Kikaider was a Japanese television franchise, created by Shotaro Ishinomori, featuring the main character Kikaider. It aired for the first time in July 1972 and ran for 43 episodes.
The series was originally a live-action tokusatsu series, as was its sequel, Kikaider 01. A manga drawn by Ishinomori was eventually published, introducing Kikaider 00. A 13-episode anime and 4-episode OVA based on the manga were created in 2001.
Ishinomori used the stories of Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio, the basis for Astro Boy, as a tribute to its creator, Osamu Tezuka, Ishinomori’s mentor. Cyborg 009 is an influence for this franchise. Other bases for Kikaider included Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, as the inspiration for his science fiction action story.
Kikaida assumes the human form of Jiro, he is an android built by Dr. Kohmyoji to stop DARK while protecting his creator’s children Mitsuko and Masaru Kohmyoji. Unlike other robots, Kikaider possesses morality from being installed with the GEMINI Conscience Circuit. But the circuit is incomplete and he is initially prone to suffer the effects of Professor Gill’s hypnotic flute until he is able to overpower its influence. Jiro also has a guitar and motorcycle called “Side Machine.”
Kikaider is half-blue and half-red is due to his incomplete GEMINI Conscience Circuit (he would be blue if it were complete since blue represents good and red represents evil). It is that later side, the dark side, that Professor Gill tries to exploit in him. In the OVA special The Boy with the Guitar: Kikaider vs Inazuman, Kikaider becomes completely red due to the submission chip installed by Professor Gill. In Kikaider Code 02, he was initially blue but his left side becomes red with transparent parts. When Hakaider ripped out some of the GEMINI system, Kikaider turned completely red.
Ogun Bat is a Japanese superhero created by Takeo Nagamatsu in 1931 and is considered to be the first Japanese superhero. The anime ran 52 episodes between April 1st 1967 and March 23rd Read more
Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger was Toei Company's 37th entry in its long-running Super Sentai Series. It aired from February 17th 2013 to February 9th 2014 for 49 episodes. Long ago in the Read more
Zorro's Fighting Legion is a 1939 Republic Pictures film serial consisting of twelve chapters. It features Reed Hadley as Zorro. The plot revolves around his alter-ego Don Diego's fight against Read more
Released in December 1980, Zork: The Great Underground Empire - Part I aka Zork I was an interactive fiction video game written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels and Tim Read more
Zoolander is back but a lot has happened since 2001! Rest assured the Ben Stiller comedy features familiar faces and a few new ones with plenty to get you excited. Read more
At a dinner party with their wives, NASA scientist Dr. Keith Ritchie (Tony Huston) reveals to his colleague Dr. Curt Taylor (John Agar) that he has secretly been in communication Read more
In Italy during World War II, an American military patrol discovers a spaceship that has crash-landed in the woods, along with its alien crew. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm9fnNfLg8M A nearby Nazi unit also Read more
Zone Fighter was a tokusatsu science fiction/superhero television series produced by Toho Company Ltd. It aired from April 2nd 1973 to September 24th 1973, with a total of 26 episodes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdhcjsVLDQY The series follows Read more
When the government's latest crime deterrent, obmoz, goes completely off the rails and starts to destroy everything from the underfunded super team Planetronix to the president himself, who ya gonna Read more
Tony Todd is back in an all new zombie movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBlWz-n-nec When the world is in shambles, plagued by a zombie outbreak, only the strong will survive, but just how Read more
Directed by Chris Watson and distributed by Troma Entertainment, Zombiegeddon begins as Satan creates a human-like race called zombies. When the zombies begin taking over the world, dirty cops Jeff Read more
Zombie Hotel ran for twenty-six episodes in 2006 and focuses on Fungus and Maggot - two child zombies who pretend to be human to get into their local school. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzXhCDspKxU Read more
After surviving the 'Multipocalypse', Ben tries to live a normal life, hiding the fact that he is infected with a zombie plague. His new friends have just found out ... Read more
A dutiful Samurai, a madcap Ninja and a bizarro Zen Monk team up to battle the undead in Feudal Japan. Can these unlikely allies stay friends long enough to stop Read more
Based on Marilyn Sadler and Roger Bollen's book of the same name, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century was directed by Kenneth Johnson and set in the year 2049. It Read more
Arriving in 2010, Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City was the sequel for 2004's Zebraman, and starred Show Aikawa once again as Shinichi Ichikawa/Zebraman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqnYJugzaiU As the film opens it Read more
Directed by Takashi Miike, Zebraman follows Shinichi Ichikawa (Shô Aikawa), a man whose life is unravelling before his eyes. At work he is a failing school teacher and at home he Read more
Ryan Reynolds announced via Twitter that Zazie Beets (Atlanta) will play Domino in the upcoming Deadpool sequel: https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/839947701487796224 Deadpool 2 will be directed by David Leitch (John Wick), with original Deadpool scripters Rhett Reese Read more
Zardoz, often referred to as "the one where James Bond is in his pants," is set in a future post-apocalypse Earth in the year 2293. By this point in history Read more
Brett Summers
Founded Cult Faction in 2014. Some would describe him as a teacher, writer, dream weaver, and visionary... some would not...
More Stories
A for Andromeda (1961)
TekWar
Dark Skies