Dengeki Sentai Changeman
Dengeki Sentai Changeman is a Japanese television series and the ninth installment of the Super Sentai metaseries. It aired from February 2, 1985 to February 22, 1986, running for 55 episodes, making it the second longest after Himitsu Sentai Goranger. It is the third Super Sentai series after J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai and Battle Fever J where the Yellow Ranger is absent, followed by 2013's Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger and 2019's Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger.
Plot
After conquering hundreds of planets, the Star Clustere Gozma sets its sights on Earth. To defend it, the Japanese military forms an elite Earth Defense Force. Under Commander Ibuki, the force begins rigorous training.Meanwhile, as their first act, the Gozma decide to eliminate those who pose the greatest risk of interfering with their invasion: the military. After a brutal day of training, the Earth Defense Force recruits are fed up with Ibuki's cruel ways and leave the training session. Soon afterwards, they are attacked by Gozma troops. Five surviving officers gather together, beaten and exhausted but refusing to retreat from the threat. The Earth trembles, empowering them with the Earth Force, giving them the power of mythological beasts and becoming the Changeman. With the mystical power of the Earth Force and military technology, the Changeman begin their war against Gozma.
Characters
Changeman
The Changemen are all former members of the various branches of Japanese military who were hand picked by the Earth Defense Force to combat Gozma. As the Changemen, they derive their powers from a mysterious energy called Earthforce, which gives its users the power to protect Earth from any threat to it.- Hiryu Tsurugi/Change Dragon : Tsurugi, from Kōchi Prefecture, was previously an officer in the Japanese Air Force before becoming Change Dragon. Tsurugi is a passionate leader with a kind heart, often getting so focused on a task that he does not think of the possible danger he puts himself in to complete it. He is a sharpshooter and a skilled motorcycle driver. He was also his high school's best baseball player until an accident forced him to quit the game. As Change Dragon, Tsurugi is a master of airborne attacks as well as close-range and long-range attacks, even adding some of his baseball skills into his techniques.
- Sho Hayate/Change Gryphon : Hayate, from Aomori Prefecture, was previously a Japanese Army Ranger before becoming Change Gryphon. He's a narcissistic womanizer, often combing his hair before entering battle, though it's an exterior for his kind personality.
- Yuma Ozora/Change Pegasus : Ozora was previously a Branch Officer in the Japanese Army before becoming Change Pegasus, serving as the group's tech member with the ability to tap into superhuman strength. As the youngest, he tends not to respect authority much and often associates himself with the children that the Changemen help. Ozora also has a dream to open up a tonkatsu shop after getting enough money to start it up.
- Sayaka Nagisa/Change Mermaid : Nagisa was previously a task force officer in the Japanese Army before becoming Change Mermaid. She is the team's strategist, and sometimes focuses too much on the etiquette of her fellow Changemen. However, Nagisa has a loving and caring aspect of her seen in animals and her feelings for Tsurugi.
- Mai Tsubasa/Change Phoenix : Tsubasa was previously a spy for the Japanese Army before becoming Change Phoenix. Like Tsurugi, she is also skilled at motorcycle driving. Though appearing to be a tomboy who is rough around the edges, Tsubasa is a caring figure and good friends with Nagisa despite their differences.
Arsenal
- Change Brace: The Changemen's transformation brace. The transformation call is "Let's Change!", followed by the name of the team or the transforming member. It can also fire a Change Laser.
- Change Sword: A sidearm with two modes: blaster and knight
- Dragon-Zooka: Change Dragon's Zooka weapon, which forms the Power Bazooka's body
- Gryphon-Zooka: Change Gryphon's Zooka weapon, which forms the Power Bazooka's front barrel
- Pegasus-Zooka: Change Pegasus' Zooka weapon, which forms the Power Bazooka's lower-body cover
- Mermaid-Zooka: Change Mermaid's Zooka weapon, which forms the Power Bazooka's targeting scope
- Phoenix-Zooka: Change Phoenix's Zooka weapon, which forms the Power Bazooka's upper-body cover
- Power Bazooka: The finishing cannon formed from the Changeman's Zooka weapons. Change Dragon supplies the shell, while Change Mermaid aims the weapon. On one occasion in Episode 7, it received a power-up. In Episode 36, the Changemen learned to infuse the Earth Force inside the shell to further enhance its power.
Vehicles
- Auto Changers: Each Changeman rides one of these motorcycles.
- Change Cruiser: 4WD for the quintet
- Jet Skis: Used in one episode during their clash with Ahames' forces in Nagasaki.
Mecha
- Shuttle Base: Modeled after the Space Shuttle, is the ship that transports the team's mecha to the danger zone, and is the first Terran-made carrier to travel into space.
- Change Robo:The team's robot. Change Dragon yells "Earth Conversion Start!" to begin the mecha's conversion, and then "Fusion, Earth Conversion" to combine them. It is armed with the Lightning Sword with its finishing attacks like Super Thunderbolt, Windmill Cut, and Swallow Return. Its other weapons are the Change Shield, which acts as the Lightning Sword's sheath, Change Robo Missile, Change Vulcans shoulder cannons, and Change Robo Flash, which is a beam that the robo fires from its eyes.
- *Jet Changer I: Change Dragon's mecha, which forms Change Robo's head and lower body. It is stored in Shuttle Base's fuselage, with wings and rudders retracted. It appeared again in Gaoranger vs Super Sentai.
- *Heli Changer II: A helicopter piloted by Change Gryphon and Change Mermaid, it forms Change Robo's torso and arms. It is stored in back of Shuttle Base, behind Jet Changer I.Mai once took it for a joyride.
- *Land Changer III: A cruiser piloted by Change Pegasus and Change Phoenix, it forms Change Robo's legs. It is stored in halves in back of Shuttle Base, with Heli Changer II between the two halves.
Allies
- Commander Ibuki: The leader of the EDF who seems cruel at first but has a caring side too. He is eventually revealed to be Yui Ibuki of Planet Heath which was destroyed by Gozma.
- Soldiers: A group of people from various military organization like the Changeman, who function as the team's support. They help out the Changeman in certain situations.
- *Captain Inogoro: An EDF mechanic who works on the Auto Changers
Aliens
- Nana: A young girl from the planet Rigel with superhuman abilities. She is used in tipping the scales for Gozma for when Rigelian girls reach an age they release a massive energy which would give power to whoever is caught in its path. Though aged by 20 years old thanks to Giluke's scheme to become stronger, Nana gains telepathic abilities along with heighten physical abilities.
- Sakura: An alien from Planet Merle
- Volta An alien from Planet Tora
- Shinpei Mizuhara: A boy who has the blood of.
- Zoorii and Waraji: Gaata's wife and son. Their role in the plot grows towards the end of the series because Waraji is able to play in his ocarina a tune which induces homesickness on space creatures, and is eventually used against Gozma members themselves, causing them to target the boy, who angrily breaks the ocarina and storms off, declaring he has no father. Zoorii, in the meantime, becomes pregnant with her and Gaata's daughter, forcing him to abandon Gozma for good.
Star Cluster Gozma
- Star King Bazeu : Bazeu is the leader of Gozma who only appears to his followers as a giant blue limbless torso, which is an illusion created by his true form: the living planet Gozma Star who absorbs other worlds throughout its interstellar conquest of the universe. Though he spares some planets, Bazeu uses them as a means to intimidate his minions with their destruction as both a drafting method and to ensure no failure. He manages to approach Earth undetected by hiding himself into the tail of Halley's Comet, but is ultimately destroyed by the Changemen after they ride Change Robo deep onto his body and destroy its core.
- General Girook : Originally from Planet Girath, Girook is the invasion leader and secretly plots on overthrowing Bazeu, his first attempt ending in failure. He uses a sword made for the strongest warrior from his homeworld. After being killed, he comes back as Ghost Girook and then force grows Nana to be endowed with the backlash of her energies to become Super Girook before becoming the Space Beast Warrior Girath and is finally defeated by the Changemen.
- Adjutant Booba : Booba is a former space pirate who has been conscripted to be one of Girook's lieutenants. Armed with the Buldobas Sickle, Booba was Change Dragon's rival. Eventually, learning of the brain washing he went through after seeing his former love, Booba helps free Sheema from Gozma's control before dying in a duel against Change Dragon.
- Adjutant Sheema : Sheema is the former princess of Planet Amanga, whose people are able to fight with psychic powers called Amanga Energy. When her planet was conquered, she was taken in by a Space Beast Warrior named Wuba and raised on its milk, turning her into a cold warrior with a deep male voice and no memories of her past. Thanks to Booba, she manages to return to her former self and joins forces with the Changemen.
- Queen Ahames : Ahames is the former queen of Planet Amazo who joined with Giluke in his attempt to overthrow Bazeu. After the attempt failed, Ahames's whereabouts were unknown until she arrives to Earth. After Giluke is killed the first time, she takes over as the leader of Gozma's forces until his return. With all her minions defeated or defected, she was transformed into a Space Beast by Super Girook, and used her newfound powers to pinpoint the Changemen's secret base. Regaining her original form, but not her sanity, she destroys the base completely, killing herself in the process.
- Navigator Gator : Gator the navigator of the Gozmard, originally from the planet Navi. He reluctantly joins Gozma for the safety of his family, and also for the sake of his family, he eventually defects, siding with the Changemen though the rest of the series.
- Gyodai : A one-eyed creature from the planet of the same name who is used by Gozma to enlarge its minions. Left alone into a derelict Gozmard, he is rescued by the Changemen and aids them in the final battle against Bazeu.
- Jangeran : Jangeran is Ahames' familiar. It is a twin-headed dragon whose left head fires a cone of ice while its right unleashes a torrent of flame. When Bazeu grows impatient with Ahames' lack of results against the Changemen, he splits Jangeran into two separate beings called Jan and Geran.
- Hidler Soldiers : Gozma's foot soldiers, these blue skinned aliens are feral creatures that use their talons as weapons. If wounded enough, a Hidler would bleed steam before evaporating within seconds.
Episodes
- "Arrival! The Secret Power!"
- "The Wrath of Star King Bazoo"
- "Scram! Soldier Group"
- "A Kiss After the Fight"
- "Pegasus Arrest Order"
- "The Targeted High-School Girls"
- "The Sad Space Soldier"
- "The Lady is a Vampire"
- "Shine! The Deadly Miracle Ball"
- "The Dreadful Driverless-Car Army"
- "S.O.S. Koko and Kiki"
- "Mama is Mermaid"
- "Papa Sells the Earth"
- "Attack! The Huge Lizards"
- "Reckless Rider Mai"
- "The Girl Who Had Wings"
- "Nagasaki's Mysterious Ghost Ship"
- "Ahames' Challenge"
- "Bet on Sayaka!"
- "Grand Counterattack! Giluke"
- "Gozma's Big Star"
- "The Soldier Who Disappeared Into a Mirror"
- "The Boy Who Rides Dolphins"
- "Runaway Gyodai"
- "Sing With a Great Voice"
- "Mai's 20-Year-Old First Love"
- "Gator's Dream of Parent and Child"
- "The Cursed Crayon"
- "Protect the Flower! Phantom Butterfly"
- "Run, Pegasus!"
- "Reveal It! The Mystery of Bazoo"
- "Nana: Dangerous Reunion"
- "The End of Girook?"
- "Ahames the Terrible"
- "Earth, Help Us!"
- "Behold Our Power!"
- "Missing Dragon"
- "Ghost Baseball"
- "Dreadful Hide-and-Seek"
- "Strange Candy"
- "The Missing Prince of the Stars"
- "Sailor-Suited Nana"
- "Super Giluke"
- "Leave it to Mai!"
- "The Rainbow-Colored Girl Ira"
- "Beautiful Sheema"
- "Gaata's Tears of Parent and Child"
- "Pirate Booba's Storm of Love"
- "The Sad Sheema Beast Soldier"
- "The Day Gozma Trembled"
- "Nana, Tell Him!"
- "Booba Dies on Earth"
- "Fiery Ahames"
- "Girook Grand Explosion"
- "Farewell, Space Friends"
Films
- Changeman theatrical short
- Changeman Shuttle Base! The Critical Moment!
Cast
- Hiryu Tsurugi: Haruki Hamada
- Sho Hayate: Kazuoki Takahashi
- Yuma Ozora: Shiro Izumi
- Sayaka Nagisa, Fake Sayaka and Icarus' mother : Hiroko Nishimoto
- Mai Tsubasa: Mai Oishi
- Chief Yui Ibuki: Jun Fujimaki
- Officer Suzuki: Genshu Suzuki
- Officer Shoji: Hirokazu Shoji
- Officer Watanabe: Minoru Watanabe
- Officer Nomoto: Nahoko Nomoto
- Officer Kikuchi: Kaori Kikuchi
- Waraji: Kazuhiko Ohara
- Nana: Tokie Shibata
- General Girook: Shohei Yamamoto
- Queen Ahames; Voice of Maze: Fukumi Kuroda
- Star King Bazeu: Kazuto Kuwabara
- Adjutant Booba: Yoshinori Okamoto
- Adjutant Sheema: Kana Fujieda
Voice actors
- Star King Bazeu: Seizō Katō
- Adjutant Sheema : Michiro Iida
- Navigator Gator: Hiroshi Masuoka
- Gyodai: Takeshi Watabe
- Zoorii: Makoto Kōsaka
- Narration: Nobuo Tanaka
Crew
- Directors: Minoru Yamada, Takao Nagaishi, Nagafumi Hori
- Writers: Hirohisa Soda, Kunio Fujii, Kyoko Sagiyama
- Action Directors: Junji Yamaoka, Ryoujirou Nishimoto
Songs