Zaido

Local primetime TV now has a version of Shaider, the metal-hero series popular in the 1980s when I was a kid. In the new show which airs on GMA 7 (titled Zaido) the lead is a descendant of the original Shaider, and he has with him two other Pulis Pangkalawakans recruited by the Galactic Force to help in the fight against the evil Kuma Lei Ar (Fuma Lei Ar in the original). The show is apparently under license from Toei, the makers of the original series from Japan.

And so it is remembered, that before local channels borrowed Koreanovelas (from where else? Korea), and before households went gaga over Marimar and all the other Mexican telenovelas that followed after, local TV stations used to air superhero shows imported from Japan. Shaider was just one of them.

Shaider belongs to the metal heroes genre, so-called because the lead hero in these shows is a metal-clad cyborg policing the universe using high-tech vehicles, weapons and gadgets (hence, Shaider, ang pulis pangkalawakan). In Shaider, the most memorable vehicle-slash-weapon is the Babilos, the giant spaceship used by Shaider and sidekick (girlfriend?) Annie as their base. This carrier also transforms into a giant gun (Super Blaster), used to blast off the enemy as the climax of every episode.  

Bioman was a favorite in our family, probably because it allowed role playing between me and my brother and sister… Red 1! Green 2! Yellow 4! This series meanwhile belongs to the Super Sentai genre, shows where a group of earthlings (usually 5) are given superhero powers, weapons, and colorful outfits to battle the forces of evil (in Bioman, the powers are lent by Bio Particles showered on the five protagonists). Chodenshi Bioman (or, Super Electron Bioman) was the most popular, but there was also the Maskman group, the Jetman and the Fiveman groups, and the Turborangers. The Power Rangers were a later Western adaptation of the genre. In Bioman, each superhero character had a distinct color, skill, and weapon (ie, Red 1’s Fire Sword and ability to speak with animals), but when they combine their weapons, they can attack with greater force (using the Bio Electron Beam, or the Bio Prism Laser, the combining of their pistols and swords, respectively). More importantly, when the going gets tough, the team summons is biggest weapon (literally), the Bio Robot, formed from the fusion of two spaceships, the Bio Jets 1 and 2. In the climax of every episode, the Bio Robot would deliver a finishing blow using its Super Maser to the evil robot designated to die that afternoon.

Another popular superhero is Masked Rider Black of the Kamen Riders genre. Upon shouting “Rider, change!!!”, the human lead in the series is transformed into a hero with super strength, skill and agility (not to mention a grasshopper-inspired outfit). His motorcycle likewise undergoes transformation and becomes more high-tech; it becomes Battle Hopper, a living motorcycle able to smash enemies head-on. Battle Hopper dies in later episodes, and is replaced by Road Sector, another motorcycle.

The weapons, spaceships, robots and special abilities used by the heroes in these series sure are its crowd-drawers, but there’s a lot more to these shows than the special effects. For one, there is a rich mythology behind each superhero. Shaider was in fact an archeology student studying the hidden meanings of alien figures when he was recruited by the Galactic Force to be a space sheriff. Masked Rider Black has a stepbrother for an arch-nemesis, Shadow Moon. Each series didn’t forget to put the human element into its story; and no matter how other-worldly the weapons and robots were, the characters and storyline remained distinctly down-to-earth. Who would forget the death of Yellow 4? My sister cried for a week after that episode. In the last episode of Bioman, it was the main antagonist himself, Doctor Man, who stopped the Neo Bomb from exploding and destroying the Earth. What did it take to convert the most loathsome, most evil of all the enemies of the Bioman? He was shown baby pictures of his human son. Awww… That’s what I call drama!!!

(Now head on the my Jap Heroes page, for more pics)