As the aphorism goes, from tiny acorns ... Television was supposed to be a disposable medium. Write it, shoot it, air it, as quickly and cheaply as possible, and hope plenty of people see it. Air it again in reruns, and then that was it. Into the round file. Next! Kikaida comeback
The TV series' first DVD
has vibrant colors and
a booming soundtrack
"Kikaida: Volume 1"
JN Productions; $24.95
By Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.com
But television proved to be insatiable. Mom-and-pop broadcast and cable stations stole the thunder of the big networks and aired products over and over and over. People began watching all day instead of just in the evenings. "I Love Lucy" became a cultural touchstone not because it was so great, but because it was one of the few comedies of the '50s committed to film instead of kinescope. And the original "Star Trek" became a phenomenon in syndication when it barely sizzled as prime-time network material.
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM The reason television shows look and sound so good today is because the producers have their eye on the long run. Quality sells. So does kitsch. There are some shows that were barely tolerable when they first aired that, nonetheless, struck a chord and became a treasured part of growing up. The biggest, by far, in Hawaii was "Kikaida," the half-robot, half-guitarist superhero who, week after week, jumped over foam-rubber archvillains. It was silly and stupid and totally engaging and pretty much introduced the world to the concept of anime.
JN Productions at KIKU-TV began airing "Kikaida" and "Kikaida 01" reruns a couple of years ago, and they've held on to their time slot despite pretty stiff Sunday night competition. The logical step was videotapes, which also did well, and now we have a DVD of the first five episodes that goes on sale today.
At least I think they're the first five episodes. They jump right into it without any heavy exposition, which is oblique and more subtle storytelling than I would have believed.
Kikaida buffs know the drill. Jiro, the Boy With the Red Guitar, shows up just as flute-playing Professor Gill's henchmen are about to conquer the world, or blow up a dam, or trash a hotel room, or something, and there are Keds-wearing acrobats leaping about, led by some creature in cheesy foam rubber. Kikaida kicks their butts and rides away into the sunset, accompanied by sad '60s Tijuana Brass music. It's the same every week.
The archnemesis in the five episodes on the DVD are Gray Rhino King, Green Mantis, Orange Ant, Blue Buffalo (yeah!) and Yellow Jaguar. The costumes get sillier as the series progresses.
The technical wizards at JN Productions digitally remastered the 16 mm Toei Co. film stock for the DVD edition. The colors are bright and creamy, and detail just pops off the screen. It isn't necessarily a good thing to see the zippers and Velcro on the monsters suits, but hey, that's part of the charm.
What is really striking and different, however, is the sound and music quality. The show's score was fairly vibrant to begin with, and now it just booms out of the speakers. It really creates a tremendous sense of presence and depth to the viewing experience.
Special features are pretty much limited to some simple cast and crew profiles, a choice between English and Japanese titles, and a KIKU-TV promotional spot. It's not as if there were any "making of" specials in the works when the show was originally filmed.
The shows are in Japanese with English subtitles in clear text. Interestingly, the Kikaida DVDs are coded for Region 1, meaning they won't play on DVD players in Japan (there are ways around that, though).
And so now we have a Kikaida for the ages, one that will last for generations and remain bright in our fading memories.
"One-two-three-changeeeeeee!"
The Kikaida DVD is available at all Tower Records, Borders, Sam Goody, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart, Shirokiya and Longs Drugs locations, and also at the Generation Kikaida online store at www.generationkikaida.com. For more information, call 836-0361.
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