Armored Police Metal Jack

is a Japanese animated TV series co-produced by Sunrise, TV Tokyo and I&S BBDO. The series was broadcast by TV Tokyo affiliates in 1991 on the Monday 5:30PM time slot and aired weekly from April 7 to December 23, lasting 37 episodes.

''Metal Jack'' was originally planned as a sequel to the live-action tokusatsu show ''Dennou Keisatsu Cybercop'', but due to complications with the show's production, it was made into an animated series instead without any official ties to ''Cybercop''. However, due to low viewership, the length of the show's run was shortened by thirteen episodes. Head writer Hiroyuki Kawasaki would later recycle some of the same situations from ''Metal Jack'' in ''Brave Police J-Decker''. The show was also the debut of Nobutoshi Canna (who acted under the stage name of Nobutoshi Hayashi).

Plot

In the year 2015, cyber-crimes, murders and terrorism have become an epidemic in Tokyo and the average police force are not capable enough to handle it all. Commander Masanao Daigo of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department plans to solve this problem by searching for talented candidates for his "Metal Project".

One day, a robot sent out by the criminal organization Ido targets Jun Zaizen, the young heir of the Zaizen Konzern, during a party held in his honor. Three young men, MPD officer Ken Kanzaki, F1 race car driver Ryo Aguri, and professional wrestler Go Goda, are mortally wounded while protecting the young boy. Because of their heroic deed, the three men are chosen for the Metal Project and brought back to life as cyborgs, forming the Armored Police Metal Jack.

Characters

Metal Jack

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:Voice: Nobutoshi Hayashi
:Age 20. A cheerful, but easily irritated officer in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. He was adopted and raised by police officer Genichirou Kanzaki, who met Ryo's biological mother while she was dying in the street. He is an expert marksman whose favorite gun is one that once belonged to his father. After being resurrected, he is forced to keep his membership in the Metal Jack unit a secret from his coworkers, although he eventually reveals his secret to the Chief in Episode 30. Loves his cybernetic police dog Lander. His blood type is a rare RH minus T type. When he undergoes the Hyperization process after he is mortally wounded a second time, his cells develop a high rate of necrosis to compensate for his actual biological origin. He is deeply afraid of snakes.

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:Voice: Daiki Nakamura
:Age 23. A snobbish Formula 1 driver full of pride. He dislikes being overly formal to other people and only smiles in the company of close friends. Like Ken, he keeps his occupation as a member of Metal Jack a secret to his friends and family. In Episode 18, it is revealed he doesn't know how to ride a bicycle.

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:Voice: Ken Yamaguchi
:Age 21. A professional wrestler who aims to become the world's best, his ring name is "Go Gonzales". He lives in an apartment room in a hospital and is a poor swimmer. Despite being the comic relief of the team, it is him, and not Ken, who ends up developing a romantic relationship with Ken's police partner Eriko.

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:Voice: Yuu Shimaka
:His real name is , also known by the codename B-9. Formerly a member of an armed special forces from an unspecified country, he was used as a test subject for the "B Project", where he was subjected into a prototype of the Jack Armor developed by Guilria. He suffered a memory lost as a result of the experiment. His desire to seek revenge has led him to Japan. He is not an actual member of Metal Jack, but always intervenes in their operations by using an old police radio which intercepts the calls between Metal Jack members.

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:Voice: Seizō Katō
:The initiator of the Metal Project and the commander of Metal Jack unit. He has instructed the team to keep their real identities a secret from everyone else, including their friends and families.

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:Voice: Yūko Sazaki
:A young female scientist who plays an integral role in the second phase of the Metal Project. When Ken is mortally wounded a second time, she initiates the Hyper Project and brings him back to life stronger than before. Despite having many would-be suitors due to her good looks, she is a mechaphile who is more attracted to machines than men.

Friends and relatives

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:Voice: Yuri Amano
:Ken's partner in the MPD. She becomes romantically involved with Go.

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:Voice: Minoru Inaba
:Chief of the MPD's special investigations unit and boss to Ken and Eriko. He was involved in a robotic weapons smuggling case 18 years before the events of the series.

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:Voice: Kae Araki
:Ken's foster younger sister, who is very close and protective of her older brother. She feels a sense of affection for Jun.

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:Voice: Kazuhiko Nishino
:Ken's adoptive father, who was fatally wounded by a convict named Makieda when Ken was 10.

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:Voice: Hiroko Nishi
:Ken and Sayuri's mother.

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:Voice: Hiroshi Ito
:Go's professional wrestling trainer and gym partner.

Ido

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:Voice: Yuzuru Fujimoto
:The leader of Ido, a bioroid who resembles an elderly man. He seeks to assassinate Jun, who is later revealed to be his creator.

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:Voice: Shō Hayami
:The second-in-command of Ido, a bioroid who resembles a young man. When he learns about his true origin from Megadeth, he becomes driven by revenge and seeks to destroy the entire human race in order to purify the world for bioroids. In Episode 18, it is revealed he is allergic to crabs.

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:Voiced: Kenichi Ono
:A scientist known by the alias of . He takes over Ido after Megadeth's downfall.

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:Voice: Yumi Tōma
:A female android created by Jun, although she is reprogrammed to serve Torodail when Neo Ido is formed. Although she is unemotional at first, she gradually develops a sense of affection for Torodail.

Zaizen Group

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:Voice: Mari Maruta
:The young heir of the Zaizen Group. Despite his young age, he is a gifted and highly-intelligent engineer and was in fact the one who constructed Megadeth and Torodail. Later it is revealed that he and Jun are brothers in a sense. In Episode 28, he is brainwashed and becomes the leader of Neo Ido.

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:Voice: Kenichi Ono
:Chief Secretary of the Zaizen Group. He holds a certain sense of adoration for Jun and always addresses him as "Mr. Jun".

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:Voice: Tatsuyuki Jinnai
:Jun's father and chairman to the Zaizen Group. He is killed during the assassination attempt on his son during the first episode, although many secrets are revealed about him throughout the course of the series.

Criminals

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:Voice: Yasuo Tanaka
:A convicted criminal who was responsible for the death of Ken's father, Genichirou. He escapes from prison and helps out Torodail in one of their plots.
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Equipment

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:The bracelet worm by each member of Metal Jack, which they used to summon the Jack Suits and the Jack Armors. They also function as wireless communicators. The devices featured the Armored Police emblem stored in a compartment inside, which the team used to get a free pass during investigations. The Jack Brace used by Shadow is an older model full of scratches and equipped with a volume knob, and unlike the Jack Braces used by the main three heroes, it is not adorned with any emblem.

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:The primary armor of the Metal Jacks, equipped during the initial phases of an investigation or a battle. They are transmitted unto the wearer's body through a Jack Brace through the command "Suit On!". The suits are all equipped with a small compression cylinder which allows for better evasive movement and the inhaling of gas.

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:A rescue tool used by the team when wearing the Jack Suits, its primary function is to save people's lives. In Episode 4, it was used to cut the cable of a shutter in order to rescue a group of people trapped inside a building. It also has the ability to clean up rubble.

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:A patrol car with the capability of flight. It is used by both, the Metal Jacks and the regular police.

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:The standard-issue sidearm of the Metal Jacks. It can be transformed into a rifle by setting the long barrel that is folded underneath the standard barrel. This gimmick was carried over to the toy version, which changes the sound effect caused by the toy gun. The toy version was re-released as part of the ''Brave Police J-Decker'' toyline.

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:A nightstick-like weapon used by the Metal Jacks. The sticks can be covered with energy that allows them to be used as swords.

Jack Armors

The are the secondary equipment of the Metal Jacks, which are wore over the Jack Suits when facing an extremely dangerous threat. They are transmitted unto the Jack Suits by the Jack Braces when the command "Jack On!" is given. The Jack Armors are actually support robots or vehicles that are dismantled into upper and lower armor, as well as weapons when they transform. When wearing a Jack Armor, the wearer's uncovered portions will not suffer damage even if the armors are destroyed. However, due to the fact that the armors are neurally linked to their bodies, their arms will sustain injuries if they carry too much load.

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:Ken's armor. It is transformed from Ken's robotic dog companion called . Lander is usually colored black like other robotic dogs, but turns red when Ken transforms into his Jack Suit (Lander's weight also increases and some of his details are changed). Lander can also transform into a hoverbike named the . Its special move is the , in which Ken approaches the enemy with a rolling dash, followed by strike with a super-vibrating fist. It is also equipped with a beam gun on its helmet. Its firearm is called the .

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:Ryo's armor. It is transformed from a flying jet board called the . Its special move is the , in which Ryo shoots freeze beams from both of his hands. Both of its arms are equipped with . Its firearm is called the

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:Go's armor. It is transformed from a large four-wheeled motorcycle called the , which has excellent underwater capabilities. Its special move is the , in which Go performs an accelerated body rush with his armor's booster. Both of its shoulders are equipped with homing missile launchers. Its firearm is called the .

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:Shadow's armor. It is transformed from a special security robot called . Shadow can only wear the armor for a limited since it was originally an experimental prototype developed military. As a safety mechanism, it is automatically unequipped when the wearer has used for five minutes. It is equipped with numerous weapons such as missile launchers from chests and front shoulders and cannon from its back shoulders.

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:A new type of armor that was developed in preparations with the ever-increasing strength of Ido's forces. It is eventually made into a second Jack Armor worn by Ken. It is transformed from a large three-wheeled bike called the , which also transforms into a jet board called the . Although it is highly efficient, Ken must carry on an even greater amount of weight than his regular Red Jack Armor. The head part of the Cepter machine can also split off from its body and form a bird-like mecha called the . Its special movie is the , in which Ken accelerates using a pair of boosters equipped on his elbows. Its firearm is the .

Others

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:A new type of armor worn by Torodail that was developed by Dr. Guilria to defeat the Metal Jack. Despite its similarities to the Jack Armors, it was never released as a toy.

Staff

* Chief Director: Hiroshi Matsuzono (first half), Kiyoshi Egami (second half)
* Character Designer: Yoshihisa Uchida
* Mechanical Designer: Yukihiro Makino
* Head Writer: Hiroyuki Kawasaki
* Music: Yasunori Iwasaki
* Production Cooperation: Studio Deen
* Executive Producers: Shinsuke Kurabayashi (TV Tokyo), Masafumi Kano (I&S), Yoichi Ikeda (Sunrise)
* Developed by: TV Tokyo, I&S and Sunrise

Songs

* Opening theme: "JUST DREAM ON" (Lyrics/Composer/Arranger/Performer: Jack Bites)
* Ending theme: "HOLD ON" (Lyrics/Composer/Arranger/Performer: Jack Bites)
* Insert songs
** "INTO THE NIGHT" (Lyrics/Composer/Arranger/Performer: Jack Bites)
** "Shake!" (Lyrics and Composer: Kenji Morooka, Arranger: Satoshi Komuta, Performer: Kenji Morooka with Jack Bites)
** "Smile..." (Lyrics and Composer: Kenji Morooka, Arranger: Satoshi Komuta, Performer: Kenji Morooka with Jack Bites)
** (Lyrics: Naomi Nomiya, Composer: Tatsuya Chiba, Arranger: Hiroshi Koizumi, Performer: Nobutoshi Hayashi (as Ken Kanzuki))
** (Lyrics: Natsumi Watanabe, Composer: Kenji Morooka, Arranger: Hiroshi Koizumi, Performer: Yuri Amano (as Eriko Yoshizawa))
** "Hearts on fire" (Lyrics: Hyakuoku Sen'ya, Composer: Kenji Morooka, Arranger: Hiroshi Koizumi, Performer: Daiki Nakamura (as Ryo Aguri))
** "HOLD ON" (Lyrics/Composer/Arranger: Jack Bites, Performer: Nobutoshi Hayashi)
** " My Love" (Lyrics: Linda McCartney, Composer: Paul McCartney, Arranger: Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Makoto Saito, Tony St. James, Performer: Charito)

Episodes

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Merchandise

Toys

Takara released a set of action figures based on the show under a line called the "Armored Police Series". Each set came packaged with an action figure and a robotic partner or vehicle that could transform into powered suits worn by the figures. The available sets were Red Jack Armor, Silver Jack Armor, Blue Jack Armor, Shadow Jack Armor and Hyper Red Jack Armor. Model kits were also released of the five Jack Armors called the "Jack On Collection". Other toys were released by Takara, including toy versions of the Jack Chaser, Jack Braces and Buster Shot.

Soundtracks

A CD single (''Hold On''), two albums (''Just Dream On'' and ''PARTY JACK'') and two drama CDs (''Count Down'' and ''HARD PLAY'') were released by King Records.
* ''Armored Police Metal Jack: Hold On'' (KIDA-18, 1991/05/05)
* ''Armored Police Metal Jack: Count Down'' (KICA-63, 1991/07/16)
* ''Armored Police Metal Jack: HARD PLAY'' (KICA-67, 1991/10/21)
* ''Armored Police Metal Jack: Just Dream On'' (KICA-86, 1992/02/05)
* ''Armored Police Metal Jack: PARTY JACK'' (KICA-103 1992/04/04)

Video games

* ''Armored Police Metal Jack'' - Released by Takara for the Game Boy on January 8, 1992. It is a turn-based tactical game that loosely follows the series' storyline. It was developed by KID.
* ''Armored Police Metal Jack'' - Released by Atlus for the Super Famicom on July 31, 1992. It is a side-scrolling action game. A North American version was planned but later cancelled, with the story's setting changed from Tokyo to Los Angeles. The heroes' names were also changed from Ken Kanzuki, Ryo Aguri and Go Goda to Ken Striker, Billy Crash and Jake Gonzales respectively. Ido's name was changed to CRASS.

Home video

The series was gradually released on VHS and Laserdisc following its original airing by King Records. Ten volumes were released in total, with four episodes each for the first eight volumes, three episodes for Vol. 9 and two episodes and a special interview for Vol. 10. A later DVD set of all 37 episodes was released in Japan by King Records on June 7, 2006 to commemorate the show's 15th anniversary.

Books

* ''Metal Jack Mini Mook'', published by Movic Co. Ltd. in 1992.
* ''Armored Police Metal Jack'', a two-volume novel published by Tairiku Novels in 1992.

References

External links

''Armored Police Metal Jack'' at Sunrise''Armored Police Metal Jack'' DVD website

{{Sunrise

1991 anime television series debuts
1992 video games
Atlus games
Bandai Namco franchises
Beat 'em ups
Game Boy games
Game Boy-only games
Japan-exclusive video games
KID games
Science fiction anime and manga
Sunrise (company)
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games
Takara video games
Video games based on anime and manga
Video games developed in Japan
Video games set in the 2010s
Video games set in Tokyo