Discovering Space Sheriff Gavan Part 1: The Journey Begins

It seems almost redundant to say that Star Wars (1977) changed the world. George Lucas’s low-budget, independent space opera would forever alter the course of pop culture (for better and worse). From merchandising, to marketing, to effects, Star Wars was the template for any future blockbuster or franchise. When I say it changed the world, however, I do mean it.

Star Wars hit Japan in 1978, a year after it took the US by storm. Needless to say, it was a success. It must have felt like a full circle moment for George Lucas, as Star Wars was heavily inspired by Japanese culture and films (particularly Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress). It was now Japan’s turn to be inspired, and you can see that heavily in a lot of anime, film, and of course, Tokusatsu television.

That brings us to episode one of Space Sheriff Gavan. To say this episode (this show as a whole of course) was influenced by Star Wars may be the understatement of the century. But what sets it apart from the world of Darth Vader is that it is DISTINCTLY Toku. So, let’s get into it!

Episode 1: Demon Fortress Tokyo (Japanese: Tōkyō Chitei no Kai Yōsai 東京地底の怪要塞), also known as The Strange Fortress Beneath Tokyo

Before I even start with the actual episode, I have to talk about the banger of an opening theme. Combining elements of rock, funk, and soul, this may be one of the best Toku themes ever. I’m no musical analyst, but I know what my ears like. And this is a bop, as the kids say (or do they say that? I’m old).

Going into this episode, I thought I knew what to expect. I’ve seen a lot of Tokusatsu at this point. The late 1970s and early 80s have a fairly distinct flavor for the genre. We hadn’t quite made it to the grim and gritty nature that would come with Kamen Rider Black or Godzilla vs. Biollante. The Toku I’ve seen from this time frame, especially Toei stuff, is good. Really good. It seems during the 70s, Toku was less concerned with cityscapes or uninhabited grasslands and went for a more “industrial rural” (coining this term) vibe. Think of Godzilla vs. Hedorah. Sure, there’s plenty of scenes set in cities and a plethora of people for Hedorah to extinguish, but our main characters in that movie live on the outskirts. Smaller villages, still with technology, mind you, but much more intimate settings. Gavan establishes a similar feel right away by opening on the Avalon Riding Club. Billed as the Tokyo Suburbs, this ranch introduces us to our “home,” essentially. Part farm, part orphanage? It’s hard to dissect in the little we’re given in this one. But everything is about to be turned on its head.

When I tell you that the cut to space is majestic, I mean that in the purest sense. I nearly had an out-of-body experience taking it in. The miniature work is stellar, and the sets are well dressed. If I daresay, it may be on par with the original cut of Star Wars (pre-updated effects, which in itself was pre-Special Editions). Everything looks SO GOOD; I’m honestly astonished. I’m used to my Toku being (affectionately) wonky in this era. But, you know as well as I do, that’s not the point of Tokusatsu. Japan will sacrifice “realism” for the “rule of cool” all day, every day. I say that, but the miniature effects in this show rival Star Wars (maybe not Empire or Jedi, but definitely A New Hope), while other aspects remind me of Disney’s The Black Hole. It has that “darkness” to it.

It’s here where we learn the earthlings are planning to create a space station. Ironic, that we’re still discussing the validity of this prospect in REAL LIFE in the year 2026. Unfortunately, the humans are greeted with malice by a set of evil gangster aliens. We meet the antagonists of our series, the Space Crime Organization Makuu. A space faring castle emerges from a rift in space called the Fabrication, and oh boy, do we have some wonderful FREAKS aboard it.

There are some grunts, essentially the Putty Patrol of the show, Clad in leather jackets, their faces I can only describe as sentient Nerf balls. Black and grey striped faces with red, yellow, and black oblong masses protrude from their scalps. These foot soldiers are called Crushers. The next up are the Beast-Alien Doublemen, which look like a cross between the titular world dominators from Mars Attacks and the plant-like creatures called Saibamen from Dragon Ball. They serve as the Lieutenants. Horror Girl is a “normal” woman from the chest down, but her head is a large bird. She’s listed as Makuu’s secretary, but really, she just likes to constantly giggle.

There’s another character introduced here, but I’ll talk about him a little bit more in a bit. Right now, it’s time we discuss the primary antagonist of the series: A giant, blue…sentient…wall…

I’m not exaggerating. Don Horror (Shouzou Iizuka), the big bad, is kind of just a wall?!? He also has two faces, a demonic monster face, and inside that is a regular human face painted blue-purple, complete with a moustache. I simultaneously love and hate this. Don Horror gives the order to colonize Earth and has a pretty sinister, and badass, directive.

“Hear me. We, Makuu, must colonize Earth and turn it into a planet filled with crime. We will steal the goodness from human hearts and imbue with them with the souls of demons. Steal all that can be stolen. Turn that space colony into a bloodbath!”

Okay, that’s rad. That’s metal af.

One of the Beast-Alien Doublemen then summons our first “BEM Kaiju”, Clam Monster or Shako Monster (シャコモンスター Shako Monsutā). He’s called a clam, but more resembles a big shrimp, I guess. Very reminiscent of most Toei toku shows in terms of monster designs, although not as strange as Sentai or Kamen Rider would become. With that, the assault begins.

This space battle is, again, very impressive. You can always count on Tokusatsu for some crazy explosions. The Makuu ships are also very unique looking, almost Precambrian in appearance. The Makuu attack Earth itself, and some wonderful city destruction unfolds. NOW IT’S REALLY TOKU. Now, when all hope seems lost and the Makuu are ravaging the Earth, we cut to the Superdimensional High-Speed Ship Dolgiran, and meet our hero.

Gavan (Kenji Ohba) is a member of the Galactic Union Police Force and has left the planet Bird to partake in a mission on Earth. Before we’re even properly introduced to our hero, we have a message from Commander Qom (Toshiaki Nishizawa) and Marine (Kyoko Nashiro). They warn Gavan of a dangerous turncoat amongst the ranks of Makuu, Hunter-Killer (Michiro Iida) who was once a Space Sheriff. We quickly also learn Gavan’s mother was from Earth, and that’s why he vows to protect it. Lots of exposition in this first episode at a breakneck pace, but it mostly works. And if you don’t really care about the minutiae, we are rewarded with ANOTHER space battle. Not to sound like a broken record, but it rules. I still can’t believe this is a Japanese television show from 1982, and not a Japanese theatrical film. The Dolgiran miniature is so sleek and vibrant.

Another main character is introduced, Mimi (Wakiko Kanou). She is a stowaway aboard the Dolgiran because she’s in love with Gavan and wants to help him, despite the wishes of her father Commander Qom. She can transform into a bird. Not like a bird creature or bird armor, a literal bird, a parakeet. She uses a device called the Image Projector to do this. Gavan lands on Earth and suits up for the first time. Man, it’s cool.

I can’t stress enough the vibe this show gives off. Once you step away from the sci-fi trappings and you’re on a forested hillside, it just encapsulates this era of Toku. The early-seventies through the mid-eighties were such a distinct look and feel for Toku. Now, this ambience existed before (I think Invasion of Astro-Monster has similar sets and feelings) and after (I also feel like Gaoranger has the same kind of DNA) but I think if you watch it, you’ll know what I mean.

Yoichi, the young kid from the ranch, has formed a UFO investigation group and is succinctly thrown into the deep end when he discovers one of Makuu’s bases. He and his friends are about to be killed by Makuu forces when Gavan shows up and literally runs them over with his car!! I nearly lost it. Then he starts kicking their butt and he’s not even suited up yet! Mimi quickly grabs the kids and takes them to safety (typical, but I won’t let it blemish the experience too much) Gavan easily takes out the Crushers but is blindsided by the Clam Monster.

And then…

ELECTROPLATE

Gavan points the palm of his righthand toward the heavens and then assumes a power stance. With a flash of light, he’s now cladded in a shiny chrome armor. I thought to myself, “Wow, that’s surprising restraint for a Toku transformation. A little disappoin—“

“—The electroplating of Space Sheriff Gavan’s combat suit takes a mere 50 milliseconds. So, let’s take another look at the electroplating process.”

We rewind a bit, Gavan once again shoves his palm to the sky and lightning begins to strike. The Dolgiran emerges from the desolate storm clouds. It beams down the combat suit on to Gavan and THE THEME HITS. HOLY CRAP.

Gavan beats the tar out of more Crushers and then just casually throws out his first special move, Laser Z Beam. With a flick of his wrist, Gavan blows up a Makuu ship and the facility it’s parked in. Just when it looks like the Space Sheriff is unstoppable, the villains throw a wrench in his plan. Don Horror can manipulate the axis of the Earth to send Gavan and his opponent to another realm. The BEM Kaiju receive energy from the Makuu making them 3x more powerful than on Earth. Gavan summons his car, the Cyberian, to help guide him through the black hole like portal.

The effects go wild in this scene. Not as polished as the miniature work, but some incredibly trippy matte paintings that invoke memories of Steve Ditko’s Doctor Strange art or 70’s Doctor Who stories. Another special move, Barrier, is shown. Pretty self-explanatory. And the fight with the big Clam boy resumes. They’re going all out, the choreography is so much fun. They’re also battling whilst debris is being sucked through the portal, causing them to battle their surroundings just as much as each other.

Gavan is sucked into another rift, and my goodness, the matte painting of the sky is incredible. I want that on my wall. The lighting does wonders for this scene, too. Gavan can focus his Z beam through a special scope, and that makes quick work of Clam Monster (or did it?). In the process though, the Moon(?) crumbles and begins to descend on Gavan Majora’s Mask style. Gavan screams, “ELECTRONIC STAR-BEAST DOL!”

Ladies, gentlemen, folks of all genders…I had no idea, not a clue in the world, that Gavan’s spaceship was also a transforming mech. AND IT’S A DRAGON. When that thing starts roaring and flying through space, I screamed. It saves Gavan from the falling moon but now our hero must battle a Beast-Alien Doubleman in a duel to the death. Just when I thought it could not get any cooler, Gavan holds aloft his sword and cries out “LASER BLADE!”

He’s got a LIGHTSABER.

GAVAN DYNAMIC

With one slice, he bisects the Doubleman in half the long way. What a finish.

The rest of the episode is wrapped up very quickly and given through a montage with narration. Gavan will now assume a human identity and work at the Avalon Riding Club. He adopts his mother’s maiden name and calls himself Ichijoji Retsu.

Final Thoughts

They crammed A LOT in this first episode, but I never felt overwhelmed. It was a fantastic ride from start to finish, this may be a perfect first Toku episode. You get everything you could possibly want out of it. Super detailed miniatures, some wild explosions, pulse pounding battles, whacky and wild villains, badass heroes, and the cherry on top is the score.

Please. If you love Toku, whether it’s Godzilla or Sentai/Power Rangers or Kamen Rider, go watch this. It’s very easy to access on either YouTube or Tubi.

Now, my future articles will be focusing on groups of episodes rather than one at a time. I wanted to give the pilot a proper full write up though, because I think it’s truly special.

Until next time!