Armored Police Metal Jack
Armored Police Metal Jack is a Japanese animated TV series produced by Sunrise, TV Tokyo and I&S BBDO. It was directed by Hiroshi Matsuzono and Kiyoshi Egami, with Hiroyuki Kawasaki handling series scripts, Yorihisa Uchida designing the characters, Yukihiro Makino designing the mechanical elements and Yasunori Iwasaki composing the music. The series was broadcast by TV Tokyo affiliates on the Monday 5:30PM time slot and aired weekly from April 7 to December 23, 1991, lasting 37 episodes.
Metal Jack was originally planned as a sequel to the live-action tokusatsu show Dennou Keisatsu Cybercop, but due to complications with the show's production, it was made into an animated series instead without any official ties to Cybercop. However, due to low viewership, the length of the show's run was shortened by thirteen episodes. Head writer Hiroyuki Kawasaki would later recycle some of the same situations from Metal Jack in Brave Police J-Decker. The show was also the debut of Nobutoshi Canna.
Plot
The setting is Tokyo City, one of the world's leading high-tech futuristic cities. In the near future, the world is filled with unprecedented murders, terrorist attacks, and cyber crimes that exceed the limits of what the police can expect. Masanao Daigo of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has been searching for the right people for the "Metal Project," a plan he has been developing for a long time.One day, an army of Crime Mobiles, monster robots of the criminal organization "Id," appear at a party of the global Zaizen conglomerate and attack Jun Zaizen, the noble son of the conglomerate. Daigo is so impressed by the actions of Ken Kanzaki, a police detective, Ryō Aguri, an F1 racer, and Gō Gōda, a professional wrestler, who were seriously injured in an attempt to save him, that he reanimates them as cyborgs and gives them new bodies and missions as "Metal Jack," an armored police force, to reward their courage in the face of death.
Metal Jack daringly confronts all kinds of crimes. However, Id is always involved in the shadows.
Characters
Metal Jack
;Ken Kanzaki /;Ryō Aguri /
;Gō Gōda /
;Shadow /
;Masanao Daigo
;Ginren Han
Friends and relatives
;Eriko Yoshizawa;Chief Jōgasaki
;Sayuri Kanzaki
;Genichirō Kanzaki
;Kazumi Kanzaki
;Hagiwara
Id
;Megadeth;Troidal
;Grunwald de Gilria
;Crola
Zaizen Group
;Jun Zaizen;Shunichi Kiritani
;Chairman Zaizen
Criminals
;Terrorist;Kadokura
;Politician
;Endō
;Makieda
;Edmond Barox
;Herman and Otto Rheinmetall
;Tokura
;The Denegger Gang
Equipment
;Jack Braces;Jack Suits
;Power Arm
;Jack Chaser
;Buster Shot
;Cermet Stick
Jack Armors
The Jack Armors are the secondary equipment of the Metal Jacks, which are wore over the Jack Suits when facing an extremely dangerous threat. They are transmitted unto the Jack Suits by the Jack Braces when the command "Jack On!" is given. The Jack Armors are actually support robots or vehicles that are dismantled into upper and lower armor, as well as weapons when they transform. When wearing a Jack Armor, the wearer's uncovered portions will not suffer damage even if the armors are destroyed. However, due to the fact that the armors are neurally linked to their bodies, their arms will sustain injuries if they carry too much load.;Red Jack Armor
;Silver Jack Armor
;Blue Jack Armor
;Shadow Jack Armor
;Hyper Red Jack Armor
Others
;Hybrid JaguarList of episodes
Merchandise
Toys
released a set of action figures based on the show under a line called the "Armored Police Series". Each set came packaged with an action figure and a robotic partner or vehicle that could transform into powered suits worn by the figures. The available sets were Red Jack Armor, Silver Jack Armor, Blue Jack Armor, Shadow Jack Armor and Hyper Red Jack Armor. Model kits were also released of the five Jack Armors called the "Jack On Collection". Other toys were released by Takara, including toy versions of the Jack Chaser, Jack Braces and Buster Shot.Soundtracks
A CD single, two albums and two drama CDs were released by King Records.- Armored Police Metal Jack: Hold On
- Armored Police Metal Jack: Count Down
- Armored Police Metal Jack: HARD PLAY
- Armored Police Metal Jack: Just Dream On
- ''Armored Police Metal Jack: PARTY JACK''
Video games
- Armored Police Metal Jack - Released by Takara for the Game Boy on January 8, 1992. It is a turn-based tactical game that loosely follows the series' storyline. It was developed by KID.
- Armored Police Metal Jack - Released by Atlus for the Super Famicom on July 31, 1992. It is a side-scrolling action game. A North American version was planned but later cancelled, with the story's setting changed from Tokyo to Los Angeles. The heroes' names were also changed from Ken Kanzaki, Ryō Aguri and Gō Gōda to Ken Striker, Billy Crash and Jake Gonzales respectively. Id's name was changed to CRASS.
Home video
Books
- Metal Jack Mini Mook, published by Movic Co. Ltd. on September 1, 1992. It is the only mook based on the series. The pages of animation model sheets include line drawings, detailed traits of each character, and specifications of each mecha. It also includes a newly written short story "ONCE MORE AGAIN", which describes an episode that falls in the interval of the TV series.
- Armored Police Metal Jack, a two-volume novel written by head writer Hiroyuki Kasawaki and published by Tairiku Shobo in 1992. It features some differences in plot developments from the TV series, such as Id collapsing in the first volume and Shadow appearing only in the second volume. In addition, none of the Jack Armors appear on the cover, frontispieces, or in any of the illustrations in the text.