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| Juukou B-Fighter | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Beetle Fighter |
| Genre | Tokusatsu Superhero fiction Science fiction Military fiction |
| Created by | Saburō Yatsude |
| Written by | Junichi Miyashita |
| Directed by | Shinichiro Sawai |
| Starring | Daisuke Tsuchiya Shigeru Kanai Reina Hazuki Chigusa Tomoe Keisuke Tsuchiya Takashi Sasano |
| Narrated by | Minoru Inaba |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 53 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies | TV Asahi Toei Company Asatsu |
| Original release | |
| Network | ANN (TV Asahi) |
| Release | February 5, 1995 – February 25, 1996 |
| Related | |
Juukou B-Fighter (重甲ビーファイター, Jūkō Bī Faitā), is a 1995 Japanese tokusatsu television series. B-Fighter is short for "Beetle Fighter". It was part of Toei's Metal Hero Series franchise. It dealt with three members of the prestigious Earth Academia (アースアカデミア, Āsu Akademia) fighting against the evil forces of the otherworldly Jamahl Empire. The action footage and props were reused for the U.S. adaptation of Big Bad Beetleborgs and it was followed by spin-off series; B-Fighter Kabuto.
Insects all over the world begin to swarm for unknown reasons, with other animals and plants acting strangely as well. To investigate this, Takuya Kai is dispatched with an Earth Academia group. Investigating independently, Takuya encounters the insect elder Guru, who reveals that insects are preparing for battle against invaders from another dimension called the Jamahl. Offering their aid, the Earth Academia create suits of armor to combat the threat as the Jamahl arrive to Earth to enslave humans. Though they have trouble perfecting the Bio-Machinery, Guru arrives to infuse the armor with the life force of many insects. Once the suits become the B-Commanders, one suit chooses Takuya while the other two bond to Daisaku Katagiri and Rei Hayama. With their newfound power, the B-Fighters fight to drive back Jamahl's forces.
The eponymous B-Fighters use Bio-armor developed by the Earth Academia's brightest and infused with the life force of insects.
The Beet Machines (ビートマシン, Bīto Mashin) are the mecha used by the B-Fighters to fight the Jamahl fighter jets, usually summoned by the command, "Beet Machines, launch!" They are housed within the Heavy Shell Base (重甲基地, Jukou Kichi), a large hangar base located beneath the Earth Academia's parking lot; when summoned, the base rises out of the ground, allowing the vehicles to exit (the Beetluder from the front, the Stagger Tank from the right side, and the Red Gyro from the top).
The Jamahl (ジャマール, Jamāru) are beings from another dimension. Their base of operation, was the Jamahl Fortress (ジャマール要塞, Jamāru Yōsai), a claw-like dreadnaught. It had an opening where the palm would be, where the Jamar fighter jets emerged from and where Jamahl's new super-weapons were located.
The Jamahl Kaijin (ジャマール怪人, Jamāru Kaijin) come in different armies, each led by one of the three Jamahl generals. During a fight with the B-Fighters, Gaohm would spirit all combatants into the Gaohm Zone (ガオームゾーン, Gōmu Zōn), personalized super-dimensional battlefields where the Jamahl monsters can fight to their full potential.
Led by Jera, the Mercenary Army (傭兵軍団, Yōhei Gundan) is composed of mercenary warriors from various dimensions who join Jamahl for various reasons. Some of these warriors are humans wearing armor while others are alien creatures.
Led by Gigaro, the Synthetic Beast Army (合成獣軍団, Gōseijū Gundan) is composed of humanoid Chimeras created from Gigaro's blood.
Led by Schwartz, the Combat-Mecha Army (戦闘メカ軍団, Sentō Meka Gundan) is composed of combat robots.