Chouju Sentai Liveman (1988–1989) User Reviews

A Sentai that makes you feel young.

[emasterslake · 8/10 · 8 February 2011]

A group of young people are students of an advance science academy located on an island off coast of Japan that is made up of Japanese and other ethnic groups who all want to major in science and get to be on board a space station that's being plan to be launched from the academy. Three students however have betray the academy and went to work for Professor Bias a super genius who believes in no one but himself and looks upon Earth in his own space station. He orders the three renegade students to attack the Academy island. During the aftermath three students survived and use their new ranger suits to fight off their former friends. Along with the other threats that Bias has thrown upon them including an army of android soldiers called Jimmers and Brain Beasts. With the help of an android name Colon and a legion of Mechas to guide our young heroes, they will have what it takes to take down Bias and prevent him from taking over the world.

This is a really fun Sentai series in which I enjoyed a lot. Like most of the previous ones this one had a cast of memorable characters including Colon possibly my first favorite robot from a Sentai series Alpha of Power Rangers has nothing on her that's for sure.

If you like the previous ones then this one is a must cause it was known for being the 10th Anniversary Sentai Series.

Last Great Super Sentai of the 80s

[BaanGaan · 25 January 2006]

THIS is the show that first got me on the road to Tokusatsu Heaven. I don't know where to begin, though. The story, 3 students of a prestigious school abandon it for a chance to work with an evil genius (helluva internship, there) and in the process kill two other students wearing special "stregthening suits" - the three friends of the two swear to avenge them. Two years later, the Armed Brain Army VOLT attacks Academia as they attempt to launch a bowl-shaped rocket, and the three students (now Drs. Kemp, Mazenda, and Obular) come down to survey the damage - at which point the three students (Yuusuke, Jou, and Megumi) reveal that, for two years, they've prepared for this attack, and transform into Liveman with their Twin Brace(s).

At about 3/4 of the way through, the stories lose any shred of humor, and become very serious. The Doctors reveal just how human they are, despite having joined VOLT. And Great Professor Bias goes down in flames, Guardnoid Gash at his side.

I think my favorite part of the show was the mecha - the Live Robo is the first to have three animal-based machines, and the Super Live Robo is the first "two robos into one Uber-robo" combiner. There is also Coron, who, despite being the assistant-bot, still manages to back up Liveman with 4x4, motorcycle, and Flying Fortress skills, in addition to a few toe-to-toe battles with the enemy - she just kicked ass all round. Then there's the iconic Bimotion Buster which... you just have to see to believe.

Actually, I take that back. My favorite part is the music - especially the one that plays during a duel or such (it's also used in the Red Falcon - Gao Yellow duel in GaoRanger vs. Super Sentai). Shima Daisuke sings the OP and the ED, and they're both pretty good. But the BGMs and incidentals (the one that plays during LiveRobo's Super Live Crash is nice too) are the true shiners...

And then there's the characters. The good guys are good, the bad guys are evil (Dr. Kempu especially). My particular favorite is Busujima Arashi (formerly Dr. Ashura). After he goes from Ashura the super-genius to Arashi the super-idiot, he tries to add 5 and 8. And he can't, because he uses his fingers to add. Being the hit-first-hit-again-wait-was-I-supposed-to-question-them type, he then tries to take on a Brain Beast that can absorb attacks and copy them, with nothing more than his brute strength, and loses. He asks the guy he replaced in VOLT (Omura, formerly Dr. Obular) what 5 and 8 are ("13, but why?"), then warmly tells him he's got nothing left to do. He fights the Brain Beast Battle-Zunô again, loses, then sees a way to win... When Liveman is down and at the enemy's mercy, Arashi reappears. He yells at Bias to watch him, and charges Battle-Zunô... He wins.

Despite it being 18 years old now, and having dated special effects and classic monster suits, I still love it. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to watch a good show.

Definitely my favorite Super Sentai

[joeypm · 10/10 · 25 October 2022]

It's one of the darkest Sentai with very likeable characters and a intriguing storyline. To me this Sentai is nearly identical to zoo Ranger or known as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in America with the costumes which are pretty close yet have their own unique style to it but if you grew up watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers I would definitely recommend you check out this super Sentai it's definitely more serious and dark as it's themes are betrayal, revenge and life. Not to also mention the theme song is amazing. This is everything I want from a Super Sentai or Power Rangers series and it most certainly pass the test of time.

Why is this be a 6.4?

[lincolnpjones · 10/10 · 20 March 2013]

Now this is sentai done right. I love this series from the bottom of my heart, and it's a crying shame that sentai isn't following this show's example more often. And on the plus side, it's better than most of the stuff on TV nowadays.

The characters are all likable an relatable, to the point where even Colon, the robot ally is given a tragic episode where she falls in love with a Jinmer, only for him to die horribly at the hands of VOLT. Even the villains are just as human as the main protagonists, to the point that when they each die off, you'll cry buckets over them. Even the ones in rubber suits, like poor Butchy. But my favorite character is Megumi, otherwise known as Blue Dolphin. She isn't like many female senshi, she's emotional, sure, but she's also sympathetic and by the end of it you just want to give her and her friends a hug. Oh, and Doctor Arashi was bleeding' hardcore!

The special effects are just awesome, even by 2013 standards. Sure, the morphing sequence isn't as detailed as later shows, but it gets the job done. The fight scenes are really darn good, emphasizing martial arts and wire-work over CGI.

The music is pure 80s' rock that sets the mood perfectly, my favorite tracks being the opening, by the red senshi Daisuke Shima, the theme for Live Boxer and Knock! Nekkyo No Live, both done by Kouji Kaya.

And the writing is absolutely superb, giving not only the heroes depth, but also delivering some pretty entertaining, and admittedly tragic stuff. It's probably the darkest, most mature take on Sentai ever. Even the filler episodes are extremely well done, including one where a time- traveling monster snatches a dinosaur from prehistoric times and it bonds with a human child ala ET. Or one where Dr. Obler's back story is revealed and he loses his humanity in front of his mother.

A great Sentai!

[BuldakNoodles28 · 9/10 · 26 June 2022]

Liveman is a great show and easy to get into compared to Maskman (the previous Sentai). I recommended this to anyone starting to watch Super Sentai, particularly for teens/teenagers.

Definitely the BEST Super Sentai of all time!

[RedRangerSuperSentai · 31 January 2007]

I absolutely loved Chôjû sentai Raibuman as a kid, since I spent a lot of years in Japan, since my father was in the military, I am very familiar with Super Sentai, also known as Power Rangers in western countries.

Chôjû sentai Raibuman also known as Liveman was a unique, one of a kind Super Sentai that combined great characters, special effects, and storytelling to create one of the best kid's shows of the 1980s! I had all of the toys of this great show when I was a teenager! I absolutely loved this show as a kid, but, it's now nearly impossible to find any episodes of this great show. Hopefully Bandai Japan will put out some DVDs of this and other great Super Sentais from the past 30 years! I now live in the United States, but I won't ever forget this great show! Go Liveman!

Another childhood favorite

[Rectangular_businessman · 11 April 2024]

I was just a little kid when I watched this series by the first time; I used to watch it religiously (But somehow I missed the final three episodes) even when several of its themes totally went over my head back then.

Sure, at first glance it might seem another Power Rangers-esque series, with all the usual conventions of the genre: Heroes with bright colored uniforms, giant combining robots, rubber monsters and eccentric-looking villains...

But rewatching it as an adult, I was somewhat surprised of how dark and dramatic the plot could get at times, despite being a show for children.

There was a lot of death, tragedies and dramatic moments, with characters having to overcome several difficulties. Even the lessons given to children at the end of the episode were a bit more complex, often dealing with the value of life and keeping your own humanity in the face of intense hardships.

In other words, it didn't talk down its audience, without sugarcoating stuff as many American shows tend to do.

Shows and movies like that are missing these days, with even the mildest kind of content being deemed "inappropiate" for kids by the censors and moral guardians.

I sincerely believe the antivalues pushed by many modern series (such as materialism, rudeness, willful ignorance, anti-intellectualism and celebrity/billionaires worship) are far worse and more harmful to children than anything featured here.

Liveman might be dark, but is the kind of "dark" show with lots of light underneath all the violence and drama, and I'm glad I had the chance of discovering it before the Power Rangers turned the whole genre into a bizarre teen sitcom.