| Metal Hero Series | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Saburō Yatsude Susumu Yoshikawa |
| Original work | Space Sheriff Gavan |
| Owner | Toei Company |
| Years | 1982-present |
| Films and television | |
| Television series | See below |
| Games | |
| Traditional | Rangers Strike |
| Video game(s) | The Space Sheriff Spirits |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Toy(s) | Souchaku Henshin Series S.H. Figuarts |
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Metal Hero Series" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
TheMetal Hero Series (メタルヒーローシリーズ,Metaru Hīrō Shirīzu) is ametaseries oftokusatsusuperhero TV series produced byToei.[1]
The protagonists of theMetal Hero Series are mainlyspace,military andpolice-based characters who are typically either androids, cyborgs, or humans wearing metallic armored suits. Henceforth, most of the Metal Heroes are also referenced as another example of the "Henshin (transforming) Heroes" genre. Usually, the genre revolves around a technological theme where technology, in the right hands, can be used for the greater good.
In addition toJapan, they are also popular inFrance,Brazil, thePhilippines,Thailand,Malaysia andIndonesia. During the 1990s,Saban Entertainment used some of the shows to produce programs similar to theirPower Rangers series. Some of theMetal Hero Series even spawned such sequels which followed the continuity of the previous shows, resulting in the genre developing sub-categories based mainly on space, military and police-related characters.
The shows were produced byToei from 1982 through 1999 in conjunction with their other Tokusatsu superhero shows,Kamen Rider andSuper Sentai. Initially only 1993Janperson and the series released between 1985 and 1989 (Juspion,Spielban,Metalder,Jiraiya andJiban) were considered part of theMetal Heroes franchise whileGavan,Sharivan andShaider were part of theSpace Sheriff franchise andWinspector,Solbrain andExceedraft were part of theRescue Police franchise. It was only in late-1990s that Toei Company incorporated theSpace Sheriff andRescue Police trilogies as subseries of theMetal Hero.Blue SWAT,B-Fighter,B-Fighter Kabuto,Kabutack andRobotack were also incorporated into the franchise afterwards.
On November 23, 2025, Toei announced that a new brand called Project R.E.D. or "Records of Extraordinary Dimensions", which would take over the Sunday 9:30 AM timeslot.[2] The first show under this project isSuper Space Sheriff Gavan: Infinity.[3]
| # | Year | Title | Full title | No. of episodes | Subseries | American counterpart | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | International | |||||||
| Showa era | ||||||||
| 1 | 1982 | Gavan | 宇宙刑事ギャバン Uchū Keiji Gyaban | Space Sheriff Gavan | 44 | Space Sheriffs | ||
| 2 | 1983 | Sharivan | 宇宙刑事シャリバン Uchū Keiji Shariban | Space Sheriff Sharivan | 51 | |||
| 3 | 1984 | Shaider | 宇宙刑事シャイダー Uchū Keiji Shaidā | Space Sheriff Shaider | 49 | VR Troopers | ||
| 4 | 1985 | Juspion | 巨獣特捜ジャスピオン Kyojū Tokusō Jasupion | Mega-Beast Investigator Juspion | 46 | |||
| 5 | 1986 | Spielban | 時空戦士スピルバン Jikū Senshi Supiruban | Dimensional Warrior Spielban | 44 | VR Troopers | ||
| 6 | 1987 | Metalder | 超人機メタルダー Chōjinki Metarudā | Super Android Metalder | 39 | |||
| 7 | 1988 | Jiraiya | 世界忍者戦ジライヤ Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya[a] | Olympic Ninja Jiraiya | 50 | |||
| Heisei era | ||||||||
| 8 | 1989 | Jiban | 機動刑事ジバン Kidō Keiji Jiban | The Mobile Cop Jiban | 52 | |||
| 9 | 1990 | Winspector | 特警ウインスペクター Tokkei Uinsupekutā[b] | Special Rescue Police Winspector | 49 | Rescue Police | ||
| 10 | 1991 | Solbrain | 特救指令ソルブレイン Tokkyū Shirei Soruburein[c] | Super Rescue Solbrain | 53 | |||
| 11 | 1992 | Exceedraft | 特捜エクシードラフト Tokusō Ekushīdorafuto[d] | Special Rescuers Exceedraft | 49 | |||
| 12 | 1993 | Janperson | 特捜ロボジャンパーソン Tokusō Robo Janpāson | Robot Investigator Janperson | 50 | |||
| 13 | 1994 | Blue SWAT | ブルースワット Burū Suwatto | Blue SWAT | 51 | |||
| 14 | 1995 | B-Fighter | 重甲ビーファイター Jūkō Bī Faitā[e] | Beetle Fighter | 53 | B-Fighters | Big Bad Beetleborgs | |
| 15 | 1996 | B-Fighter Kabuto | ビーファイターカブト Bī Faitā Kabuto | Beetle Fighter Kabuto | 50 | Beetleborgs Metallix | ||
| 16 | 1997 | Kabutack | ビーロボカブタック Bī Robo Kabutakku | B-Robo Kabutack | 52 | Herotack | ||
| 17 | 1998 | Robotack | テツワン探偵ロボタック Tetsuwan Tantei Robotakku | Ironclad Detective Robotack | 45 | |||
| Reiwa era | ||||||||
| 18 | 2026 | Gavan Infinity | 超宇宙刑事ギャバン インフィニティ Chō Uchū Keiji Gyaban Infiniti | Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity | TBD | Project R.E.D. | ||
| # | Title | Series director | Head writer | Music composer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gavan | Yoshiaki Kobayashi | Shozo Uehara | Chumei Watanabe | |
| Sharivan | ||||
| Shaider | Shinichiro Sawai | |||
| Juspion | Yoshiaki Kobayashi | |||
| Spielban | Makoto Tsuji | |||
| Metalder | Takeshi Ogasawara | Susumu Takaku | Seiji Yokoyama | |
| Jiraiya | Makoto Tsuji | Akira Nakahara | Kei Wakakusa | |
| Jiban | Michio Konishi | Noboru Sugimura | Chumei Watanabe | |
| Winspector | Shohei Tojo | Seiji Yokoyama | ||
| Solbrain | Masao Minowa | Kaoru Mizuki | ||
| Exceedraft | Kaneharu Mitsumura | |||
| Janperson | Michio Konishi | Junichi Miyashita | Kei Wakakusa | |
| Blue SWAT | Makoto Tsuji | |||
| B-Fighter | Shinichiro Sawai | Eiji Kawamura | ||
| B-Fighter Kabuto | Shohei Tojo | |||
| Kabutack | Taro Sakamoto | Takashi Yamada | Katsunori Ishida | |
| Robotack | Katsuya Watanabe | Kei Wakakusa | ||
| Gavan Infinity | TBD | TBD | TBD |
During the 1990s,Saban adaptedMetal Hero Series shows for American audiences; stock footage fromMetalder,Spielvan andShaider was used inVR Troopers (1994–1996), and footage from bothB-Fighter series was later used inBig Bad Beetleborgs. Both shows ran for two seasons. As of 2018,Discotek Media has licensedJuspion for release marking the first release of the Metal Heroes in the US. BothJiraiya andGavan were used for thePower Rangers franchise with Jiraiya as Sheriff Skyfire inPower Rangers Super Ninja Steel and Gavan Type-G as Captain Chaku inPower Rangers Beast Morphers.
Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan was greenlighted by Toei as a sequel toShaider, with characters who are descendants of those in the original series.[4] Toei later halted production, instead authorizing a spin-off series set 20 years after the end ofShaider.[5]
Other similar heroes, such asNebula Mask Machine Man,Kyodai Ken Byclosser,Lady Battle Cop, andChoukou Senshi Changéríon, were also produced during the time that theMetal Hero Series were on the air, but are not included as part of theMetal Hero Series for various reasons.Machine Man andByclosser were created byShotaro Ishinomori, while Changéríon aired onTV Tokyo. It is unknown if Lady Battle Cop is part of Toei's shared universe.
Currently, theMetal Hero Series is one of Toei's defunct properties, as the company rather favors theSuper Sentai andKamen Rider Series of shows, allegedly due to the passing of Shotaro Ishinomori. However, many of the traits of the series have been adopted into the newer installations of the Super Sentai and Kamen Rider shows. Today, the present versions of this type of heroes are also merged in with the "Henshin Heroes" description.
Some Metal Heroes have also made cameo appearances. In 2004, a specialTokusou Sentai Dekaranger stage show had a special appearance by Gavan, who assisted Hurricane Red fromNinpuu Sentai Hurricaneger and Aba Red fromBakuryuu Sentai Abaranger in battling various Alienizer monsters fromDeka Ranger.
In 2005, Toei released someUchuu Keiji trilogy merchandise. Later that year, Bandai released a "Souchaku Henshin" figure of Gavan, followed by "Souchaku Henshin" figures of Sharivan and Shaider in early 2006. In May 2006, aPlayStation 2 video game titledThe Space Sheriff Spirits was released. The game featured Gavan, Sharivan and Shaider all teaming up to battle past enemies from their series. In early 2008, the trading card company Cardass announced a new, Metal Heroes based expansion to theirRangers Strike card game, entitledSpecial Metal Edition, featuring characters and vehicles from the variousMetal Hero Series for use within the game.
Despite no more television series having been made, the Space Sheriff Series re-emerged in the 2010s with feature films, including new actors portraying successors to Gavan, Sharivan, and Shaider. Some of them are stand alone entries, while others feature crossovers with other Super Sentai and Kamen Rider characters.
On November 18, 2025, an official Japanese trademark filing forSuper Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity was reported.[6]