is a Japanese tokusatsu television series produced by Toei Company. It is the fifteenth entry of the Super Sentai metaseries, following the previous series Chikyu Sentai Fiveman. The series aired on TV Asahi on February 15, 1991, to February 14, 1992, with a total of 51 episodes replacing Chikyu Sentai Fiveman and was replaced by Kyà Âryà « Sentai Zyuranger. It was the last Sentai series until Ressha Sentai ToQger to not get adapted into a Power Rangers series. It was also the first series to have a third robot, Tetraboy and paid tribute to the anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman and the US teen drama movie: The Breakfast Club. The international English title is listed by Toei as simply Jetman.
Shout! Factory released this series in North America on September 25, 2018. This is the 10th incarnation of Super Sentai to be released in North America and was the first series released that did not have a Power Rangers counterpart.
This series takes place in 199X. On the Earth Ship, the command center of a defense agency called Sky Force, the guardians of peace on Earth, scientists have developed "Birdonic Waves", a newly developed technology that gives the subject superhuman abilities. Experiments called "J-Project" were successful. Aya Odagiri, the director of the project, chooses five elite Sky Force officials from Earth to use this technology. Ryu Tendo, one of the Sky Force officers, is successfully exposed to the Birdonic Waves, making him the first Jetman, the Red Hawk.
However, the Earth Ship is suddenly attacked by Vyram, an evil outer-dimensional organization bent on inter-dimensional domination. They successfully destroy the ship, apparently killing Ryu's lover and fellow candidate member Rie. In the chaos, the remaining Birdonic Waves for the other four officials become scattered on Earth, hitting four civilians. Odagiri and Tendo successfully escape and begin searching on Earth for the four remaining Jetmen, training them to aid them in stopping Vyram's plans of conquering their dimension.
The series later follows the tribulations of Ryu as he learns of Rie's survival and enlistment in the Vyram forces, as well as a love triangle between Gai, Ryu, and Kaori.
is the military organization the Jetmen belong to.
Based at the , a high-tech base provided by the Sky Force, the eponymous Jetmen are five people who gain superhuman strength through exposure to : one intentionally and four accidentally. They utilize the bracelet to transform. While transformed, the Jetmen are clad in wingsuit-like uniforms known as whose pair of allow them to glide in the air. They also each carry a , a , and a , the latter two of which can combine to form the . Each Jetman later gains a handgun, which can combine with the Bird Blaster to form the rifle.
/, born on May 10, 1965, is 25 years old at the beginning of the series, but his 26th birthday occurs in episode 13. He is originally a Sky Force soldier codenamed "W6" and leader of the Jetmen. Being the only member of the Jetmen who is of military background, his policy is to be always professional and never let feelings affect himself in battle, and he expects the same from his teammates. This leads to a conflict when he discovers that his beloved Rie has become Maria, eventually coming to terms with the revelation as he resolves to save Rie from the Vyram control. However, Rie's death at the hands of his nemesis Radiguet proves to be the last straw, causing him to challenge Radiguet alone before Kaori consoles Ryu and encourages him to stay true to his own belief in justice rather than revenge. Three years later, he marries Kaori.
Ryu Tendo is portrayed by .
/ is the 26-year-old second-in-command of the Jetmen and a loner who hates being told what to do. Gai loves challenges and risks and is a womanizer and an avid if occasional gambler. his fighting styles are street fighting and mixed martial arts: his combat skills match those of Ryu, though he fights dirty and hits below the belt sometimes. He initially clashes with the straight-laced Ryu when drafted against his will but eventually comes to respect Ryu's largely principled disposition (Ryu falters only over the issue of his lost girlfriend, something Gai, being a womanizer, can sympathize with), ultimately becoming friends with him. He loves Kaori and often tries to flirt with her, leading to much frustration due to his initially unreciprocated feelings. When she finally accepts him, they frequently have problems in their relationship as they are too different. He later develops a rivalry with Vyram general Grey. He defeats Grey in their final encounter, in which a part of his helmet was damaged. Three years after Vyram's defeat, while buying a bouquet for Ryu and Kaori's wedding, he intervenes in a robbery and is stabbed in the stomach for the trouble. He makes it to the church after the wedding and talks to Ryu before he dies of his wound, passing it off as a hangover, satisfied that everyone he cares for has found happiness. In the manga, his position on the team is taken by Jeffrey Kensaki, a new hero who takes on the powers of Green Eagle.
Gai Yuki is portrayed by .
/ is a 22-year-old large-framed, eyeglasses-wearing nature lover who enjoys vegetables and hates Vyram for their destruction of nature. He was raised by his grandmother, Kiyo, because his parents were busy running a restaurant. He harbors a crush for Kaori, vowing to be there for her even if he has no chance with her, although eventually, his ultimate subject of affection turns out to be his childhood friend, Satsuki. As Yellow Owl, he specializes in raw strength techniques like head butts, body blows, sumo-based techniques, and hurling boulders. Three years after Vyram is defeated, he runs a farm with Satsuki.
Raita Oishi is portrayed by , who is credited under .
/ is the 22-year-old heiress of the Rokumeikan Enterprises empire. She is taken care of by her butler, , since her parents reside in New York City. She becomes a Jetman to escape the boredom of her heiress life. She is good at Kendo and is the best shot among the Jetmen. She was in the middle of a love triangle with Ryu and Gai. She was also learning through hardships brought on by her new profession as it clashed with her life as a spoiled rich girl while figuring out what are truly important to herself. She was once engaged to a wealthy businessman named Soichiro Kitaoji and was close to marrying him, but she quickly ended their relationship when she saw his selfishness in contrast to her team's selfless determination as warriors of justice. She does sometimes use her wealth to help the team, like when she purchased a large number of diamonds and other jewels to try and snap Ako out of the curse of the dimensional monster Diamond Dimension. At the end of the series, she marries Ryu.
Kaori Rokumeikan is portrayed by .
/ is an 18-year-old senior student at Miharakita High School and a bright and cheerful girl who wants to marry a rich man. She first thought of being a Jetman as just a high-paying job, but her first battle helps her sense of justice take hold and makes her realize that she must use her newfound power to protect Earth. She is best friends with her classmate, Kyoko, who learns of her true identity during the Voice Dimension incident. From the Trash Dimension incident, the monster being her childhood toy Teddy, Ako learns of how wasteful humans can be. She debuts as an idol singer three years after the fall of Vyram.
Ako Hayasaka is portrayed by .
is the first female commander in the Super Sentai franchise. She is good at martial arts, and the inventor of the team vehicles. She is both caring and stern to the Jetmen, and she is not above fighting alongside those under her charge and even personally covering their maneuvers if necessary. As befitting to her status as the Jetmen's commanding officer, her subordinates call her simply . She is also an able pilot, having flown Sky Force aircraft and even Jet Garuda on two occasions.
Aya Odagiri is portrayed by .
Supreme Commander Ichijo is portrayed by .
, J1 through J5, are a team created by Supreme Commander Akira Ichiro to replace the Jetmen, having Birdonic Reactors implanted in bodies, bypassing the need for regular exposure to Birdonic Waves. J1, J2, and J4 wield the , the kusarigama, and the bladed boomerang respectively. All five wield handguns and grenades, and their group attack is the Flare Buster twin cannon. They eventually give the Birdonic energies to the original Jetmen in order to restore their powers.
J1, J2, J3, J4, and J5 are portrayed by , who later went on to play Geki/Tyranno Ranger in Kyà Âryà « Sentai Zyuranger, , , , and , who is credited under é·é ç¾Âç±樹 that shares the same reading, respectively.
Ru and Duran are portrayed by and respectively.
The appears as a clan of outer-dimensional nobles, who conquered many worlds in the Reverse Dimension, and are now moving on to Front Dimension, ours. They boast about having achieved godhood, while they despise humans and see them as stupid and worthless. Their base of operations is the , a brain-shaped castle capable of traversing dimensions and sending its forces to Earth due to its Dimensional Transfer Machine. After their leader got lost in the Reverse Dimension, its four leading members compete in a game to defeat the Jetmen with the prize being full-leadership. Tran eventually becomes powerful enough to assume command, but is deposed by Radiguet, who leads Vyram up to its destruction.
The are monsters that are created when a Dimensional Bug fuses with any material and are used by the Dimensional War Party Vyram. If the Dimensional Bug survives the Dimensional Beasts' destruction, it can revive it at giant-size.
The following villains are not part of the Dimensional War Party Vyram.
Chojin Sentai Jetman is the first Sentai series that paid homage to another show, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman with the same birds and the Jet Garuda being a clear influence of God Phoenix. There is also some influence from the 1985 American movie The Breakfast Club. Ryu wears a sports jacket very similar to Andy and is also the more athletic of the group, Kaori, the princess, like Claire; Raita the geek, like Brian; Gai, the bad boy, like John; Ako the greedy girl similar to Allison being a Kleptomaniac. Developed before the ending of Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman, Toei chose Keita Amemiya to be the series' director and searched for actors who would play the main characters. One of them was Toshihide Wakamatsu who would go on to play Gai Yuki/Black Condor. Before the series, the members were all referred to by their color but both Amemiya and Suzuki said that "this [was] unnatural" and decided the characters to refer to each other by their names instead of their colors. Episodes without the characters transforming and fighting were also proposed but was opposed by Bandai until the later half of the series.
The more mature themes such as drama, romantic love triangles and tragedy were in the series' after Takeyuki Suzuki watched Tosho Daimos, and wanted to capture its "high romance". Both the comedy and dramatic tones influenced the series' overall popularity and had become its defining part.
Following the conclusion of the TV series, the series main screenwriter, Toshiki Inoue, wrote a trilogy of Jetman novels from 1992 to 1995 that retold the events of the TV series. The novels were written specifically for adult fans of the TV series and included mature content, such as detailed descriptions of sexual intercourse between Ryu and Rie, Gai and Kaori, and Radiguet and Maria. Empress Jà «za, a one-off villain in the series, had an extended role while the Dimensional Beasts and giant robots were eliminated, with the Jetmen fighting humans subjected to the Vyram's experiments instead.
A manga sequel to Jetman was published in 1996 authored by Akiko Fujii, in cooperation with the series' writing team (still under the Saburo Yatsude pen name). It was titled . Set five years after the series (and, therefore, two years after the story ends), it shows the four remaining Jetmen rejoining to battle a revived Radiguet, who had possessed Tranza's broken body. Radiguet kidnaps Ryu and Kaori's one-year-old daughter Aya Tendo and, much in the same way he turned Rie into Maria before, he accelerates her growth and brainwashes her into becoming Ruma, whom he considers a daughter. Meanwhile, Gai's empty spot in the team is filled by a young rock guitarist called , who is empowered by Birdonic Waves after a meteorite crashes next to him, and becomes whose suit is Green instead of Black. In this manga series, the Jetmen uniform is slightly different, with the helmets more closely resembling those of Gatchaman (translucent, protruding visors, and uncovered faces).
A video game version of Chojin Sentai Jetman was released for the Famicom on December 21, 1991. The game was published by Angel Time (a subsidiary of Bandai) and developed by Natsume. It is a single-player side-scrolling action game where the player assumes role one of the Jetmen members as they fight against the forces of Vyram. The player can choose which Jetman they want to control at the start of each stage, each having their own weapon and maximum hit points:
The initial five stages, Area A to Area E, can be played in any order, while the sixth and final stage, Area F, becomes available once the others have cleared. Each stage begins with a standard side-scrolling level in which the player fight their way to the end of the level in order to reach the stage's boss. Each Jetman has three types of attack: a weapon attack, a kick, and a special attack that destroys all enemies, but can only be used once (unless a replenishment is found). The boss segments consists of one-on-one battles between the team's giant robot, the Great Icarus, and a giant monster (all of them based on monsters from the show). The player has a four-level power gauge that will gradually fill up during the course of battle, which can be used to perform one of four possible special attacks.
The following is a list of bosses in the game and the stages where they appear:
The game features four difficulty settings, a password option, and a Battle Mode where the player can fight against any of the first five bosses.