Tokusou Robo Janperson

Tokusou Robo Janperson was the twelth entry in the Metal Heroes franchise, airing from 1993-1994

Sometime in the not so distant future, scientists in Tokyo create a robot to bring lethal justice to their lawless streets. However, this robot, MX-A1, goes haywire and turns on its creators. Rather than allow him to be scrapped, his co-creator Kaoru Saegusa rebuilds him into a new robot hero with human emotions. Now Janperson, our hero patrols the streets of Tokyo to eliminate the threat of its four main crime syndicates. Later, he is joined by fellow robot Gun Gibson, who was originally designed to kill him.

Tropes used in Tokusou Robo Janperson include:

• Badass Automaton: Janperson and Gun Gibson.
• Battle Couple: Gun Gibson and Carol, Neo-Guild assassins, until George Makabe offed her.
• Battle Cry: "Janperson, For Justice!"
• Big Bad: There were four villain organizations roaming the streets. Ryuzaburou Tatewaki, aka Bill Goldy, Janperson's Evil Twin, seems to be the most iconic.
• BFG: Janperson has his Jick Cannon, but it's not nearly as big as the 1500mm-long Spindle Cannon Gun Gibson uses.
• BFS: The Jan Blader. Strangely for a Metal Heroes show, it isn't a Laser Blade, nor is it a Vibroweapon, and seems to be a regular metal Blade Below the Shoulder.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Bill Goldy. Literally.
• Cop Show: The Toku version, just like its successor.
• Dynamic Entry: Janperson loves these, and usually introduces himself by throwing a JP Card into a wall, or a gun, or a robot... (He doesn't quite fit the Death Dealer trope, as he only uses them to announce his presence.)
• Gratuitous English: The opening credits begin with "Janperson fights for justice!"
  • Bill Goldy wields cards that say "Bill Goldy for Evil!". It's also his In the Name of the Moon.
  • Also from Bill Goldy: "I'll be back!"
  • Gun Gibson likes to end his sentences with "baby".
• The Gunslinger: Gun Gibson loves to twirl his guns, and manages to fit all four types of this trope at one point or another.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: Plenty; for instance, Change Griffin appears as George Makabe.
  • Bill Goldy is Kamen Rider ZX! American fans would also recognize him from Kill Bill.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Gun Gibson and Carol - they'd enter scenes with her riding on his shoulder.
• ~It's Personal~: George Makabe (the Big Bad of Neo-Guild) personally killed Gun Gibson's partner Carol, and it takes some convincing from Janperson to talk him down from an indiscriminate Roaring Rampage of Revenge to a "Best Served Cold" approach. (There are many civilian robots that use Neo-Guild parts without actually having anything to do with Neo-Guild.)
• Judge, Jury, and Executioner: What Janperson was designed as and in fact still does, albeit mostly with crimes and criminals too far above what the local police can handle. A rather mild version when compared to Jiban.
• Large Ham: Shun Sugata's performance as Tatewaki/Bill Goldy is pure, delicious ham.
• Laser Blade: Averted, oddly - the Jan Blader is a solid metal sword.
• Monster of the Week: Barely any of them show up, since robot technology in this version of Japan has basically advanced to the point that the Mooks are just as dangerous.
• Morality Chain: Mostly averted - Gun Gibson is reasonable enough that Janperson only had to be this in the very beginning of their partnership.
• Oh Crap: The mooks of the week when Janperson starts flexing his might (he can lift cars by the bumpers, one sedan in each hand), and Janperson himself upon fighting Bill Goldy for the first time.
• One-Man Army: Janperson has enough built-in weaponry to destroy several criminal organizations, and then has an arsenal of mounted/carried weaponry besides.
  • ...And Bill Goldy can apparently use the same, even hijacking Janperson's.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Gun Gibson is originally a Neo-Guild assassin, and has this attitude towards Janperson. Then They Fight Crime together.
• Prop Recycling: The Jan Vulcan is a repainted Giga Streamer, but Janperson can fire it one-handed, being a robot and all.
• Restraining Bolt: Janperson doesn't appear to have this, nor does he seem to be "Three Laws"-Compliant^[1] - Gun Gibson even less so - but he'll incapacitate human opponents with slightly-less-than-lethal force and leave them for the actual police.
• Ridiculously-Human Robots: Robots superficially resembling humans are somewhat common in the show, and one episode revolves around a human robot hunter trying to find parts for one built in the image of her brother, but overall they tend to be hitmen or assassins. Janperson himself could, with some work, pass as a human in a suit, as his AI is sufficiently advanced.
  • To clarify: Janperson's movements tend to be jerky and obviously robotic (he's jumped from a building and landed on two feet), but in at least one case he's donned a robot disguise and acted surprisingly more fluid than usual.
• Shapeshifter Mode Lock: Janperson can remove his face mask and wear clothes when necessary, which also lowers his output significantly. One episode featured him getting locked like this, with an apparently human exterior on top of that (that of a criminal).
• Shout-Out:
  • Gun Gibson is named after Mel Gibson, apparently.
  • Janperson carries a missile in at least one of his thighs similar to that of 004.
  • At one point, Bill Goldy shouts "I'll be back!" in Gratuitous English.
  • Janperson's occasional costume change (removing his face guard and putting on clothes) is similar to what Robot Detective K did, but for a slightly different reason - JP mostly did it as a disguise, while K did it to avoid frightening people.
• Something Person: His name comes from him wearing a Jumper. Geddit?
• Spiritual Successor: To Robot Detective K. Also to Kidou Keiji Jiban and (visually, at least) to RoboCop.
• Surprisingly Good English: The "Janperson fights for justice!" at the beginning of the credits is almost completely devoid of an accent.
• Swiss Army Appendage: Janperson's right arm can be launched off as a wired Rocket Punch, or detached to make room for a sword, a flamethrower, or an actual Rocket Punch.
• Unexplained Recovery: Bill Goldy is destroyed, but somehow returns for the ending of Juukou B-Fighter. Gun Gibson is also heavily damaged towards the end, but gets repaired in time for the finale.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Robots are quite common in this version of Japan, enough so that Janperson can disguise himself (or at least not draw as much attention) by removing his face mask and donning clothes.
• Villainous Breakdown: Tatewaki doesn't like losing to Janperson. And no, he wasn't terribly stable before that either.

1. ↑ he certainly ignores the second law on a daily basis!