Kikaider

Kikaider
人造人間キカイダー
Genre	Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Television drama
Studio	Toei Productions Ishimori Productions
Network	TV Asahi
Original run	July 8, 1972 – May 5, 1973
Episodes	43
Anime television series
Directed by	Tensai Okamura
Studio	Studio OX
Network	Kids Station
Original run	October 16, 2000 – December 28, 2000
Episodes	13
Original video animation
Kikaider 01: The Animation
Directed by	Keitaro Motonaga
Studio	Studio OX
Released	June 30, 2003 – July 3, 2003
Episodes	4
Original video animation
The Boy with the Guitar: Kikaider vs Inazuman
Directed by	Konno Naoyuki
Studio	Studio OX
Released	September 19, 2003

Kikaider (キカイダー, Kikaidā) is a Japanese franchise about the titular character Kikaider created by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was originally both tokusatsu and manga starting July 1972, and has since been adapted into anime and sequel manga.

Paying tribute to Astro Boy, created by his mentor Osamu Tezuka, Ishinomori used the stories of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio (which was also the basis for Astro Boy) along with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as the basis for his science fiction action story.^{[citation needed]}

The tokusatsu series from 1972 is especially popular in Hawaii. The complete DVD series is available in the west with English subtitles through JN Productions.

The series was originally a live-action Tokusatsu series, as was its sequel Kikaider 01. Cyborg 009 is an influence for this franchise. A manga drawn in a style reminiscent of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy was eventually published, introducing Kikaider 00. A 13-episode anime and 4-episode OVA based on the manga were created in 2001.

Media

Tokusatsu

• Android Kikaider (1972) TV Series + one movie
• Kikaider 01 (1973) TV series
• Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995) movie

Manga

The manga series was serialized in Shōnen Sunday, Bessatsu Shōnen Sunday and more children's magazines at the same time as the live action television series. Kikaider Code 02 a manga series by MEIMU published by Kadokawa Comics A.

Anime

• Android Kikaider: The Animation (2000)-(2001) TV Series
• Kikaider 01: The Animation (2001) 4-Part OVA
• The Boy Who Carried a Guitar: Kikaider Vs. Inazuman (2002) OVA Special

Superhero Safety

In the past, the Super Giant movie series and shows like Moonlight Mask (the first TV superhero in Japan) became controversial, when kids imitated the stunts performed by the featured superheroes, usually by jumping out of a window (this was also a major issue with TV and movie adaptations of Superman). The original Android Kikaider series was one of the first tokusatsu superhero TV shows that added safety bumpers (seen at the end of each episode) which warned kids not to imitate the dangerous and impossible stunts performed by the title superhero.

External links

• TVTome show details
• Kikaider (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia