Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman



Aliens have invaded Earth. The King of Planet Voice has sent his son, Prince Sasaki, and his chief tactician, Seki, to Earth, disguised as an ordinary Japanese businessman, with the intent of turning Mega Corp Science Electronics into a power strong enough to Take Over the World. Fortunately, they are opposed in this goal by a secret department of the Right Trading Company - the Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman!

The series chronicles the adventures of young Salaryman Hiroya Matsumoto, Shinesman Red, and his co-workers, who form a Five-Man Band. They fight the aliens of Planet Voice with highly impractical weapons and the support of the Right Trading Company's Human Resources Department.

Shinesman is an Affectionate Parody of the Sentai genre, originally created as a manga by Kaimu Tachibana, and then adapted as an OVA by Production I.G, which ran for precisely two episodes. A very high-quality English dub was released by Media Blasters, under their Anime Works label.

This series contains examples of:

 * Accidental Marriage: Matsumoto accidentally saw Princess Shina's bare skin, which according to the law of Planet Voice, means she has to either kill him or marry him. In the manga, where Shina does not exist, the same thing happens - except with Sasaki.
 * Affectionate Parody
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Having some quirk seems to be a requirement for working for Right Trading.
 * Brainwashed:
 * The Captain: Kyoko Sakakibara
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: Parodied -- Kyoko chose the team's colors by asking each member what their favorite color for a superhero costume would be; most of the members chose "business-friendly" colors to escape the apparent trick question.
 * "Your colors SUCK!"
 * Cool Car: Yamadera's Montage
 * Corporate-Sponsored Superhero: A corporate sponsored sentai team.
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive: Seki and Sasaki's cover identities
 * Dating Catwoman: Matsumoto and Princess Shina
 * The Danza: The entire cast in the Japanese version. It's deliberate; all of the characters' surnames were borrowed from notable voice actors at the time the manga was written, and the corresponding actors voiced the characters for the OVA. In other words, in a clever ploy on the author's part, she picked out voice actors for the characters in advance.
 * The Ditz: Princess Shina
 * Earth Is the Center of The Universe
 * Tokyo Is the Center of The Universe
 * The Empire
 * Evil Overlord
 * Five-Man Band
 * The Hero: Hiroya Matsumoto/Shinesman Red
 * The Lancer: Ryoichi Hayami/Shinesman Moss Green
 * The Big Guy: Shogo Yamadera/Shinesman Gray
 * The Smart Guy: Shotaro Ono/Shinesman Sepia
 * The Chick: Riko Hidaka/Shinesman Salmon Pink
 * Genre Adultery: Shinesman was quite a departure from Tachibana's usual work.
 * Genre Savvy: Matsumoto's little brother Yota is a Sentai fanboy, and provides Matsumoto with crucial Genre Savviness.
 * Handsome Lech: Hayami
 * Ill Girl: Yota is a male example
 * Improbable Weapon User: Tie-clip bombs! Cuff lasers! Business card cutters!
 * Times like these I wish I had a shotgun.
 * Lampshade Hanging: A good portion of the English dub's humor.
 * Living With the Villain: Right Trading does not know about Seki and Sasaki's disguises, and Seki and Sasaki do not know the Shinesmen's secret identities. Matsumoto, Hayami, Sasaki, and Seki sign business deals with each other frequently.
 * Mega Corp: Both Science Electronics and the Right Trading Company
 * Office Lady: Hidaka
 * Protectorate: Each member of the team has their own protectorate, as revealed in the climax of the first episode:
 * Matsumoto's little brother
 * Hayami's latest date
 * Yamadera's Montage
 * Ono's daughter
 * Hidaka's fashion sense
 * Running Gag: Calling Sheena a bimbo.
 * Salaryman
 * Secret Identity: Sasaki and Seki
 * Sentai
 * Shining Goodness
 * Show Within a Show: Greatmen, a more traditional Sentai show.
 * Stock Footage: Parodied, of course.
 * Theme Naming: See Hey, It's That Voice!
 * Twin Threesome Fantasy
 * Unwanted Harem: Hidaka is the only named female character that has no sexual tension with Matsumoto.
 * Voice With an Internet Connection
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: Matsumoto flashing his business card in the second OVA (probably the greatest business card flashing ever made).