Kaiketsu Zubat

Kaiketsu Zubat
Genre Tokusatsu
Created by Shotaro Ishinomori
Written by Shōkei Nagasaka
Mari Takizawa
Shigemitsu Taguchi
Directed by Hideo Tanaka
Atsuo Okunaka
Michio Konishi
Shigeo Hirota
Starring Hiroshi Miyauchi
Composer(s) Kensuke Kyō
Country of origin Japan
Original language(s) Japanese
No. of episodes 32
Production
Producer(s) Kōjin Ono
Hakuo Kondō
Production company(s) Toei Company
Broadcast
Original channel TV Tokyo
Original run February 2, 1977 – September 28, 1977

Kaiketsu Zubat[1][2][3] (Japanese: 快傑ズバット Hepburn: Kaiketsu Zubatto), is a tokusatsu superhero series that aired in 1977. Created by Shotaro Ishinomori, this 32-episode series (which aired on TV Tokyo from 2/2/1977 to 9/28/1977), harkens back to tokusatsu superhero shows of the 1950s, but with a late-1970s twist. The series began to be released on DVD in 2008.[4]

Story and other details

"Here with a "zubat"! Solving problems with a "zubat"! I call myself the wandering hero! Kaiketsu Zubat!" (ズバッと参上、ズバッと解決、人呼んで さすらいのヒーロー！ 快傑ズバット！ Zubatto sanjō! Zubatto kaiketsu! Hito-yonde sasurai no hīrō! Kaiketsu Zubatto!)

This series is popular with fans of creator Ishinomori, and unique as the title hero Zubat does not "henshin" like the other superheroes he created. Ken Hayakawa (played by veteran Hiroshi Miyauchi[5]), a private detective dressed in black & red gringo cowboy attire, actually just puts on his red & black "Zubasuit" (hidden in his white guitar, which is opened with the push of a button), which looks no different from that of a Sentai hero:

Zubat drove a car called the Zubat Car.[6] Zubat's name is based on the sound effect "zubatto," which is the sound of something being hit right on target.

Zubat's costume was also a basis for the video game superhero parody Viewtiful Joe.

The villains are also unusual, as there are no monsters, rather they originate from a large criminal organization named Dakker,[7] which has a mysterious leader (who is revealed in the final episode as Fuhrer D), and outlandishly-dressed criminals. Many episodes of this series even had a bizarre Japanese "wild west" setting.

An episode would generally have a single head criminal, and a yojimbo, somehow terrorizing a group of people. Ken Hayakawa would happen upon this, and meet the yojimbo, which would lead to a demonstration of the latter's preferred skill, only for Ken Hayakawa to show that he was much better.

This series would also be parodied by Daicon Films (now Gainax) in 1982, in a series of short films starring the superhero Kaiketsu Noutenki (who also has the same alter-ego, Ken Hayakawa).

Cast

Kamen Rider 40th Anniversary film

Zubat, along with Kikaider, Kikaider 01, and Inazuman made an appearance in OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders (オーズ・電王・オールライダー レッツゴー仮面ライダー Ōzu Den'ō Ōru Raidā: Rettsu Gō Kamen Raidā) in commemoration of the Toei Company's 60th Anniversary in 2011. This brief appearance saw the four heroes destroy the Kamen Rider Stronger villain, General Shadow.

References

  1. ↑ "【DVD入荷情報】快傑ズバット DVD-BOX". sapporomedia.blog. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "快傑ズバット大全 [単行本]". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "快傑ズバット VOL.1 [DVD]". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "DVD 怪傑ズバット 特集". Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  5. ↑ "宮内洋". Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  6. ↑ "キャラウイール ミニカー 快傑ズバット ズバッカー". rakuten.co.jp. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Kaiketsu Zubat: Dakka - Dagger". Archived from the original on 2008-01-04. Retrieved 2008-03-31.

External links