, is a ''

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

series that aired in 1977. Created by

Shotaro Ishinomori was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and , creating several immensely popular long-running series such as ''Cyborg 009,'' the ''Super Sentai'' series (later adapted into the ''Power Rangers'' series), an ...

, this 32-episode series (which aired on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

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 was first released on DVD in 2008.

Premise and plotlines

: The star of the show is a private detective named Ken Hayakawa, played by veteran

Hiroshi Miyauchi is a Japanese actor and singer from Chiba Prefecture. Miyauchi graduated from Nihon University. In 1969, he signed with Toei Company and made his film debut with ''Nagasaki Blues''. He first attracted attention after landing a role in a televisio ...

. In the first episode, his best friend Goro Asuka is mysteriously killed. Ken takes over his friend's gear that Asuka had invented: a suit and a flying vehicle, which he names the Zubat Suit and the Zubat Car. He travels the land as a wandering hero, fighting evil and injustice while in the guise of Zubat, and also trying to find Asuka's killer. Zubat's name is based on the

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...

"zubatto," which is the sound of something being hit right on target. The series is unusual in the tonkusatsu genre as the title hero Zubat does not "henshin" (transform) like the other superheroes Ishinomori created. Ken Hayakawa normally dresses in black & red gringo

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

attire, but he just puts on his red & black "Zubasuit" hidden in his guitar when deciding to face his enemies as Zubat. His outfit looks no different from that of a

Sentai In Japanese, is a military unit and may be literally translated as "squadron", " task force", " division (of ships)", "group" or "wing". The terms "regiment" and "flotilla", while sometimes used as translations of ''sentai'', are also used to ...

hero: *A

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

with "Z"-themed features and an open/close visor and mouthpiece *A streamlined

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

jumpsuit A jumpsuit is a one-piece garment with sleeves and legs and typically without integral coverings for feet, hands or head. The original jump suit is the functional one-piece garment used by parachuting, parachuters. The original skydivers' j ...

with a white

scarf A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of diff ...

(another Ishinomori trademark). The villains are also unusual for the genre. There are no monsters; rather, Zubat fights against a large criminal organization named Dakker and its mysterious leader, as well as other outlandishly-dressed criminals. Many episodes of this series have a bizarre Japanese "wild west" style setting, perhaps to explain why justice is meted out by a traveling superhero rather than lawful authorities expected in a more populated and dense setting like Japanese big cities. An episode would generally have a single head criminal, and a yojimbo ("bodyguard"), 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 quirky skill they've used to threaten people. Ken Hayakawa would then defeat the villain and their gimmick.

Episode List

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Cast

*: *: *: *: *: *:

Songs

;Opening Theme * **Lyrics:

Shōtarō Ishinomori was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and , creating several immensely popular long-running series such as ''Cyborg 009,'' the ''Super Sentai'' series (later adapted into the ''Power Rangers'' series), an ...

**Composition & Arrangement: Kensuke Kyō **Artist:

Ichirou Mizuki , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on theme songs for anime and tokusatsu. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese film, televisio ...

;Ending Theme * **Lyrics:

Saburo Yatsude () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by ...

**Composition & Arrangement: Kensuke Kyō **Artist:

''Kamen Rider'' 40th Anniversary film

Zubat, along with

Kikaider is a manga series written and illustrated by Shotaro Ishinomori. A two-season tokusatsu series titled ''Android Kikaider'' (''Kikaider 01'' in season 2) was produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions in early 1970s. A 18-episode an ...

Kikaider 01 (Pronounced as ''Kikaider Zero One''), is a tokusatsu superhero TV series, and a sequel series to '' Android Kikaider''. Produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions, it was broadcast on NET (now TV Asahi) from May 12, 1973 to March 30, 1974 ...

, and

Inazuman is a television series starring a mutant fictional character of the same name created by Shotaro Ishinomori. The first television series ran from October 2, 1973 to March 26, 1974 with a total of 25 episodes. A second season named aired in 197 ...

made an appearance in in commemoration of the

Toei Company () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by i ...

's 60th Anniversary in 2011. This brief appearance saw the four heroes destroy the ''

Kamen Rider Stronger is a Japanese Tokusatsu television show. It is the fifth entry in the Kamen Rider Series, the show was broadcast on TBS and MBS from April 5, 1975 to December 27, 1975. ''Stronger'' is a co-production between Ishinomori Productions and Toei, an ...

'' villain, General Shadow.

Legacy

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). Zubat's costume was also a basis for the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

superhero parody ''

Viewtiful Joe is a side scrolling beat 'em up video game franchise created by Japanese game designer Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom and its subsidiary Clover Studio. Games ''Viewtiful Joe'' (2003) The first game in the ...

''.

References

External links

Episode 1
and other episodes, uploaded by the official Toei account
''Kaiketsu Zubat''
English language fan page
Zubaken
- Japanese language fan page

* {{Shotaro Ishinomori Shotaro Ishinomori Toei tokusatsu 1977 Japanese television series debuts 1977 Japanese television series endings Television series about revenge Tokusatsu television series TV Tokyo original programming