Zone Fighter (series)

{{{name}}} Zone Fighter (series) Air date April 2, 1973 - September 24, 1973 Producer(s) Kimihiko Eto, Shunji Takahashi, Yoshio Nishikawa Distributor Toho Channel(s) Nippon Television Genre(s) Kyodai Hero Episodes 26

Zone Fighter (流星人間ゾーン,   Ryūsei Ningen Zōn, lit. Meteor Human Zone) is a Japanese tokusatsu kaiju show produced by Toho that ran from April 2, 1973 to September 24, 1973. The series is notable because Godzilla, Gigan, and King Ghidorah all made appearances, and the fact that the show exists in the Showa canon. During the oil crisis of the 70's the series was cancelled, lasting only 26 episodes.

Plot

The premise of the show is the evil Garogas plan to take over Earth with their army of giant Fearbeasts. They are opposed by the members of a family from a planet called Peaceland that was also destroyed by Garoga. They use a variety of exotic vehicles and weapons but their primary weapon against Garoga is the oldest child Hikaru, who is able to transform into the giant Zone Fighter.

Godzilla was portrayed as more or less a superhero at the time and helped Zone Fighter battle evil monsters created by the show's villains. At times they were even shown having friendly mock combat with one another.

King Ghidorah's origin is changed, the show's villains saying they created him. He was unique for the show because he managed to escape from Zone Fighter without being killed.

Gigan also appeared in the show, having been captured by the Garogas after fleeing from Godzilla and Jet Jaguar. He did not share King Ghidorah's luck; he was dramatically killed by Zone Fighter's missile might bracelets.

Production

Main articles: Toho Monster TV Film Project: Zone The Meteor Man, [[ and Toho Special Effects Terror-Beast Series: Zone The Meteor Man - Production Memo]].

Episodes

1. Destroy the Terror-Beast Missile!
2. Attack! Destro-King
3. Strike! Garoga's Underground Base
4. Invasion! Garoga's Grand Army: Godzilla Appears
5. Attack King Ghidorah!
6. King Ghidorah's Counterattack!
7. Zone Family's Critical Moment!
8. Defeat the Invader of Fear!
9. Find the Secret of the Red Spider!
10. Zone Fighter, Destroyed!
11. In a Hair's Breadth: The Roar of Godzilla!
12. The Terror-Beast Base: Invade the Earth!
13. Hair-Raising! The Birthday of Terror
14. Rampage! The Garoga Boys Attack Force
15. It's Sinking! Godzilla, Save Tokyo
16. Terrifying Attack! The Garoga Robot
17. Go! Fighter, Scramble
18. Command: "Destroy the Japanese Islands"
19. Order: "Destroy the Earth with Comet K"
20. Fierce Fight! Can You Hear Fighter's Song?
21. Invincible! Godzilla Rages
22. Counterattack! Defeat Super Jikiro
23. Secret of the Great Terror-Beast Bakugon
24. Defeat the Needle Shooting Terror-Beast Needlar
25. Carnage! Zone & Godzilla vs. the Allied Terror-Beast Forces
26. Pulverize! The Garoga Gamma-X Strategy

Appearances

Characters and Monsters Hikaru Sakimori Hotaru Sakimori Akira Sakimori Yoichiro Sakimori Tsukiko Sakimori Raita Sakimori Red Spark Jikiro Destro-King Dorola Godzilla Wagilar Spylar King Ghidorah Dragon King Gilmaras Gelderah Garoga Spider Garoga Gorilla Spider Uros Shadorah Jipudoro Gigan Barakidon Garoborg Detragon Zandolla Mogranda Balgaras Gundarguirus Goram Jellar Kastam-Jellar Super Jikiro Bakugon Needlar Kabutojira Grotogauros

Weapons, Vehicles, and Races Garogas (Gold Garoga; Silver Garoga(s); White Garoga; Red Garoga; Garoga X Squadron) Hikaru, Hotaru and Akira before they transform Hikaru, Hotaru, and Akira after they transform

Gallery

• 

  Zone Angel

• 

  Zone Junior

Trivia

• The suits reused and constructed for the kaiju and Terror-Beasts in the series are of considerably better construction and design than Toho's previous Tokusatsu series.
  • In addition, the sets are also in better condition, and have a quality about them which is almost identical to Toho's late Showa era films.
• Supplementary material issued by Toho after the series' conclusion revealed that this series is included in the Showa era continuity, existing between Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

References

This is a list of references for Zone Fighter (series). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]