September 10, 2007

Happy Returns

We’re back after a five-month hiatus. No explanations will be forthcoming. Let’s get right to it.

This blog (if you can still call it that after five months) is no stranger to Japanese TV and movie themes, and, well, I did promise, oh, let’s see… five goddamn months ago… to post up some of these 7-inch records I purchased abroad, so let’s pretend this is the first in a series.

Jinzoo Ningen Kikaidaa was based on a comic book, and it falls squarely in the Tokusatsu category of action TV shows – or, if you prefer English, “nerds in funny costumes.” Jiro is a young guitar-playin’ man driving a sidecar-equipped motorcycle, who is, in reality, a crazy-looking robot android, Kikaida. With a bizarre half-semi-translucent head with pupil-less baby-doll eyes, rocket feet and super-strength, he battles the varied creatures/robots of the Dark Destruction Corps using space age weaponry and fancy karate techniques. If I was ten years old, I’d be all over that shit.

Stuart has an information-rich webpage devoted to the Jinzoo Ningen Kikaidaa television series. Unfortunately, it’s one of those sites where an mp3 suddenly starts playing really loud, and you have to make a split-second choice: do I scroll down in a panic while the page is loading and try to locate the player and hit PAUSE, or hit the Back button and hope my browser doesn’t trip over itself and freeze for the duration of the song? It’s nervewracking, that’s what it is. Be reassured that Toestubber Dot Com will never do that to you. On the plus side, after you silence his HTML, Stuart will tell you much more than you thought you ever wanted to know about our mechanical hero, even providing these hilarious drawings Stuart made when he was a young fan!

If you find you’re hooked, the DVD box set is for sale from this otaku store.

A very enterprising former kid (“Inframan”) translated the mighty words to Yuuki Hide’s rendition of the title theme song:

The guitared Jiro, our hero
He’s a gentle and strong robot
Battling with evil once again today
With a guitar punch, strikes them down
Finish off the Dark Robots

Side Machine, car of the future
Tearing up the atmosphere, it runs
Even in water it floats
At mach speed it flies off
Finish off the Dark Robots

Kikaida is an android
Like a jet, he flies in the air
The sure-death move is the Giant Swing
With the Double Chop he smashes
Finish off the Dark Robots

‘Nuff said.

On Stuart’s tribute page, the aforementioned translator delivers an amazing list of Kikaidaa episode titles that sound like a cross between a Chinese seafood menu and sci-fi hentai schoolgirl porn: “Making Babies Cry Red Devil Tigerfish,” “Sponge Green Lives Thrice,” “Blue Electric Eel The Evil Hands Glisten!” and “Madder Red Squid Targets The Pretty Girl Scholar” should whet your appetite.

I acquired this record (on clear blood-red vinyl, with 10-page cardboard booklet) for about six bucks, probably ‘cause the former owner scribbled on the cover here and there, as you can see from the scans. Don’t curse the Japanese child. You’re getting 3/4 of it for free.

Jinzoo Ningen Kikaidaa Opening Theme (MP3)
Robot Drama: Track 3 (MP3)
Jinzoo Ningen Kikaidaa End Theme (MP3)

Rick at 12:35 am

7 CommentsÈ

1/4. They all link to the same track.

Comment by Nat Ñ September 11, 2007 @ 12:13 am
Ooooops. Fixed.

Comment by Rick Ñ September 11, 2007 @ 3:48 am
Welcome back!
I know that one week of that five month hiatus (Hey! I hate us!) was my fault. But I won’t take the fall for you, Toestubber! Never!

Mmmmm…Japanese weirdness…

Comment by The Kid Ñ September 15, 2007 @ 8:07 am
Yes welcome back! And what an overwhelming amount of stimulus for the eyes. I’m surprised those shows didn’t give the little ones seizures with all those flashy colors. Speaking of Japanese coolness, last night I went to this:

http://www.japansociety.org/events/event_detail.cfm?id_event=1387003007&id_performance=513415271

Sayonara for now. Keep on trucking.

Comment by Squeaky Ñ September 29, 2007 @ 10:52 am
Holee crap! I used to race home after school to watch Kikaida save Japan over and over and over. He even appeared at a mall which was huge for us kids. I have done a lot of double chops in my day. Thanks for the Friday afternoon pick me up!

Comment by jeff Ñ October 5, 2007 @ 5:03 pm
Greeting from Lake Huron shoreline.

I have never seen this stuff before and now the sons are flipping out. Curse you making me spend more $$ on DVD so I can warp their minds more.

Comment by Dale Ñ November 13, 2007 @ 12:59 am
Hey…I loved your blog, especially the great MP3 posts….and ESPECIALLY the Queen Bee / H&A Restaurant stuff…so what happened? Did you just get busy with life? It happens, I know. But there’s no “goodbye” posts, and no posts from anyone else wondering wha happened…at least not that I’ve seen.

Anyway, wanted to let you know that your work was/is appreciated…and missed.

Comment by Chris Ñ June 30, 2008 @ 6:01 pm