Kikaider

Kikaider (人造人間キカイダー) is a Japanese superhero created by Shotaro Ishinomori. The character has appeared in manga, tokusatsu, and anime.

Paying tribute to Astro Boy, created by his mentor Osamu Tezuka, Ishinomori used the stories of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio (which was also the basis for Astro Boy) along with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as the basis for his science fiction action story.

The tokusatsu series from 1972 is especially popular in Hawaii. The complete DVD series is available in the west with English subtitles through JN Productions.

Kikaider, the main character, is a humanoid robot, built by Dr. Komyoji to protect himself and his children from the dark Android commanded by the evil Professor Gill, the leader of a terrorist organization called DARK.

The series was originally a live-action Tokusatsu series, as was its sequel Kikaider 01. A manga drawn in a style reminiscent of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy was eventually published, introducing Kikaider 00. A 13-episode anime and 4-episode OVA based on the manga were created in 2001.

Manga
The manga series was serialized in Shōnen Sunday at the same time as the live action television series.

Tokusatsu

 * Android Kikaider (1972) TV Series + one movie
 * Kikaider 01 (1973) TV series
 * Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995) movie

Anime

 * Android Kikaider: The Animation (2000)-(2001) TV Series
 * Kikaider 01: The Animation (2001) 4-Part OVA
 * The Boy Who Carried a Guitar: Kikaider Vs. Inazuman (2002) OVA Special

Superhero Safety
In the past, the Super Giant movie series and shows like Moonlight Mask (the first TV superhero in Japan) became controversial, when kids imitated the stunts performed by the featured superheroes, usually by jumping out of a window (this was also a major issue with TV and movie adaptations of Superman).

The original Android Kikaider series was one of the first tokusatsu superhero TV shows that added safety bumpers (seen at the end of each episode) which warned kids not to imitate the dangerous and impossible stunts performed by the title superhero.