Battle Fever J


Battle Fever J is a live-action tokusatsu TV series. The third entry of the Super Sentai series franchise, Battle Fever J was produced by Toei Company in partnership with American comic book publisher Marvel Comics. A total of 52 episodes aired on TV Asahi from February 3, 1979, to January 26, 1980, following J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai and being followed by Denshi Sentai Denjiman.
The team have codenames named for countries around the world, also respectively named in their theme song: Battle France, Battle Cossack, Battle Kenya, Miss America and Battle Japan. It marks the first appearance of a Black and Orange Ranger in the franchise. It was also the first series in the Super Sentai franchise where the heroes must control giant robots to defeat a monster who itself has grown to a gigantic size. Toei's tokusatsu adaptation of Spider-Man was the first to introduce this format and was also the inspiration for this and the subsequent entries in the Super Sentai series. The series was also partially inspired by the Marvel Comics character Captain America.
Battle Fever J was the first series to use the term Super Sentai until Toei announced in 1995 that its predecessors Himitsu Sentai Gorenger and J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai were also part of the Super Sentai series, when Chouriki Sentai Ohranger was announced as the 19th Super Sentai team.

Plot

General Kurama assembles four young agents who had been dispatched around the world for training. They are joined by FBI investigator Diane Martin, whose father was murdered by Egos. The five don powered suits to become the Battle Fever Squad. The Battle Fever Squad's trump card is the Battle Fever Robo. Egos tries to stop the construction of the Robot, but the monsters they send to perform this task are defeated one by one by the Battle Fever Squad. Egos then unleashes the "younger brother" of the Buffalo Monster, a giant robot replica of its "older brother". The Robot, fortunately, is finished in time. Aboard it, the Battle Fever Squad defeats the Buffalo Monster and its successors. The Battle Fever Squad never stops, even when it lost two of its members. With new members, the team defeats Hedder, now the Hedder Monster, and breaks into Egos' headquarters, where they are fed into the Egos Monster Making Machine so that they may be used as material for a Battle Fever Monster. The team destroys the machine and slays the mysterious deity Satan Egos himself with the Lightning Sword Rocketter sword-throwing move.

Characters

Battle Fever Squad

The Battle Fever Squad is unique among Super Sentai shows in that, originally, they did not "transform" into their costumes , instead they resorted to an unseen costume change. In most episodes, however, the members yell "Fever!" and spin around to transform although in episode 24 it is revealed they can store their costumes in their Battle Ceiver bracelets.
  • Masao Den / Battle Japan: The red-colored warrior who received his combat training while in Japan. A former National Defense Ministry officer. He is good at judo and karate. He wields a spear. During the team's roll call, he performs a martial arts-inspired dance. 21 years after Battle Fever J ended, Battle Japan appeared as one of the 24 Red Rangers in Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai, introduced by Liveman Red Falcon to inspire the current team.
  • Battle Cossack: The orange-colored moniker who dual wields a pair of sai.
  • * Kensaku Shiraishi: He was good at science as well as war. During the team's roll call, he performed a traditional Soviet dance. He was the original second in command of the team. In episode 33, he left the Big Baser without his Battle Cossack uniform and was fatally shot by a troop of Cutmen, attempting to save a little girl named Mayumi from Egos' forces. He loved to play Pachinko and enjoyed eating caviar.
  • * Makoto Jin: A silent cowboy. A man of action, not words. A scientist who trained in the Defense Ministry along with Kensaku. He joined Battle Fever to avenge the death of his friend. Makoto is an expert marksman. He is a loner, preferring to go off by himself. Makoto plays a trumpet to distract Egos.
  • Kyousuke Shida / Battle France: The blue-colored warrior who received his combat training while in France. He became the new second in command of the team after Kensaku's death. He is normally a beautician, a dandy and playboy. He enjoys eating escargot. He wields a rapier. During the team's roll call, he performs a flamenco dance.
  • Shiro Akebono / Battle Kenya: The black-colored warrior who received his combat training while in Kenya. He is a wild child who can talk to animals. He wields a whip. During the team's roll call, he performs a tribal dance. He eats just about anything. The smell of his cooking is not appreciated by the other team members. Shiro later appeared in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger''. He is also thematically similar to the Marvel superhero Black Panther.
  • Miss America: The pink-colored moniker who wields unlimited throwing knives. During the team's roll call, they perform a disco dance.
  • * Diane Martin: An FBI agent who joined the Battle Fever Squad to avenge her father Bosner, who was slain by Egos. In episode 24, after she was wounded by the Dracula Monster, she returned to the United States. Diane has a sister named Catherine.
  • * Maria Nagisa: An FBI agent trained by Bosner. When Diane was injured, Maria took her place as Miss America and then stayed on permanently when Diane decided to return to the United States.

    Allies

  • General Tetsuzan Kurama: The chief of the special science office of the National Defense Ministry who established the Battle Fever Squad. He is a master of traditional Japanese swordsmanship.
  • Keiko Nakahara: One of the operatives that runs Big Baser.
  • Tomoko Ueno: The other operative that runs Big Baser.
  • Masaru Nakahara: Keiko's little brother.
  • Yuki Ueno: Tomoko's little sister. Was used by Egos in episode 27 to find Battle Fever's base.
  • Kyutaro: Robot mynah bird built by Tetsuzan as a present. Often had insight into the situation. Revealed in episode 51 to have a freezing ray built in.

    Secret Society Egos

Secret Society Egos is a religion of mad egocentrists who intend to plunge the world into chaos.
  • Satan Egos: The mysterious head, entirely draped in black. He creates the Egos Monster's inside the Egos heart, calling them "My beloved Children". They call him "Father". He is ultimately slain by the Lightning Sword Rocketter.
  • Commander Hedder : The high priest of Egos. He later becomes the Hedder Monster after his death at the hands of Kurama and is slain a second time as such by the Battle Fever J's new attack, Battle Fever Power.
  • Salomé : An Egos American branch officer who came to Japan to aid Hedder with her super strength. She is responsible for all the assassinations in America. She allowed herself to be captured by Battle Fever after attacking and replacing several policemen with disguised cutmen, with whom she stole a billion yen to give to Egos. She believes she is taken to the Battle Fever Base, but in reality she is taken to a warehouse. She carries a hand mirror with a tracker in it, which she uses to fire solar beams or to bludgeon people. She was killed in the collapsing castle as Satan Egos fled. Her last words were begging Egos to help her.
  • Cutmen: The foot soldiers in grey and black who wield MP40 machine guns.

    Egos Monsters

The Egos Monsters are the divine children of Egos created by the heart-like Egos Monster Making Machine. Anything from objects, animals, and willing humans can be turned into an Egos Monster this way. Many from episode 5 onward have "little brother" giant robot doubles that fight the Battle Fever Robot.

Episodes

Movie

There was a theatrical release of Battle Fever J, released as part of the Toei Manga Matsuri on July 29, 1979. It was a blown up version of Episode 5 "Robot Big Dogfight". This theatrical version did not appear on Toei's Super Sentai Movie compilation DVD's, but was included in Toei's Tokusatsu Hero The Movie DVD series, featured on Volume 5 of the collection.

Cast

  • Masao Den: Hironori Tanioka
  • Kensaku Shiraishi: Yukio Itou
  • Makoto Jin: Daisuke Ban
  • Kyosuke Shida: Yuuhei Kurachi
  • Shiro Akebono: Kenji Ohba
  • Diane Martin: Diane Martin
  • * Diane Martin : Lisa Komaki / Keiko Yokozawa
  • Maria Nagisa: Naomi Hagi
  • General Tetsuzan Kurama: Chiyonosuke Azuma
  • Keiko Nakahara: Noriko Hidaka
  • Masaru Nakahara: Takumi Satō
  • Tomoko Ueno: Keiko Kanno
  • Yuki Ueno: Michiyo Satō
  • Akio Hamamura: Shin'ichi Yoshimiya
  • Shigeo Aoki: Seiji Suzuki
  • Kyutaro : Hisako Kyōda
  • Commander Hedder: Kenji Ushio / Masashi Ishibashi
  • Salome: Maki Ueda
  • Satan Egos : Shōzō Iizuka
  • Narrator: Tōru Ōhira

    Guest stars

  • Boiser Martin : David Friedman
  • Fake Diane Martin /Ayoko Ichijoji : Eri Kanuma
  • Hikaru Amano : Maki Tachibana
  • Miyoko Akiyama : Sumiko Kakizaki
  • Hidemi : Ako Kami
  • Editor In Chief Azuma / Death Mask Monster : Machiko Soga
  • Member Of Scientific Journal : Kenzo Arai
  • Bengal Tiger / Psychocinesis Monster : Masashi Ishibashi
  • Sambo Segawa : Teiji Omiwa
  • Sagaguchi Family
  • * Director Sakaguchi: Nobuyuki Katsube
  • * Yoko Sakaguchi: Yukiko Ebina
  • * Kenichi Sakaguci: Yoichi Hirose
  • Ken : Seiichi Ando
  • Hideo Toyota : Minoru Takeuchi
  • Nurse : Ritsuko Fujiyama
  • Fireman : Satoshi Kurihara
  • Policeman : Toshimichi Takahashi
  • Dr. Yoneyama : Yoshikazu Sugi
  • Koji Matsui : Kazuhito Ando
  • Katayama Family
  • * Shinichiro Katayama: Shun Domon
  • * Mitsuko Katayama: Junko Mihara
  • Master Of Dealer Gun : Koji Sekiyama
  • Teacher Moriyama : Kei Sunaga
  • Teacher : Junko Asashina
  • Xinyi Fukuda : Nobuyoshi Fukuda
  • Junko Nogata / Rosalinka Monster : Mariko Jun
  • Suzumoto Family
  • * Yuzo Suzumoto: Masaya Taki
  • * Yaeko Suzumoto: Ai Komachi
  • * Yuichi Suzumoto: Masami Zaizen
  • * Yuichi's Sister: Tsuneko Kikuchi
  • Rumi : Akemi Watanabe
  • Yohei Oyama : Hiroshi Kusajiki
  • Mizusawa Family
  • * Kumiko Mizusawa: Rika Miura
  • * Miyoko Mizusawa: Michiyo Sato
  • Cuttman : Hiro Kawarazaki
  • Catherine : Tomomi Umeda
  • Raita : Mirai Takeshi Sekiguchi
  • Black Tiger Mari : Mitchi Love
  • Mitsuru Okiyama : Naoya Uchida
  • Black Snake : Jaguar Yokota
  • Hand-to-Hand Combat Monster: Kim Oomae
  • Torishima Family
  • * Daisuke Torishima/Dr. Taichi Torishima: Akira Oizumi
  • Kuroda : Eiji Karasawa
  • Racing Driver : Yojiro Terada
  • Iwamoto Family
  • * Director Iwamoto: Takashi Tabata
  • * Kazuki Iwamoto: Hajime Nakamura
  • * Grandmother Iwamoto: Toyoko Takechi
  • Ryoko : Sayoko Tanimoto
  • Spy Women's
  • * Zero One: Yukie Kagawa
  • * Zero Two: Rie Mikawa
  • Arishima Family
  • * Senzo Arishima: Genji Kawai
  • * Shinobu Arishima: Kaoru Asakawa
  • Old Woman : Keiko Orihara
  • Catherine Martin : Louise Phillipe
  • Sayuri Kurihara : Lisa Komaki
  • Director : Gozo Soma
  • Charmain Yumeno : Takeshi Yamamoto
  • Yoshio Murano : Kenichi Endō
  • Professor Mimura : Shiro Ooki
  • Mayumi Mimura : Mika Matsushita
  • Akira Jin : Toshiaki Kamohara
  • Car Owner : Kin'ya Sugi
  • Doutor Sekine/Hyde Monster : Shinji Todo
  • Tsuyoshi Takeuchi : Ryo Tomota
  • Eye's Man : Shinzo Tanabe
  • Monshiro Ocho / Illusion Monster : Sumie Sakai