ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the golden age of tokusatsu superhero programs in the socio-political context of the early 1970s, a time of momentous change for Japanese society. Since the debut of the prototypical tokusatsu superhero franchise Moonlight Mask in 1958, the genre had centered on invincible superheroes and had portrayed justice in absolutist terms. The grotesque characteristics central to the 1970s tokusatsu superhero reverse the conventional relationship between superhero and villain. As the grand narratives of modern nation state became less effective, grotesque heroes appeared, asking people to reevaluate their cultural assumptions about justice. Kikaider was paradigmatic of Ishinomori's work in the 1970s henshin boom, during which he was director, author, and/or scriptwriter for over twenty tokusatsu superhero series. Following the huge success of Masked Rider, Toei produced forty-three episodes of Kikaider. Kikaider plotlines center on an ongoing epic battle between Kikaider and DARK, a villainous organization attempting to conquer the world with robotic monsters and android soldiers.
