Battle Fever J

Battle Fever J (バトルフィーバーJ) is the 3rd entry of the Super Sentai series franchise. It was produced by Toei Company and aired on TV Asahi on February 3, 1979 until January 26, 1980 with a total of 52 episodes. It was Toei’s second co-production with Marvel (the first being Spider-Man).

The Rangers have designations named for countries around the world: Battle Japan, Battle France, Battle Cossack (Soviet Union), Battle Kenya and Miss America. It was also the second show to introduce the Super Sentai format (Spider-Man was the first), where the heroes must control giant robots to defeat a monster who itself has grown to a gigantic size (or anything similar).

The First Super Sentai?
Battle Fever J was the first series to use the term Super Sentai (unlike the previous two who were just called Sentai, without the “Super”). For a long time, Battle Fever J was considered the first entry in the Super Sentai series, as seen in Episode 1 of Kousoku Sentai Turboranger that honors the past 10 Sentai (the other 9 being Denziman, Sun Vulcan, Goggle V, Dynaman, Bioman, Changeman, Flashman, Maskman and Liveman) until Toei announced in 1994 that its predecessors Gorenger and J.A.K.Q. were also part of the Super Sentai series, when Chouriki Sentai Ohranger was announced as the 19th Super Sentai team.

Plot
General Kurama assembles four young agents who had been dispatched around the world for training. They are joined by FBI investigator Diane Martin, whose father was murdered by Egos. The five don powered suits to become the Battle Fever team. (The word 'fever' was trendy at the time.) The Battle Fever team's trump card is the Battle Fever Robo. Egos tries to stop the construction of the Robot, but the monsters they send to perform this task are defeated one by one by the Fever team.

Egos then unleashes the 'younger brother' of the Buffalo Monster, a giant robot replica of its "older brother". The Robot, fortunately, is finished in time. Aboard it, the Fever team defeats the Buffalo Monster and its successors. The Fever team never stops, even when it lost two of its members (the original Miss America leaves and first Battle Cossack is killed). With two new members, the team defeats Hedder, now the Hedder Monster, and breaks into Egos' headquarters, where they are fed into the Egos Monster Making Machine so that they may be used as material for a Battle Fever Monster. The team destroys the machine and slays the mysterious deity Satan Egos himself with the Lightning Sword Rocketter sword-throwing move.

National Defense Ministry

 * General Kurama Tetsuzan
 * Keiko Nakahara
 * Tomoko Ueda
 * Kyutaro

Other Allies

 * Masaru Nakahara
 * Yuki Ueda (27, 46)
 * Mitsuru Okiyama (16)
 * Black Tiger Mari (16)
 * Mechanical Doll Monster (41)
 * Tsuyoshi Takeuchi (Jackal) (43)

Secret Society Egos

 * Satan Egos
 * Commander Hedder
 * Salomé
 * Cutmen
 * Egos Fighters
 * Egos Monsters
 * Umbrella Monster (1)
 * Fang Lion Monster (1, 2)
 * Death Mask Monster (3)
 * Bengal Tiger/Psychokinesis Monster (4)
 * Buffalo Monster (5)
 * Doguu Monster (6)
 * Fireball Monster (7)
 * Sports Monster (8)
 * Icicle Monster (9)
 * Nauman Monster (10)
 * Cobra Monster (11)
 * Monster Roselinka (12)
 * Egg Monster (13)
 * Galaxy Monster (14)
 * Snail Monster (15)
 * Hand-to-Hand Combat Monster (16)
 * Blue Vein Monster (17)
 * Magnet Monster (18)
 * Notch Tooth Monster (20)
 * Dinosaur Monster (21-22)
 * Ghost Monster (23)
 * Dracula Monster (24)
 * Magic Monster (25)
 * Bandage Monster (26)
 * Black Mask Monster (27)
 * Jellyfish Urchin Monster (28)
 * Mouthcut Monster (29)
 * Strange Food Monster (30)
 * Money Violence Monster (31)
 * Earthworm Monster (32)
 * Eagle Monster (33)
 * Cicada Killer Monster (34)
 * Ancient Fish Monster (35)
 * Bomb Monster (36)
 * Four Faced Monster (37)
 * Skull Mushroom Monster (38)
 * Dr. Sekine/Hyde Monster (39)
 * Study Monster (40)
 * Mechanical Doll Monster (41)
 * Electric Monster (42)
 * Rolling Monster (43)
 * Monshiro Ocho/Illusion Monster (44)
 * Heart Monster (45)
 * Curse Monster (46)
 * Left Hand Monster (47)
 * Great Thief Monster (48)
 * Fly Trap Monster (49)
 * Ogre Beard Monster (50)
 * Hedder Monster (51)

Songs

 * Opening: Battle Fever J
 * Ending: Yuusha ga Iku
 * Mecha Theme (Battle Fever Robo): Battle Fever Daishutsugeki
 * Ashita no Senshi-tachi

Cast

 * Narrator: Toru Ohira
 * Masao Den: Hironori Tanioka
 * Kensaku Shiraishi: Yukio Itou
 * Makoto Jin: Naoya Ban
 * Kyosuke Shida: Yuuhei Kurachi
 * Shiro Akebono: Kenji Ohba
 * Diane Martin, Fake Diane Martin: Diane Martin
 * Diane Martin (Voice): Lisa Komaki
 * Maria Nagisa: Naomi Hagi
 * Commander Hedder: Kenji Ushio (Episodes 1-7 ) / Masashi Ishibashi (Episodes 9-51)
 * Salome/Ayoko Ichijoji (52): Maki Ueda (Episodes 19-52)

Stunt Actors

 * Battle Japan: Kazuo Nibori
 * Battle Cossack: Hiroshi Atsum and Hirohumi Koga
 * Battle France: Haruhiko Hashimoto and Tetsuo Mashita
 * Battle Kenya: Kenji Ohba and Tsutomu Kitagawa
 * Miss America: Lisa Komaki, Eiko Onodera and Tsutomu Kitagawa

International broadcasts
Battle Fever J was especially popular in Hawaii, along with Gorenger, Kikaider, Kamen Rider V3, and Ultraman; all of which were shown in the original Japanese dialogue and subtitled by JN Productions on then KIKU Channel 13. The show was also broadcasted in Thailand late in the mid-1990s under the name of Ranger J on MCOT Channel 9.

Stage Shows

 * Battle Fever J Stage Show at 3 Heroes Korakuen Yuenchi
 * Battle Fever J Stage Show at Super Hero Korakuen Yuenchi