Ganbaron
Encyclopedia
was a 1977 Japan
ese tokusatsu
live action television show featuring Japan's own version of American
superhero
Superman
. It was the third in the Baron series, following Red Baron
in 1973 and Mach Baron
in 1974.
Teru Tendou is a young reporter for the Shonen Times. In times of trouble, he could transform into Ganbaron and save the day. The plot revolved mostly around Teru keeping his identity a secret from his friends.
The opening narration was "Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Ganbaron! Faster than a Shinkansen
! Stronger than Kaiju
!"
Similar to Tetsujin 28-go
and Giant Robo
, Ganbaron could call a giant robot
named Daibaron ("big baron"). Unlike those two however, Daibaron was a combining robot similar to Getter Robo
or Golion
/Voltron
.
The show was sponsored by Bullmark
which advertised toys based on the show, such as the "Zincron Deluxe Daibaron".
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
live action television show featuring Japan's own version of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. It was the third in the Baron series, following Red Baron
Super Robot Red Baron
is a Japanese tokusatsu series that aired from April 4, 1973, to March 27, 1974. Its story was later retold in the anime Red Baron and it had a sequel titled Super Robot Mach Baron.-Plot:...
in 1973 and Mach Baron
Super Robot Mach Baron
is a Japanese tokusatsu series that aired from October 7, 1974, to March 31, 1975. It was a sequel to Super Robot Red Baron.Somewhere in asia, the series was adapted into a 86 minute feature film which used footage from the original series...
in 1974.
Teru Tendou is a young reporter for the Shonen Times. In times of trouble, he could transform into Ganbaron and save the day. The plot revolved mostly around Teru keeping his identity a secret from his friends.
The opening narration was "Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Ganbaron! Faster than a Shinkansen
Shinkansen
The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...
! Stronger than Kaiju
Kaiju
is a Japanese word that means "strange beast," but often translated in English as "monster". Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment....
!"
Similar to Tetsujin 28-go
Tetsujin 28-go
is a 1956 manga written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, who also created Giant Robo. The series centred on the adventures of a young boy named Shotaro Kaneda, who controlled a giant robot named Tetsujin 28, built by his late father....
and Giant Robo
Giant Robo
is an original video animation series written and directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa , and inspired by Mitsuteru Yokoyama's manga series of the same name....
, Ganbaron could call a giant robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
named Daibaron ("big baron"). Unlike those two however, Daibaron was a combining robot similar to Getter Robo
Getter Robo
is a Super Robot manga series created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa, as well as an anime series produced by Toei Animation. The series was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 4, 1974 to May 8, 1975, with a total of 51 episodes.- Plot :...
or Golion
Golion
is a Japanese super robot anime television series. The animation from GoLion was edited and trimmed to create the Lion version of the U.S. Voltron: Defender of the Universe series, with new names and dialogue, as well as several plot changes...
/Voltron
Voltron
Voltron is the titular super robot of an anime series that features a team of young pilots, known as the Voltron Force. The team’s individual vehicles join together to form the giant super robot, with which they defend the galaxy from evil...
.
The show was sponsored by Bullmark
Bullmark
Bullmark is a defunct Japanese toy company that is most famous for selling PVC vinyl kaiju character toys in the 1960s and 1970s. Founded in 1969 after the bankruptcy of pioneering toy manufacturer Marusan, the company was also known simply as Bull by many people as their logo of a bull was stamped...
which advertised toys based on the show, such as the "Zincron Deluxe Daibaron".