J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai

Synopsis

Iron Claw is the leader of a global criminal empire known as "Crime", which has a network of wealthy, influential sympathizers and employs an army of faceless, leather-masked thugs and cyborg assassins. It seeks to become the most powerful mafia organization in the world.

To combat the threat of Crime, the International Science Special Investigation Squad (国際科学特捜隊, Kokusai Kagaku Tokusō Tai; ISSIS) is formed. The focus of the series is ISSIS' battles against Crime in Tokyo and Japan.

Tokyo's ISSIS branch commander, Daisuke Kujirai, proposes a radical experiment. Taking the code name "Joker", he recruits four young test subjects to undergo his cyborg enhancement project: Goro Sakurai, a multi-talented athlete and Olympic Gold medalist; Ryu Higashi, a disgraced boxing champion; Karen Mizuki, a policewoman who has been critically injured; and Bunta Daichi, an oceanographer who is clinically dead and is being cryogenically sustained. All four are surgically altered and given various bionic enhancements as well as energy manipulation powers. They are given the code name J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai, or J.A.K.Q (pronounced "Jacker"), and the mission to destroy Crime. Later in the series Joker leaves to head ISSIS' advanced engineering branch, and Sokichi Banba, a master of disguise and a cyborg, becomes their new boss, known as Big One.

Characters

J.A.K.Q.

Goro Sakurai (桜井 五郎, Sakurai Gorō) was a Japanese pentathlon athlete and Olympic Gold Medalist, a champion in karate, archery, and judo, a skilled equestrian, and a top all-around athlete. He initially turned down Joker's offer to join J.A.K.Q. but changed his heart when he saved Karen Mizuki (later Heart Queen). Goro and Karen become romantically involved towards the end of the series.

Goro's bionic enhancements allow him to manipulate atomic energy in various ways. He can see through walls and other barriers using X-ray vision (his Chu Seishi [Neutron] Scope), move at super speed (using his Kosouku [Acceleration] Switch), and hear distant sounds (using his Enkaku Shuon Souchi [Ultra Sound Device]). As the red-colored Spade Ace (スペードエース, Supēdo Ēsu), he wields several specially designed weapons, particularly his Spade Arts (スペードアーツ, Supēdo Atsu) bow. With this bow, Goro is able to shoot "atomic charged" arrows that puncture and bore through most substances. The Spade Arts bow could also be converted into a whip for binding an opponent. Goro is also a powerful fighter.

Goro is a born leader and uses his abilities to seek out his enemies' weak points.

Goro appeared in the movie Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai, a movie made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Super Sentai metaseries, leading 24 Red Rangers to help inspire the Gaoranger team.

Karen Mizuki (水木カレン, Mizuki Karen) is a Japanese-American female police detective who was assigned to investigate the routes used to traffic illegal narcotics into Japan. During one of her investigations, she uncovered the fact that Crime controlled a majority of these routes, and decided to assist ISSIS in destroying them. Crime attempted to kill Karen by arranging a fatal car accident. Karen survived the accident but lost her right arm. Her father, a fellow police officer, was killed in the crash. Enraged and seeking revenge, Karen willingly accepted Joker's offer to undergo the bionic process and join J.A.K.Q.

Karen's bionic enhancements allow her to control magnetism. She named her magnetism-based powers "Heart Cute Jiryoku [Magnet] Power". As the pink-colored Heart Queen (ハートクイン, Hāto Kuin), her powers allow her to attract and repel metallic objects at will, literally stopping bullets in mid-air. Her powers are further augmented by using her Q-shaped Heart Cute (ハートキュート, Hāto Kyūto) weapon. Using the Heart Cute, Karen can send out waves of magnetic energy that can bowl over opponents or force them into erratic behaviors. She takes pleasure in this, asking afterward "Do you want another?" (もう一つ、いかが?, "Mō hitotsu, ikaga?")). The Heart Cute can also be used as a blunt instrument to strike opponents. Her right index finger carries her "Magnetic Counter". This sends out a magnetic detection pulse, which she can then use to pinpoint and identify objects (both metal and organic) in a way similar to radar.

Criminal Organization Crime

The global Criminal Organization Crime (犯罪組織クライム, Hanzai Soshiki Kuraimu) is headed by the mysterious Iron Claw. It seeks to become the world's premier crime organization. In each episode of the series, Crime launches spectacular and elaborate schemes to loot, kill, plunder and obtain absolute power. It is later revealed that Crime is a cover organization for an alien entity called Shine, who sought to conquer the world.

Boss Iron Claw (首領アイアンクロー, Shuryō Aian Kurō) is the godfather of the Crime organization. He is oddly dressed and nothing is known about him including his nationality. He appears human but was later revealed to be a cyborg like the members of J.A.K.Q. His right hand is a powerful "Iron Claw", which fires talon-like missiles and can detach from Iron Claw's body to attack enemies independently. Iron Claw is a master of disguise, often masquerading as a female. He is a longtime rival of Big One, and the two of them have clashed at various times in the past.

Shine (シャイン, Shain) is revealed to be the real mastermind behind Crime towards the end of the series. A mysterious entity who is said to have come from the 2nd star of the "Shine" Galaxy, he attempted to use Crime to take over the Earth. Shine created the super cyborg Great King Icarus (イカルス大王, Ikarusu Daiō) to take control of Crime from Iron Claw and to battle J.A.K.Q. In the final battle between the J.A.K.Q. and Crime, he was revealed to be an artificial intelligence and was driven out to space after Spade Ace and Heart Queen exposed his true identity.

The Crime Big Four (クライム四天王, Kuraimu Shiten'ō) are a quartet of ruthless mercenaries and despots who joined forces with Iron Claw to wreak havoc across the globe. Their headquarters is a gigantic UFO that can fly around the world undetected. They have battled with other heroes across the globe including Kikaider, Kamen Rider V3, and Kamen Rider Amazon. Each member of the Crime Big Four has their own army of specialized troops. The Crime Big Four can combine to form the monstrous hulking cyborg Big Four Robo (四天王ロボ, Shiten'ō Robo) which was later destroyed by J.A.K.Q.'s Big Bomber and Gorenger's Gorenger Hurricane Ball.

The Crime Bossses (犯罪ボス, Hanzai bosu) are humans that operate under Boss Iron Claw. Each one has their own territory where a few of them have been named for the territory they run while the others were left unnamed. They were later phased out when Shine and the Invader Robots came into view.

Film

J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai (movie version of episode 7) (Release date 17 July 1977)

J.A.K.Q. vs. Gorenger

Directed by Katsuhiko Taguchi, Written by Shōzō Uehara and Released on March 18, 1978

The movie J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai vs. Gorenger (ジャッカー電撃隊VSゴレンジャー, Jakkā Dengekitai VS Gorenjā) was released after the conclusion of the J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai series and featured a crossover between J.A.K.Q. and the Gorengers.

While investigating a UFO in the Sky Ace, J.A.K.Q. is caught off guard by the return of Iron Claw, with the Big Four now leading the remnants of Crime and the Black Cross Army. The next day, while arriving on the scene of a washed-up corpse, Heart Queen and Spade Ace encounter Peggy Matsuyama (Momo Ranger from the Gorengers), who has pursued the Sahara Army to Japan. After Matsuyama reveals markings on the murdered man's back, J.A.K.Q. learns of Crime's "Citybuster" project and the location of the syndicate's island base.

After infiltrating Crime's base, Spade Ace and Heart Queen learn of Iron Claw's plan to use the "Citybuster" bombs on the United States, the Soviet Union, China, France, the United Kingdom, West Germany and Japan, wiping out humanity while he and his forces retreat into space via a UFO before returning to Earth and conquering it. After saving Matsuyama, Spade Ace and Heart Queen escape the base but are surrounded by the Big Four and their armies. Clover King, Dia Jack and the rest of the Gorengers appear and save them. Together, the teams go on to defeat the Crime and Black Cross armies.

The Big Four combine to form the super cyborg "Big Four Robo", who overwhelms both teams until Big One arrives and J.A.K.Q. and the Gorengers combine their attacks to destroy it. Iron Claw then retreats to his UFO and begins to activate the "Citybuster" bombs until his UFO self-destructs, finishing him off for good. It turns out that Big One switched Iron Claw's hand with a remote controlled one that Spade Ace used to detonate the "Citybuster" bombs, destroying the craft and Iron Claw with it.

Cast

Goro Sakurai / Spade Ace: Yoshitaka Tamba

Karen Mizuki / Heart Queen: Mitchi Love

Ryu Higashi / Diamond Jack: Shichiro Gou

Bunta Daichi / Club King: Yuusuke Kazato

Sokichi Banba / The Big One / Joker II: Hiroshi Miyauchi

Commander Daisuke Kujirai / Joker I: Daisuke Kujirai

Iron Claw: Masashi Ishibashi

Narrator: Toru Ohira

Songs

Opening theme

"J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai" (ジャッカー電撃隊, Jakkā Dengekitai)

Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori

Composition and arrangement: Michiaki Watanabe

Artist: Isao Sasaki with Koorogi '73

Ending theme

"Itsuka, Hana wa Saku Darō" (いつか、花は咲くだろう; "Someday, Flowers Will Bloom")

Lyrics: Saburō Yatsude

Composition and arrangement: Michiaki Watanabe

Artist: Isao Sasaki