|
Number
|
Title
|
Review
|
Kaiju Appearing
|
1
|
The Planet of Edin
|
The series starts off with a bang as Jaspion is quickly introduced, meets with mentor Edin, learns about the Ginga Bible and Satangos (who simply strolls by), and is then sent on his way, across the galaxy in the DaiLeon with Anri. Before you can blink the ship crash lands on Beezee, Jaspion and Anri fight many native aliens, and rescue cute baby alien Miya. Oh, and there's a couple of giant monsters too (Marigos and Haneda). Most of the mecha including the impressive DaiLeon robot see action. You get a LOT in this half-hour. It's common for the first episode of any tokusastu series to be a stand-out, but this one is amazing. Plenty of homages to various sci-fi films and TV shows of the past, plenty of action, clever and wide-ranging special effects techniques, and good light-hearted chemistry between Jaspion and Anri. After the previous 3 Uchu Keiji Metal Heroes (Gavan Sharivan and Shaider), this was the perfect progression: more of an outer-space, science-fiction angle. A deviation from the previous formula. Just enough of the Uchu Keiji look and attitude to feel somehow connected, but very different so it seems fresh.
|
Marigos and Hanedar
|
2
|
The Sad End of Sakura
|
Amazingly, DaiLeon crash-lands again on another planet (Peace) and a new planet-exploring, alien native-bashing adventure ensues, with some cool sci-fi story elements throughout and even a bit of drama. The series is already starting to feel like something very new: a taste of Star Trek, Dr Who and who knows what else mixed in with non-stop tokusatsu action. I actually think that this episode represents the pinnacle of what the Metal Hero series COULD have been. (and might have been if things had progressed differently) While Gavan Sharivan and Shaider used dimensional rifts to engage the enemy in surreal environments and otherwordly situations while still on Earth, Jaspion actually traveled to different worlds allowing for a greater scope of adventure. I always thought tokusatsu was too Earthbound traditionally, and excelled when those boundaries were left behind. Tetsugos is a great monster, though his roar contains some very familiar elements.
|
Tetsugos
|
3
|
The Dream of the Galactic Boy
|
The action slows a little when DaiLeon crashes on yet another planet and Jaspion meets a boy with a injured monster friend and some beautiful aliens who want to defend their city from the monster. It's a short quest to get some healing medicine for the monster, just in time for Satangos to arrive and turn the monster evil. Amazingly, the monster (Namageras) is NOT killed, but saved in the end. This could be considered an early-warning sign for viewers regarding the mortality rate on Jaspion. Not too many innocents, or 'sacrificial lambs', die in this show. Perhaps violence was toned down in the mid-80s to the point where less characters died in tokusatsu. (Of course the 70's were viscious, and the 90s re-introduced heavy drama of various types, including death) I always joke that tokusatsu shows have a disproportionate number of episodes that end at a gravesite. It's true. Many series have characters, companions, friendly monsters, cute robots, etc dying off in tragic ways. Jaspion has only a few instances of this in its entire run. It actually gets annoying much later in the series when possible tragic deaths could have added good drama but were avoided. I don't mind happy endings at all (I am not a cynic) but after a while, the happy endings feel tacked on a times.
|
Namageras
|
4
|
The Fury of the Quagmire
|
After the three-episode stint in outer space, Jaspion makes his way to Earth. Yes, of course this was a let down for me and probably most people who were watching the show so far. Luckily, the energy level and momentum keeps going even after he arrives. It's actually a good episode because of the previous space-hopping, in that you really get the feeling that Jaspion, Anri and Miya are aliens and have traveled across the galaxy and are 'out of place' on Earth. There's some good 'Stranger In A Strange Land' moments. Of course, the introduction of Mad Gallen is a great moment too. The battle with monster Gaios is exciting and there is plenty of destruction. It is revealed that Earth is to be the battleground where Satangos has planted his monster army and the planet from where he will dominate the entire universe, so the relocation to Earth makes sense and there is still a sense of a war on a cosmic scale. Is there anyone else out there who believe that monster Gaios was intended to resemble a cross between Gojira and Gamera?
|
Gaios
|
5
|
The Enigma of the Flute
|
Somebody must have decided to quiet things down for this episode, and scale them down. This story is a small one, about a very sad girl who can see a monster that no one else can. It's very much like an Ultraman 80 episode, I believe. Anyway, the planet-hopping, cosmic scale of the series is not present here. Mad Gallen has only just been introduced recently and he's already trying to manipulate some little girl with a strange space flute. Jaspion has quickly settled into worrying about a small child. I'm actually not complaining about the shift in scope, as the 'small story' feels good here as a fifth episode. (Plus the monster Giga is cool, as are all of the Jaspion monsters). Tokusatsu series are often brilliant in the way that their episodes are ordered, the way that their story arcs progress, and high points (such as major developments, new character introductions, etc) occur at the just the right time. I do think this was a good point to do a small story, and it is a poignant enough story to work in that way.
|
Giga
|
6
|
Gordon in Search of it's Mother
|
More children run around this episode and it might seem like it's going to stay that way, (such as Gavan's constant stable of adoring children fans) but the real focus is on the E.T.-homage story and the introduction of the mysterious Boomerang (played by none other than Wataru Hiroshi). Boomerang makes the episode great. He is a great addition at this point and is another example of perfect timing in a series. Only 6 episodes so far and a new important character has been introduced. Jaspion, as a series, makes great use of character introduction throughout. In some ways, they go overboard, as Mad Gallen starts bringing in new guest-star assassins every episode later in the show, but that in itself, becomes a fun formula. In this episode, the monster Gelgon does not die. No one does! (Jaspion should have killed him, though, since he does return in the finale to be a threat). In any case, one can always say that, no matter how politically-correct these TV shows became in the 80s, thousands of innocent people probably died in every episode when the monster-of-the-week went on its rampage!
|
Gelgon
|
7
|
The Demon of the Mountain
|
This episode's first half is nice and weird, retaining a feel of the Uchu Keiji in its surreal quality. Whenever Jaspion quotes its Uchu Keiji roots with surreal sequences, the moments are very good. I wished it happened more often. The best part of this story is the bizarre wrestling match inside the mountain monster Iwagoreela. After that, it's pretty standard, but it's obvious that the giant monster battles that occur in almost every episode are well done and usually worth waiting for. Boomernag is still in the story at this point, so that keeps things more exciting.
|
Iwagoreela
|
8
|
The Fugitive Couple
|
A pair of ex-spies (Lotto and Sachi) who used to work for Mad Gallen are on the run and both Boomerang and Jaspion try to protect them. This was always a personal favorite episode of mine. I think the discotheque scene is one reason. Jaspion actually sings a great song and there's a good fight on the dancefloor, all of this tying into the Jaspion-as-disco-dancer image that is promoted for the early part of the series. (see those end credits!) The monster Onideviler is great and the battle amid the skyscrapers is very cool. Boomerang is, of course, another highlight. In the end, Lotto and Sachi are dropped off at some ranch as part of Juspion's improvised relocation program.
|
Onideviler
|
9
|
The History of a Tree
|
A space opera, Metal Hero show now with a fairy tale twist. This series is all over the place. You almost never know what to expect next. How about a giant tree spirit that gets mutated by Satangos and goes on a rampage, moaning all of the time and dying tragically? (one of those few tragic deaths in the series) The mixture of folk-tale and sci-fi is a surprise in this episode (which feels like an Ultraman plot, perhaps from Tiga, Ace or Taro?) but it's very successful. Kidamar is a great monster, a real classic. Sidenote: Who is Jaspion fooling at the end? Planting a tiny sapling for some kid is not really compensating for the tree-spirit's destruction, now is it?
|
Kidamar
|
10
|
The Attack of the Pirozaurus
|
Another personal favorite, probably because it's a sexy episode and it's the first one I remember ever seeing. Mad Gallen uses biotechnology to create the sexy but deadly Amazones, then the giant coelocanth monster Pirazahl. Jaspion and Boomerang spend a lot of time running around a fitness club as if they are promoting the place, looking for a captured Anri, who is strapped to a table. The monster is cool, though the out-of-scale effects in the water are insanely ridiculous. One could write a whole chapter on the experimental effects used in this series. Some worked, some did not work as well, but they were very diverse. Nevertheless, the entire episode is very well paced and exciting.
|
Pirazahl
|
11
|
Danger in Tsukuba
|
Now we move on to a commercial for Expo '85. Jaspion must contend with notorious monster Gamagoras, whose milk causes anarchy and anti-technology sentiments to destroy worlds. Anri and Miya get captured this time (and a group of Nobel Prize-winning scientists turn into militant anarchists). A well-paced episode and a slight feeling of nostalgia when you see the Expo.
|
Gamagoras
|
12 |
The Prophecy |
Important episode, and one that does not have a monster! Juspion and Anri are looking for Boomerang and wind up at a temple where a mysterious priestess / prophetess helps them. It turns out that Satangos' forces have overrun a village and are forcing the populace to dig in a quarry for the Golden Egg. Boomerang is among the enslaved and he helps everyone escape. Juspion finds out about the Golden Egg in more detail from the prophetess' dying breath after Mad Gallen kills her. It turns out that she was an alien, and that the Egg will hatch the Golden Bird (Ohgono Tori). Apparently, Satangos wants to stop this from happening. Juspion foils Mad Gallen and the bird has already hatched. Satangos and DaiLeon clash! Juspion calls upon the spirit of the Golden Bird, which helps him temporarily defeat Satangos. The battle now reaches a new level....Nice drama in this episode, and the clash between Satangos and DaiLeon is exciting.
|
n/a |
13 |
The Onslaught of the Space Allies |
Now that the battle with Satangos has reached a new level (everyone wants to find the Golden Bird), Mad Gallen calls in some reinforcements. The Four Deva Kings, assassins who will plague our hero for episodes to come. Icqui, Zampa, Brima, and Guillauie. These four add a lot of excitement to the proceedings right away. This is a precursor to the get-a-new-guest-star-assassin each-week formula that takes root later in the series. The overall structure of the stories gets a lot more flexible as a result. For example, in a Super Sentai series, the episode typically ends with a giant robot vs. giant monster battle. After that battle, the wrongs are righted and the credits roll soon after. But Juspion's climactic giant monster battle doesn't always take place at the end. In many stories, even after that fight (a definite highlight), Juspion may leap out of DaiLeon and there may be a lot more action with other enemies. This makes the show feel more action-packed. In this episode, Kabegonta (a monster created from a manga) is a comical enemy and the fight is fun, but it's the battle with the Four Deva Kings afterward that keep things exciting.
| Kabegonta |
14 |
Danger in the Lagoon for the Fiancés |
A Nessie-style monster (Umiking) appears in a lake and Juspion goes on some fun, surreal location-hopping just like the Uchu-Keiji, in his fight to stop Mad Gallen's latest plan. It's a good episode and the surrealism is appreciated. The Four Deva Kings are still there to keep our hero extra-busy. Personal highlight: the henchmen leaping out of the lake onto a cable car!
|
Umiking |
15 |
Dream or Illusion? -- The Golden Image |
Cameraman Nambara is having an exhibit of his photographs, among them a picture of the Golden Bird. (a sign from God, it turns out) Mad Gallen and Juspion both find out about the exhibit. Since they both want to ascertain the location of the bird, a new, albeit dragged-out story arc begins. Things get officially bogged down here for a while, as Nambara is hunted by the aliens, then leaves on a safari to find the actual bird. That's not so bad except that he has two children, Kaneko and Kenta, and who will look after them? Up to this point, Juspion on Earth has had varied exciting and action-packed adventures, but the start of the Golden Bird / Professor Nambara story is a dead stop to the proceedings. There are good moments during the next 7 or 8 episodes, but now Juspion has to worry about 2 kids he shouldn't have to. In this episode, he goes looking for Nambara and stumbles into the monster Portsanki (a cool monster disguised as a heliport) and Mad Gallen's forces. The Four Deva Kings are still around, and Icqui decides to confront Juspion alone. This is the highlight of the episode, and it's a great climactic battle. Juspion finally debuts his Cosmic Harlee technique and knocks one Deva King off of the list. In the end, Juspion drops the two children off at the same ranch where he left Lotto and Sachi (from episode 8). The Professor is left to continue on his quest alone....
| Portsanki |
16 |
Which is the Destination of Humanity? |
Great monster, though it's technically an alien (seijin) who pretends to grow giant. Mad Gallen is using the creature to drain the intelligence from brilliant minds, so that Satangos can rule an Earth where his monsters are intelligent and humans are as dumb as monkeys. As people are being collected for this crazy experiment, Nambara's two kids (who have annoyingly left the ranch and decided to look for their father on their own) are picked up by the aliens and thrown in with the scientists as prisoners. Juspion must rescue the now-stupid scientists and the two children. The action is pretty good and the battle with the monster-alien is fun.
|
Diamon-seijin |
17 |
The Mystery of the Golden Bird Head |
Keneko and Kenta are still wandering through the wilderness, looking for their father. This is becoming rather pointless. While it is understandable that they miss their father, their behavior is inexcusable. Juspion and Anri finally find them, then must battle Mad Gallen's forces and the very strange, two-headed monster Headdrimmer. This monster has a bizarre floating head attack and the fight is interesting. It also grows to mega-giant size, dwarfing DaiLeon, but is popped like a balloon easily. This climax was necessary for an otherwise frustrating episode.
| Headdrimmer |
18 |
The Immortal Enemy |
A classic episode that happens to have no giant monster! Zampa decides to lure Juspion into a trap, using a photograph of Juspion's long-dead parents as the bait. The trap fails, but the Golden Bird's spirit arrives to show Juspion his real parents for a brief time. It's a nice, sad moment, as our hero learns about his parent's demise (partly due to Zampa himself, when he led an invasion of their homeworld). After this, Juspion faces Zampa, and a great battle ensues. Zampa turns out to be a formidable opponent, and this is one of my favorite fights from the entire series.
|
n/a |
19 |
Alert in the Ocean |
Those annoying kids (Kaneko and Kenta) have finally found refuge at a Seaworld (where, I believe the famous Shamu is in residence!) because their uncle works there (or maybe he's just a friend of the Professor, I forget). Mad Gallen's plot is typically insane (like those of most tokusatsu middle-management villains). He wants to arm dolphins to attack humans. Thankfully, he never gets his plot past the paintings-used-to-illustrate-plot-points phase). An ancient samurai spirit who died in the sea is around and his name is Zamurai, a cat-like warrior who controls the sea monster Umiblar.
Now that both Icqui and Zampa are both dead, it makes sense that a new male opponent was brought in, albeit just for one episode. The start of the guest-star-assassin-of-the-week formula begins now. The battles with Zamurai and Umiblar are okay.
| Umiblar |
20 |
The Last Chance |
Exceedingly cool guest assassin Guirarist arrives immediately and turns out to be one of those analyze-the-hero-based-on-footage-from-previous-episodes tacticians. He is very cool and very confident that he can exploit Juspion's weaknesses. It's almost sad to see him go. He was close to beating Jupsion until Mad Gallen interfered (typical). Guirarists monster Hakabarn has two very floppy scythe weapons and a cross on his chest. Guirarist is so cool that the episode is great because of him.
|
Hakabarn |
21 |
The Brave Boy Player |
Nice science-fiction idea with the lighthouse-within-a-lighthouse (though someone might recognize this from a certain Doctor Who story), but the pacing of the episode is slow. By the time Magnedar shows up, we've been back and forth to the lighthouse in question many times, as various people try to figure out what's going on. Magnedar is an OK monster but a lot more could have done with him.
| Magnedar |
22 |
The Witchcraft of Titania |
A little excitement as Brima's sensei Cikita arrives as this episode's guest villain. Some creepiness and a great spider monster (Kumoda), a little like the one from Bioman, perhaps? Cikita doesn't last, though (I though she might stick around) but the good news is the Nambara family are finally together and they find the Golden Bird! That moment is worthwhile!
|
Kumoda |
23 |
The Monster of the Century |
Fun story with some amusing special effects, sad moments, and a tragic end (finally!) A wannabe circus trainer has raised monster Shishiorn from a baby and now strikes a deal with a shady TV producer to air the giant monster doing tricks. Of course, Mad Gallen and his cohorts are waiting offstage to film the inevitable battle with DaiLeon. This story is a nice change from the previous Golden Bird story arc (which seemed to last forever)
| Shishiorn |
24 |
Dangerous Ambition |
MadGallen and the gang are tapping into ATM machines, sucking people's bank accounts dry, then offering them jobs in their army. Socialists! Anyway, Juspion must amazingly fend off killer cash cards and CDs, and rescue the same girl who plays Change Mermaid (from Changeman). The actress was so popular at that time, that I'm sure she was the real focus of this story. Anyway, the giant monster Moke is a temple come to life. He has 'cash power' and it is fairly lame. Not the best episode.
|
Moke |
25 |
Tokyo in Danger |
The little boy from episode 3 lands on Earth and is tricked by Mad Gallen to betray Juspion. The Gasami Brothers are the newest imported assassins, and it is they who actually attacked the boy on his home planet but kind monster Namageras stopped them. Now Juspion and the kid reconcile and giant monster Donges attacks. (a decent demonic crab-like monster with floppy claws). Amazingly, Namageras flies through space and lands to fight Donges. I thought for sure he would get killed, (just like certain Ultraman episodes such as that one Ultraman 80 or Tiga) but Namageras is saved by DaiLeon. It's a fun three-way fight. Juspion kills one of the Gasami Brothers. In the end, the kid is sent to Edjin's home planet for safety. riding on Namageras' back (just like Neverending Story!) , without a helmet, in outer space. How does that work?
| Donges and Namageras |
26 |
The Counterattack of Daileon |
The remaining Gasami Brother uses energy-draining monster Borger to weaken DaiLeon completely and Juspion must spend all-day repairing the robot and waiting for it to recharge. I like this story a lot. Juspion must fight the monster without DaiLeon and it looks bad for our hero. Amazingly, Miya stands there and smiles mindlessly even while Juspion is getting pounded. Anyway, DaiLeon recharges just in time. I think (though it may only be hinted at) that the Golden Bird recharged DaiLeon because there is a sort of golden energy that surges through the robot's power center at the last moment. Hmmm. Anyway, it's a great episode.
|
Borger |
27 |
Threatening Youth |
Fun and very weird as three girls and a party bus capture people and take them to a strange nightclub, drug them and turn them all into werewolves. (Note: Every superhero show has one evil rock concert-type story.) Juspion's battle with the Cuty Girls is great, especially when an all boy band helps out with the fight. (I think these guys are a real band) The Cuty Girls merge into a cool three-headed vixen, but it's the bizarre giant casino-monster Sodomon (get it?) who is the weirdest part. What does a casino-theme have to do with a nightclub and dancing? I think the monster was designed before the script was finalized. Just a guess. The use of more strange computer effects becomes apparent in this episode. As the series goes on, the effects get really offbeat.
| Sodomon |
28 |
Mortal Data of the Electronic Monster |
Exciting episode that is basically one long monster fight. New assassin Aigerman is brought in and he looks a little Star Trek-like. This is another guy who has spent a long time analyzing Juspion, all the way since the very first episode on planet Beezee. The bad guys watch some stock footage and then Aigerman goes out to defeat Juspion with his super cyborg monster Aiger, specifically designed to destroy DaiLeon. Juspion uses some quick-thinking to finally defeat the monster and its controller.
|
Aiger |
29 |
The Death of Mad Gallen |
Lotto and Sachi (from episode 8) are caught by Mad Gallen. Lotto is badly wounded and Satchi is taken as Mad Gallen's bride-of-sorts. Juspion must find and defuse a bomb, battle the monster Gasler, and rescue Satchi (who believes Lotto is dead). It's pretty sad, but an action-packed episode, with the best climactic fight ever as Juspion finally takes on Mad Gallen head-to-head. And guess what, the show suddenly gets violent as Juspion cuts off Mad Gallen's arm and kills him...that's right! While Satchi is crying after being reunited with Lotto, Brima, Guillauie and Mad Gallen's lackeys cry too. But wait! There's more! Satangos summons the beautiful silver-clad Ginga-Magi Gilza, who amazingly resurrects Mad Gallen. What a finale!
| Gasler |
30 |
The Panic of the Balloon |
Fabulous episode as Gilza struts her stuff! Ginga-Magic Gilza initiates her first plan using killer balloons and the balloon monster Baroom, with plenty of Uchu-Keiji-like dimension hopping, and Anri and Miyu providing some comical moments as they actually rescue Juspion for once! This might be the first episode during which Satangos speaks. The series really picks up again with the addition of Gilza. Since single episode guest villains have been going on now for a while, many may have thought Gilza would be killed at the end of this story, but not so! She thankfully sticks around and becomes a great partner-in-evil with Mad Gallen. The floating flight betwenn Baroom and DaiLeon is fun, though a little short, but the fight between Juspion and Gilza is exciting, even surprisingly violent at one point. Another decapitation?
|
Baroom |
31 |
Blow in the TV |
Fabulous episode as Boomerang returns, this time in pursuit of a gangster named Silk and his two robot cronies. Boomerang now works for the International Sherriff's Agency and teams up with Juspion, since Silk is also working for Mad Gallen. Action-packed plot as Silk holds people hostage on TV, Anri uses the DaiLeon to disrupt an energy barrier, our heroes save the hostages, only to find out the whole plot was a distraction so Mad Gallen could use monster Deathchiras (a very cool monster with a submarine in its belly) to plant bombs in the Japan Trench. DaiLeon does some great moves in his fight with Deathchiras.
| Deathchiras |
32 |
The Conspiracy of the Robot |
Unusual guest villain named Chip (perhaps for microchip?) sells cute household robots to unsuspecting civilians and expects to have the little 'bots go crazy later and destroy things. I don't like this plot too much. Anri and Boomerang help out and Juspion tracks the robot control signal to Chip's base. A good scene where the Gabin Tank must fight through some defences. There is no giant monster here. Chip is it. It is even he who gets the enraging energy beams from Satangos. Why? But the main highlight is Boomerang's obsession with fighting Mad Gallen, which he finally does in an exciting, though short battle. Afterwards, Boomerang realizes he is way over his head and bows out, taking a cruise ship into the distance like many of the side characters in the show do.
| n/a |
33 |
The Battle of Black Magic |
Gilza is back on the rampage, creating voodoo-like necklaces. Juspion is drawn into some mystic confusion and does some soul-searching, vision-quest-type ritual to beat the Ginga-Magi's power. He fights her and everyone else in the same place that they filmed the cool piano scene from episode 2. Giant monster Majin is easy defeat once you destroy the giant necklace he is wearing. A decent episode.
| Majin |
34 |
The Indestructible Fortress |
Action-packed as a scientist gets captured and forced to work on an insane planet-moving project, then linked up to a defense grid so that Juspion has to fight his way with DaiLeon through a series of laser cannons, mines, gun turrets, eventually facing the giant gun turret monster Phordon. Juspion made a promise to the scientist's son to bring the man back, and he does just that.
| Phordon |
35 |
The Discovery of the Parchment |
Lots of talk for the first half of his episode as Juspion witnesses a cosmic phenomenon, and Edin arrives on Earth and tells everyone that the Golden Bird has divided itself and shone upon 5 special, 'chosen' children across Japan. Kaneko (Prof Nambara's daughter) turns out to be the first of them. Now Juspion must find the other children. Edin is captured by Gilza and a great psychic battle between the two occurs. This is where we get a glimpse of the cosmic 'baby' that paralyzes Gilza, but that mystery is not yet explained. Juspion rescues Edin and some decent fighting ensues. DaiLeon battles SatanGos and wounds him. Now we see a glimpse of the true form of SatanGos who travels undergound to lick his wounds.
| n/a |
36 |
The Miracle of the New Lives |
Some good story develops here as Edin's chateau is revealed (a heavenly mansion where Edin resides and the 5 chosen ones can be kept safely until needed) Jaspion and Nambara start searching the countryside for the next chosen one, as do Mad Gallen's forces, who eventually grab truckloads of children for Gilza to analyze. Gilza is convinced (as is Juspion) that a certain pregnant woman is carrying a child that may be the one. A good confrontation as Jaspion tries to rescue the captive children, then is forced to stay in human form, then is beaten badly by Mad Gallen. One of my favorite monster designs in the series (Jimushi) though he isn't given a whole lot to do. Great surprise ending and final battle with Gilza.
| Jimushi |
37 |
Infernal Cardápio |
A little sad, a little scary. This story does the unthinkable: Miya is captured, duplicated and used to lure Juspion into a trap. By this time, anyone who likes this show has grown incredibly fond of the dumpy, but cute Miya. But even the chance that they could kill him off is frightening. Well, it gets close. The giant monster version of Miya battles DaiLeon, and then is revealed to be Ebizohl, a lobster-chef monster. Good action and some good hairy moments. Note: it is obvious to me that, since they had built more than one Miya costume for this show, (see episode 2 where Miya's mother gets killed) they would be using multiple Miyas again at some point. Plus, from this point on, Miya's costume is completely reworked. I'm not sure exactly why (maybe this episode damaged the costume too much) but in all subsequent episodes, Miya looks totally different, a lot cleaner and less shoddy, but the clean look is actually more disturbing. Miya becomes creepy if you look closely.
| Ebizohl |
38 |
Miraculosa Tram |
OK episode with a good climax. A ESP girl is captured and given a psychic boost by SatanGos and can now heal people, cure illness and garners national attention. The plot is foiled by Juspion, who must deal with an angry public as well as the monster Aquarocky. Good crucifiction scene at end.
| Aquarocky |
39 |
The Powerful Kiss of Miyo |
Juspion's search for the chosen ones leads him to a kids' marathon and a boy who wants to win badly so he can get the kiss of a girl he likes. Sounds lame, I know, but it gets good fast a Gilmaza shows up, Gilza's relative who loves casanets and commands 5 space ninja. Gilmaza manages to turn the public against Juspion again, but this doesn't last long. The fight with the 5 ninja is great, and our hero manages to behead one of them, revealing its true monster form. Action-packed and Juspion almost kisses Anri at the end.
| n/a |
40 |
The Enigma of the Meteor |
Every tokusatsu series needs one of these: an episode where people's greed is exploited through the use of diamonds. In this case, Gilmaza has her ninja plant crystals from the monster Diagoras in a quarry and people go crazy with the new diamond rush. This, of course, upsets a girl whose father is now a greedy, selfish jerk. Anyway, the monster is dispatched rather easily, and it's on to another fight with the ninja (now down to 4). Jupsion beheads another one and its true form is that of a floating spiked ball. Wierd.
| Diagoras |
41 |
The Shooter of Justice |
One of those amazing revelations you get late in a TV series! In this case, Juspion was not the only baby left in Edin's care when the spaceship crashed all those years ago. There was also....Tiger Joe! At this point, Tiger Joe runs an orphanage on Earth and is a stand-up guy, though he did a stint as the galaxy's greatest gunman and this is why Gilmaza goes after him. She convinces him to relive the glory days and battle Juspion. Fantastic action in this episode as Tiger Joe battles Juspion and every other bad guy jumps into the fray for good measure. The fight even continues on top of and inside this episode's giant monster, the bizarre Deathdran! My only complaint (and it's small) is that the happy ending was not necessary, though I suppose if Tiger Joe had died or sacrificed himself, the orphanage would have been in trouble, eh?
| Deathdran |
42 |
The History of Pep and Hiroshi |
Three aliens, the Brain-Seijin, are captured by Mad Gallen and Gilmaza and forced to work. The parents are wounded during an escape attempt but the child gets away, then befriends a socially dysfunctional boy, forming a fast friendship using telepathy. Juspion was after the boy, who he detected was one of the chosen ones, and ends up having to save the alien Pipi when Gilmaza captures it again. There is no monster in this episode officially, just a lot of defense cannons, etc (just as in episode 34). Instead of Phordon, there is a giant Phordon-like mech with cool gadgets that battles DaiLeon. It isn't technically a giant monster, but it could have been. Pretty good episode but not as tragic as it could have been. All 3 aliens survive.
| n/a |
43 |
The Mysterious World of Satan Goss |
Satangos goes on a rampage himself and DaiLeon arrives for a great fight to kickstart this episode off. Satangos retreats underground to undergo his final transformation. Gilmaza and her cohorts trick a girl with a bogus audition to dance on the sacrificial altar for the transformation. Juspion saves the girl just in time and then battles the all-new massive Dai Satangos! (although we glimpsed this new form clearly in episode 35). Juspion cannot summon DaiLeon in the 'SatanGos Zone' so he must fight alone. Our hero barely escapes the Zone by discharging all of his metal tecsuit's energy and is wiped out by episode's end.
| debut of Dai Satengos |
44 |
Satanic Return |
The tentacles of Dai Satangos are attacking the city and Juspion is kept busy fending them off. Meanwhile, Tokyo is falling into a 'timeslip' as buildings are being overrun by a prehistoric jungle. Some stupid reporters enter the growing jungle, which is filled with dinosaurs and carnivorous plants and Juspion rescues them. Many monsters from past episodes (who should be dead) are here, too. I suppose that's because this is a timeslip, and they exist now before they have been killed.
Even though there are only 4 Chosen Children so far, they think they can somehow help and wander into the jungle too. They try to summon the Golden Bird but to no avail. Juspion must rescue them too. New monster Badelges is somewhat comical. Juspion (still without DaiLeon) defeats the monster with an impressive new Plasma Blade Sword move, then gets to finally showdown with Brima and Guillauie, who combine into a wolf-like beast. Good action and tension in this pivotal epsiode, and its great to see Brima and Guillauie finally dismissed.
| Badelges and many past kaiju |
45 |
I am the Son of Satan |
Mad Gallen trains with his father's help, ready to battle Juspion for one final time. Our hero travels through Tokyo, which is becoming more and more prehistoric. He finds some buildings, ready to fall down, and rescues a girl (who was rescuing her kitten) just in time. Then, he is intercepted by Mad Gallen and the fight we've been waiting for all year happens. Pretty exciting, including a duel using the nice real metal suits (as opposed to the stunt versions of the suits used for the usual fight scenes). The action is great, and even Anri shows up, with a laser rifle and her new jet boots, to take the girl to safety. The girl turns out to be the fifth and final chosen one. Jupsion defeats Mad Gallen, once and for all (the son grows up into full SatanGos form just before he explodes) It seems to me that Dai Satagos is pretty sad about his son's eventual death, and DaiLeon arrives finally for the ultimate battle
| n/a |
44 |
The Union of the People of the Milky Way |
DaiLeon and Satangos clash. The 5 Chosen Ones arrive and summon the Golden Birds, who harrass SatanGos, and then form into....a giant golden sword! This is a great moment. DaiLeon grabs the sword and the battle continues. During the struggle, the earth cracks open and another glowing golden egg floats upwards, with a baby inside! Juspion uses DaiLeon in a giant version of the Cosmic Harlee attack and SatanGos explodes . Gilzmaza and the remaining henchemn explode too. The jungle fades and Tokyo is saved. The golden egg floats to earth and Juspion greets the newborn inside. He names the child Ginga Tarzan (after his own nickname). It turns out that, ultimately, Juspion's function was to not only to defeat SatanGos by using the Golden Bird, but allow for the release of this immaculately conceived baby into the universe. This is pseudo-Christian, isn't it? Juspion, the Nambara family, the Chosen Children, Miya, and Anri are all together, happy in the end. Then Juspion, Anri and Miya head back to Edjin's home planet with Tarzan. They are an unusual, though very happy family.
| n/a |
