The Mobile Cop Jiban


The Mobile Cop Jiban is a Japanese tokusatsu television series which serves as the 8th entry in the Metal Hero Series franchise, heavily inspired by the American film RoboCop and the first entry in the Heisei period. Produced by Toei and aired by TV Asahi in Japan from January 29, 1989, to January 28, 1990, it ran for 52 episodes and a feature movie released on July 15, 1989. According to Toei's International Sales & Promotion Department, the series' international English title is referred to as just simply Jiban. This series is a tribute to the 25th anniversary of the 8-Man manga and anime series.

Plot

Naoto Tamura, a new detective in Central City, is killed by a Bionoid Monster in the line of duty. Doctor Kenzo Igarashi, a man whose experiments had been responsible for the Bioron syndicate's existence, brought the man back to life as a cyborg detective, Jiban. Eventually, Madogarbo and Rhinonoid killed Jiban, who returned to life again as Perfect Jiban. In the finale, Biolon destroyed Jiban's base and transformed Madogarbo into a false Jiban. Jiban defeated his duplicate and ultimately Gibanoid, the true form of Biolon's leader Doctor Giba. The victorious Jiban then learned that Mayumi Igarashi, the one civilian that knew his secret, had been his missing younger sister all along.

Characters

Naoto Tamura/Mobile Cop Jiban
A human revived as a cyborg by Doctor Igarashi to fight Biolon. He is capable of reverting to his human identity at will. He holds the rank of deputy police commissioner and detective. Jiban's programming enables him to follow these directives:
  1. Arrest criminals in any circumstance without a warrant.
  2. Punish criminals on his own judgment if they happen to be members of Bioron.
  3. Use lethal force depending on the circumstances.
In human form, Naoto often plays the fool and is looked on down by Youko and Kiyoshiro for this, but Youko begins to warm up to him after realizing he could be Jiban. Mayumi Igarashi
The only civilian who knew Jiban's secret identity. She lost her memory in battle, after falling from a waterfall, because, Madogarbo gave her a Bomb Ring. If Jiban approaches her, the bomb will burst. She called Naoto her 'big brother,' only to find that she was really his lost sister in the finale.Shun'ichi and Shizue Igarashi
Mayumi's parents. Shunichi is the son of Doctor Kenzou Igarashi but is not a scientist. Relocated as witnesses to Biolon, they resumed their life as Mayumi's foster parents in the finale.Doctor Kenzo Igarashi
Started the Jiban's project to counter Bioron, the results of his biological experimentation and he designed Jiban's high mobility system weapon Daedalus. He pass away when Jiban was built.Youko Katagiri
A female detective of Central City. Naoto's senior. Manly sharpshooter who could not figure out that Naoto was Jiban. She is also known in the Filipino Dubbed Version as Loren.Kiyoshiro Muramatsu
Elite detective of Central City with a liking for Youko.Seiichi Yanagida
The head of the Police Department. He cooperated with Doctor Igarashi in the Jiban Project two years earlier. He collaborated with Jiban after Igarashi's death. He died when Jiban's base was destroyed.Section Chief Takeko Bando
The Central City Section Chief of Detectives. Got headaches trying to keep the peace in jurisdictions where strange events occurred, no thanks to Biolon.Michiyo Matsumoto
A tea server of the Detectives' Section of Central City Police Department. She is always cheerful and encouraging.Boy/Harry Boy
Jiban's robotic assistant. He stays at his secret base. Originally he was simply Boy, an immobile camera-like robot who had to give instructions to Mayumi to operate the control center, but then his computer was transferred to panda-like "Harry" and began substituting for the amnesiac Mayumi. He died when Jiban's base was destroyed.Ryo Hayakawa
A drifter who takes in Mayumi after she loses her memory, mistaking her for his dead sister, Midori. He initially refers to her by that name but later refers to her by her own name Mayumi after reading a missing person's notice, although Mayumi does not tell him her true origins. In the scuffle, Mayumi goes away, unable to remember what just happened. He died in Episode 46, when Jiban removed the Bomb Ring from Mayumi's finger with a very precise shot, without hurting her. Ryou took the ring and ran, to throw it out, but was killed in the resulting explosion. He is played by Ryouhei Kobayashi Who would later play Fumiya Hoshikawa / Five Black in the 1990 sentai series Chikyu Sentai Fiveman.

Equipment

Jiban's Badge
It can be used as a communicator to contact Harry Boy, Seiichi and Mayumi in Jiban's Base or used to summon any of his vehicles, as well as to control their armaments electronically.

Articles

Every episode, when Jiban faces his Bionoid enemy, he ejects his badge from his waist and shows it to the monster, reading a code of articles and laws that serve as his directives, but unlike the movie, they giving him a greater freedom instead of restricting him:
Mobile Cop Jiban, under any circumstances, can arrest the criminal without a warrant.
Mobile Cop Jiban, in case the enemy is recognized as Biolon, can apply the punishment by his own judgement.
  • *
Depending on the circumstances, even erasing him is allowed.
Mobile Cop Jiban's maximum priority is human life, and every given order that disregards this can be rejected.
In the case of Biolon manipulating the humans' heart, the punishment can be applied by his own judgement.
The crime of disposing of children's dreams, and hurting their heart is especially severe.
Mobile Cop Jiban can erase everyone that destroys all lifeforms' peace by his own judgment.

Super Police Vehicles

Super Police Machine Reson
Jiban's patrol car, a modified Pontiac Firebird with a sixth generation computer and hence a will of its own, and it was destroyed by Gibanoid.Super Police Bike Vaican
Jiban's Suzuki motorcycle with a sixth generation computer and hence a will of its own, and it was destroyed by Gibanoid. In the Philippine version, it is known as Mecha Panther and in the English version, it is known as BikanSuper Police Jet Spylas
Jiban's stealth fighter plane with a will of its own, and it was destroyed by Doctor Giba using his ship's weapon systems.

Weapons

Spikes
It is hidden in Jiban's upper arms to puncture and break a hold or to shoot.Jiban Hyper Beam
It is hidden in Jiban's upper arms to shoot into areas that cannot be accessed through physical means. Jiban used it in the movie.Maximillian Type 3
Jiban's personal jutte-like weapon. Concealed in a collapsible holster located on his right leg, it can transform into either Pistol, Stun Gun, or Sword Mode.
The Maximillian Type 3 can also perform the following moves and techniques:
  1. Disclose Shock
It is used in stun gun mode, essentially a stun gun.
  1. Last Shooting/ThermalBeam/Search Buster
It is used in pistol mode, firing laser shots.
  1. Jiban End
It is used in sword mode, splits enemies in half. It is also known as Jiban Slash in the Filipino Version and in the English version, it is known as JIBAN FLYING CRASH or JIBAN HAKEN CRASH.Daedalus
Jiban's personal cannon. Required to perform the Daedalus Bombard Technique, which is used to finish off foes. It can be made into a Jetpack jet to enable Jiban to fly short distances.Autoderringer
Jiban's personal rifle. He acquired it after being resurrected as Perfect Jiban. It has a machine gun mode and a bazooka mode. The machine gun mode is used to stun and set up the enemy; after an "Energy Charge" in which the bazooka is charged, it fires a powerful shot to finish off the enemy. It was destroyed by Gibanoid during Jiban's final fight with him.Powerbreaker
Pincer/claw. A left arm attachment. It can be used to attack enemies. He acquired it after being resurrected as Perfect Jiban.Needricker
Drill. A right arm attachment. It can be used to drill into areas that cannot be accessed through physical means. He acquired it after being resurrected as Perfect Jiban.

Criminal Syndicate Bioron

An armed force organized by the mysterious scientist Doctor Giba intending to take over the Earth by means of narrow attacks rather than large-scale destruction. Their theme/weapon is biochemistry.Doctor Giba
The bearded brown-haired Caucasian human-looking leader and founder of Bioron. His real identity is Gibanoid, a bio-monster born by accident from the chemical waste of Doctor Igarashi's National Science Academy Bio Laboratory. As a result, Giba is filled with malice for humans. He assumed his true form in the series finale, using Mayumi as a shield to escape in his ship. He died while fighting Jiban on his ship as it crashed into the mountainside.Marsha and Karsha
The first bio-lifeforms created by Kiba, his secretaries and intermediaries between him and his Bionoid agents. They can transform into small spiders, and assume their inhuman "Battle" forms, armed with energy whips. They were killed in the series finale by Doctor Giba for failing to kill Jiban.Bubi and Muku
The cute and not so-cute creatures living in Bioron's base. Muku was one of Jiban's foes in early chapters, in giant size, but only as a distraction. The 4 critters had a tendency to annoy Marsha and Karsha with their Commentary of what the 2 recently did during that episode. Sometimes just showing up once to be used as target practice by the Bionoids demonstrating their powers. The four became friends with Mayumi when she told them about a mother's love and she tried to defend them from Marsha and Karsha who attacked the critters for saving Mayumi's life by Defusing the bomb in Fake Momnoid. They hung out with Mayumi in the finale.Madogarbo
A Jiban Cyborg Killer created by Doctor Giba as a counter to Jiban. Using power from Queen Cosmos, she and Rhinonoid are able to kill Jiban in Episode 34, but he is resurrected as Perfect Jiban. She later assumes his total appearance to attack him by having his Reson, Spylas and Vaican attack Jiban making them believe Jiban was Madogarbo. She even got as far as damaging Jiban so badly that he went Blind but Mayumi's Despair at seeing her brother about to be killed caused what energy of Queen Cosmos was left to gather and blast Fake Jiban turning her back into regular Madogarbo she was then killed by Jiban.Kuro Kiba
Mad Garbo's motorcycle with rhino horn and sidecar with machine guns. In the English version, it is known as Black Fang.Queen Cosmos
A lunar life form resembling a human woman intent on conquering Earth to establish an all-woman empire. She appeared in episode 28 but did not reveal her name till episode 34. In her own words, she is made of space garbage and came from a place that was cold and ugly, lacking anything beautiful, thus her obsession with having everything beautiful and being called beautiful herself. She is more powerful than the other Biorons ; she allies with them to destroy Jiban. Her jewelry turns into parasite creatures: Earring into a skull patterned ladybug that would infuse into Jiban distorting his circuitry and her Brooch would turn into a spider creature blasting Jiban with tiny powerful balls of light. Her bracelet was able to transform into a snake creature wrapping around one's neck to control their mind. In Episode 46, she was defeated by Jiban.Golem Cosmos
An offshoot of Queen Cosmos herself, this entity was created to be her champion from a piece of herself. The creature was extremely powerful, armed with a crescent sword and shield, she very nearly defeated Jiban Until he grabbed her sword wrist with Powerbreaker, twisting her wrist and impaling her with Needricker. She then turned back into her clay statue state and dissolved. Weapons: A long silvery sword, shield, energy blasts from sword and laser blasts from eyes.Masques
The mass-produced grunt human-like life forms armed with knives, guns, machine guns and bazooka. They can disguise themselves as humans and regenerate lost limbs. A determined human can take them out by shooting them in the head or chest or by physically choking them out.

Bionoid

Bionoids are the product of Doctor Giba's research. They can disguise themselves as humans.
  • Chamelenoid
  • Catnoid
  • Mudnoid
  • Rosenoid
  • Octopusnoid
  • Vulturenoid
  • Influenzanoid In the English Version, it is known as Coldnoid.
  • Molenoid
  • Hyenanoid
  • Nightmarenoid
  • Hedgehognoid
  • Skunknoid
  • Killernoid
  • Wolfnoid
  • Jellyfishnoid
  • Agehanoid
  • Starfishnoid
  • Injectnoid
  • Moneynoid
  • Bugnoid
  • Hunternoid
  • Goatnoid
  • Suicidenoid
  • Explodenoid
  • Dragonnoid
  • Centipedenoid
  • Elephanoid
  • Doublenoid
  • Kabukinoid
  • Shinobinoid
  • Distnoid
  • Electric Fishnoid In the English Version, it is known as Snakeheadnoid.
  • Rhinonoid
  • Chambaranoid In the English Version, it is known as Swordfightnoid.
  • Tortoinoid
  • Mushroonoid
  • HermitCrabnoid
  • Panthernoid
  • Anacondanoid In the English Version, it is known as Drunknoid.
  • Tyrannosaurusnoid
  • Catfishnoid
  • Cobranoid
  • Suitorunoid In the English Version, it is known as Absorbnoid.
  • Squidnoid
  • Unicornnoid
  • TempleBellnoid
  • Fakemomnoid
  • Great Gibanoid
  • Batblock
  • Ammoblock
  • Spiderblock

Episodes

  1. My Lovely Girl Boss: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
  2. I Love! Naoto Older Brother: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
  3. The Strange Man and the Haunted Vegetables: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  4. Truly Beautiful Rose's Present: written by Kunio Fujii, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  5. Three Great Mecha Mobilize! Rescue the Idol Robo!: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Kiyohiko Miyasaka
  6. The Secret of the Broken Dinosaur Egg: written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Kiyohiko Miyasaka
  7. Dreadful Sneezing Man!: written by Kunio Fujii, directed by Michio Konishi
  8. Dekoboko! Tokyo Mole Map: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Michio Konishi
  9. The Puppy Became a Cat: written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
  10. Papa Isn't Papa!?: written by Kunio Fujii, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
  11. The Girl's and the Warrior's Heart Pledge: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  12. Danger! Youko Senpai: written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  13. Help the Sorrowful Boy: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
  14. Love's Great Reversal Game!: written by Kunio Fujii, directed by Michio Konishi
  15. The Werewolf Likes Piano: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  16. I Am a Transparent Person!!: written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  17. Birth! VS Jiban Deadly Weapons: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
  18. Mother and Daughter・In the Edge of Sadness: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
  19. Give Up the Electronic Badge!: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  20. City Money Rained Down!: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  21. Steel Insect - Poisonous Insect - Guerilla Insect: written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
  22. It Was Mayumi!!: written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
  23. The Monster Who Overate Manga: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  24. Welcome!! To the Great Spiritual World: written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  25. Strike the Goddess!: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
  26. Dragon-Fished Beautiful Gourmet: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
  27. Love Children are Demon Children: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
  28. Papa is Doctor Giba?!: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
  29. Mass Loving Encounters!: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  30. Handsome Boy Kotaro's Party Monster: written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  31. The Midsummer's Night Ninja Battle: written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
  32. Pearl's Tears are in the Golden Ocean: written by Kunio Fujii, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
  33. Millenium Flower Smiled at the Garbo: written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Michio Konishi
  34. Heroic! Jiban Dies: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
  35. It's Perfect Jiban!: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  36. Dreaming Sword Fighting Monster!: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  37. I Am the Most Beautiful Woman in the World!?: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
  38. It's Birthplace, Mother!: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Michio Konishi
  39. Mayumi's Bomb Ring!!: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
  40. Great Revolt!! Haunted Clock: written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
  41. Digression! Unmanageable Policewoman: written by Kenichi Araki, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
  42. Monster Rock'n Roll!: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
  43. Youko Pierced Jiban...!: written by Kunio Fujii, directed by Michio Konishi
  44. The Genius Scientist Who Turned into a Kid: written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Michio Konishi
  45. Dreadful Squid-Human Operation!: written by Kenichi Araki, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  46. I Like! Two Brothers: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  47. Clash! Christmas Final Battle!!: written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
  48. Year-Ending Biolon Extermination Party!: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
  49. Devastated Jiban Base: written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Michio Konishi
  50. Tie Both Lines and Points: written by Kenichi Araki, directed by Michio Konishi
  51. Slash the Illusion Mayumi!: written by Noboru Sugimura and Kenichi Araki, directed by Akihisa Okamoto
  52. The Final Battle of Love!!: written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Akihisa Okamoto

Film

A movie for the series, entitled The Mobile Cop Jiban: Great Explosion at the Monster Factory of Fear, was released on July 15, 1989 as part of the 1989 "Manga Matsuri" Special Festival.
  • Written by Noboru Sugimura
  • Directed by Michio Konishi

Cast

  • Naoto Tamura
Hiroshi Tokoro
  • Doctor Kenzo Igarashi
Hajime Izu
  • Doctor Giba
Leo Meneghetti
  • Mayumi Igarashi/Midori Hayakawa
Konomi Mashita
  • Youko Katagiri
Michiko Enokida
  • Ryo Hayakawa
Ryohei Kobayashi
  • Seiichi Yanagida
Akira Ishihama
  • Marsha
Ami Kawai
  • Karsha
Akemi Kogawa
  • Narrator
Toru Ohira
  • Kiyoshiro Muramatsu
Kunio Konishi
  • Mad Garbo
Kazuko Yanaga
  • Queen Cosmos
Yoko Asakura

Voice Actors

  • Doctor Giba
Shōzō Iizuka
  • Boy
Kazue Ikura
  • Harry→'Harry Boy'
Aya Mizoguchi

Songs

;Opening theme
  • "Kidō Keiji Jiban"
  • *Lyrics
Keisuke Yamakawa
  • *Composition
Kisaburō Suzuki
  • *Arrangement
Kazuya Izumi
  • *Artist
Akira Kushida
;Ending theme
  • "Ashita Yohō wa Itsumo Hare"
  • *Lyrics
Keisuke Yamakawa
  • *Composition
Kisaburō Suzuki
  • *Arrangement
Kazuya Izumi
  • *Artist
Akira Kushida

Broadcasts and home video

  • In its home country of Japan, the series originally aired on TV Asahi and other ANN affiliates for 52 episodes starting from January 29, 1989 and concluded on January 28, 1990. Many years later, Toei started releasing the series on DVD from June 21, 2009, to October 21, 2009 throughout five volumes. Each volume is two discs and contains 10 episodes, while volumes 3 and 4 contained 11 episodes each. The series can now be streamed on Toei's YouTube channel called "Toei Tokusatsu Official".
  • Brazil was the first country in the world outside of Japan to air the series internationally. It aired with a Brazilian Portuguese dub on the now-extinct Rede Manchete in January of 1990 and was aired as Policial de Aço Jiban. In addition, this is the entry within the Metal Hero franchise that arrived the fastest in the country, as the network began broadcasting the first episode while the very last episode was being aired in Japan. The dub was produced by Álamo and licensed by Everest Vídeo do Brasil. For years in despite of the series being wildly popular and successful in the region, only the first 50 episodes were included as for cost reasons, the last two episodes were not picked up, leaving the series incomplete for more than two decades. It was not until 2011, when Dubrasil dubbed the final two episodes as the series eventually received a full DVD release with the original Japanese audio and Brazilian Portuguese dub audio on that same year by Focus Filmes with all 52 episodes included and was also made available on Amazon Prime Video in July 2019 by Sato Company as they currently are the license holders of this series for the region, since 2015.
  • In France, the series aired as simply Jiban on TF1 on the Club Dorothée block on August 24, 1990, with a French dub produced by Arachnée and originally licensed by AB Groupe. But only the first 26 episodes were aired and dubbed. It also aired on cable in 2001 on Mangas.
  • In Spain, the series aired with a Castillian Spanish dub in 1991 on TVE 2 airing as simply Jiban.
  • In Latin America, the series aired on various channels starting from 1991 with a Latin Spanish dub produced by Coral Pictures with dubbing work in Venezuela by Lips Studio.
  • In Thailand, the series aired with a Thai dub on Channel 9 and later rebranded as MCOT HD.
  • In the Philippines, the series aired with a Tagalog dub on IBC-13 from 1992-1996 and GMA-7 from 1998 to 1999, but ran up to 10 out of 52 episodes due to incompletion.
  • In Indonesia, it aired on Indosiar with an Indonesian dub in 1996. It also aired on TV 7.
  • In North America, Discotek Media got the rights to release the series on Blu-Ray SD Format, containing all 52 episodes in the original Japanese audio with English subtitles on July 30, 2024.