Revisiting Janperson

Recently, I've been rewatching my favorite tokusatsu series, Tokusou Robo (Robot Detective) Janperson. It's the 1993 installment of the defunct metal hero metaseries (this series includes Gavan, Shaider, Spielban and Beetle Fighter/Beetleborgs). I remember watching it on channels 5 and 13 back in the mid- to late 1990s here in Quezon City, so it was a memorable habit during that part of my life. I'll leave details about the series that I don't mention here to other bloggers, such as Sean Akizuki's, to fill in,

The Walker Gallia Mecha

A recent subject of my fascination is an old robot that I previously had no interest in, but after learning more, it grew on me. It's the Walker Gallia (sometimes spelled as Galliar) from the 1982 series Blue Gale Xabungle. It's the second mecha that the protagonist Jiron Amos uses in the series.

This robot may look ugly to some, but I like its brutish bulk. The head in reminiscent of the Zaku I from the Gundam series. Its looks are also more cartoonic than in other series, but I accept is as part of the series design. I hope to get the Real Robot Revolution version of this if I have money.

Armored hero with car theme

Just sharing a drawing of another original character. I plan to ink and color it later. This will go to Deviantart when it's done.

I tried to design his armor in a way that's like a car. Somewhat like a transformer. hehe

I have always liked the way the Japanese design their costumes in tokusatsu (live action science fiction shows). The design often combine particular motifs with aesthetic angles and shapes on the armor. The effect is, just as I said above - they look like transformers. Humanoid shapes with vehicle parts on them that fit. I am trying to capture that on my character designs.

Spiral Zone: Proudly made in Japan

One thing I discovered about the Spiral Zone series is that it was actually based on a Japanese series, also called Spiral Zone.

Here's the Japanese version of the Zone Runner, simply called the Monoseed:

Here's the basis for Commander Dirk Courage's Rimfire, the Monoseed 2:

And it even had SD (Super Deformed) toys!

Even Spiral Zone is an example of how many great ideas start in Japan, the most notable being Transformers and manga/anime.

HDM Masked Rider Kiva Emperor

I recently got a new figure in the form of the HDM Kamen Rider Kiva Emperor form mini-figure. I bought it at SM Megamall over the weekend. It comes in a box and needs some assembly. It's cheap at P150. But it's a great figure.

It's part of a series where other characters from Kiva and Den-O are used. I'm aiming for Kabuto if I can find it.

Star Searcher Zeric

I once thought VR Troopers was the first time Shaider was adapted in America. I was wrong.

Introducing Zeric, the Star Searcher. He's Shaider all the way, but with a red and blue version. The blue version is Zeric, while the red version is called Namrood. I have no idea what their story is.

This is the Shaider toy repackaged for the US market in 1986. I never had this, though I have the Action Works Shaider by Megahouse now. Nevertheless, lucky is the guy who got their hands on this.

Unboxing the GM Sniper

Next off, the 1/100 scale Master Grade GM Sniper from Bandai. I got this because I particularly like the GM series of mecha in Gundam, and this particular kit has lots of weapons.

Gundam ZZ (Double Zeta)

Going back to gundams, one of my favorite among this metaseries is the Gundam Double Zeta. Its TV series aired in 1986 in Japan. It's also a design I quite like, having the look of a mean heavy-hitter with all those busy features, fins sticking out everywhere, and a mean double-barreled gun. I have its HGUC kit by Bandai.

Cute Manga Girl

On my Deviant Art account, I've collected quite a number of favorites, including samples of cute girls drawn by others. This is one of my favorites:

The Aesthetics of the Wedge (Carry Over)

The wedge is classified as one of the basic machines in science. However, I see it as one of the basic aesthetic devices. As an artist who loves to draw futuristic armor, vehicles and robots, I like the wedge shape because it looks like it's moving even if it's not. It has a sharp, streamlined feature that just looks dynamic and beautiful. I wonder if "racy" can be applied, hehe.



In the pic above, it looks simple. But an artist or designer can rework the basic shape into something else. Like in the images that follow...