is the title of 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 someti ...

series produced by

Toho 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 produc ...

. The series, consisting of 26 episodes, is a result of joint production with Nippon Television, and aired in Japan starting on October 3, 1976 until the 23 March 1977. This was Toho's first direct answer to the

Super Sentai is a Japanese superhero team metaseries and media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company, and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi (" Sentai" is the Japanese word for "task force" or "fighting squadron"). The ...

series (particularly the first series, ''

Himitsu Sentai Gorenger is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' superhero television series. ''Gorenger'', created by Shotaro Ishinomori, was the first in the long-running ''Super Sentai'' metaseries of ''tokusatsu'' programming. The series aired on NET (now TV Asahi) from April 5, ...

'', which was still running on

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 Com ...

at the time), in that this series has five color-coded superheroes (a red leader, blue, pink, and two yellows). In this series, a team of five kids (a teenage boy, a teenage girl, and three young boys, two of whom are siblings), form the top-secret "Bankid" superhero team ("Bankid" is derived from the Japanese word "enban" - "saucer"), to fight the evil Bukimi Aliens ("bukimi" - Japanese for "weird," "eerie"), led by the mysterious Commander Guzare, who plots to invade Earth. This series is also notable in that veteran designer Tohl Narita (the designer of

Ultraman ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with '' Ultra Q'' and then '' Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is ...

Ultra Seven is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' science fiction television series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the third installment in the Ultra Series and was produced by Tsuburaya Productions. The series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 1, 19 ...

, the Gargantuas, etc.) designed the Bukimi Aliens, starting with Episode #6.

Cast

* Noboru Tenma (天馬昇) / Bankid Pegasus (バンキッドペガサス):

Eiji Okuda is a Japanese actor and film director. Born in Kasugai, Aichi, he was nominated for the Best Actor award at the 1990 Japanese Academy Awards for his performance in ''Sen no Rikyu''. He won the award for best actor at the 37th Blue Ribbon Awards ...

* Ryuuichi Uzaki (宇崎龍一) / Bankid Dragon (バンキッドドラゴン):

Tomohiro Tanabe Tomohiro is a masculine Japanese name, Japanese given name. Possible writings Tomohiro can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *友弘, "friend, vast" *友広, "friend, wide" *友寛, "friend, genero ...

* Ryuuji Uzaki (宇崎龍二) / Bankid Rabbit (バンキッドラビット):

Tatsuyuki Tsuji Tatsuyuki (written: 達之, 達行, 龍雪 or 龍之) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese composer and sound designer *, Japanese anime director *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *, Jap ...

* Ichiro Ushijima (牛島一郎) / Bankid Ox (バンキッドオックス):

Akinori Umezu Akinori (written: 聡徳, 昭徳, 昭典, 明徳, 明憲. 明訓, 明紀, 暉記, 晃教, 晶則 or 彰規) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Mongolian sumo wrestler *, Japanese politician *, Japanese foo ...

* Honoka Shiratori (白鳥ほのか) / Bankid Swan (バンキッドスワン): Yoshie Suzuki * Hirohiko Uzaki (宇崎博彦):

Hiroshi Yagyu is a common masculine Japanese given name. It can also be transliterated as Hirosi. Possible writings Hiroshi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *浩, "meaning" *汎 *弘, *宏, *寛, *洋, *博, *博一, *博司, ...

* Tokie Uzaki (宇崎とき枝): Toki Shiozawa * Isao Uzaki (宇崎巌): Masami Shimojo * Commander Guzare (グザレ司令):

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 '' ...

/ voice:

Kiyoshi Kobayashi Kiyoshi, (きよし or キヨシ), is a Japanese given name, also spelled Kyoshi. Possible meanings *'' Kyōshi'', a form of Japanese poetry *Kyōshi, a Japanese honorific Possible writings *清, "cleanse" *淳, "pure" *潔, "undefiled" *清志, ...

* Narrator (ナレーター): Ryo Kurosawa

External links

Files in Enban Sensou Bankid
in Japan Hero Tokusatsu television series 1976 Japanese television series debuts 1977 Japanese television series endings Toho tokusatsu Nippon TV original programming Transforming heroes {{Japan-tv-prog-stub