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 ...

series created by

Kōhan Kawauchi (February 26, 1920 – April 6, 2008), also known as Yasunori Kawauchi, was a Japanese screenwriter who created various tokusatsu series, including the first, ''Moonlight Mask'', in 1958. He was originally from Hakodate, Hokkaido. His series '' ...

. This was the first superhero TV series produced by

Toho Company Ltd. is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer a ...

, and was broadcast on NET (now

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

) from October 6, 1972 to September 18, 1973, with a total of 52 episodes.

Mitsuru Adachi is a Japanese manga artist. After graduating from Gunma Prefectural Maebashi Commercial High School in 1969, Adachi worked as an assistant for Isami Ishii. He made his manga debut in 1970 with ''Kieta Bakuon'', based on a manga originally crea ...

wrote a manga series based on the show which was serialized in ''TV Magazine Otomodachi'' from 1972 to 1973.

Overview

The series focuses on pro wrestler Takeshi Yamato, a young man who, after training in India with the yogi sage Devadatta, gains the ability to transform into a superhero called Rainbowman who possesses seven different superhero forms called "Dashes", with the seven Dashes representing

yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the c ...

(the Moon and the Sun) and the five elements (

wu xing Wuxing may refer to: Places in China Counties and districts *Huzhou, formerly Wuxing County, Zhejiang, China *Wuxing District (吴兴区), central district of Huzhou Subdistricts (五星街道) *Wuxing Subdistrict, Mudanjiang, in Dong'an District ...

) of ancient Chinese philosophy. In each Dash form, Rainbowman is endowed with a color-coded costume and powers related to that element. Dash 1 (yellow) represents the Moon, Dash 2 (red) represents fire, Dash 3 (blue) represents water, Dash 4 (green) represents wood, Dash 5 (gold) represents metal, Dash 6 (brown) represents earth, and Dash 7 (white) represents the Sun. Later in the series, he gains the ability to create a fusion state between Dash 7 and any two other forms with all their related powers. Rainbowman opposes the "Die Die Gang", a group representing hostile foreign powers bent on revenge against Japan for acts carried out in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They make use of elite mercenaries, cyborgs, wizards and supernatural monsters in pursuit of their plans. In 1982, a 22-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

remake loosely based on the series was produced. Instead of a superhero as in the live action series, the anime featured a young man who commands seven giant robots which can merge into a larger giant robot.

Cast

*: *

Devadatta Devadatta was by tradition a Buddhist monk, cousin and brother-in-law of Gautama Siddhārtha. The accounts of his life vary greatly, but he is generally seen as an evil and divisive figure in Buddhism, who led a breakaway group in the ea ...

: *: *: *: *: *:

Reiko Mutō was a Japanese people, Japanese actress and Voice acting in Japan, voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She is best known for playing the voice of Elizabeth Taylor in Japanese language, Japanese dubbing (filmmaking), dubbed television and films, and ...

*: *:

Akihiko Hirata (December 16, 1927 – July 25, 1984), born , was a Japanese film actor. While Hirata starred in many movies (including Hiroshi Inagaki's ''Samurai'' trilogy), he is most well known for his work in the ''kaiju'' genre, including such films as '' ...

Machiko Soga was a Japanese actress and voice actress. She also performed by the stage name Stella Soga. Life and career Early life and family Machiko was born on March 18, 1938, in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan. She had a humble upbringing and was raised to ...

Theme songs

Opening song

Yuke Rainbowman (行けレインボーマン, Go Rainbowman) *Lyrics:

Kawauchi Kohan Kawauchi ( or ) may refer to: Places * Kawauchi, Fukushima *Kawauchi, Aomori *Kawauchi, Ehime, now part of the city of Tōon, Ehime People with the surname *Hiroshi Kawauchi, Japanese politician *Kōhan Kawauchi, Japanese screenwriter *Rinko Kaw ...

*Composition: Jun Kitahara *Singer:

Yū Mizushima is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. He is the Japanese voice-over for Sammo Hung, and is the Japanese voice of Wakko. In the 1980s, He proved to be a popular choice for many Japanese animation studios for the roles of male heart-thr ...

(as Kenji Yasunaga)

Closing songs

Yamato Takeshi no uta (ヤマトタケシの歌, Theme of Yamato Takeshi (ep. 1 - ep. 13)) *Lyrics: Kawauchi Kohan *Composition: Jun Kitahara *Singer:

Aitsu no namae wa Rainbowman (あいつの名前はレインボーマン, That Man's Name is Rainbowman (ep. 14 - ep. 52)) *Lyrics: Kawauchi Kohan *Composition: Jun Kitahara *Singers: Cat's Eye and Young Fresh

Other song

*Shineshine-dan no uta (死ね死ね団の歌, Theme of Shineshine-dan) *Lyrics: Kawauchi Kohan *Composition: Jun Kitahara *Singers: Cat's Eye and Young Fresh

External links

''Ai No Senshi Rainbow Man'' at Japan Hero (Archived)
* {{Mitsuru Adachi works 1972 Japanese television series debuts 1972 manga 1982 anime television series debuts 1983 Japanese television series endings Mitsuru Adachi Super robot anime and manga Toho tokusatsu Tokusatsu television series TV Asahi original programming TBS Television (Japan) original programming Mainichi Broadcasting System original programming Transforming heroes