is a Japanese

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, fantasy, or horror media featuring such technology but is som ...

television franchise that began in 1972 by P Productions as '' Extraordinary Hero Lion-Maru''. The basic premise of the series is that the main character has the ability to transform into a superpowered anthropomorphic lion, usually wielding a

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the '' tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge f ...

. The original two series were set in

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inve ...

and were, essentially, tokusatsu versions of the samurai dramas that were extremely popular at the time. The 2006 program, ''

Lion-Maru G is a Japanese tokusatsu series that aired from October 1, 2006 to December 24, 2006 in Japan, lasting 13 episodes. It is the third part in the Lion-Maru trilogy, following '' Kaiketsu Lion-Maru'' and '' Fuun Lion-Maru''. The "G" is short for 'Gh ...

'', is set in the near future, but still uses the samurai motif for the designs of the main characters.

Series

*'' Kaiketsu Lion-Maru'' (1972) *'' Fuun Lion-Maru'' (1973) *''

'' (2006) Tokusatsu television series {{Japan-tv-prog-stub