鳥人戦隊ジェットマン is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It was Toei Company Limited's fifteenth production of the Super Sentai metaseries. This series is known for being the very last entry in the franchise not to be adapted internationally into Power Rangers, before the debut of Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger.
This series is also very known for being extremely popular with Sentai fans as one of the best in history. When it aired, it was a huge hit and became a turning point for the franchise. This was because there were several changes in the formula that went against the typical status quo when compared to previous entries. Notable details being that this is the first Super Sentai series to have a "Red, Blue, Yellow, Black and White" formation. It's also the first where not all members are fully formed in the first episode, as well as having a female mentor, and a third Giant Mecha Robot present within the same series, being Tetraboy. It is also the last entry where a member of the core team passes away, at the very end of the series.
Essentially made as a live action tribute paying homage to the anime 科学忍者隊ガッチャマン (in which Gorenger was inspired by) as well as having elements borrowed from J-Drama shows and played out similar to a soap opera series, Toei had intended this to be the very last in the franchise. However, that has been reversed because of the series' increase in viewership ratings (an average of 7.1% viewership as opposed to Chikyu Sentai Fiveman's 6.5% average viewership) and financial wise, it was a huge success in toy and merchandise sales, with its total revenue from the series greatly exceeded 15 billion Japanese Yen. Because of how successful this series was, it had managed to save the franchise as a whole from cancellation. As a result, Toei now continues on producing new entries annually up to this very day.
Cast[]
| Character | Actor | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 天堂 竜/レッドホーク | Kotaro Tanaka 田中弘太郎 | ||
| 結城 凱/ブラックコンドル | Toshihide Wakamatsu 若松 俊秀 | ||
| 大石 雷太/イエローオウル | Tomihisa Naruse 成瀬 富久 | ||
| 鹿鳴館 香/ホワイトスワン | Rika Kishida 岸田 里佳 | ||
| 早坂 アコ/ブルースワロー | Sayuri Uchida 内田 さゆり |
International versions[]
| Language | Title | Channels | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Basque | Jetman | ETB 1 (formerly) |
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Cantonese | 飛鳥戰隊 | TVB Jade (formerly) |
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English | Jetman | VHS/VCD |
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English (subtitled) |
Chōjin Sentai Jetman | Tubi |
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Filipino (ABS-CBN) |
Jetman | ABS-CBN (formerly) RPN (formerly) |
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Filipino (TV5) |
Jetman | TV5 (formerly) |
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French | Jetman | TF1 (formerly) |
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Indonesian | Jetman | Indosiar (formerly) |
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Malay | Jetman | TV2 VHS/VCD |
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Portuguese (subtitled) |
Chōjin Sentai Jetman | RTP1 (formerly) |
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Thai (TIGA) |
ขบวนการวิหคสายฟ้า เจ็ทแมน | MCOT (formerly) DVD |
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Thai (Toon Town Entertainment) |
ขบวนการวิหคสายฟ้า เจ็ทแมน | MCOT (formerly) |
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Thai (Video Square) |
ขบวนการมนุษย์วิหค | VCD/DVD |
Trivia[]
- This was the very first Super Sentai series to be spawned into a videogame. Jetman got one for the Nintendo Famicom, which was released on December 21, 1991. It was published by Angel (Bandai's subsidiary), with development work done by Natsume.
- This was the last "original" Super Sentai to be aired, before Haim Saban at Saban Entertainment got the rights from Toei Company where them and Renaissance Atlantic Entertainment adapted the next entry into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Most regions around the world would switch from airing Super Sentai to Power Rangers, but neighboring Asian regions continue to air dubbed versions of both the Japanese originals as well as their U.S. adaptation counterparts (Hong Kong and Thailand for example). Hence Jetman to be the last in the "Pre-Zyuranger" era, as fans coined.
- A Manga of this series was published in 1996 authored by Akiko Fujii, in cooperation with the series' writing team (still under the Saburo Yatsude pen name). It was titled Chojin Sentai Jetman: Toki o Kakete (鳥人戦隊ジェットマン 時を駆けて, "Chojin Sentai Jetman: Time Flies") and it actually acts as a sequel to this series as it takes place five years later.
References[]
