raise their full scientific potential.
In 1988, the present day, with Kenji, Rui, and Goh now known as Doctors Kemp, Mazenda and Obular, Volt begins its attack by devastating Academia Island. As a result, Yusuke, Joh, and Megumi take up the suits they created and become the Livemen to battle against their former classmates and Volt.
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Characters
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Academia
Liveman
After Black Bison and Green Rhino join the team, the eponymous Liveman team can perform the Spark Attack (スパークアタック, Supāku Atakku) finisher, turning into balls of light and strike the enemy.
- Yusuke Amamiya (天宮 勇介, Amamiya Yūsuke)/Red Falcon (レッドファルコン, Reddo Farukon): A poor student at Academia, but a strong leader and quick at thinking under pressure. He is a brave hard worker and enjoys rock music and work outs. Initially starts as a hot-headed and sarcastic rebel, but grows into the role of dependable leader as the series progresses. Yusuke was once in love with Rui Senda, but she did not return his love. He was good friends with Kenji during their first year or so at Academia until things went sour between them once Kenji started down a dark path. In the 2001 Sentai direct-to-DVD crossover film Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai, Yusuke is found visiting the graves of Takuji Yano, Rui Senda, Kenji Tsukigata, and Mari Aikawa. He briefly dueled Gaku Washio (Gao Yellow) in a sword fight and then lectured Gaku on the many sword-wielding warriors of the Super Sentai franchise, and introduced the Gaorangers to all the 23 other Red Warriors. He performed his roll call twice in that special, one along with the Dream Sentai and Gaorangers and then again with the other Red Warriors.
- Weapons: Falcon Sword (ファルコンソード, Farukon Sōdo), Falcon Saber (ファルコンセイバー, Farukon Seibā).
- Attacks: Falcon Break (ファルコンブレイク, Farukon Bureiku).
- Joh Ohara (大原 丈, Ōhara Jō)/Yellow Lion (イエローライオン, Ierō Raion): He is at the bottom of the class at Academia and a sportsman and skateboarder. He is short-tempered and ready to dive into danger. Joh has the strength to back up his actions. He was once good friends with Goh and was heartbroken when their friendship dissolved once the weak-willed Goh fell into a bad crowd. Years later, during Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger Joh would appear to the Gokaigers and grant them the Greater Power of the team, which was their mecha Super Live Robo.
- Weapons: Lion Punch (ライオンパンチ, Raion Panchi), Lion Bazooka (ライオンバズーカ, Raion Bazūka).
- Attacks: Skateboard Attack.
- Megumi Misaki (岬 めぐみ, Misaki Megumi)/Blue Dolphin (ブルードルフィン, Burū Dorufin): A top class student at Academia who was nonetheless friends with Yusuke and Joh and did powered suit research with them and the late Takuji Yano and Mari Aikawa. She is good at swimming and bicycling and was taught archery by her father. Megumi often criticizes Yuusuke's strategies. A caring figure, feeling even for her enemies. She is very skilled and has fired an arrow from the Dolphin Arrow while riding the Moto Dolphin.
- Weapons: Dolphin Arrow (ドルフィンアロー, Dorufin Arō).
- Tetsuya Yano (矢野 鉄也, Yano Tetsuya)/Black Bison (ブラックバイソン, Burakku Baison) (28-49): The younger brother of Takuji and elder brother of Takeshi. He is good at boxing. He nearly destroyed the Gran Tortoise after being taken over by Volt. Tetsuya is generally a good-hearted person, but has a temper and hatred, mostly fueled by his desire for revenge on Kemp for the murder of his older brother.
- Weapons: Bison Rod (バイソンロッド, Baison Roddo).
- Junichi Aikawa (相川 純一, Aikawa Jun'ichi)/Green Rhino (グリーンサイ, Gurīn Sai): (29-49) The younger brother of Mari and a rugby player. He calls Tetsuya "Tetsu-chan", looking up to him as an older brother. The youngest member of the team, temporarily leaving high school in order to fight Volt. While impregnated by Vega Zuno, Junichi was fearful of the life inside him to the point of getting an abortion until the unborn Vega Baby pleas for its life and Junichi decides to "give birth," only to lose the child when it was killed by its biological parent and ended up getting a newfound respect for mothers.
- Weapons: Sai Cutters (サイカッター, Sai Kattā; Rhino Cutters).
Allies
- Doctor Hoshi (星博士, Hoshi-hakase; 1 & 2): The principal of Academia who made the Gran Tortoise and gave the Livemen mecha the ability to combine before dying. He died helping a pregnant woman trapped in the rubble of Academia Island escape.
- Colon (コロン, Koron): A female robot built by Doctor Hoshi to be in charge of the Gran Tortoise and assist the team.
- Takuji Yano (矢野 卓二, Yano Takuji): An Academia student studying on the power suits for space travel with Yusuke, Joh, Megumi, and Mari. The older brother of Tetsuya and Takeshi. His prototype power suit featured a swallow.
- Mari Aikawa (相川 麻理, Aikawa Mari): An Academia student studying on the power suits for space travel with Yusuke, Joh, Megumi, and Takuji. The older sister of Jun-ichi. Her suit featured a dog.
- Doctor Dorothee (ドロテ博士, Dorote-hakase; 30): Tetsuya and Junichi's benefactor, the leader of the Academia group that built the Bison Liner and the Sai Fire. She later arrives to help the Livemen by providing a new power core for the Bison Liner. She was played by French children entertainer Dorothée.
Relatives
- Takeshi Yano (矢野 武志, Yano Takeshi; 5): The younger brother of Takuji and Tetsuya, he met Yusuke and the others before Takuji was killed by Volt. He helps Yusuke complete the Live Cougar vehicle, which Yusuke started to build with Takuji.
- Toshiko Omura (尾村 俊子, Omura Toshiko; 20 & 21): Go's mother. When Go was young, Toshiko pressured her son into succeeding academically at the expense of giving him a normal childhood.
- Yoichiro Misaki (岬 与一郎, Misaki Yoichirō; 27): Megumi's father. A master of a form of archery known as the Higo Cross style (肥後バッテン流, Higo Batten Ryū). He goes to Tokyo to visit his daughter with the intention of pairing her with a potential marriage partner. He becomes proud of his daughter when he sees her use the Dolphin Arrow.
- Mai Funachi (舟地 マイ, Funachi Mai; 32): A long-time friend of Yusuke who works as a day-care worker in a kindergarten, who also knew Kenji before he became Doctor Kemp.
Armed Brain Volt Army
Believing most of humanity to be inferior, the Armed Brain Volt Army (武装頭脳軍ボルト, Busō Zunō Gun Boruto) is based on the orbiting space station Zuno Base (ヅノーベース, Zunōbēsu) with its officers using a triangular shuttle to journey between it and Earth.
- Great Professor Bias (大教授ビアス, Daikyōju Biasu): A super genius scientist whose appearance belies his actual age, well versed in all knowledge, and worshiped as a god by his officers.
- Kenji Tsukigata/Doctor Kemp (月形 剣史/ドクター・ケンプ, Tsukigata Kenji/Dokutā Kenpu; 1-48): Yusuke's former friend at Academia whose dream was to develop biotechnological means to make humans immune to any disease. However, Kenji became egotistical and power-hungry after taking the test Bias sent to him, killing Takuji and Mari while leaving to join Volt.
- Rui Senda/Doctor Mazenda (仙田 ルイ/ドクター・マゼンダ, Senda Rui/Dokutā Mazenda; 1-47): A haughty woman who was Megumi's rival at the Academia and broke Yusuke's heart. Rui reconstructs herself as a cyborg to reflect her coldness and her desire to preserve her beauty, with concealed weapons within her robotic body like the Arm Gun, Elbow Gun, and Finger Gun.
- Goh Omura/Doctor Obular (尾村 豪/ドクター・オブラー, Omura Gō/Dokutā Oburā; 1-21, 41, 46 & 47): Joh's one-time friend at Academia Island. Goh is a childhood prodigy who uses Volt's research with his inferiority complex as a motivation to turn himself into a completely inhuman monster, called Monster Obular (獣人オブラー, Kaijin Oburā); in this state, he uses a battle axe as his weapon.
- Arashi Busujima/Doctor Ashura (毒島 嵐/ドクター・アシュラ, Busujima Arashi/Dokutā Ashura; 11-46): A tough-as-nails underworld figure and gang leader with a poor education who bears a grudge against the Science Academia and those smarter than he is.
- Guardnoid Gash (ガードノイド・ガッシュ, Gādonoido Gasshu): Bias's robot bodyguard, a relentless machine who has knowledge of firearms and uses his Video Eye to locate targets.
- Guildian Guildos (ギルド星人ギルドス, Girudo Seijin Girudosu; 19-43): A robot secretly built by Bias to spur his scientists to break their limitations, believing himself to be an alien intelligence from the planet Guildo.
- Chibuchian Butchy (チブチ星人ブッチー, Chibuchi Seijin Butchī; 22-44): An orange ape-like robot secretly built by Bias to spur on Kemp et al.
- Jinmmers (ジンマー, Jinmā): The green-skinned android soldiers with mohawk 'haircuts'. They are very difficult to defeat, as their head and limbs operate independently when dismembered.
Brain Beasts
The Brain Beasts (頭脳獣, Zunōjū) are experimental lifeforms created by Guardnoid Gash who combined a brain core with a random object and chaos energy. Each one is used by either Guardnoid or one of the other Armed Brain Volt Army members. To make a Brain Beast grow, Guardnoid Gash would fire the Giga Phantom at them.
Others
- Dinosaur Gon (恐竜ゴン, Kyōryū Gon; 6 & 7): A dinosaur that Time Brain brought to the present, Gon was befriended by a boy named Kenichii. * Giga Volt (ギガボルト, Gigaboruto; 28-30): Created by Bias as the result of his Giga Project, using the Giga Metal that Kemp synthesized and powered by the Giga Energy developed by Mazenda from geothermic heat to build this giant robot personally. Once finally activated, this robot emerges with Kemp piloting it.
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Episodes
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Episodes aired on Saturdays at 6:00 PM JST.
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Cast
- Yusuke Amamiya: Daisuke Shima (嶋 大輔, Shima Daisuke)
- Joh Ohara: Kazuhiko Nishimura (西村 和彦, Nishimura Kazuhiko)
- Megumi Misaki: Megumi Mori (森 恵, Mori Megumi)
- Tetsuya Yano: Seiro Yamaguchi (山口 正朗, Yamaguchi Seirō)
- Junichi Aikawa: Jin Kawamoto (河本 忍, Kawamoto Jin)
- Great Professor Bias: Jōji Nakata (中田 譲治, Nakata Jōji)
- Kenji Tsukigata/Doctor Kemp: Yutaka Hirose (広瀬 裕, Hirose Yutaka) (credited as Takumi Hirose (広瀬 匠, Hirose Takumi))
- Rui Senda/Doctor Mazenda: Akiko Amamatsuri (天祭 揚子, Amamatsuri Akiko) (credited as Akiko Kurusu (来栖 明子, Kurusu Akiko))
- Goh Omura/Doctor Obler: Toru Sakai (坂井 徹, Sakai Tōru)
- Arashi Busujima/Doctor Ashura: Yoshinori Okamoto (岡本 美登, Okamoto Yoshinori)
Guest stars
- Doctor Hoshi: Daisuke Ban (伴 大介, Ban Daisuke) (credited as Naoya Ban (伴 直弥, Ban Naoya)) (episodes 1 & 2)
- Takuji Yano: Hiromichi Hori (堀広道, Hori Hiromichi) (episodes 1, 5, 8, 29 & 30)
- Mari Aikawa: Masae Hayashi (林優枝, Hayashi Masae) (episodes 1, 8, 29 & 30)
- Takeshi Yano: Hirofumi Taga (多賀啓史, Taga Hirofumi) (episode 5)
- Great Professor Bias (Child): Kentaro Ishizema (石関賢太郎, Ishizema Kentarō) (episodes 48 & 49)
Voice actors
- Colon: Makoto Kōsaka (高坂 真琴, Kōsaka Makoto)
- Beast Man Obler: Atsuo Mori (森 篤夫, Mori Atsuo)
- Guildos: Moichi Saito (斉藤 茂一, Saitō Moichi)
- Butchy: Takuzō Kamiyama (神山 卓三, Kamiyama Takuzō)
- Gash: Hideaki Kusaka (日下 秀昭, Kusaka Hideaki)
- Narrator: Takeshi Kuwabara (桑原 たけし, Kuwabara Takeshi)
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Songs
- Opening theme
- "Choujyu Sentai Liveman" (超獣戦隊ライブマン, Chōjū Sentai Raibuman)
- Lyrics: Akira Ohtsu (大津 あきら, Ōtsu Akira)
- Composition: Yasuo Kosugi (小杉 保夫, Kosugi Yasuo)
- Arrangement: Ohzuchi Fujita (藤田 大土, Fujita Ōzuchi)
- Artist: Daisuke Shima
- Ending theme
- "Ashita ni Ikiru ze!" (あしたに生きるぜ!; "Live to Tomorrow!")
- Lyrics: Akira Ohtsu
- Composition: Yasuo Kosugi
- Arrangement: Ohzuchi Fujita
- Artist: Daisuke Shima
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International broadcast and home video
This section contains a list of miscellaneous information. (August 2024) |
- In its home country of Japan, Toei Video released a re-edited version of Episode 44 of this series as part of their HERO Club video, Sentai Super Battle File which also featured a re-edited version of Episode 39 of the next series being Kousoku Sentai Turboranger and Episode 3 of Chikyu Sentai Fiveman. Then from December 9, 2011 to April 21, 2012, the series got a full home video release for the first time, containing five volumes. The first volume only had nine episodes, while the other volumes contain ten each. All five volumes hold two discs. Special features contain Kazuhiko Nishimura (actor of Joh Ohara/Yellow Lion), commentated that it took long for a series to be released in full after 23 years of airing. Then in 2019, which was 30 years after, a low-priced DVD collection of the series were released in two volumes both at once. Each volume is a five-disc set where the first has 24 episodes and the second has 25 episodes. New interviews with Daisuke Shima, (actor of Yusuke Amamiya/Red Falcon) in Vol. 1, and Megumi Morie (actress of Megumi Misaki/Blue Dolphin) in Vol. 2, are included in each booklet.
- The series was broadcast on TF1 in France as Bioman 3: Liveman and was marketed as the direct sequels to Choudenshi Bioman and Bioman 2 (Hikari Sentai Maskman). It made its debut on May 31, 1989, just a mere four months after the last episode aired in Japan. The French dub was produced and licensed by AB Groupe with all episodes covered with dubbing work by Studio SOFRECI. This was actually the fourth series to be shown in the region as they also aired Choushinsei Flashman in between Maskman and Liveman. (Dengeki Sentai Changeman was skipped.)
- In Spain, it was the first Super Sentai series to broadcast in the country and one of two Sentai shows to be dubbed in Castilian Spanish. It premiered on July 8, 1990 on TVE2. However, it was titled Bioman, as it was actually bought from France directly, meaning the Spanish dub was based on the French dub by AB Groupe. In addition, although all season was dubbed, only the first 26 episodes were aired with the three members, while the other episodes featuring the additional two that would join in later episodes, did not air.
- Starting in 1991, Liveman was given a Latin Spanish dub and aired across Latin American regions under the title La Súper Fuerza Liveman with unprecedented success. This series and Choushinsei Flashman (which was dubbed earlier), were the only two Super Sentai series to officially air there with Latin Spanish dubs.
- In August 1991, The series aired with a Thai dub on Channel 7. The home video release was licensed by Video Square. But years later, a new Thai dub was made for a newer home video release and distributed by Right Pictures.
- South Korea released the series with a Korean dub in 1991 under Liveman: Warriors of Peace. (평화의 전사 라이브맨) As of the Korean dub of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, it was officially renamed Power Rangers Liveman. (파워레인저 라이브맨)
- The series also aired in Indonesia with an Indonesian dub and aired on RCTI in 1991 and re-aired in 1996.
- This series along with the proceeding series Kousoku Sentai Turboranger were already both licensed to be aired in Brazil in the mid-1990's to be given a Brazilian Portuguese dub as merchandise was appearing locally. However, this fell through as Power Rangers was proven to be more popular to air and Saban was weighing competition in most international markets when they adapted Toei's work. As a result, Liveman was not aired in the region.
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References
External links
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