Armored Police Metal Jack (Japanese: 機甲警察メタルジャック, Hepburn: Kikō Keisatsu Metaru Jakku) is a Japanese animated TV series produced by Sunrise, TV Tokyo and I&S BBDO. It was directed by Hiroshi Matsuzono and Kiyoshi Egami, with Hiroyuki Kawasaki handling series scripts, Yorihisa Uchida designing the characters, Yukihiro Makino designing the mechanical elements and Yasunori Iwasaki composing the music. The series was broadcast by TV Tokyo affiliates on the Monday 5:30PM time slot and aired weekly from April 7 to December 23, 1991, lasting 37 episodes.[2]
Armored Police Metal Jack | |
機甲警察メタルジャック (Kikō Keisatsu Metaru Jakku) | |
---|---|
Genre | Action, mecha, police |
Created by | Hajime Yatate |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Hiroshi Matsuzono (first half) Kiyoshi Egami (second half) |
Produced by | Yōichi Ikeda (Sunrise) Masashi Kanō (I&S) Shinsuke Kurabayashi (TV Tokyo) |
Written by | Hiroyuki Kawasaki |
Music by | Yasunori Iwasaki |
Studio | Sunrise Studio Deen (cooperation) |
Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo) |
Original run | April 8, 1991 – December 23, 1991 |
Episodes | 37 |
Novel series | |
Written by | Hiroyuki Kawasaki |
Illustrated by | Yorihisa Uchida |
Published by | Tairiku Shobo |
Imprint | Neo Fantasy Bunko |
Original run | February 20, 1992 – April 17, 1992 |
Volumes | 2 |
Game | |
Developer | KID |
Publisher | Takara Co., Ltd. |
Genre | War simulation |
Platform | Game Boy |
Released |
|
Game | |
Publisher | Atlus |
Genre | Beat 'em up |
Platform | Super Famicom |
Released |
Metal Jack was originally planned as a sequel to the live-action tokusatsu show Dennou Keisatsu Cybercop, but due to complications with the show's production, it was made into an animated series instead without any official ties to Cybercop. However, due to low viewership, the length of the show's run was shortened by thirteen episodes. Head writer Hiroyuki Kawasaki would later recycle some of the same situations from Metal Jack in Brave Police J-Decker. The show was also the debut of Nobutoshi Canna (who acted under the birth name of Nobutoshi Hayashi).
The setting is Tokyo City, one of the world's leading high-tech futuristic cities. In the near future, the world is filled with unprecedented murders, terrorist attacks, and cyber crimes that exceed the limits of what the police can expect. Masanao Daigo of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has been searching for the right people for the "Metal Project," a plan he has been developing for a long time.
One day, an army of Crime Mobiles, monster robots of the criminal organization "Id," appear at a party of the global Zaizen conglomerate and attack Jun Zaizen, the noble son of the conglomerate. Daigo is so impressed by the actions of Ken Kanzaki, a police detective, Ryō Aguri, an F1 racer, and Gō Gōda, a professional wrestler, who were seriously injured in an attempt to save him, that he reanimates them as cyborgs and gives them new bodies and missions as "Metal Jack," an armored police force, to reward their courage in the face of death.
Metal Jack daringly confronts all kinds of crimes. However, Id is always involved in the shadows.
The Jack Armors (ジャックアーマー) are the secondary equipment of the Metal Jacks, which are wore over the Jack Suits when facing an extremely dangerous threat. They are transmitted unto the Jack Suits by the Jack Braces when the command "Jack On!" is given. The Jack Armors are actually support robots or vehicles that are dismantled into upper and lower armor, as well as weapons when they transform. When wearing a Jack Armor, the wearer's uncovered portions will not suffer damage even if the armors are destroyed. However, due to the fact that the armors are neurally linked to their bodies, their arms will sustain injuries if they carry too much load.
# | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "First Battle" Transliteration: "Fāsuto batoru" (Japanese: ファーストバトル) | Yū Kō | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Hiroshi Matsuzono | 8 April 1991 |
2 | "Crystal Storm" Transliteration: "Kurisutaru sutōmu" (Japanese: クリスタルストーム) | Kazushige Takatō | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Kazushige Takatō | 15 April 1991 |
3 | "Panic Program" Transliteration: "Panikku puroguramu" (Japanese: パニックプログラム) | Kazunori Mizuno | Naruhisa Arakawa | Hideki Tonokatsu | 22 April 1991 |
4 | "Running Man" Transliteration: "Ranningu man" (Japanese: ランニングマン) | Yoshio Suzuki | Ryōe Tsukimura | Yoshio Suzuki | 29 April 1991 |
5 | "Power Fall" Transliteration: "Pawā fōru" (Japanese: パワーフォール) | Akihiko Nishiyama | Katsuhiko Chiba | Akihiko Nishiyama | 6 May 1991 |
6 | "Hot Blood" Transliteration: "Hotto buraddo" (Japanese: ホットブラッド) | Jun Kamiya | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Jun Kamiya | 13 May 1991 |
7 | "Top Secret" Transliteration: "Toppu shīkuretto" (Japanese: トップシークレット) | Takeshi Kabumoto | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Jūgo Ōizumi | 20 May 1991 |
8 | "Soldier Blues" Transliteration: "Sorujā burūsu" (Japanese: ソルジャーブルース) | Hideki Tonokatsu | Katsuhiko Chiba | Hideki Tonokatsu Yū Kō | 27 May 1991 |
9 | "Dead Heat" Transliteration: "Deddo hīto" (Japanese: デッド ヒート) | Masami Hayashi | Ryōe Tsukimura | Masami Hayashi | 3 June 1991 |
10 | "Metal Black (Part One)" Transliteration: "Metaru burakku (zenpen)" (Japanese: メタルブラック(前編)) | Akihiko Nishiyama | Ryōe Tsukimura | Akihiko Nishiyama | 10 June 1991 |
11 | "Metal Black (Part Two)" Transliteration: "Metaru burakku (kōhen)" (Japanese: メタルブラック(後編)) | Hideki Tonokatsu | Ryōe Tsukimura | Hideki Tonokatsu | 17 June 1991 |
12 | "Project Dark" Transliteration: "Purojekuto dāku" (Japanese: プロジェクトダーク) | Takeshi Kabumoto | Katsuhiko Chiba | Takeshi Kabumoto | 24 June 1991 |
13 | "Id the Crime Syndicate" Transliteration: "Hanzai soshiki Ido" (Japanese: 犯罪組織イド) | Yoshio Suzuki | Katsuhiko Chiba | Masami Hayashi | 1 July 1991 |
14 | "Lander Destruction Order" Transliteration: "Randā hakai shirei" (Japanese: ランダー破壊指令) | Hideki Tonokatsu | Satoshi Namiki | Hideki Tonokatsu | 8 July 1991 |
15 | "Idol Policewoman Eriko" Transliteration: "Aidoru fukei Eriko" (Japanese: アイドル婦警・えり子) | Takashi Kobayashi | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Takashi Kobayashi | 15 July 1991 |
16 | "The Dangerous Visitor" Transliteration: "Kiken na hōmonsha" (Japanese: 危険な訪問者) | Akihiko Nishiyama | Satoshi Namiki | Tsukasa Sunaga | 29 July 1991 |
17 | "The Future of Nightmares" Transliteration: "Akumu no mirai" (Japanese: 悪夢の未来) | Takeshi Kabumoto | Ryōe Tsukimura | Kōji Itō | 5 August 1991 |
18 | "Weak Point" Transliteration: "Wīku pointo" (Japanese: ウィーク・ポイント) | Hideki Tonokatsu | Katsuhiko Chiba | Yoshio Suzuki | 12 August 1991 |
19 | "Metal Jack Obliteration Order" Transliteration: "Metaru Jakku massatsu shirei" (Japanese: 機甲警察抹殺司令) | Akihiko Nishiyama | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Shinobu Nakamori | 19 August 1991 |
20 | "The Beautiful Female Scientist" Transliteration: "Utsukushiki onna kagakusha" (Japanese: 美しき女科学者) | Takashi Kobayashi | Ryōe Tsukimura | Shinya Sadamitsu | 26 August 1991 |
21 | "Death Red" Transliteration: "Desu Reddo" (Japanese: デス・レッド) | Takeshi Kabumoto | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Takeshi Kabumoto | 2 September 1991 |
22 | "Hyper Red" Transliteration: "Haipā Reddo" (Japanese: ハイパー・レッド) | Akihiko Nishiyama | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Hideki Tonokatsu | 9 September 1991 |
23 | "Jun Zaizen Assassination Order" Transliteration: "Zaizen Jun ansatsu shirei" (Japanese: 財前純 暗殺指令) | Jōjirō Okami | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Kazuo Tomizawa | 16 September 1991 |
24 | "Light vs. Darkness" Transliteration: "Hikari to yami no taiketsu" (Japanese: 光と闇の対決) | Takeshi Kabumoto | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Hidetoshi Ōmori | 23 September 1991 |
25 | "At the End of the Struggle..." Transliteration: "Shitō no hate ni..." (Japanese: 死闘の果てに……) | Akihiko Nishiyama | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Yasunao Aoki | 30 September 1991 |
26 | "The Recalled Past" Transliteration: "Yomigaeru kako" (Japanese: よみがえる過去) | Takeshi Kabumoto | Ryōe Tsukimura | Junji Nishimura | 7 October 1991 |
27 | "The Created" Transliteration: "Tsukurareshi mono-tachi" (Japanese: 創られし者たち) | Akihiko Nishiyama | Katsuhiko Chiba | Jōjirō Okami | 14 October 1991 |
28 | "Id's Revival" Transliteration: "Ido fukkatsu" (Japanese: イド復活) | Kazuya Miyazaki | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Kunihisa Sugishima | 21 October 1991 |
29 | "Mechanical Goddess Crola" Transliteration: "Kikai no megami Kurōra" (Japanese: 機械の女神クローラ) | Takeshi Kabumoto | Ryōe Tsukimura | Hidetoshi Ōmori | 28 October 1991 |
30 | "Five Minutes to Statute Expiration" Transliteration: "Jikō seiritsu 5-fun mae" (Japanese: 時効成立5分前) | Hisashi Abe | Katsuhiko Chiba | Ryūtarō Nakamura | 4 November 1991 |
31 | "Midday Lightning" Transliteration: "Mahiru no inazuma" (Japanese: 真昼の稲妻) | Yoshio Suzuki | Ryōe Tsukimura | Kiyoshi Egami | 11 November 1991 |
32 | "Racer Report" Transliteration: "Rēsā ripōto" (Japanese: レーサー・リポート) | Akihiko Nishiyama | Katsuhiko Chiba | Atsuko Kase | 18 November 1991 |
33 | "The Steel Rose" Transliteration: "Hagane no bara" (Japanese: 鋼のバラ) | Mihiro Yamaguchi | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Atsuko Kase | 25 November 1991 |
34 | "Millennium City" Transliteration: "Mireniamu shiti" (Japanese: ミレニアム・シティ) | Takeshi Kabumoto | Ryōe Tsukimura | Hidetoshi Ōmori | 2 December 1991 |
35 | "In Search of Stolen Time" Transliteration: "Ubawareta toki o motomete" (Japanese: 奪われた時を求めて) | Yoshio Suzuki | Katsuhiko Chiba | Hideki Tonokatsu | 9 December 1991 |
36 | "Showdown: Red vs. Jun" Transliteration: "Taiketsu Reddo VS Jun" (Japanese: 対決レッドVS純) | Akihiko Nishiyama | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Hideki Tonokatsu | 16 December 1991 |
37 | "Final Battle" Transliteration: "Fainaru batoru" (Japanese: ファイナルバトル) | Takeshi Kabumoto | Hiroyuki Kawasaki | Kiyoshi Egami | 23 December 1991 |
Takara released a set of action figures based on the show under a line called the "Armored Police Series". Each set came packaged with an action figure and a robotic partner or vehicle that could transform into powered suits worn by the figures. The available sets were Red Jack Armor, Silver Jack Armor, Blue Jack Armor, Shadow Jack Armor and Hyper Red Jack Armor. Model kits were also released of the five Jack Armors called the "Jack On Collection". Other toys were released by Takara, including toy versions of the Jack Chaser, Jack Braces and Buster Shot.
A CD single (Hold On), two albums (Just Dream On and PARTY JACK) and two drama CDs (Count Down and HARD PLAY) were released by King Records.
The series was gradually released on VHS and Laserdisc following its original airing by King Records. Ten volumes were released in total, with four episodes each for the first eight volumes, three episodes for Vol. 9 and two episodes and a special interview for Vol. 10. A later DVD set of all 37 episodes was released in Japan by King Records on June 7, 2006 to commemorate the show's 15th anniversary.