Also goes by the name of Science Squadron Dynaman
Air Dates: February 5, 1983 to January 28, 1984... there was a total of 51 episodes plus one movie
Aired on TV-Asahi at 7:30 pm Saturday nights until episode ten when it began airing at 8:00 pm... Subs done by Metallic Subs.... Episodes lasted a little over 24 minutes and of those two were for the opening/closing credits. This was the seventh show in the Super Sentai series, the first aired from 1975-77 and was titled "Himitsu Sentai Gorenger". Shows such as Ultraman and Kamen Rider aren't considered to be Sentai though all are from the same family.
The ultra cool rockin' opening song was "Science Squadron Dynaman", the closing tune was also an upbeat rocker titled "Dynaman, Make Your Dreams Come True" and both were by the groups Mojo and Koorogi '73, they did so many songs together for Animes and Sentai series.
Was able to find the ratings and of all places it was at an American site, Ja.wiki pages usually have them. The rating for this second episode that aired on February 12, 1983 was 14.4% which was a drop of 2.5% from the previous episode.... average for all 51 episodes was 10.6%
This is the first Sentai/Tokusatsu series I've reviewed in quite a long time but have been viewing many other older ones as I do have quite a DVD collection of these older shows. Though it's fun viewing these on my laptop much prefer kicking back and just watching shows on my TV. Think the longest series I have ever finished recapping had a total of 28 episodes though I'm thinking there may have been one with 32. As you can see in the heading this series has 51 episodes plus a movie so will I somehow complete the recaps for this ultra long series? Excellent question and won't answer that yet, have watched many of these shows that had 50 or so episodes but it's much different kicking back to watch a long series on your TV.... much more enjoyable as I don't have to take screenshots or notes!
Am beginning this intro section after viewing the first episode, will finish it off after watching the second. So much took place in the first episode and not sure where to begin, it's no exaggeration saying I have never viewed a show with so much info and action thrown at you. More took place in 22 1/2 minutes than does in a two hour movie which means the pace was frantic and also fun but it was hard keeping track of everything. Sure the action will slow down a bit as we go along in the series and also the amount of new things we learn.
Don't think I'll have to edit the bios for the main characters but will be adding new ones in, also as we go along will be adding in more weapons, gadgets and vehicles/ships our five heroes use. Most of these Sentai/Tokusatsu shows have five main characters to protect the Earth(!), this series is no different as there's four male and one female to protect us! Will add in that the female Sayoko Hagiwara who plays Rei Tachibana is one ultra cutie and close to being the most attractive gal I've seen in one of these shows. Maybe by the end she will move up to #1 and that position is currently held by Rei Maki from "Super Robot Red Baron". In an odd twist am watching currently it again for at least the fifth time as it is my top series in this genre.... well, that was considered to be a Tokusatsu series.
The main storyline and brief overview of this series revolves around the five members, sometimes six, of the superhero team Dynaman and why wasn't It Dynamen? The sixth person is an esteemed professor named Yumeno Kyutaro and operates the Yumeno Invention Center. In the first episode he formed the team and none of the five had known each other but had briefly met while heading to the professor's lab. Kyutaro's real name is Toyama, fifteen years ago at the age of 21 his girlfriend was killed by an unknown race of people called Jashinka, it's a combination of the words for Evil and Evolution in Japanese. More about this race of people a bit further down and that section will include their three main villains. After they had killed Toyama's girlfriend which was because of an potion he was working on, the man went underground, changed his name and had secretly been working solo to avenge the death of his unnamed girlfriend.
Yumeno can't battle this fierce group of people by himself and the Jashinka Empire has grown much more powerful over the last fifteen years and their main plan is to conquer Japan.... then the rest of Earth! So because of this impending war Yumeno assembled this team, all are superb fighters and masters at so many forms of Martial Arts. Those talents plus all of the inventions and weapons Yumeno has created should be enough to take down this evil empire but as in most series you ask yourself.... five superheroes against thousands or even millions of soldiers? The Jashinka race resemble humans but are green skinned and have tails, some more than one. Thousands of years ago a meteor had fallen to Earth and it had contained the seeds of that species who have evolved since then and mainly live underground. Plus over thousands of years the numbers of the Jashinka race have increased where there could be millions and they now want to live above ground, that the professor Yumeno will let happen! Will edit a bit of this above part as the series goes along and as mentioned will have more info about the Jashinka race a bit further down. Their leader Emperor Aton is in the second screenshot below.
Main Characters
Did say not much editing may be needed but sure some will be done plus I know there will be new characters added in. **** This is such an important section, it's perhaps even more key to the series than the recap themselves! Do try to give as much info as possible about the characters along with some other tidbits about the story so this is a good section to get info from. Also very important are reading the prior recaps if you missed an episode and that section will be added in for the third episode. The top five characters will be the Dynaman Team, their proper name is Science Squadron Dynaman, and the sixth person down will be their leader Yumeno. Then will have a section for the team's weapons, gadgets and vehicles, following that will be the section for the Yashiken Empire. That's Yumeno in the below screenshot, he somehow had been keeping tabs on the five and felt they were the best in the world to.... save the World! It being a Super Hero series of course stunt doubles are used in most of the action scenes but the voices are still of the actors.
Satoshi Okita as Hokuto Dan/Dynaman Red.... The leader of the team of five who is 22 in age and maybe their best fighter though all are close to unbeatable! Hokuto hails from Hokkaido, besides being so superb at fighting he also has some brains as his dream is to become a scientist. Hokuto is also an ace motorcyclist, he grew up without a mother and his main fighting skills are in Kendo and Karate as he holds a black belt.
Junichi Haruta as Ryu Hoshikawa/Dyna Black.... Like the above man is 22 in age and could give the team's leader Hokuto a run for his money as far as who the best Dynaman fighter is. Ryu is a descendant of the Igaryu Ninja clan and has their mysterious skills such as being able to leap twenty feet high. Ryu is a firm believer in aliens and has kept trying to communicate with them though with zero luck but is working on inventions to do so! When he transforms into Dyna Black his Ninja skills are even greater, especially with acrobatics.
Koji Unoki as Yosuke Shima/Dyna Blue.... At 18 in age is the youngest of the team and hails from the island of Ishigaki. Yosuke loves the ocean and is trying to develop gills which will allow humans to breath better underwater, that dream came about from supposedly seeing a Mermaid! Yosuke is skilled at Kung Fu and is the best swimmer of the Dynaman team, he's also quite agile but then again so aren't all five and especially in their suits.
Yuu Tokita as Kousaku Nangou/Dyna Yellow.... From the city of Kagoshima which is on the island of Kyushu. Kousaku is twenty in age and loves farming, also American Westerns as he often wears cowboy hats and similar clothing. Like his four teammates Kousaku is an aspiring inventor and having such dreams is why their leader Yumeno selected them to be a Dynaman. Kousaku has been working on ways to crossbreed plants and to improve how fruits and vegetables grow, he's the best horse rider and gun shooter on the team and while not the best fighter is the strongest of the five.
Sayoko Hagiwara as Rei Tachibana/Dyna Pink.... She has quite an interesting bio and also had used the last name of Nonomiya.... have you noticed how so many females in these shows use the color of Pink?! She too is eighteen in age like her mate Yousuke though in real life Sayoko was two years older and turned 21 while the series was airing. Rei is the best communicator on the Dynaman team, such as using sign language and is also a skilled ham radio operator She thinks that she can talk to an extent with animals(!) and is trying to invent a device to allow her to talk with them better. Rei is a master at Fencing and is also a superb swimmer plus Rei is an excellent fighter and is close to being as good as her males counterparts.
Junshi Shamada as Yumeno Kyutaro.... Leader and founder of the Dynaman team aka Science Squadron Dynaman. Yumeno previously had the last name of Toyama but changed it at the age of 21 after his girlfriend was murdered. Which was by the enemy in this show, Jashiken, as Yumeno was working on a formula named Retrogenes to destroy the race who at the time wanted to conquer the world. They still do and have grown much stronger over the years, Yumeno is now 35 in age. Besides being a brilliant inventor and scientist Yumeno is also skilled at Kendo. He does act a bit goofy at times but it's mainly to fool his opponents into taking him lightly, Yumeno is an extremely serious man who wants to avenge his girlfriend's death and of course prevent the Jashiken Empire from conquering Earth.
The Science Squadron Dynaman Team.... their weapons, vehicles and gadgets.
Have never done a section like this before but then again have never seen so many of those items listed above in a show! Most of the inventions were created by the above man Yumeno before the Dynaman team was founded. Then some of the five members gave the professor ideas for new weapons and the five also created some of their own. Besides their unbeatable fighting skills the five were chosen for they too wanted to invent new things though not for War but to improve the quality of life for the human race. Will keep adding to this section but they'll just be screenshots as there's not enough room or time to give details of everything below. But most things should be self explanatory such as what the weapons do and in the recaps will be talking about some of them.
More will be introduced in each show and bet there's close to 200 weapons and gadgets. Not as many vehicles and the main one is the inside of their ship which is the third screenshot below. The two above that are from a vehicle called Macha and we'll be seeing that often as it's smaller and faster than the team's main base ship which fires many weapons. The Macha can combine with three other smaller ships to form a Grand Slam ship which is the huge one in two below screenshots. The weapons are too numerous to name but there's plenty of them below and this section could end up having 200 screenshots(!) but may will stop adding to it before then. The suits also have gadgets to them such as mini engines in their boots which allow the Dynaman to fly or leap about forty feet in the air. Those suits also enhance that person's main powers, for instance if they're skilled at acrobatics that ability will be doubled from the suit's powers. Like every other section will keep adding to/editing this part, this was all thrown at us viewers in the first two episodes!
The enemy of the Science Squadron Dynaman Team.... the Jashinka Empire
According to the leader and founder of the Science Squadron Dynaman Professor Yumeno the Jashinka Empire has evolved from a meteorite that crashed into the Earth tens of thousands of years ago. Jashinka is combination of the words for Evil and Evolution in Japanese, think it may have been coined by Yumeno. For all these thousands of years the race of Jashinka have lived underground and it's hard to believe they haven't been noticed, least I think they haven't but have only viewed two episodes. Like most of these Sentai shows the evil leaders have an endless army of fighters but ones who are often inept such as those in the first screenshot right above. However other monsters can be created and think we'll be seeing a new one in each show, right above is from the first episode where the creature was a gigantic Crab! These monsters are called Evolution Beasts and are quite powerful, even the Dynaman will have their hands full with them! Not positive but think the elites of the species are leading the battle against the human race from a space ship while most Jashinkas are living underground, sure things will become much clearer soon.
The race of the Jashinkas are a mixed breed, they look slightly human but their skin is green and and don't know how yet but seems they breeded with a species of Salamanders. All Jashinkas can grow TAILS, they look down on races or creatures who can't grow them which is one reason for attempting to take over the Earth! The amount of tails a Jashinka has determines the class they're in or power they have. Those soldiers above are the lowest ranked of the race as they have only one tail. But the powerful leaders all have more than five tails, the ultimate leader of the Jashinka Empire Emperor Aton has nine(!) and as of now have no idea why some are born with only one while others may have five. Tails can also withdraw into the body of a Jashinka if they need to disguise themselves. For most of this series there will only be three main Jashinka characters which is enough as there's six on the Dynaman team and an episode is 22 1/2 minutes long once you take away the opening/closing credits. The only key bit of info I don't know yet are how old the Jashinka people(?) are, could they all be a thousand or more years old? Guess that's possible and there's plenty of time for that and other details about this species to be revealed, not positive but they seem to be about the same height as humans. While they are an advanced race they do fight many of their battles the old fashioned way, with horses and their fists! So in a way those soldiers are good fighters but not against the Dynaman team has so many hi-tech weapons at their disposal but those Evolution Beasts are kind of an ace in the hole for the Jashinkas. Those beasts are some sort of lifeform that was created over time which does prove the Jashinkas are an advanced race, like the above there will be much editing to this section.
Takeshi Watanabe as Emporer Aton.... That's him right above and also below, he's the leader of the Jashinka Empire which has been around for thousands of years and is growing more powerful by the day! The Emperor usually stays at his underground(spaceship?) HQ but will leave at times to check out battle conditions. He has Nine Tails, the more the better for this species so having that many is what made him the leader. Emperor Alton is skilled with a sword and can shoot a beam from his left eye, to date he hasn't used it yet. What's unknown at this point is if and how a Jashinka can grow another tail?! For the Emperor's dream is to reach ten tails which would grant him immortality.
Masashi Ishibashi as General (C)Karr.... Don't know why but this is my current favorite character though that could change. General Karr seems to be second in command to the Emperor or at least he thinks so, he's such a ruthless soldier yet is very smart as he's also a scientist. The General has had a hand in developing the Evolution Beasts and has also been tutoring the Emperor's son Meggido. In combat General Karr can shoot beams from his sword and also his helmet which he only wears in battles. The General has Seven Tails is why he has such a high ranking in the Jashinka Empire but I'm thinking there has to be more than tails which determines where one ends up working, living, etc.
Takeki Hayashi as Prince of Megiddo.... Son of Emperor Aton and for now don't what Meggido is or if he has a regular name, don't think he does so may refer to him as Prince and/or Meggido. The Prince is a very capable fighter and especially with a sword, he's also a master at riding horses. Which is odd seeing for the Dynaman have ships and high tech weapons while the Prince rides a horse(?)! He's been tutored in fighting by General Karr though still has much to learn but the Prince is so avid and loyal to his species. When the series began Prince Meggido had five tails, he's now down to four as in the first episode he got into a scrap with Dyna Red who cut one off!!!! But being the son of Emperor Aton means the Prince is still a high ranking officer but he desperately wants to grow another tail and to avenge that incident by eliminating Dyna Red!!!! That sword is powerful, usually in a fight the Prince will come out on top and he's often the officer who leads the Jashinka troops in their battles which always happen on the Earth's surface.
Thanks for reading the first recap which was slightly longer than most I write up. Did add an extra paragraph in but looking back on it the others were a tad smaller than usual so perhaps that recap was no longer than most others. So much takes place in this drama or at least it has in the first pair of episodes, so many characters, details, stories/plots, etc. have been introduced to us in just 46 minutes so would think those things would begin to slow down. Briefly mentioned the Evolution Beast in the first recap and also a bit in the section for the Jashinka Empire. Right above are three screenshots from this episode which explains a bit more about the process and know we'll learn more about it as this series goes on.
EDIT: Have viewed the next two episodes which I found better than these first two shows. But the main thing is that so much was learned about the Dynaman team and the Jashinka Empire which means the above section has had many edits and have now learned to be a bit more patient as most unknown things will be cleared up.
In that first episode the beast was a gigantic Crab, it didn't have super powers such as firing laser beams out of it's eyes but could create giant 'eggs' to hold humans in so they could be taken as hostages. For this show the creature is a massive Rhino as General Karr says above, he's the main leader of the Jashinka armed forces. They are good fighters but not as advanced as the Science Squadron Dynaman team but against a normal human a Jashinka would almost always come out on top. No need for a long intro so let's get to what took place in this second episode which in a way was better than the first show as the action was toned down a bit. Didn't do any editing to the above section as none was needed but will be doing so for the next pair of recaps.
That huge ship in the fourth screenshot is called the DyJupiter, it's the main base for when Science Squadron Dynaman is in a battle. As you can see it flies plus is much bigger than it looks so it holds so many weapons, vehicles and gadgets. Did see in that scene that the ship is stored behind a DAM(!), a secret door opens but no water seeps out and that's where Yumeno's secret base for our heroes must be located. The screenshot above that one shows an explosion, actually many, that took place in Tokyo and the citizens were scrambling for their lives! Having any killed would have just been a bonus as the Jashinka army, led by General Karr at their HQ and the Prince of Meggido who was above ground, had set off the explosions to lure out the Dynaman team... of course to eliminate them! The DyJupiter did take out some of their enemy's planes as you can see above but those were just drones and the plan worked as the Dynaman team raced to where they figured the Jashinkas would be. That assumption was on the money and the location was a deserted valley outside of Tokyo, didn't know there were so many of them! When the Dynaman team arrived there was no one there and this scene is right above and below, were they on a wild goose chase? NO, for slowly opening was a mountain that revealed a huge army of Jashinka soldiers plus their next Evolution Beast to beat, the above Rhinoceros and the battle was on!!!!
In the second and third screenshots Hokuto is in the blue top, he's such a skilled fighter but was asking his mate Ryu Hashikawa for some tips on how to battle against the powerful sword of the Prince. Ryu is also a skilled fighter but has more of the talents that a Ninja would have and he is a descendant of an ancient tribe. Ryu did give Hokuto some tips on how to defeat this powerful sword and the Prince, it worked in the gym but would it on the battle field? Dyna Red has quickly become the #1 enemy of the Prince of Meggido for in the first show the two faced off against each, in a shocker to all Dyna Red(Hokuto) managed to cut off one of the Prince's five tails! Tails are the most important thing in the Jashinka Empire, the more you have the higher your standing is in society, his father Emperor Aton has nine tails and by the way the Prince spoke it appears they can grow them back! Don't know how or if tails can grow back yet but that training in the gym with Ryu paid off for Dyna Red aka Hokuto as in a rematch with the Prince of Meggido he held his own and the Prince retreated, once again the Dynaman team had been lured to that deserted valley. There are some screenshots above of that second battle and it's hard to give a blow by blow account like a boxing announcer would but these battle scenes are top notch and very exciting.
Which is the Evolution Beast and for this episode the one created was a Rhino, that's it in the top screenshot above. These creatures are very strong but to date we haven't seen them have any super powers such as the ability to fly or shoot lasers from their bodies. When all five of the Dynaman team are in their DyJupiter ship they can create a giant sized robot by saying in unison 'Combine, Grand Slam' which they do above. Saying that creates an 80 foot high robot from four vehicles that are on the ship which meld together, it seems unbeatable and is called the Dyna Robo. It did have it's hands full for a minute here as when an Evolution Beast is down to his last breath it can semi-regenerate and become an even larger creature. Which happened here and this Rhino beast did do a bit of damage to the Dyna Robo though in the end it lost the match which may become the norm for every episode. But then again the Jashinka Empire military leader General Karr is a very smart man and has designed many of these beasts, he has some top notch scientists working with him so sure these beasts will be even more powerful and lethal as the series goers on. That skirmish with the Rhino losing to the Dynaman massive Robot ended this second episode and both shows have been action packed. Below are many more screenshots from this episode which do help you follow the action much better. Though so much does happen in this series don't think the recaps are going to be that large, doubt if many will be longer than this one and that'll be nice for me as there's still 49 episodes to go!!!!! Will be publishing a pair of recaps at a time, the next should be in two days and will write those two up before publishing the pair for today. **** Did view the next pair of shows which were even better, the Evolution Beasts do get stronger and the action scenes are much more exciting.
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