Hikari Sentai Maskman

Plot

Characters

Maskmen

• Takeru: The 23-year-old leader of the group who fights as Red Mask. He is a specialist in Karate and a motor racing driver. He was spotted by Sugata a year prior to the beginning of the series while he saved the mother's infant from being crashed in the railway. Sugata later offered him a spot on the Maskmen. His love for Mio and desire to find her are his motivations. While in Otaki, Takeru meets Norio through whom he masters the "God Hand" technique. Igam tries to eliminate him by travelling into the past. Near the end of the series, he single-handedly defeats Baraba out of rage in battle. He reunites with Mio in the end but he is forced to split up with her.
• Kenta: The 21-year-old second-in-command of the team who fights as Black Mask. He specializes in Kobudo. He is shy around women but can be a playboy at times. He is lighthearted, strong, and dependable. When a Dogler Beast stole the Aura Power of the other Maskmen, Kenta was the only one left who could fight. He worked as a mechanic for the Sugata Racing Team and once worked for the Sun Racing Team.
• Akira: The youngest member of the group at 16 who fights as Blue Mask. He is an expert in Chinese Kung-Fu and a Jian expert. His father died while he was young and he was an only child. He moved to Tokyo in order to perfect his martial arts ability and to join the Maskmen. Akira unknowingly enters a Tube-rigged tournament. He wants to win to prove to his mother that he is successful in his chosen pursuit. Always cheerful, he loves apples and the idol Youko Minamino. Late in the series, he turns evil after being possessed by the spirit of a swordsman of the Royal Underground Empire named Imperial Underground Fencer Unas. Unas was resurrected by some of the Royal Underground slaves of Tube in hopes that he would help set them free from Zeba's tyrannical rule. The underground slaves mistake Akira as a reincarnation of Unas. During the events of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, Akira would appear to grant the Greater Power of the Maskmen to the Gokaigers. The Aura Power would later allow the Gokaigers to use the Aura in their attack Gokai Aura Galaxy.
• Haruka: A 19-year-old kunoichi who fights as Yellow Mask. She was raised in a family of ninja, brought up to carry the tradition at the cost of a happy childhood. Forced by her father to abandon all feminine things to focus on her ninja training, she appears tomboyish and is a fierce fighter. She is highly intelligent and loves dancing as she tutors a young girl who is unable to afford dance lessons.
• Momoko: A 19-year-old expert in tai chi and is also strong and dedicated who fights as Pink Mask. A young woman with a pure heart, she often teaches tai chi to young people. She once, by chance, met Ial and Igam's mother, who gave her the saintly flower known as Carollove. Momoko treasures it because it saved her when she fell underground as a child. The first four letters of her name is the kanji for her color designation.

Allies

• Commander Sanjuro Sugata: Sugata is a scientist and martial artist who formed the Maskmen. He is a wise man who excels in mental reinforcements and every martial art. Sugata was the one learned of Tube's existence and their plot to conquer the surface world. A mysterious man, Sugata fights against Takeru the year before he was chosen to become Red Mask. He is the owner of Sugata Racing, a motoring team for which Takeru is a driver and Kenta once worked as an engineer.
• Doctor Azuma: Sugata's assistant; she works in the computer room and monitors the performance of the Maskmen.
• Doctor Catherine: A Caucasian woman who assists Commander Sugata alongside Doctor Azuma.
• Yu: The daughter of Ijin of the Fu Clan, Yu is a rogue ninja who works to find any Tube relics that would reveal the true identity of Zeba.
• Lelai: A mermaid from the Sea of Tears, an underground lake formed from human tears over the millennia. Having a lovely singing voice, Igum deceives Lelai as part of a scheme involving Horn Doggler. Once Lelai learns the truth, she is forced to sing after Igum caused the Sea of Tears to dry up. Takeru manages to save her and takes her to the ocean to keep her alive.
• Doctor Akira Yamagata: The deceased creator of the Galaxy Robo and a close friend of Chief Sugata. During the early development of the M-Project, Yamagata built the Galaxy Robo by himself in order to provide the future Maskman team with another robot in addition to the Great Five of Sugata. However, he died during a freak accident while testing out the Galaxy Robo. Doctor Yamagata is survived by his only daughter, Yumi, who believes that the Galaxy Robo, which was programmed with a free will, was responsible for the death of her father. However, Yamagata's recording during his final test run with the Galaxy Robo proves that his death was entirely accidental and was not the fault of the Galaxy Robo.
• Akaike: The chief designer of the Jet Cannon. He loses consciousness as the final tests begin, due to the long term effects of Deathga Doggler's attack when he was a child.
• Kurokawa: A member of the Jet Cannon development staff who assists Akaike. He is played by Kazuhiko Nishimura, who would go on to play Jō Ōhara in Chōjū Sentai Liveman.
• Ryo Asuka: A former disciple of Chief Sugata who was chosen to be part of the M-Project, which gave him the ability to transform into X1 Mask, a predecessor to the main Maskman team. However, Ryo abandoned Sugata's unit after his girlfriend Yūko was killed during an ambush by Tube, causing Ryo to doubt his ability to protect the world since he was unable to protect the woman he loved. Ryo arrives to help the Maskmen when they are overpowered by Magma Doggler. With Takeru's help, Ryo regain his self-confidence and assists the team in defeating Magma Doggler, but at the cost of his powers. At the end, he leaves the Maskmen to teach martial arts to children with a renewed sense of hope. He is also the first Sixth Hero, although it would not occur again until five years later in 1992, where Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger introduced an official Sixth Hero.
• Mai Kozuki : A talented pianist who is actually from the Underground's Melme Family, his music soothes the most savage of Underground monsters. Zeba orders the death of the family, and Mai is the sole survivor. Sugata saves her and brings her to the Maria Orphanage after rewriting her memories so she can live without her painful memories. Targeted by Bard Doggler, her hand is turned to stone and the Maskmen restore it.
• Ise : A rogue underground dweller who, along with her brother Teto, is part of a cult that worships the Underground Knight Unas. Though disillusioned when Unas is controlled by Igum, she and her brother help the Maskmen return their friend to normal.

Underground Empire Tube

• Underground Emperor Zeba: Zeba is the leader of the underground Empire Tube. He hates all human beings and is a master of the Dark Aura, desiring to turn the surface into a cold and dark place. His true form is the monster Lethal Doggler The 2nd whose father, the original Lethal Doggler, is killed by the Igam Family for terrorizing the underground. Before dying, it spawns an egg that results in Zeba's birth; the child devours his parent to become stronger. The new Lethal Doggler grows with nothing on his mind but revenge, disguising himself as Zeba and rule the Igum Royal Family. Upon assuming the throne, Zeba corrupts the underground into a violent kingdom and enslaves the underground humans. When he learns that his defeat was foretold to be at the hands of the surviving twin daughters of the Igum family, he keeps them apart while taking measures to ensure no one learns about his true identity, momentarily assumes his true form whenever someone gets too close to the truth. With Ial revived and his identity revealed, Zeba quickly enacts his final plan to raise the Underground Castle and spread his Dark Aura around the world to usher in an age of darkness at the cost of his followers. Once on the surface, Zeba battles the Maskmen personally in his Dark Aura domain. However, Ial and Igam augment their powers with the Maskmen's to negate his Dark Aura. Forced back into his true form, the Lethal Doggler is blasted by the Jet Cannon at full power, using the energies from the weapon to enlarge himself before being finally destroyed by the Galaxy Robo.
• Underground Imperial Prince Igum: The older twin sister of Princess Ial, she is raised as a man to one day take the throne until Zeba overthrew her parents. As a result, Ial is spared to serve under Zeba as one of his prized warriors. She is trained in the way of combat by the Fu Clan and uses the dragon gauntlets on her forearms to execute attacks. When Ial falls in love with Takeru, Igum feels her sister is a disgrace to their family, and vows to kill Takeru. She also has a desire to kill Ial for her transgression, but she cannot carry it out under orders from Zeba himself. One of her attempts in killing Takeru involves conjuring the Death Ring, a family tradition where the user uses up their energy to project an electrified force field. When Baraba gains the Royal Underground Sword, Igum is forced to turn to the Igum Dragon for aid. When Akira is restored from being Unas, Igum's identity as a woman is revealed to the Maskmen. Takeru then hesitates to fight her and attempts to reason with her. After she is given permission to kill her sister, Igum learns the truth behind Zeba and is conflicted until she learns that he used her to achieve his goal. Disillusioned and seeing herself beyond redemption, Igam finds a new reason to live when she sees the Buddha as she helps the Maskmen defeat Zeba. Soon after, Igum becomes a Buddhist nun to repent for her sins and leaves her sister to become the new heir to the Igum Kingdom.
• Underground Curiosities Beast Anagmas: He is an overweight bat-like beast who is three centuries old and knows all, a master of dark arts who uses a croquet mallet as his weapon. As the advisor of Zeba, he is able to freely access the Underground Library, which contains the history of the Tube civilization. Normally remaining at the sidelines, Anagmas first reveals himself to the Maskmen prior to setting up a scheme to remove Great Five. Later, he learns the truth about Zeba and is sent to kill Ial. Anagmas is killed by the Maskmen with the Jet Cannon and the Galaxy Robo.
• Underground Imperial Commander Baraba: A cold-blooded, sadistic and merciless skilled swordsman and strongman of the Baluga tribe and is a rival of Igam. He carries a heavy blade that only he is strong enough to use in battle. When sentenced to death by Zeba for his failure, he goes to the Underground Dungeon to kill the Devil Doggler and obtain the Royal Underground Sword. He lost the fight until he is driven mad by his mother's death at the hands of the monster, killing the monster with the Royal Underground Sword. Later, after failing to revive the War God, Baraba gets one last chance to redeem himself. He makes a deal with Kiros and kidnaps Princess Ial to lure Takeru into a trap. Once the plan falls apart, and Oyobu turns his back on him, Baraba is killed by Red Mask in a final duel.
• Underground Imperial Ninja Oyoboo: A ninja of the Buyon tribe with red skin and large pointy ears who serves under Baraba. He can throw life-manifested fire from his hands and run at near-lightspeed. While pleading with his master not to take Ial, he ends up being frozen but manages to thaw himself out. Though he comes to the aid of his master, Oyobu refuses to aid Baraba in his final fight. Though he learns the truth about Zeba and discovers that he is nothing more than an expandable pawn, Oyobu continues his part in the fiend's plan in sacrificing the Underground Castle as he is consumed in the resulting explosion.
• Underground Imperial Ninja Fumin: A Kunoichi of the Fu clan, a group of ninja who have served under the Igam family for generations. She is able to shoot shurikens and fire from her mouth, Fumin's abilities rival those of Haruka. She assumes guises like that of the idol Marina Shimada during Igam's plan of turning humans into Unglers. Though she learns her mistress' identity, Fumin remains by Igam's side until she is killed in the Underground Castle while protecting Igam when the castle is being destroyed.
• Energy Beast Okelampa: A mole cricket/hermit crab-like creature that emerges when the monsters of the Tube Empire are defeated by the Maskmen. With its ray, the Doggler monsters are enlarged as Okelampa utters Phew, Oh goodness! before taking his leave. The fate of Okelampa is never revealed.
• Ungler Soldiers: The black-skinned foot soldiers with vines covering their faces. Their name derives from "underground".

Kiros

Earth Imperial Beasts Doggler

Others

• Princess Ial: She is the twin sister of Igam, sent by Tube as a spy above ground under the name of Mio. Once on the surface, Ial meets and falls in love with Takeru. When Tube's forces are ready to attack, she warns Takeru, but is captured by Igua. Brought before Zeba, Ial is sentenced to the Eternal Freeze, living in an endless nightmare while encased in ice. Thanks to Kiros' actions, Ial is freed from her prison and helps the Maskmen destroy Zeba. She is forced to leave Takeru to fulfill her duties as the new empress, though she still has feelings for him. She has him promise to look towards the future.
• Lalaba: The mother of Baraba, who raised him on the ideologies of the Baluga tribe. She tricks Akira into taking her to his son. Laraba attacks the Devil Doggler and wounds the beast enough for her son to finish the job, though she dies by its hand. She was played by Machiko Soga who previously portrayed Queen Haedrian in the 1980 Series Denshi Sentai Denjiman and its 1981 Sequel Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan, and later Played Witch Bandora in the 1992's Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger and Heavenly Arch Saint Magiel in 2005's Mahou Sentai Magiranger.
• Igum Dragon: The Igan Family guardian who follows the will of an Igum clansman. It is revived by Igam to help her fight the Maskmen. Once Ial is revived, the Igam Dragon secretly aids her by giving her the water mirror ball containing the truth about Zeba.

Episodes

1. The Mysterious, Beautiful Runaway
2. Strange! The Dark Underground Castle
3. The First Step into the Unknown
4. Burn! F1 Spirits!
5. The Small Swordsman, Blue
6. The God Hand of Dreams
7. Explode! Kenta's Love
8. Burn! The Flower's Sword
9. Combine! Aura of Life
10. Igam vs. Takeru
11. The Refugee From Underground
12. A Challenge! The Pride of a Shinobi
13. Chase the Idol!
14. The Great Escape to the Blue Sky!
15. Farewell, Dear Flower!
16. Deadly! Blazing Baraba
17. Smash it! The Maze of Hell
18. The Dear Bloodsucking Doll!
19. Phantom Magic! Anagumas
20. A Trap! The Sinking Giant Robot
21. The Black Shadow of the Misty Valley
22. The Winds and Clouds of an Aura Storm!
23. Mio Who Has Become a Demon
24. The Grotto of the Young Monster
25. Akira's Lover!?
26. A Life That Disappeared on the Hot Sand!
27. Thief Knight Kiros!
28. Mio is Princess Ial!?
29. The New Lethal Weapon of Friendship
30. Mama!! Baraba's Scream!
31. It Appears! The Guardian Deity Igam Dragon
32. Oyobu's Lethal Dash
33. Takeru!! Cut Through Love!
34. Blues of Love and Murderous Intent
35. The Mystery of Zeba! The Forbidden Tomb
36. Elimination! The Destructive Twin Girls
37. Soldiers Who Bet on Their Dreams
38. The Time to Erase Takeru
39. Revival! The Mysterious X1 Mask
40. Resurrect! The Melody of Love
41. Female Thieves Haruka & Momoko
42. Fly! The Poem of a Timid Boy
43. Akira Loses His Eyesight! The Mysterious Spell
44. Transform! Underground Empire Swordsman Akira
45. Prince Igam! You're a Woman!
46. Counterattack! The Secret of the Demon Pond
47. The Night Prior to the Attack! The Dance of Death
48. Baraba! Death for Treason
49. The Revived Princess Ial
50. Zeba! His Hair-Raising Secret Identity
51. Great Destruction of Underground Empire Castle!

Film

Cast

• Takeru: Ryousuke Kaizu
• Kenta: Kouichi Kusakari
• Akira/Unas: Issei Hirota
• Haruka: Yuki Nagata
• Momoko: Kanako Maeda
• Commander Sanjuro Sugata: Hayato Tani
• Ryo Asuka: Shinji Higashi
• Emperor Zeba: Hideaki Kusaka
• Prince Igam, Princess Ial: Mina Asami
• Commander Baraba: Keijiro Shiga
• Oyubu: Yoshinori Okamoto
• Kiros: Shunta Fuchino
• Fumin: Kaori Kubota
• Hikari: Yoshiro Iwata
• Doctor Catherine:
• Laraba: Machiko Soga
• Shinya: Tohru Sakai
• Lelai: Tomoko Ikeda
• Narrator: Hiroshi Takeda

Voice Actors

• Emperor Zeba: Seizō Katō
• Anagumas: Takuzo Kamiyama
• Okelamp: Nobu Shinoda

Songs

• "Hikari Sentai Maskman"
• * Lyrics: Masao Urino
• * Composition: Daisuke Inoue
• * Arrangement: Ohzuchi Fujita
• * Artist: Hironobu Kageyama

• "Shot Bomber Zenryoku Shūchū"
• * Lyricist: Kazunori Sonobe
• * Composition: Takeshi Ike
• * Arrangement: Daito Fujita
• * Artist: Hironobu Kageyama

• "Ai no Soldier"
• * Lyrics: Masao Urino
• * Composition: Daisuke Inoue
• * Arrangement: Ohzuchi Fujita
• * Artist: Hironobu Kageyama
• In both opening and ending themes in the Philippine dub of the series, it was composed and performed by singer and composer Norman Caraan.

International broadcast and home video

• In its home country of Japan, the series aired in TV Asahi from February 28, 1987 to February 20, 1988, airing every Saturday at 6.00 p.m. Over two decades later, Toei Video released five DVD volumes from February 21, 2011, to June 21, 2011. This was the first home video release of the full series and each volume holds 2 discs and 10 episodes, with the fifth and final volume holding 11 episodes. Prior, Video Maker released the Hikari Sentai Maskman movie on VHS as well as on DVD as part of the "Super Sentai THE MOVIE BOX" set release on July 21, 2003, and it was later released on "Super Sentai The MOVIE VOL.3" on July 21, 2004. The movie was also given a Blu-Ray release on June 21, 2011, as part of the "Super Sentai THE MOVIE Blu-Ray BOX 1976-1995."
• In France, it was broadcast on TF1 in France on June 8, 1988, under the name Bioman 2: Maskman and marketed as a sequel to Choudenshi Bioman to capitalize on its success. AB Groupe produced and license the series' French dub with dubbing work by Studio Dovidis. This was the second series to be shown in the region as they also aired Choushinsei Flashman around the same year as Maskman.
• *In the Chinese speaking world, Both Mandarin and Cantonese dubs were made. But one aired first with another airing several years later.
• **In Hong Kong, this was the first Super Sentai series to be broadcast in years since J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai aired in the region back in 1981-1982 on Asia Television. For most of the 1980s, Tokusatsu programs were barely broadcast in the region, as there were reports of an accident that happened to a child who was trying to intimate Kamen Rider as casualties happened. With that said, most TV stations in the region did not dare purchase any Tokusatsu shows for a long time. The Super Sentai series as a whole disappeared alongside others as part of the purge. It was not until 1989 when they finally started to display tokusatsu programming once more, with Maskman being bought over. This series aired with a Cantonese Chinese dub on Asia Television's rival TVB Jade from September 9 of that year, until September 22, 1990, with all 51 episodes dubbed. Airing as Chāonéng Zhànshì.
• **In Taiwan, the series aired with a Taiwanese Mandarin dub on Shouhua Cartoon Station around 1997 with all 51 episodes dubbed. Airing as Guāng Zhànduì Méng Miàn Zhànshì, being a direct translation from the Japanese original title.
• It was aired in Thailand with a Thai dub from 1989 to 1990 on Channel 3, currently owned by TIGA Company. Video Square produced a separate dub for home video.
• In the Philippines, it aired on ABS-CBN from 1988 to 1989 and on IBC 13 from 1990 to 1991 under the title Laser Squadron Maskman and it gained popularity mainly for being the very first Super Sentai series with a full Tagalog dub. The series never finished its airing on both channels until airing on Hero Channel which finished its full run around mid 2000.
• In Malaysia, it aired on TV3 from 1990 to 1991. This was also the first Super Sentai series to be given a full Malay dub.
• It was aired in Brazil with a Brazilian Portuguese dub debuting on April 22, 1991, under Defensores da Luz Maskman. on Rede Manchete and came out around the same time as two other Toei Tokusatsu shows on the same channel which was Jikuu Senshi Spielban and Kamen Rider Black. It was the fourth and final Super Sentai to air on the country before they decided to dub for Power Rangers adaptations starting with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1994, due to the decline of interest of Japanese tokusatsu in the region and also due to financial and bureaucratic issues. Although there were more plans to bring more Super Sentai into Brazil as Choujyu Sentai Liveman and Kousoku Sentai Turboranger were already licensed and were set to be shown in Brazil, but went unaired followed by the decision to air Power Rangers, as it was getting very popular and Saban was weighing competition in most international markets.
• It was shown in South Korea from 1990 to 1991 with a Korean dub under Warriors of the Light: Maskman. As of the Korean dub of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, it was officially renamed Power Rangers Maskman.
• In Indonesia, the series was first aired on RCTI in 1990 and later re-aired on SCTV from June 7, 1996, until May 23, 1997, with an Indonesian dub covering all episodes. Then it re-aired again from May 30, 1997, until March 6, 1998. But the re-run went unfinished with not all episodes shown again due to the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.