Hikari Sentai Maskman

Inside the human body, a mysterious power is hidden. With training and discipline, this infinite power can be obtained.

Hikari Sentai Maskman (Light Squadron Maskman) is the eleventh Super Sentai series, running from 1987 to 1988. Not to be confused with the Korean cartoon which also has the name Maskman.

Commander Sugata, a master of the mysterious Aura Power, assembles a team of five martial artists and instructs them in the use of their inner Aura to offset the menace of Tube, a once peaceful empire now ruled by the evil Emperor Zeba, who seeks to extend his reign to the surface world. Red Mask Takeru's girlfriend Mio is in fact Iyal, Princess of Tube, who is sentenced to sleep forever in an ice coffin for falling in love with a surface dweller. Maskman fights for peace both on and beneath the earth.

The Maskmen are:

  • Takeru (Red Mask): Leader, trained in Karate. He is a racecar driver.
  • Kenta (Black Mask): Second-in-command and brains, trained in Kobudo. He worked as a mechanic.
  • Akira (Blue Mask): Youngest member, trained in Chinese Kempo and broadsword.
  • Haruka (Yellow Mask): Action Girl, trained in Ninjutsu.
  • Momoko (Pink Mask): The Chick, trained in Tai Chi Chuan.

Tube's significant members include:

Tropes used in Hikari Sentai Maskman include:

Recurring Super Sentai tropes:

Tropes Specific to Hikari Sentai Maskman:

  • Acting for Two: Mina Asami played both "Prince" Igam and Princess Iyal/Mio.
    • She also sometimes plays Oya-Bu.
  • The Atoner: Igam became a nun.
  • The Artifact: The number "5" on their emblem, which was decided back when the team was originally going to be called "Fiveman".
  • Barehanded Blade Block: One episode had Kenta learning this in order to thwart Baraba's scheme.
  • Bittersweet Ending: Even though Takeru and Iyal are reunited in the end, it doesn't last long. She's become the new ruler of Tube and is forced to break things off with him.
    • At least he still has his friends.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: Takeru as a kid.
  • Catch Phrase: After fulfilling his weekly purpose, Okelampa exclaims "Yare Yare" ("Oh dear"/ "Good Heavens").
    • In the brazilian dub, he says "Eu tô cansado" (I'm tired).
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Aura Power.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Dr. Catherine, Chief Sugata's other assistant in Episode 3 (the one played by a white girl).
  • Cowardly Lion: One of the Monster of the Week turns Kenta into this.
  • Dancing Theme: The movie opening.
  • Darker and Edgier: One of the first attempts of Super Sentai to instill seriousness (as in Star-Crossed Lovers) in the series (before JAKQ Dengekitai was included)
  • Development Gag: The earlier design of the Maskman's helmet ended up being used for the team's predecessor X1 Mask, making him a literal Maskman Prototype.
  • Dub Name Change: For some reason, when this Sentai was aired in Brazil, Takeru's name was slightly altered to "Takeo", while Haruka and Momoko were respectively rechristened "Sayaka" (no relation to Change Mermaid) and "Keiko".
    • Not to mention the usual Filipino schtick. Apparently Takeru becomes "Michael Joe", amongst things.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Turns out Zeba was actually the spawn of Rizal Doggler, a malignant creature defeated by the original Tube royal family. Driven by a seething hatred against humans from both sides of the crust, it proceeds to destroy the rest of the original family save Ial and Igam, corrupting Tube into becoming a militaristic Crapsack World using enslaved underground humans in an attempt to reach the surface world and extend its malicious grip.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Baraba's sorrow over his mother's death is what allows him to defeat Devil Doggler and obtain the Ground Empire Sword...
  • Expy: Closer to the Shout-Out below, Takeru draws similarities with Kazuya Ryuuzaki the most, since he is the male Star-Crossed Lovers, runs on The Power of Love, and is a karateka.
  • Face Heel Turn: Akira. Turns out he was just possessed by an evil spirit.
  • Fake Defector: That one episode where Haruka and Momoko get 'brainwashed' into gangsters.
  • Gag Sub: In the CS Central fansub of the series they took Okelampa's Catch Phrase above and even though he exactly said "Yare yare", the subtitle will say amongst things like "Whatever..."[4] or "I need a bath..." or "I need a raise..." Could also go to Deadpan Snarker territory with lines like, "Why don't the Maskmen shoot me first?" It gets even more ridiculous and crazier in latter episodes with lines as "Don't worry, Kenta! You still have *insert all one-episode girl that interacted with him from the previous episodes, with the episodes mentioned*, you goddamn playboy!" (Note that this might cross the line since this is said after Kenta's girl of the week just tragically died)
    • CS Central is pretty liberal when it comes to subs, actually. Just watch their Choujin Sentai Jetman subs (where else would you watch "aa, sonna..."[5] translated as "No way, Jose"[6]?).
  • Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Takeru delivers this twice on his teammates, first for Haruka, then for Kenta.
  • Handsome Lech: Kenta.
  • Hey, It's That Guy!:
    • Machiko Soga guest-stars as Lalaba, Baraba's mom in Episode 30.
    • Kazuhiko Nishimura, Jō Ōhara/Yellow Lion from Choujuu Sentai Liveman, has a bit part in Episode 29 as one of the yellow-clad researchers working on the Jet Cannon.
    • Tooru Sakai, Gō Omura from Liveman as well, guest-stars in Episode 32 as Kenta's old friend Shin-ya.
    • Yasuhiro Iwata, Bun/Blue Flash in Choushinsei Flashman, plays Hikaru, the human form of Gurondoggler, a Monster of the Week who falls in love with Momoko in Episode 34. Goes to Hilarious in Hindsight when both, he and Kanako Maeda (Momoko's actress), guest-starred in Choujin Sentai Jetman as an actual couple.
    • Elly, the young girl who falls in love with Kiros in Episode 33, is played by Tokie Shibata (the teenage version of Nana in Dengeki Sentai Changeman).
    • Naoya Ban, Makoto Jin/Battle Cossack II in Battle Fever J, plays Underground Ninja Ijin in Episode 11.
  • It Only Works Once: Despite its legendary reputation, Takeru's God Hand technique is only used once after its premiere in episode 6, and fails to damage its target.
    • Perhaps this is why Captain Marvelous also failed to make it work years later... Then again, said monster without problems withstood other Sentai attacks and even one that would've destroyed normal monsters like New Super Dynamite...
  • Keet: Akira is the Genki Guy of the team.
  • Lady of War: Momoko. Not only she is the Girly Girl/TheChick, her martial arts apparatus is Tai Chi Quan.
  • Love Triangle: Takeru, Iyal and Kiros.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: The Galaxy Robo and Jet Cannon.
    • Baraba and Prince Igam get theirs in the form of the Daichiteiken[7] and the Igam Dragon respectively.
  • Name's the Same: The Kiros here doesn't have friends named Laguna and Ward.
    • And the name Takeru would later be used for another Red.
  • Never Trust a Trailer: Not very severe but the preview for episode one makes it look lighthearted and nothing very heavy.
  • Only One Name: None of the Maskmen seem to have surnames, except Ryo Asuka, the one-off X-1 Mask.
  • The Plan: Anagamas' plan to bury the Great Five depends on one, heavily.
  • Posthumous Character: Dr. Yamagata (the inventor of the Galaxy Robo)
  • The Power of Love: Takeru's love with Mio/Iyal usually is what pushes him forward.
  • Shout-Out: Homages mecha anime Choudenji Machine Voltes V and Toushou Daimos both with Maskman's mecha, and key plot elements: The main hero's girlfriend is actually the princess of the invaders he fights as in Daimos, and Prince Igam is looked down upon by the rest of Tube for being related to the traitor Princess Iyal, mirroring Prince Hainel from Voltes. Galaxy Robo's Aura Road Spark is also a Shout-Out to Combattler V's Grand Dasher Wave.
  • Sky Surfing: The Jet Cannon can double as a 'sky surfing board'
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: Takeru and Iyal
  • Temporal Paradox: Igam tried to do this by traveling back in time and attempting to kill Takeru when he's a kid.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Haruka and Momoko. And of course, Igam and Iyal
  • Villain Song: We Are Angler by Koorogi '73.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Akira mostly fights and continues training to make his mother proud.
  • What Could Have Been: The series was once going to be called Fiveman, explaining the number 5 on the suits and the name of the mecha being Great Five. Of course, that title would be used for a later Sentai.
    • X-1 Mask's helmet is based on a rejected design for the Maskman team, which originally planned to bring back the face-shaped helmets with the two-eyed visors and sculpted nose from Battle Fever J.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Okelampa's final fate after he enlarges Anagamas for his final battle is unknown.
  • Working Title: Originally planned as "The Fiveman", which is why all of their gear is adorned with the number "5" and why their robot is called "Great Five". The name was conceived as a homage to Goranger, but was changed just before Toei began recording the first episode, after the suits were already made.
  1. ↑ The pronunciation is even different, since the name of the ship is pronounced more like "Turbo RUN-ger".
  2. ↑ Gun and Sword modes.
  3. ↑ A three-sectioned staff.
  4. ↑ which is, in context, the most correct translation, pretty much along the lines of Kyon's "good grief"
  5. ↑ "aw, c'mon"
  6. ↑ that's on Episode 28, by the way. The One With... Dryer Jigen
  7. ↑ Ground Empire Sword
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