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

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

superhero television series. Produced by

P Productions is a Japanese production company, which has produced anime and tokusatsu television programs, with minor work in motion pictures. It was founded in 1960 by the late TV producer Tomio Sagisu (also known as Soji Ushio). The company exists today as ...

and created by producer Souji Ushio, the series aired on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

in Japan from January 2, 1971 to March 25, 1972 with a total of 63 episodes (divided into three segments), not counting the pre-series pilot episode. This was the first major Japanese superhero show of the 1970s.

Plot

Banished from the peaceful and highly advanced simian Planet E in the Geisty Solar System, the

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or " insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly a ...

Dr. Gori and his brutish

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

-like assistant Karras (Ra in the Japanese version) search for a new world to rule after Gori's plot to conquer Planet E had been foiled by its government. Traveling to Earth in their

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...

, the blond alien apeman is captivated by its beauty but appalled by its inhabitants' misuse of its environment, leading to severe

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

(a huge topic back when this series was made, since

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

in Japan was the most polluted city in the world at the time), so humankind must be quickly conquered if this planet is to remain habitable. Gori therefore plots, rather ironically, to use the pollution that is plaguing Earth to create horrible, giant, rampaging monsters to wipe out and/or enslave humankind. Hope comes in the form of the Nebula 71 Star, an

artificial satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisoto ...

resembling twin planet Saturns joined together that observes Earth incognito. Fearing that Gori may eventually make Earth uninhabitable, they dispatch Spectreman, their super-cyborg agent, to battle the menace of the mad apeman. Spectreman disguises himself as a Japanese man named Jôji Gamô to walk among the humans and scout out Gori's weekly menace for the Nebula 71 Star. He works with a government-run group called the Pollution G-Men, run by Chief Kurata. This group investigates phenomena involving pollution, but they do not (until late in the show's run) have the facilities to handle giant monsters, so unbeknownst to them, their comical-yet-mysterious teammate Jòji disappears on them, only to help them as Spectreman! As the series comes to a conclusion, Dr. Gori's subordinates - and even Ra - are largely defeated, forcing the mad scientist to face Spectreman by himself in the last episode. While the hero tries to convince him that his remarkable intelligence should be put at the service of good rather than be used for destruction and tyranny, Gori commits suicide after replying that he would rather die than live with such an inferior and

self-destructive Self-destructive behavior is any behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful towards the person who engages in the behavior. Self-destructive behaviors have been shown by many people throughout the years. It is on a continuum, with one extr ...

race as the humans.

Spectreman specifications and powers

Disguised as a human being (Jôji "George" Gamô), Spectreman requests his transformation from the unseen stern but benevolent Overlord of the Nebula Star, or is ordered by same to do so. Saying "Ryōkai" (了解 - Japanese for "Roger"), or "Ready" in the US version, he raises his right hand towards the Nebula Star, which shoots a beam at him, transforming into Spectreman, a super-powered

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

in a gold-and-copper

cuirass A cuirass (; french: cuirasse, la, coriaceus) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The word probably originates from the original material, leather, from the French '' cuirac ...

, with a fin-topped full

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 an angular metal face somewhat resembling the

Rocketeer The Rocketeer is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Pacific Comics. Created by writer/artist Dave Stevens, the character first appeared in 1982 and is an homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroe ...

's signature headgear. Before transforming back into a human, however, he simply faints. Spectreman starts out as human-sized and can increase his size at will. In addition to superhuman strength and agility and the ability to fly, Spectreman's weapons included: *Spectre-Flash: Spectreman's ultimate weapon, a

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

-like energy beam he shoots from his hands or wrists (depending on the pose he performs with his hands). *Shuriken: Multicolored

shuriken A ''shuriken'' ( ja, 手裏剣; literally: "hidden hand blade") is a Japanese concealed weapon that was used as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect. They are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they wer ...

, which he pulls from his belt buckle. *Spectre-Blades: Razor-sharp blades that spring forth from Spectreman's forearms. *Spectre-Sword & Shield: Sword and shield sent to Spectreman from Nebula Star when requesting them. *Spectre-Gun: A huge gun sent to Spectreman from Nebula Star when requesting them. While Spectreman is virtually invincible, he can still be damaged. In one episode, when injured in the leg by an opposing monster, he bled green blood. He bled one other time, when bitten in the neck by a space vampire. Notably, his blood color had changed to bright yellow.

United States release

The entire 63-episode ''Spectreman'' series was dubbed into English and syndicated to television stations across North America, including Superstation TBS, starting in the fall of 1978 (more than seven years after the Japanese premiere). The English dubbing was co-written and performed by character actor

Mel Welles Mel Welles (February 17, 1924 – August 19, 2005) was an American film actor and director. His best-remembered role may be that of hapless flower shop owner Gravis Mushnick in the 1960 low-budget Roger Corman dark comedy, ''The Little Shop of ...

, who is best known for his performance in the original film version of ''

The Little Shop of Horrors ''The Little Shop of Horrors'' is a 1960 American horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood. The fi ...

''. While the U.S. version is faithful to the original show for the most part, the most notable change is the new theme song created by a song writing team using the song "The First Day of Forever" from the album ''Awakening'' by the

Mystic Moods Orchestra The Mystic Moods Orchestra was a group known for mixing orchestral pop, environmental sounds, and pioneering recording techniques. It was created by audiophile Brad Miller. The first Mystic Moods Orchestra album, ''One Stormy Night'', was released ...

. The instrumental version was used as a substitute for the Japanese language theme song and was played over action scenes. The instrumental version of the Japanese theme song was usually left alone. Other changes were edits to remove some of the violence considered too intense for a U.S. children's show at the time. The dialogue was sometimes altered to add some of Mr. Welles' offbeat humor. While once available on VHS, the U.S. version has not been released on DVD or Blu-ray.

Episodes

# The Uncommon enemy (ゴリ・地球を狙う! ''"Gori, Chikyu o Nerau !''") # Hedron lives ! (公害怪獣ヘドロンを倒せ! ''"Kougai-kaiju Hedoron o Taose !''") # The Threat of Zeron ! (青ミドロの恐怖 ''"Ao-midoro no Kyoufu''") # Apeman in the streets ! (ラー地球人をさぐる ''"Rah, Chikyu-jin o Saguru''") # Terror of the Pollution People (恐怖の公害人間!! ''"Kyoufu no Kougai-ningen''") # Save The Beautiful Earth (美くしい地球のために!! ''"Utsukusii Chikyu no Tameni !!''") # The Killer smog (黒の恐怖 ''"Kuro no Kyoufu''") # Gokinosaurus (決斗!!ゴキノザウルス ''"Ketto !! Gokinozaurusu''") # Attack of the two headed beast (恐怖のネズバートン ''"Kyoufu no Nezubahdon''") # Attack of the two headed beast (怪獣列車を阻止せよ!! ''"Kaiju-ressha o Soshi Seyo''") # The Man-monster (巨大怪獣ダストマン出現!! ''"Kyodai-kaiju Dustman Shutsugen !''") # The Man-monster (よみがえる恐怖!! ''"Yomigaeru Kyoufu''") # The Dying sea (ヘドロン大逆襲 (前編) ''"Hedoron Dai-gyakushu Zenpen''") # The Dying sea (ヘドロン大逆襲 (后編) ''"Hedoron Dai-gyakushu Kouhen''") # The Day the Earth shook (大地震東京を襲う!! ''"Dai-jishin Tokyo o Osou''") # The Day the Earth shook (モグネチュードンの反撃!! ''"Mogunechudon no Hangeki !''") # Monster from the deep (空とぶ鯨サンダーゲイ ''"Sora-tobu Kujira Thunder-gei !''") # The Monster from the deep (怪獣島に潜入せよ!! ''"Kaiju-tou ni Sennyu Seyo''") # Terror in New Town (吸血怪獣バクラー現わる!! ''"Kyuuketsu-kaiju Bakurah Arawaru !''") # Terror in New Town (怪獣バクラーの巣をつぶせ!! ''"Kaiju Bakurah no Su o Tsubuse !''") # Visitor from Zunoh (謎のズノウ星人対ギラギンド ''"Nazo no Zunou-seijin Tai Giragindo''") # Visitor from Zunoh (二刀流怪獣ギラギンド大あばれ! ''"Nitou-ryu Kaiju Giragindo oh-abare !''") # Hit and run (交通事故怪獣クルマニクラス!! ''"Koutsuu-jiko Kaiju Kurumanikurasu !''") # Hit and run (危うし!!クルマニクラス ''"Ayaushi ! Kurumanikurasu''") # A Star called Satan (マグラー、サタンキング二大作戦!! ''"Magurah, Satanking Nidai-sakusen !''") # A Star called Satan (二大怪獣東京大決戦!! ''"Nidai-kaiju Tokyo Dai-kessen !''") # And the dead shall rise (大激戦!!七大怪獣 ''"Dai-gekisen ! 7 dai-kaiju''") # The Salamander (サラマンダー恐怖の襲撃!! ''"Saramandah Kyoufu no Shuhgeki''") # The Salamander (兇悪怪獣サラマンダーを殺せ!! ''"Kyouaku-kaiju Saramandah o Korose''") # Terror from the sea (タッグマッチ怪獣恐怖の上陸!! ''"Tag Match Kaiju Kyoufu no Jouriku''") # Terror from the sea (あの灯台を救え!! ''"Ano Toudai o Sukue !''") # The Three headed dragon (よみがえる三つ首竜!! ''"Yomigaeru Mitsu-kubi-ryu''") # The Three headed dragon (SOS!!海底油田 ''"SOS ! Kaitei-yuden''") # The Moon dweller's revenge (ムーンサンダーの怒り!! ''"Moonthunder no Ikari''") # The Moon dweller's revenge (スペクトルマンが死んだ!? ''"Spectreman ga Shinda !?''") # The Monster hunters (死斗!!Gメン対怪獣ベガロン ''"Shitou ! G-men tai Kaiju Begaron''") # Ape men from space (ゴリの円盤基地爆破大作戦!! ''"Gori no Enban-kichi Bakuha Dai-sakusen''") # The Floating sphinx (スフィンクス前進せよ!! ''"Sphinx Zensin seyo''") # Cave of spiders (怪獣地区突破作戦!! ''"Kaiju-chiku Toppa-sakusen''") # The Dancing monster (草笛を吹く怪獣 ''"Kusa-bue o fuku Kaiju''") # The Dancing monster (ガス怪獣暁に死す!! ''"Gas Kaiju Akatsuki ni Shisu''") # The Mask of evil (宇宙から来た太陽マスク ''"Uchu kara kita Taiyou-mask''") # The Mask of evil (怪獣カバゴンの出現!! ''"Kaiju Kabagon no Shutsugen !!''") # The Vampire from outer space (宇宙の通り魔キュドラー星人 ''"Uchu no Tohri-ma Kyudorah-seijin''") # The Vampire from outer space (パル遊星人よ永遠なれ!! ''"Pal-yuusei-jin yo Eien nare''") # Invasion from Gamma (死者からの招待状 ''"Shisha kara no Shoutai-jou''") # Invasion from Gamma (ガマ星人攻撃開始!! ''"Gama-seijin Kougeki Kaishi !!''") # Smart boy (ボビーよ怪獣になるな!! ''"Bobby yo Kaiju ni Naruna !!''") # Smart boy (悲しき天才怪獣ノーマン ''"Kanashiki Tensai-kaiju Noman''") # The Igorians are coming (イゴール星人を倒せ!! ''"Igohru-seijin o Taose !''") # The Igorians are coming (コバルト怪獣の謎 ''"Cobalt Kaiju no Nazo''") # The Birdman (怪獣マウントドラゴン輸送大作戦!! ''"Mount Dragon Yusou Dai-sakusen !!''") # The Day the Dog-God howled (恐怖の鉄の爪 ''"Kyoufu no Tetsu no Tsume''") # The Day the Dog-God howled (打倒せよ!!コンピューター怪獣 ''"Datou-seyo ! Computer-kaiju''") # The Lone Comet (スペクトルマン暗殺指令!! ''"Spectreman Ansatsu-shirei''") # The Lone Comet (宇宙の殺し屋流星仮面 ''"Uchu no Korosi-ya Ryusei-kamen''") # The Space witch (魔女グレートサタンの復活 ''"Majo Great Satan no Fukkatsu''") # The Space witch (まぼろしの怪獣ゴルダ ''"Maborosi no Kaiju Goruda''") # The Killer formula (地獄の使者ジェノス星人 ''"Jigoku no Shisha Genos-seijin''") # The Killer formula (怪獣ドクロン死の踊り ''"Kaiju Dokuron Shi no Odori''") # Fun City caper (恐怖の怪獣ショー ''"Kyoufu no Kaiju-show''") # The Flash game (最後の死斗だ猿人ゴリ!! ''"Saigo no Shitou da Enjin Gori''") # The Flash game (さようならスペクトルマン ''"Sayounara Spectreman''")

In popular culture

Spectreman was parodied in the Franco-Belgian series ''Télechat'' as Leguman. Rather than being made of machinery, Leguman was made of

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

with carrots for arms, pea pods for legs, a jack o'lantern pumpkin for a head, and a

radish The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw ...

chest emblem on his leotard, and he engaged in brief inane low budget

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

battles with bizarre robot monsters based on everyday items (

vacuum cleaners A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a ...

, juicers, etc.) in mundane urban settings, all while a male voice chanted his repetitive ''Spectreman''-inspired

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

. Spectreman is shown in the graphic novel ''

The Arab of the Future ''The Arab of the Future'' (french: L'Arabe du futur) is a graphic memoir by award-winning French-Syrian cartoonist Riad Sattouf. The work recounts Sattouf's childhood growing up in France, Libya and Syria in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. The first ...

'' by

Riad Sattouf Riad Sattouf ( ar, رياض سطوف; born 5 May 1978) is a French cartoonist, comic artist, and film director. Sattouf is best known for his award-winning graphic memoir hexalogy '' L'Arabe du futur'' (''The Arab of the Future'') and for his awa ...

, as a Japanese TV show that the protagonist, as a kid, watches in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

. The protagonist's father makes racist remarks, comparing ape-like villains with Africans, but the protagonist notices similitudes between Dr. Gori and his father. The antagonist of the series ''

Space Dandy , is a 2014 Japanese comic science fiction anime television series produced by Bones. The series follows the misadventures of Dandy, an alien hunter who is "a dandy guy in space", in search for undiscovered and rare aliens with his robot assi ...

'', Dr. Gel, was inspired partially by Dr. Gori. In

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, the series aired in 1972, leading to a large number of makers of toy products related to Spectreman, including a

play money Play money is noticeably fake bills or coins intended to be used as toy currency, especially for classroom instruction or as a marker in board games such as Monopoly, rather than currency in a legitimate exchange market. Play money coins and bi ...

known as ''Bank Gamô'' (according Spectreman's human form name) and is still popularly known to this day. Dr. Gori and Rah make guest appearances in the 2005 film

Cromartie High – The Movie is a 2005 Japanese live-action film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi (who had previously made ''Battlefield Baseball'') and starring Takamasa Suga. The film is based on the manga ''Cromartie High School'' by Eiji Nonaka which had also been previous ...

based on the manga

Cromartie High School is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiji Nonaka and published in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 2000 to May 2006. It follows the everyday life of Takashi Kamiyama and his odd classmates at Cromartie Hig ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Spectreman the Nebula SanctuarySpectreman Yahoo! Group
1971 Japanese television series debuts 1972 Japanese television series endings Japanese television series with live action and animation Tokusatsu television series Fuji TV original programming