Air Dates: February 27, 1988 - February 18, 1989
Head Director: Takao Nagaishi
Head Writer: Hirohisa Soda
Music: Tatsumi Yano
Producers: Takeyuki Suzuki, Kyozo Utsunomiya
Created by: Saburo Hatte
Starring:
Daisuke Shima - Yusuke Amamiya/Red Falcon
Kazuhiko Nishimura - Joh Ohara/Yellow Lion
Megumi Mori - Megumi Misaki/Blue Dolphin
Seiro Yamaguchi - Tetsuya Yano/Black Bison
Jin Kawamoto - Junichi Aikawa/Green Sai
Joji Nakata - Great Professor Bias
Yutaka Hirose - Kenji Tsukigata/Doctor Kemp
Akiko Amamatsuri - Rui Senda/Doctor Mazenda
Toru Sakai - Goh Omura/Doctor Oblar
Yoshinori Okamoto - Arashi Busujima/Doctor Ashura
Voice-Only Roles:
Makoto Kosaka - Colon
Atsuo Mori - Beast Man Oblar
Moichi Saito - Guildos
Takuzo Kamiyama - Butchy
Hideaki Kusaka - Gash
Takeshi Kuwabara - Narrator
There are very few Sentai that most tokusatsu fans consider to be one of the best toku period. Some fans say Jetman, others say Dekaranger, and others still say Changeman. However, the one Sentai that most tokusatsu fans agree to be one of, if not the, finest among all toku is the 1988 installment Choujuu Sentai Liveman. The show marked the 10th anniversary of Toei's long-running franchise (Goranger and JAKQ didn't count until the mid-1990s), and the staff made sure this was a series to remember. Two high-profile idols were cast (Daisuke Shima and Megumi Mori), it featured independently operational animal-based mecha (the first of many to come) and, above all else, the story showcased deep themes of betrayal and the value of life that no other Sentai had displayed quite as strongly up to this point.
On Academia Island, eight brilliant students under the guidance of Dr. Hoshi (played by toku legend Ban Daisuke) are working on numerous advancements in the fields of science. Yusuke, Joh, Megumi, and their friends Takuji and Mari, are developing special space suits that can withstand intense physical strain and boosts the wearer's strength. Kenji, Rui, and Goh on the other hand feel that they're wasting their time. The latter three are inducted into the organization Volt and make their escape. When the five loyal students try to stop them, Takuji and Mari are killed by Kenji, permanently scarring the survivors.
Fast forward two years later and the special spacecraft Space Academia is ready to be launched. It is a day of celebration and remembrance for Yusuke, Joh, and Megumi. Suddenly, Volt launches an all-out assault on Academia Island, destroying Space Academia and killing everyone on board. When Kenji's group reveals themselves once again, they tell the trio that they have abandoned their humanity, renaming themselves Dr. Kemp, Dr. Mazenda, and Dr. Oblar respectively. They have gained horrifying new forms and powers that make them far stronger and deadlier than ever before.
However, Hoshi's students have a trump card up their sleeves. They have spent the last two years perfecting the power suits and are ready to reveal their new powers as well. The trio transforms into the Super Beast Squadron Liveman and the battle begins. Meanwhile, Dr. Hoshi helps a pregnant woman escape from the island, but he is killed. With his death, he entrusts the Livemen with his own creations: the sentient robot Colon, the underwater base Gran Tortoise, and the three mecha (Land Lion, Jet Falcon, and Aqua Dolphin) that can combine to become the mighty Live Robo. With this arsenal, the Livemen are ready to take on Volt, led by the enigmatic Great Professor Bias, in a battle to protect all living things on this beautiful planet!
So yeah, that's a pretty awesome set-up for a Super Sentai. Right off the bat, the villains aren't like any seen before, having a far deeper and far more personal connection to our heroes than most any other toku (the closest other example I can think of is the relationship between Black and Shadowmoon in Kamen Rider Black). Naturally, with a story as focused on emotion as this, the characters have to work. Thankfully, both trios have very interesting chemistry. The Livemen don't exactly get along all the time (like any realistic team, they butt heads and poke fun at each other often) but they get the job done when they need to. On the other hand, Bias's students have an intense rivalry not just with the Livemen, but in their own ranks as well, each one wishes to be called Bias's best student and will do anything to put themselves above the competition.
Thankfully, all of the actors do really good jobs with their roles. The three Livemen each clearly have their own personalities, and each actor does a good job conveying that. Daisuke Shima is one of the better red rangers out there, he never mugs for the camera and he does give off a leader vibe throughout the series (even if the others can't always take him seriously). Kazuhiko Nishimura plays the "wild boy" of the rangers, but he never tries too hard to make his character seem tough or unruly. Instead, he plays Joh as more of a wannabe-gangster from the '50s, rocking a semi-pompadour and a mostly unbuttoned black jacket over a striped T-shirt, giving his tough guy act some translucency and showing he's really not that bad of a guy. Next, the beautiful Megumi Mori plays Megumi (coincidence? Probably not) Misaki, and she's the real star of the series. She gives her character a dignity many female Sentai members tend to lack, giving us a very nice balance of strength and caring to make a believable character. She overacts occasionally, but she nails raw emotion really well.
On the villains side, you first have to talk about Yutaka Hirose. A legend among toku fans for playing some of the most popular villains in Sentai history, this is the only time he really got to play a lead character and man is he evil. By far Bias's most loyal student, he's completely abandoned his humanity (and yet still has a peculiar soft spot for flowers, namely roses) and Hirose truly knows how to deliver a performance dripping with evil. Plus, it's always fun to see his reactions when Bias favors another one of his officers. Another veteran of toku villainry is Akiko Amamatsuri, who plays Dr. Mazenda, and she fits perfectly. Obsessed with machines, she gradually turns more and more of her body into that of a robot. With that, she still shows outbursts of emotion, which makes for an interesting character and a well-done performance as we see her slowly lose what humanity she has left. Finally, Toru Sakai plays Dr. Oblar, but he's not in the series much at all. In episode 3, Dr. Oblar completely turns his body into that of a monster, making him the first to throw away his human appearance entirely. With this, he doesn't show up again until episode 19, and only sparingly after that. Still, it's clear that of the three traitors, he displays the most doubt about what he's done and the Livemen use this to their advantage later on in the series.
In episode 11, we are introduced to a new character named Arashi Busujima. The fierce but stupid leader of a dangerous gang, he gets into a feud with Volt when they start turning his gang into monkeys. Instead of getting help from Red Falcon, he shrugs him off and goes it alone. However, Bias suddenly decides to kidnap him and turn Arashi into a super-genius. Now named Doctor Ashura, he uses his artificially-enhanced intelligence for evil and instantly becomes loyal to Volt. Ashura is another really interesting villain, played with an appropriately cocky attitude by Yoshinori Okamoto. He doesn't get as much focus as Bias's first three students, but he holds his own quite well.
Finally, we must talk about the dastardly big baddie Bias himself. Played with charisma by famous voice actor Jouji Nakata (who recently played Hordy in One Piece and appeared in the Liveman tribute episode of Gokaiger), Bias doesn't get much to do in this portion of the series. He mostly stands around and orders his officers to attack, but you can tell early on he has more up his sleeve and shows far more competence than your usual Super Sentai villain. He reeks of evil, and when his true motivations are revealed, he truly becomes a villain to remember.
The action in the show is entertaining and certainly well done. Lots of emphasis is placed on optical effects and pyrotechnics, but there's still plenty of stunt work being done. The Liveman suits look good in action and are some of the most memorable of the franchise. The monster designs look effective as well, with Beast Man Oblar looking especially menacing and...beastly.
Really, the only major downside to these early episodes are the mecha fights. Mecha fights are usually the weakest part of every Sentai and that is no exception here, as each fight follows a very predictable formula; usually the fights wrap up in well under 2 minutes (sometimes, the combining sequence is actually longer than the fights themselves). Live Robo looks nice, but overall the mecha is just put to waste as it has a very typical finisher (A sword slash? How original) and rarely is put in any serious peril. The only mecha fight that lasts longer than normal in these episodes is during the Gon two-parter (Volt transports a dinosaur back from the past, planning to use it to attack civilization), and that's only because the Livemen are trying not to kill it since it's befriended a boy.
So, that's it for part 1 of this review. I will have the 2nd part up eventually, where I will discuss the story arcs, Colon, some of my favorite episodes, and the major additions made to the series; including a few new mecha, new foes, and for the first time ever: two new heroes. I'll see you then.
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