Super Sentai Chōjin Sentai Jetman: The Complete Series

Shout! Factory has been releasing original Japanese versions of the formulaic TV fantasy-action Sentai shows that would later (or concurrently) be adapted, with Western actors and English dialogue inserts, as the various Power Rangers superhero adventures. Compared to the 14 (!) earlier Sentai series, Chōjin Sentai Jetman (1991-92) is Nippon kitsch of a rare level, its garish costumes and plotlines verging on surrealism. In the late 20th century, an attempt by a space-going force to create "Jetman"—a quintet of mystic bird-warriors (who use "birdonic" waves)—is interrupted by an attack from the Vyram, interdimensional superbeings who are determined to destroy/bedevil/humiliate all of humanity. The wayward birdonic powers enter one of the intended space-cadets, but the other four team members who receive the powers randomly range from a nerdy gardener to a cycle-riding bad-boy type. There are various character conflicts, a love triangle, and even apparent betrayal as the team faces such bizarre Vyram-spawned creatures as a humanoid cup of ramen noodles, a giant armadillo with a spotlight, and a two-legged piranha with a cannon that looks like a piranha (that shoots missiles that also look like piranhas). Some "dimension beasts" are actually nice guys, sort of (such as the walking blow-dryer), and the greatest weirdness finds the Jetman heroes stuck in the afterlife, trying to escape from Hell. The moral complexities and overall ambiance trend closer to Japanese anime here than in many other Sentai series, and that is a compliment. Compiling all 51 episodes (presented in Japanese with English subtitles), this is recommended. Aud: P. (C. Cassady)