Kaiketsu Zubat
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| Kaiketsu Zubat | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Tokusatsu |
| Created by | Shotaro Ishinomori |
| Country of origin |  Japan |
| Language(s) | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 32 |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | TV Tokyo |
| Original run | February 2, 1977 – September 28, 1977 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Kaiketsu Zubat (快傑ズバット Kaiketsu Zubatto?), translated into English as Swift Hero Zubat, Wonderman Zubat or Vigilante Zubat, 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-70s twist. The series began to be released on DVD in 2008.[1]
[edit] Story and other details
- "Here with a "zubatt"! Solving problems with a "zubatt"! I call myself the wandering hero! Swift Hero 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[2]), 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:
- A helmet with "Z"-themed features and an open/close visor and mouthpiece
- A streamlined rubber jumpsuit with a white scarf (another Ishinomori trademark).
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. This is a criminal organization, Dakker[3], which has a mysterious leader (who is revealed in the final episode), and outlandishly-dressed criminals. Early episodes of this series even had a bizarre Japanese "wild west" setting.
An episode would generally have a single head criminal, and a yojinbo, somehow terrorizing a group of people. Hayakawa Ken would happen upon this, and meet the yojinbo, which would lead to a demonstration of the latter's preferred skill, only for Hayakawa Ken 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 Swift Hero Noutenki (who also has the same alter-ego, Ken Hayakawa).
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Kaiketsu Zubat English language fan page
- Zubaken - Japanese language fan page
- Zvatt (Japanese)
