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Wikipedia / Battle Fever J

is a live-action tokusatsu TV series. The third entry of the Super Sentai series franchise, Battle Fever J was produced by Toei Company in partnership with American comic book publisher Marvel Comics. A total of 52 episodes aired on TV Asahi from February 3, 1979, to January 26, 1980, following J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai and being followed by Denshi Sentai Denjiman.

Battle Fever J was the first series to use the term Super Sentai (unlike the previous two who were just called Sentai, without the “Super”) until Toei announced in 1995 that its predecessors Himitsu Sentai Gorenger and J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai were also part of the Super Sentai series, when Chouriki Sentai Ohranger was announced as the 19th Super Sentai team.

Plot

General Kurama assembles four young agents who had been dispatched around the world for training. They are joined by FBI investigator Diane Martin, whose father was murdered by Egos. The five don powered suits to become the Battle Fever Squad. The Battle Fever Squad's trump card is the Battle Fever Robo. Egos tries to stop the construction of the Robot, but the monsters they send to perform this task are defeated one by one by the Battle Fever Squad. Egos then unleashes the "younger brother" of the Buffalo Monster, a giant robot replica of its "older brother". The Robot, fortunately, is finished in time. Aboard it, the Battle Fever Squad defeats the Buffalo Monster and its successors. The Battle Fever Squad never stops, even when it lost two of its members (the original Miss America and Battle Cossack). With new members, the team defeats Hedder, now the Hedder Monster, and breaks into Egos' headquarters, where they are fed into the Egos Monster Making Machine so that they may be used as material for a Battle Fever Monster. The team destroys the machine and slays the mysterious deity Satan Egos himself with the Lightning Sword Rocketter sword-throwing move.

Characters

Battle Fever Squad

The is unique among Super Sentai shows in that, originally, they did not "transform" into their costumes (as in the previous two series, Gorenger and JAKQ), instead they resorted to an unseen costume change. In most episodes, however, the members yell "Fever!" and spin around to transform although in episode 24 it is revealed they can store their costumes in their bracelets.

  • / : The red-colored warrior who received his combat training while in Japan. A former National Defense Ministry officer. He is good at judo and karate. He wields a spear. During the team's roll call, he performs a martial arts-inspired dance. 21 years after Battle Fever J ended, Battle Japan appeared as one of the 24 Red Rangers in Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai, introduced by Choujyu Sentai Liveman Red Falcon to inspire the current team.

: The orange-colored member of the Battle Fever Squad whose moniker was utilized by its original user and his successor. They dual wield a pair of sai. During the team's roll call, they perform a traditional Soviet dance.

  • : He was good at science as well as war. He was the original second in command of the team. In episode 33, he left the Big Baser without his Battle Cossack uniform and was fatally shot by a troop of Cutmen, attempting to save a little girl named Mayumi from Egos' forces. He loved to play Pachinko and enjoyed eating caviar.

  • : A silent cowboy. A man of action, not words. A scientist who trained in the Defense Ministry along with Kensaku. He joined Battle Fever to avenge the death of his friend. Makoto is an expert marksman. He is a loner, preferring to go off by himself. Makoto plays a trumpet to distract Egos.

  • / : The blue-colored warrior who received his combat training while in France. He became the new second in command of the team after Kensaku's death. He is normally a beautician, a dandy and playboy. He enjoys eating escargot. He wields a rapier. During the team's roll call, he performs a flamenco dance.

  • / : The black-colored warrior who received his combat training while in Kenya. He is a wild child who can talk to animals. He wields a whip. During the team's roll call, he performs a tribal dance. He eats just about anything. The smell of his cooking is not appreciated by the other team members. Shiro later appeared in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. He is also thematically similar to the Marvel superhero Black Panther.

: The pink-colored member of the Battle Fever Squad whose moniker was utilized by its original user and her successor. They wield unlimited throwing knives. During the team's roll call, they perform a disco dance.

  • : An FBI agent who joined the Battle Fever Squad to avenge her father Bosner, who was slain by Egos. In episode 24, after she was wounded by the Dracula Monster, she returned to the United States. Diane has a sister named .

  • : An FBI agent trained by Bosner. When Diane was injured, Maria took her place as Miss America and then stayed on permanently when Diane decided to return to the United States.

Allies

  • : The chief of the special science office of the National Defense Ministry who established the Battle Fever Squad. He is a master of traditional Japanese swordsmanship.

  • : One of the operatives that runs Big Baser.

  • : The other operative that runs Big Baser.

  • : Keiko's little brother.

  • : Tomoko's little sister. Was used by Egos in episode 27 to find Battle Fever's base.

  • : Robot mynah bird built by Tetsuzan as a present. Often had insight into the situation. Revealed in episode 51 to have a freezing ray built in.

Secret Society Egos

is a religion of mad egocentrists who intend to plunge the world into chaos.

  • : The mysterious head, entirely draped in black. He creates the Egos Monster's inside the Egos heart, calling them "My beloved Children". They call him "Father". He is ultimately slain by the Lightning Sword Rocketter.

  • : The high priest of Egos. He later becomes the Hedder Monster after his death at the hands of Kurama and is slain a second time as such by the Battle Fever J's new attack, Battle Fever Power.

  • : An Egos American branch officer who came to Japan to aid Hedder with her super strength. She is responsible for all the assassinations in America. She allowed herself to be captured by Battle Fever after attacking and replacing several policemen with disguised cutmen, with whom she stole a billion yen to give to Egos. She believes she is taken to the Battle Fever Base, but in reality she is taken to a warehouse. She carries a hand mirror with a tracker in it, which she uses to fire solar beams or to bludgeon people. She was killed in the collapsing castle as Satan Egos fled. Her last words were begging Egos to help her.

  • : The foot soldiers in grey and black who wield MP40 machine guns.

Egos Monsters

The are the divine children of Egos created by the heart-like Egos Monster Making Machine. Anything from objects, animals, and willing humans can be turned into an Egos Monster this way. Many from episode 5 onward have "little brother" giant robot doubles that fight the Battle Fever Robot.

Episodes

Movie

There was a theatrical release of Battle Fever J, released as part of the Toei Manga Matsuri on July 29, 1979. It was a blown up version of Episode 5 "Robot Big Dogfight". This theatrical version did not appear on Toei's Super Sentai Movie compilation DVD's, but was included in Toei's Tokusatsu Hero The Movie DVD series, featured on Volume 5 of the collection.

Cast

  • Masao Den:

  • Kensaku Shiraishi:

  • Makoto Jin:

  • Kyosuke Shida:

  • Shiro Akebono:

Diane Martin:

  • Diane Martin (voice): (1–14, 17–24) / (15–16)

  • Maria Nagisa:

  • General Tetsuzan Kurama:

  • Keiko Nakahara:

  • Masaru Nakahara:

  • Tomoko Ueno:

  • Yuki Ueno:

  • Akio Hamamura:

  • Shigeo Aoki:

  • Kyutaro (voice):

  • Commander Hedder: (1, 3, 5, 7) / (4, 6, 8–51)

  • Salome:

  • Satan Egos (voice):

  • Narrator:

Guest stars

  • Boiser Martin (Diane's father) (1, 24): David Friedman

  • Fake Diane Martin (Umbrella Monster's Human Form) (1)/Ayoko Ichijoji (52): Eri Kanuma

  • Hikaru Amano (2): Maki Tachibana

  • Miyoko Akiyama (2): Sumiko Kakizaki

  • Hidemi (2): Ako Kami

  • Editor In Chief Azuma / Death Mask Monster (3): Machiko Soga

  • Member Of Scientific Journal (3): Kenzo Arai

  • Bengal Tiger / Psychocinesis Monster (4): Masashi Ishibashi

  • Sambo Segawa (4): Teiji Omiwa

Sagaguchi Family (5)

Katayama Family (9)

Suzumoto Family (13)

Mizusawa Family (14)

Torishima Family (17)

Iwamoto Family (18)

Spy Women's (21–22)

Arishima Family (21–22)

  • Senzo Arishima: Genji Kawai

  • Shinobu Arishima: Kaoru Asakawa

  • Old Woman (24): Keiko Orihara

  • Catherine Martin (24): Louise Phillipe

  • Sayuri Kurihara (25): Lisa Komaki

  • Director (25): Gozo Soma

  • Charmain Yumeno (25): Takeshi Yamamoto

  • Yoshio Murano (32): Kenichi Endō

  • Professor Mimura (33): Shiro Ooki

  • Mayumi Mimura (33): Mika Matsushita

  • Akira Jin (34): Toshiaki Kamohara

  • Car Owner (34): Kin'ya Sugi

  • Doutor Sekine/Hyde Monster (39): Shinji Todo

  • Tsuyoshi Takeuchi (The Jackal) (43): Ryo Tomota

  • Eye's Man (1944): Shinzo Tanabe

  • Monshiro Ocho / Illusion Monster (44): Sumie Sakai

Songs

  1. Opening theme

  2. Lyrics:

  3. Composition and Arrangement:

  4. Artist: MoJo with the Columbia Yurikago-Kai

"Battle Fever J (Alternate Opening)"

  • Lyrics: Keisuke Yamakawa

  • Composition and Arrangement: Michiaki Watanabe

  • Artist: MoJo, Columbia Yurikago-Kai, Feeling Free

  • Ending theme

  • Lyrics: Saburō Yatsude

  • Composition and Arrangement: Michiaki Watanabe

  • Artist: MoJo

International broadcast and home video

  • In its home country of Japan, only Episode 8 was released on VHS by Toei Video. From June 21, 1999 to June 21, 2000, it was then released for the first time as a full series release on Laserdisc and spread through several volumes. Each volume contains two discs with eight episodes, with Volume 7 only having 1 disc with four episodes. From February 21, 2007 to June 21, 2007, it was given a DVD release for the first time. But it did go out of print for a while until September 21, 2012, when production resumed with the completion of all Super Sentai DVDs. Each volume contains 11 episodes (Volume 4 contains 10 episodes and Volume 5 contains 9 episodes).

  • In the Philippines, this series was aired on BBC-2 in 1982 until 1983.

  • The series aired in the United States in the state of Hawaii where Battle Fever J got very popular. That along with Himitsu Sentai Gorenger, Android Kikaider, Kamen Rider V3, Warrior of Love Rainbowman and many others, all of which were shown in the original Japanese dialogue with English subtitles provided by JN Productions on then KIKU Channel 13.

  • The show was also broadcast in Thailand late in the mid-1990s with the title Ranger J on MCOT Channel 9 with a Thai dub.

Notes

References