| Type: | tv series |
| Director: | Norio Kashima |
| Producer: | Osamu Sekita Toshifumi Kawase Masao Ito |
| Music: | Hiromoto Tobisawa |
| Studio: | Sunrise |
| Network: | Nagoya Broadcasting Network, TV Asahi |
| First: | March 11, 1989 |
| Last: | January 27, 1990 |
| Episodes: | 43 |
| Type: | manga |
| Author: | Go Nagai |
| Publisher: | Kodansha |
| Demographic: | Children, Shōnen |
| Magazine: | Comic Bom Bom |
| First: | March 1989 |
| Last: | January 1990 |
| Volumes: | 2 |
is an anime superhero TV series created by Go Nagai. Produced by Sunrise Inc. with cooperation of Dynamic Planning (Nagai's own company), the series was originally broadcast on Nagoya Broadcasting Network (NBN)/TV Asahi from to with a total of 43 episodes.[1] [2] [3] [4]
A manga series, written and drawn by Go Nagai, was also released alongside the anime, originally published by Kodansha in the magazine Comic Bom Bom from to .[5] [6] [7] [8]
Ken Taiga is a milquetoast 12 year old 6th grader living in Hokkaido, Japan which is in 199X A.D. who has a knack on flipping females' skirts and touching their breasts because he can be quite such a pervert. In Kushiro, Hokkaido, the Drago Knights of the Dragon Empire attack. Possessing overwhelming destructive force, they attack the city to awaken their master, the devil god Jashin Drago from the Rock of Sealing he was trapped in. Two hundred years ago, Drago was trapped in the seal by a holy warrior with the tattooed mark of the Liger. Assuming that the warrior is dead, Drago and Empress Zara are free to conquer the Earth using their army of giant biomechanical beasts. Even the Japan Self-Defense Forces are no match for the Drago Knights' awesome power. One of the people fleeing is Ken Taiga himself. Unbeknownst to the Dragonites, Ken realizes that he is the descendant of the Lion Clan that once summoned Liger. In a burst of anger, Ken's Liger birthmark appears, and he rises his palm into the air, shouting the henshin (transforming) command, "LIGER!" which then covers him in demonic, long-haired biomechanical armor. Ken transforms into Jushin Liger to fight the evil forces of the Dragon Empire and its true purposes. With the forces of Goro Dan, his classmate, alongside Yui Kamishiro and Mai Kamishiro, the 12 year old twin sisters who possess special powers and have the ability to summon Begaruda, and alongside the 22 year old newscaster Saeko Yagami, his adventures with them boost up with the battles against the Dragon Empire. And with the power of Thunder Phoenix, Liger will soon become Thunder Liger. Soon afterwards, it's later revealed that Ryu Dolk, who happened to be Ken's arch rival from the Dragon Empire was the Kamishiro twins' brother, and later helped Jushin Liger's new ultimate form as Agama eradicate the Dragon Empire and the boss once and for all.
The opening theme, which was performed by Yumi Hiroki, is also wrestler Jushin Thunder Liger's theme song. The song was also used by Liger on occasion.
Source(s)[9] [10]Source(s)[11]
This was one of the first anime television series to feature two opening and two ending themes, a tendency that has been followed since then by several anime television series. The Ikari no Jushin, besides being still by Japanese wrestler Jushin Liger, has been used by the Hanshin Tigers as the climbing theme of pitcher Hirotaka Egusa. It's one of the anime themes that has been in constant use even after the TV show ended.
The manga, which was originally published in Kodansha's magazine Comic Bom Bom, was not published in tankōbon format by this company. Instead, it was published by Keibunsha, Daitosha and Daiso Shuppan.
| Japanese release date | Vol. | |
| 1 | ||
| 2 |
| Japanese release date | Vol. | ISBN | |
| 1 |
| Japanese release date | Vol. | |
| 1 | ||
| 2 |
The TV series was released in VHS format by King Records in 1989 and 1990. The whole series was released in DVD by Geneon Entertainment in two DVD boxes of 4 discs each, with standard numbers GNBA-1230 and GNBA-1231 and released in and .
The anime has generated the following records and CDs, all of them produced by King Records.
| Title | Format | Standard number | Release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jushin Liger (Ikari no Jushin) | K07S-10295 | |||
| Jushin Liger (Ikari no Jushin) | K10H-23034 | |||
| Jushin Liger (Ikari no Jushin) | K10X-23049 | |||
| Jushin Liger: Hoo Hisho Hen | 230R-7 | |||
| Jushin Liger: Hoo Hisho Hen | 276A-7006 | |||
| Jushin Liger: Fuun Ryuko Hen | LP album | 230R-8 | ||
| Jushin Liger: Fuun Ryuko Hen | CD album | 276A-7010 | ||
| Jushin Liger (Kiseki no Jushin) | Cassette | 091S-10015 | ||
| Jushin Liger (Kiseki no Jushin) | 8 cm single CD | 091X-10015 | ||
| Jushin Liger: Majin Hoko Hen | CD album | 276A-7017 | ||
| Jushin Liger: Hoo Hisho Hen | CD album | KICA-2158 | ||
| Jushin Liger: Fuun Ryuko Hen | CD album | KICA-2159 | ||
| Jushin Liger: Majin Hoko Hen | CD album | KICA-2160 | ||
| Jushin Liger (Ikari no Jushin) | 8 cm single CD | KIDA-2121 |
The theme Ikari no Jushin appears in both its original and arranged versions in these CD music collections.
| Title | Label | Standard number | Release date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kettei Ban: Star Child Best Collection | King Records | 250A-50063 | |||
| Pro-Wrestling: Pro-Wrestling Kakumeiji Theme Collection | Victor Entertainment | VDR-1649 | |||
| The Pro-Wrestling '90's | Victor Entertainment | VICL-5041 | |||
| New Japan Pro-Wrestling | King Records | KICS-84 | |||
| The Pro-Wrestling: All Japan Pro-Wrestling - New Japan Pro-Wrestling Saishin Ban | Victor Entertainment | VICL-5111 | |||
| Cho Gekisen Samurai Den | Victor Entertainment | VICP-5189 | |||
| Gekitotsu Sengoku: New Japan Pro-Wrestling vs. WAR | Victor Entertainment | VICL-5196 | |||
| New Japan Pro-Wrestling Best: King of Pro-Wrestling | King Records | KICS-361/2 | |||
| Mazinger Densetsu | First Smile Entertainment | FSCA-10031 | |||
| Super Robot Spirits Live Tour'98 | First Smile Entertainment | FSCA-10051 | |||
| New Japan Pro-Wrestling Best: King of Pro-Wrestling | King Records | KICS-2271 | |||
| New Japan Pro-Wrestling VIII: Best of the Super Juniors | King Records | KICS-2278 | |||
| Pro-Wrestling Q8 - Ji Dayo! Zenin Syugo | King Records | KICS-2319 | |||
| Euro Anime-J | Chapter One | CHCB-90004 | |||
| Nagai Go Hero Densetsu Kotetsu Majin Hen | First Smile Entertainment | FSCA-10204 | |||
| Toukonssuka! | Pony Canyon | PCCA-01928 | |||
| Super Robot Spirits The Best Vol.1: Super Robot Hen | Be! Smile | BSCH-30001/2 | |||
| Mazinger Densetsu + 7: The Legends of MAZINGER | Be! Smile | BSCH-30012 | |||
| Live! | Super Robot Spirits The Best: SRS Hen Part 1 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30016/7 | ||
| Super Robot Spirits The Instrumental: Super robot & Real Robot Hen Vol.1 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30030 | |||
| Best of MIQ - MIQUEST: Tamashii wa koku o koete... | Be! Smile | BSCH-30032 | |||
| Super Robot Spirits Shudaika Best Collection 2 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30038 | |||
| Nagai Go Dynamic! | The chronicle | Be! Smile | BSCH-30040 | ||
| Super Robot Spirits Best & Live: Girls Hen 2 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30042 | |||
| Live! From Super Robot Spirits Tour'98 | King Records | KICA-1403/4 | |||
| The Best! | Super Robot Spirits: Ultimate LIVE 10th Anniversary Edition | Be! Smile | BSCH-30057/60 | ||
| The Best! | Super Robot Spirits: Super Robot Studio Recordings | Be! Smile | BSCH-30063/6 | ||
| The Best! | Super Robot Spirits: Girls Best Collection | Be! Smile | BSCH-30077/8 | ||
| Super Robot Spirits: Non stop mix Vol.3 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30086 | |||
| Buraban! Tigers | Nippon Crown | CRCP-40217 | |||
| The Best! | Super Robot Spirits: The Best Karaoke songs | Be! Smile | BSCH-30094/7 |
Jushin Liger appears in the Wii video game Super Robot Wars NEO, as well as Super Robot Wars Operation Extend for the PSP. In 2020, the Jushin Liger anime was featured in the mobile game Super Robot Wars X-Ω as part of a special event to celebrate the retirement of Keiichi Yamada, the wrestler who based his gimmick on the series.
This anime series inspired the real-life professional wrestler, Jushin Thunder Liger.