Iron King is a tokusatsu superhero TV series about a giant cyborg. The series was produced by Nippon Gendai and Senkosha Productions Senkosha, and aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 8, 1972 to April 8, 1973, with a total of 26 episodes.
Plot[]
The Shiranui Clan have planned for 2000 years to conquer Japan in retaliation for their nomadic ancestors being banished from the country by the Yamato Clan (who eventually became known as the Japanese people). Each armored ninja-like member of the clan controls a gigantic robot warrior in order to overthrow the "Yamato Government," as they call it.
In response to this terrorist threat, Japan's National Security Organization sends agent Gentaro Shizuka (pop star Shoji Ishibashi), disguised as what can best described as a spaghetti western version of a singing cowboy, to stop their plans with the assistance of the comical Goro Kirishima (Mitsuo Hamada). In an unusual direction for such tokusatsu programs, it is not the heroic but often surprisingly ruthless Gentaro but the bumbling, bespectacled Goro who has the power to become the giant cyborg superhero Iron King by touching the medals on the sides of his unique red Turning Hat and shouting "Iron Shock!" when danger threatens.
However, often Iron King is unable to defeat the clan's giant robots without help from Gentaro, who wields a weapon called the Iron Belt that can become a slender rapier-like sword or an infinitely extendable metal whip capable of hurting giant monsters. In addition, transforming into the water-powered Iron King quickly dehydrates Goro, and he can only remain as Iron King for a short period of time. Strangely, although Gentaro knows Iron King's time limit comes from using up his water supply he never manages to connect it with Goro's omnipresent thirst until the final episode.
In the tenth episode the Shiranui Clan is destroyed but their place is taken by the skull-symboled Phantom Militia (A.K.A. the Phantom Opposition Party) who also use giant robots to enact their revolution against the Japanese government, although rather than being humanoid in shape their's take the form of dinosaur like kaiju.
From the nineteenth episode to the end of the series Gentaro and Goro battle black cloak and Puritan hat-clad white-masked aliens called Titanians who have various inhuman powers such as flight, possession, mind control and the ability to enlarge themselves to giant size. Upon doing the latter they are then able to assume their true, insect-like monster forms.[1]
Characters[]
Protagonist[]
- Gentaro Shizuka
- Goro Kirishima
Others[]
- Yukiko Takamura
- Noriko Fujimori
- Taro Shiranui
Heroes[]
Villains[]
Shiranui Clan[]
- Shiranui Taro (1-10, Leader)
- Vacumira (1)
- Jairoges (2)
- Double Satan (3)
- Devil Tiger (4)
- Monster Zorro (5)
- Black Knight (6)
- Bronze Demon (6)
- Monster Bird (6-7)
- Silver Rider (8)
- Gold Fire (9-10)
Phantom Militia[]
- Phantom Gekko (10-18, Leader)
- Zaira-Unicorn (10-11)
- Tongasaurus (12-13)
- Jurass-Don (14)
- Capri-Gon (15)
- Toragilas (16)
- Dojira (17)
- Kumagross (18)
Alien Titanians[]
- Titanian No. 1 (19-26, Leader)
- Kabutron (19-20)
- Kamagyrus (21)
- Kirigiron (22)
- Kangarole (23)
- Gokibura (24)
- Cricketton/Possessed Iron King (25-26)
Cast[]
- Gentaro Shizuka : Shoji Ishibashi
- Goro Kirishima : Mitsuo Hamada
- Yukiko Takamura : Chieko Morikawa
- Noriko Fujimori : Chiaki Ukyo
- Taro Shiranui : Shinzo Hotta
- Phantom Gekko : Katsumi Muramatsu
Voice Actors[]
- Titanian No. 1 : Eisuke Yoda
- Titanian No. 2-6 : Eiji Maruyama
- Preview Narration : Hiroshi Ikaida
Suit Actors[]
- Iron King :
- Hisashi Kato
- Tetsuo Kubota
- Robot and Kaiju:
- Akihiko Nagano
- Takeshi Kai
- Kanta Ina
- Kunihide Kuruma
- Hiroshi Nagakura
Staff[]
- Producers: Yoji Hashimoto (TBS), Toshio Kobayashi
- Assistant producers: Shozo Tamura, Tetsuya Kobayashi
- Screenwriter: Mamoru Sasaki
- Directors: Shozo Tamura, Toru Toyama, Hiroshi Fukuhara, Hiroshi Edagawa, Noriaki Yuasa
- Special effects directors: Kiyoshi Suzuki, Masataka Yamamoto, Koichi Takano
- Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi
- Photography: Kiyoshi Suzuki, Daijiro Ogawa, Shinichi Ooka
- Art: Noriyoshi Ikeya, Katsuhiko Sakurai
- Production cooperation: Nippon Gendai
- Production: TBS, Nobukosha
Episodes[]
| No. | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Secret Messenger of the Morning Wind | October 8, 1972 |
| 2. | The Swan in the Ruins | October 15, 1972 |
| 3. | The Warrior's Smile戦士の微笑 | October 22, 1972 |
| 4. | Gentaro Travels Alone | October 29, 1972 |
| 5. | The Duel in the Autumn Wind | November 5, 1972 |
| 6. | Lullaby for a Warrior | November 12, 1972 |
| 7. | Those That Fly the Skies | November 19, 1972 |
| 8. | The Shadow Area | November 26, 1972 |
| 9. | Gentaro in a Close Shave | December 3, 1972 |
| 10. | A Kiss for the Dead | December 10, 1972 |
| 11. | Tokyo Is Burning | December 17, 1972 |
| 12. | State of Emergency in Tokyo | December 24, 1972 |
| 13. | Attacking the Underground Fortress | January 7, 1973 |
| 14. | Secret of the Brainwave Robot | January 14, 1973 |
| 15. | Marathon Monster Capri-Gon
マラソン怪獣カプリゴン |
January 21, 1973 |
| 16. | Destroy Toragilas! | January 28, 1973 |
| 17. | The Order to Assassinate Iron King | February 4, 1973 |
| 18. | Monster Robot Annihilation | February 11, 1973 |
| 19. | The Giant Bug Kabutoron Appears | February 18, 1973 |
| 20. | The Titanians Strike Back | February 25, 1973 |
| 21. | Kama Guras Wants Lethal Gas! | March 4, 1973 |
| 22. | Terrifying Titanian Underworld | March 11, 1973 |
| 23. | The Insect Humanoid Masquerades as a Woman | March 18, 1973 |
| 24. | Tokyo Assault Frontline Base | March 25, 1973 |
| 25. | Iron King in a Panic! | April 1, 1973 |
| 26. | The Great Tokyo War | April 8, 1973 |
Music[]
- Opening Theme
- Iron King
- Lyrics: Mamoru Sasaki
- Composition: Shunsuke Kikuchi
- Artist: Masato Shimon
- Ending Theme
- Hitori Tabi
- Lyrics: Mamoru Sasaki
- Composition: Shunsuke Kikuchi
- Artist: Masato Shimon
Home Media[]
On December 1, 1990, Toho released the LD-BOX of Iron King. This box set is the only version that contains greeting videos from the two main characters promoting the new show. On December 18, 1998, Beam Entertainment released an LD-BOX that includes all episodes of the series. On December 18, 1999, Beam Entertainment released 9 VHS volumes, available as individual volumes and in box sets.
On March 25, 2001, Transworld Entertainment released a DVD-BOX version of the series, consisting of 7 volumes. Later, on April 5, 2006, Geneon Entertainment also released a DVD-BOX, containing 6 volumes. On June 24, 2011, Humming released single-volume DVDs, totaling 6 volumes. The restoration of the footage was supervised by the Digital Ultra Project. [2] December 25, 2013, and January 24, 2014, Humming released single-volume Blu-ray discs, consisting of 6 volumes. On May 22, 2015, the Digital Ultra Project released Iron King Complete DVD-BOX, a collection that includes behind-the-scenes footage of the actors, special effects rehearsal scenes, the first production stills of the series, and a collection of art designs.[3]
On October 30, 2020, Best Field released the Blu-ray set as part of the Revived Hero Library Vol. 35. The set contains 2 discs and is the first restoration made using Pure HD technology.[4]
In the North American market, on November 6, 2007, BCI Eclipse released the complete series on DVD. By 2009, the series had gone out of print due to the company's closure, but Mill Creek Entertainment took over the distribution rights and re-released the complete series on DVD on March 9, 2010.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
References[]