DVD jacket art by Dan Wheelan!


Dan also designed the 20-page liner notes booklet, while I wrote the words.

Go to my blog THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND GODZILLA to read about the upcoming release of this very cool series!

Well, I was skeptical about IRON KING, but ended up picking it up anyway on Augusts and others rec and...it was basically the best one of these shows I've ever seen. (I grew up watching SPECTREMAN? I was totally robbed!). My son says when he grows up he plans to make a second season of the show. And a LEGO version. I put a review up here.

So I guess I have to get SUPER ROBOT RED BARON next, whether I want to or not. I just don't see how it can be better than IRON KING, but I guess we'll see.

-- Peter

Great review -- glad you enjoyed this series from the Golden Age of Japanese Superheroes! As for having a disclaimer, the packaging does state "Unrated" (which doesn't tell you anything, but it doesn't tell you that it's G-Rated, either). There were a number of things permitable in Japanese Children's Television in the 1960s and 1970s (there are episodes of ULTRAMAN where the characters smoke and drink, BTW), which are not evident today -- and while the new shows are certainly still light years more sophisticated than American Children's Television, they did go through the Japan PTA ringer in the 1980s.

RED BARON is made for a general audience ("It's heart is for the entire family"), but while there's violence a-plenty and a character or two who smokes occasionally, there are scenes where the young characters are told they shouldn't drink until their old enough! :)

SILVER MASK is told in two parts; the first is straight ahead science fiction and is very dark at times, while the second-half is more in the ULTRAMAN vein.

Are these dubbed, subbed or both?

Darren -- subbed only, I'm afraid. I almost let that deter me but I'm very glad I didn't.

August -- thanks for the additional info. I've been thinking that I'll like SILVER MASK quite a bit from your comments in the DVD insert that came with IRON KING, though maybe it won't be for the family. SUPER ROBOT will definitely be scheduled for family viewing. And thanks for the vice warning. Not a huge deal, really, but because Gentaro at that point in the series could do no wrong in my son's eyes, I had to stop and think about the implications.

The "smoking" episode (12, I believe) is a real trip compared to the rest and almost has a sort of sleazy 70s sexploitation vibe, as if a gang of school girl bikers were going to show up at any moment to have a knife fight and tear at each other's clothes. I'm sure that was just my sense from watching too many of the Panik House releases in a row not long ago, and viewers without that context wouldn't make the connection.

Anyway, when Gentaro smoked again, in one of the last episodes, I just casually commented, "Oh, I thought he quit." And my son replied, "Yeah. He's still trying." And so we invented a narrative that keeps him one of the good guys, at least in the eyes of a seven year old.

Hey, I thought I was damn clever.

-- Peter

Are these series sold in regular outlets, like Best Buy, Circuit City, FYE? Or Kim's Video in NYC? I've been avoiding going into these places, to save money, but I want to get "Iron King." Tower Records used to be a good outlet for this kind of show, but they're all gone, at least in NYC.

Thanks.

I've seen IRON KING at BB, and the price was reasonable (about 24.99?). It's in their Sci-Fi section. This being BB, you might find it in the anime section...

Peter, thanks for sharing that story. :)

Many of these series are being brought to North America for the first time, so they were never dubbed in the first place. Other series, like SPECTREMAN, were heavily edited and dubbed, so its twelve of one and a half-dozen of the other. Personally, I'd rather have the uncut, original Japanese versions. But, that's just me.

IRON KING, RED BARON, et. al., are being released by BCI, who are in with brick-and-mortars like Best Buy, and should also be available through many other retailers -- these aren't speciality items, they are mainstream releases. The more we support them, the more that BCI will allow to be licensed. These are also widely available online. Deep Discount seems to have the best prices.

Now, if you like these series, you might enjoy KIKAIDA (1972-73), KIKAIDA 01 (1973-74) and KAMEN RIDER V3 (1973-74), all available from Honolulu-based JN Productions (a leader in English subtitled Japanese programming for more than 30 years), via their Generation Kikaida moniker. These are all digitally remastered, with two sets of English subtitles (one for kids and one for us), lots of special features and bonus materials. These guys are producing the best presented DVDs out there. Check them out at http://www.generationkikaida.com

(Right now, we are prepping another classic 1970s series for release, which will be formally announced in May.)

My author copies of RED BARON came via FedEx today! The packing looks tremendous and so does the liner notes booklet! :)

Just popped in an episode and these are from the Japanese DVD masters and look freaking amazing -- much better quality than the masters for IRON KING. Super kick ass! And it's a trip to see my English Subtitles on-screen... such a feeling of satisfaction! :)

Here's a fan's quick review of this release from "Spoiler II":

"My 4 1/2 month old sat on my lap and watched RED BARON in some sort of trance like state. She rarely sits still but I think the fast moving action and sound FX had her mesmerized. I have bought every series released so far and will continue to do so until that damn one-two punch of ULTRA Q and BAROM finally see the light of day. haha. I must also note that i am picking up a certain Tsuburaya bio I ordered the other day from a local store. Between that, watching RED BARON and winning some vintage Shogun Warrior stuff on eBay, I am completely wallowing in nerdery of the highest order."

GET RED BARON TODAY!

Well, we've finally finished both volumes of ULTRAMAN, so I went ahead and ordered RED BARON. It's listed at a ridiculously low $25.97 over at DVDplanet.

-- Peter