Choujyu Sentai Liveman


Choujyu Sentai Liveman is a Japanese tokusatsu television series and the twelfth entry of Toei Company's Super Sentai metaseries. The last Super Sentai title of the Shōwa Era, it aired on TV Asahi from February 27, 1988, to February 18, 1989, replacing Hikari Sentai Maskman and was replaced by Kousoku Sentai Turboranger. Its international English title as listed by Toei is simply Liveman.
It was the first Super Sentai series to have a female Blue Ranger as well as the first Super Sentai series that introduced animal-based mecha. It was also the first Super Sentai series that introduced a super-combined robot ; the first Super Sentai series to have three members from the start, with two additional members joining later on; it was the last Super Sentai series that had its mechas transported to the battle through a flying fortress on a regular basis, which would not occur again until Bakuryū Sentai Abaranger; and it was the first Super Sentai series to have both a Green Ranger and a Black Ranger in the main five, as opposed to interchanging one with another, which would not occur again until Engine Sentai Go-onger 20 years later.

Plot

Academia Island is an elite school that various genius students from across the globe attend. Among them are Yusuke Amamiya, Joh Ohara and Megumi Misaki who with Takuji Yano and Mari Aikawa sought to create a suit strong enough for space exploration. However, three of their classmates and friends Kenji Tsukigata, Rui Senda, and Goh Omura felt their talents were being wasted and leave to join an evil organization called Volt who offers to raise their full scientific potential.
In 1988, the present day, with Kenji, Rui, and Goh now known as Doctors Kemp, Mazenda and Obular, Volt begins its attack by devastating Academia Island. As a result, Yusuke, Joh, and Megumi take up the suits they created and become the Livemen to battle against their former classmates and Volt.

Characters

Academia

Livemen

After Black Bison and Green Rhino join the team, the eponymous Liveman team can perform the Spark Attack finisher, turning into balls of light and strike the enemy.Yusuke Amamiya/'Red Falcon: A poor student at Academia, but a strong leader and quick at thinking under pressure. He is a brave hard worker and enjoys rock music and work outs. Initially starts as a hot-headed and sarcastic rebel, but grows into the role of dependable leader as the series progresses. Yusuke was once in love with Rui Senda, but she did not return his love. He was good friends with Kenji during their first year or so at Academia until things went sour between them once Kenji started down a dark path. In the 2001 Sentai direct-to-DVD crossover film Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai, Yusuke is found visiting the graves of Takuji Yano, Rui Senda, Kenji Tsukigata, and Mari Aikawa. He briefly dueled Gaku Washio (Gao Yellow) in a sword fight and then lectured Gaku on the many sword-wielding warriors of the Super Sentai franchise, and introduced the Gaorangers to all the 23 other Red Warriors. He performed his roll call twice in that special, one along with the Dream Sentai and Gaorangers and then again with the other Red Warriors.
  • * Weapons: Falcon Sword, Falcon Saber.
  • * Attacks: Falcon Break.Joh Ohara/Yellow Lion: He is at the bottom of the class at Academia and a sportsman and skateboarder. He is short-tempered and ready to dive into danger. Joh has the strength to back up his actions. He was once good friends with Goh and was heartbroken when their friendship dissolved once the weak-willed Goh fell into a bad crowd. Years later, during Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger Joh would appear to the Gokaigers and grant them the Greater Power of the team, which was their mecha Super Live Robo.
  • * Weapons: Lion Punch, Lion Bazooka.
  • * Attacks: Skateboard Attack.Megumi Misaki/Blue Dolphin: A top class student at Academia who was nonetheless friends with Yusuke and Joh and did powered suit research with them and the late Takuji Yano and Mari Aikawa. She is good at swimming and bicycling and was taught archery by her father. Megumi often criticizes Yuusuke's strategies. A caring figure, feeling even for her enemies. She is very skilled and has fired an arrow from the Dolphin Arrow while riding the Moto Dolphin.
  • * Weapons: Dolphin Arrow.Tetsuya Yano/Black Bison : The younger brother of Takuji and elder brother of Takeshi. He is good at boxing. He nearly destroyed the Gran Tortoise after being taken over by Volt. Tetsuya is generally a good-hearted person, but has a temper and hatred, mostly fueled by his desire for revenge on Kemp for the murder of his older brother.
  • * Weapons: Bison Rod.Junichi Aikawa/Green Rhino': The younger brother of Mari and a rugby player. He calls Tetsuya "Tetsu-chan", looking up to him as an older brother. The youngest member of the team, temporarily leaving high school in order to fight Volt. While impregnated by Vega Zuno, Junichi was fearful of the life inside him to the point of getting an abortion until the unborn Vega Baby pleas for its life and Junichi decides to "give birth," only to lose the child when it was killed by its biological parent and ended up getting a newfound respect for mothers.
  • * Weapons: Sai Cutters.

Allies

  • Doctor Hoshi: The principal of Academia who made the Gran Tortoise and gave the Livemen mecha the ability to combine before dying. He died helping a pregnant woman trapped in the rubble of Academia Island escape.
  • Colon: A female robot built by Doctor Hoshi to be in charge of the Gran Tortoise and assist the team.
  • Takuji Yano: An Academia student studying on the power suits for space travel with Yusuke, Joh, Megumi, and Mari. The older brother of Tetsuya and Takeshi. His prototype power suit featured a swallow.
  • Mari Aikawa: An Academia student studying on the power suits for space travel with Yusuke, Joh, Megumi, and Takuji. The older sister of Jun-ichi. Her suit featured a dog.
  • Doctor Dorothee: Tetsuya and Junichi's benefactor, the leader of the Academia group that built the Bison Liner and the Sai Fire. She later arrives to help the Livemen by providing a new power core for the Bison Liner. She was played by French children entertainer Dorothée.

Relatives

  • Takeshi Yano: The younger brother of Takuji and Tetsuya, he met Yusuke and the others before Takuji was killed by Volt. He helps Yusuke complete the Live Cougar vehicle, which Yusuke started to build with Takuji.
  • Toshiko Omura: Go's mother. When Go was young, Toshiko pressured her son into succeeding academically at the expense of giving him a normal childhood.
  • Yoichiro Misaki: Megumi's father. A master of a form of archery known as the Higo Cross style. He goes to Tokyo to visit his daughter with the intention of pairing her with a potential marriage partner. He becomes proud of his daughter when he sees her use the Dolphin Arrow.
  • Mai Funachi: A long-time friend of Yusuke who works as a day-care worker in a kindergarten, who also knew Kenji before he became Doctor Kemp.

Armed Brain Volt Army

Believing most of humanity to be inferior, the Armed Brain Volt Army is based on the orbiting space station Zuno Base with its officers using a triangular shuttle to journey between it and Earth.
  • Great Professor Bias: A super genius scientist whose appearance belies his actual age, well versed in all knowledge, and worshiped as a god by his officers.
  • Kenji Tsukigata/Doctor Kemp: Yusuke's former friend at Academia whose dream was to develop biotechnological means to make humans immune to any disease. However, Kenji became egotistical and power-hungry after taking the test Bias sent to him, killing Takuji and Mari while leaving to join Volt.
  • Rui Senda/Doctor Mazenda: A haughty woman who was Megumi's rival at the Academia and broke Yusuke's heart. Rui reconstructs herself as a cyborg to reflect her coldness and her desire to preserve her beauty, with concealed weapons within her robotic body like the Arm Gun, Elbow Gun, and Finger Gun.
  • Goh Omura/Doctor Obular: Joh's one-time friend at Academia Island. Goh is a childhood prodigy who uses Volt's research with his inferiority complex as a motivation to turn himself into a completely inhuman monster, called Monster Obular; in this state, he uses a battle axe as his weapon.
  • Arashi Busujima/Doctor Ashura: A tough-as-nails underworld figure and gang leader with a poor education who bears a grudge against the Science Academia and those smarter than he is.
  • Guardnoid Gash: Bias's robot bodyguard, a relentless machine who has knowledge of firearms and uses his Video Eye to locate targets.
  • Guildian Guildos: A robot secretly built by Bias to spur his scientists to break their limitations, believing himself to be an alien intelligence from the planet Guildo.
  • Chibuchian Butchy: An orange ape-like robot secretly built by Bias to spur on Kemp et al.
  • Jinmmers: The green-skinned android soldiers with mohawk 'haircuts'. They are very difficult to defeat, as their head and limbs operate independently when dismembered.

Brain Beasts

The Brain Beasts are experimental lifeforms created by Guardnoid Gash who combined a brain core with a random object and chaos energy. Each one is used by either Guardnoid or one of the other Armed Brain Volt Army members. To make a Brain Beast grow, Guardnoid Gash would fire the Giga Phantom at them.

Others

  • Dinosaur Gon: A dinosaur that Time Brain brought to the present, Gon was befriended by a boy named Kenichii.
  • Giga Volt: Created by Bias as the result of his Giga Project, using the Giga Metal that Kemp synthesized and powered by the Giga Energy developed by Mazenda from geothermic heat to build this giant robot personally. Once finally activated, this robot emerges with Kemp piloting it.

Episodes

Episodes aired on Saturdays at 6:00 PM JST.

Cast

  • Yusuke Amamiya: Daisuke Shima
  • Joh Ohara: Kazuhiko Nishimura
  • Megumi Misaki: Megumi Mori
  • Tetsuya Yano: Seiro Yamaguchi
  • Junichi Aikawa: Jin Kawamoto
  • Great Professor Bias: Jōji Nakata
  • Kenji Tsukigata/Doctor Kemp: Yutaka Hirose
  • Rui Senda/Doctor Mazenda: Akiko Amamatsuri
  • Goh Omura/Doctor Obler: Toru Sakai
  • Arashi Busujima/Doctor Ashura: Yoshinori Okamoto

Guest stars

  • Doctor Hoshi: Daisuke Ban
  • Takuji Yano: Hiromichi Hori
  • Mari Aikawa: Masae Hayashi
  • Takeshi Yano: Hirofumi Taga
  • Great Professor Bias : Kentaro Ishizema

Voice actors

  • Colon: Makoto Kōsaka
  • Beast Man Obler: Atsuo Mori
  • Guildos: Moichi Saito
  • Butchy: Takuzō Kamiyama
  • Gash: Hideaki Kusaka
  • Narrator: Takeshi Kuwabara

Songs

;Opening theme
  • "Choujyu Sentai Liveman"
  • *Lyrics: Akira Ohtsu
  • *Composition: Yasuo Kosugi
  • *Arrangement: Ohzuchi Fujita
  • *Artist: Daisuke Shima
;Ending theme
  • "Ashita ni Ikiru ze!"
  • *Lyrics: Akira Ohtsu
  • *Composition: Yasuo Kosugi
  • *Arrangement: Ohzuchi Fujita
  • *Artist: Daisuke Shima