Lion Maru G



Lion Maru G is a Toku series airing from October to November 2006.

Shishimaru is an Unlucky Everydude eking out a living in Neo-Kabuki-Cho as a 'host' in an exclusive club, who gets unwittingly wrapped up in the predominant gang violence in the city. An old man tells him that this was no accident, and hands him the legendary sword Kinsachi, explaining his true destiny as the next Lion Maru. And if that wasn't enough to take in all at once, someone out there's got the only weapon equal to its power, the Ginsachi, meaning that Shishimaru is in for at least one fight for his life...

The series itself, from the makers of Garo, is a followup to the classic Toku Kaiketsu Lion Maru and its sequel Fuun Lion Maru. The "G" addendum stands for "Ghetto"; or alternatively "Gigolo".

Tropes found in Lion Maru G:

 * Abhorrent Admirer: the only two women who go for Shishimaru at all.
 * All Your Powers Combined: Makage which eventually leads to Phlebotinum Breakdown.
 * Always Night: only one or two scenes take place in the day, and half of those are at sunset. Though somewhat justified by the setting of the series in a known after-hours hangout region, but this means that even the resident Joshikousei is only seen in night school...
 * Animal Motifs: Lion Maru and Tiger Joe, obviously, while the Shadow ninjas resemble bugs.
 * Audible Sharpness: Legendary swords, remember?
 * Ax Crazy: Makage.
 * Big Bad: Gousan.
 * Big Eater: Saori - just one time in ep. 8, but it's a bun as big as her head.
 * Bratty Half-Pint: KosuK is older than the usual ones, but plays this straight.
 * Breather Episode: ep. 10, complete with Lampshade Hanging when Kashin Koji appears just to say "the final battle is near..."
 * Buxom Is Better: Saori firmly believes in this.
 * Character Tics: Shishimaru's... constant... scratching.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Junior. That "teacher" at the night school.
 * The Comically Serious:
 * Cool Bike: Shishimaru's modified Suzuki Burgman (though nobody in-universe agrees).
 * Cosplay Otaku Guy: Junior.
 * KosuK might actually count since she has several different Joshikousei suits.
 * Cover Version: the Theme Song is the original Kaiketsu Lion Maru theme, redone by Akira Kushida. How could it NOT rock.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: played for laughs when KosuK "theorises" the reasons for Jounosuke's behavior.
 * The Dark Chick: in the tradition of Jabi from Garo, ep. 8 & 9 introduce Jounosuke's former partner Yuri.
 * Distressed Damsel: Saori
 * Dual-Wielding: Kinsachi and Ginsachi can morph into dual weapons.
 * The Dragon: Jounosuke to Gousan.
 * Elite Mooks: Gousan's Shadow ninjas.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The barkeep at Snack Z, and possibly Junior himself since he's Junior CEO of Gousan's company.
 * Evil Counterpart: Jounosuke as Tiger Joe.
 * Eye Scream: in eps 3 & 4, Toppongi
 * Fan Disservice: Junior again.
 * Fire-Forged Friends:
 * For Halloween I Am Going As Myself: A drunk and motivated Shishimaru is convinced to turn into Lion Maru for the talent segment of Saori's birthday party. Naturally, everyone thinks it's All Part of the Show.
 * Gang of Hats: the Swankees, who wear baseball uniforms and bat grenades at you. An army-themed one appears briefly in ep. 10.
 * Good Guy Bar: Snack Z.
 * G-Rated Drug: the "Skull Eyes" contact lenses.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: Shishimaru (Kazuki Namioka) used to be Demon Knight, but this role is closer to his appearance on Kamen Rider Den O.
 * Turns out the Snake Orphenoch gained his Boat Lights here before he became Juuzo.
 * Hidden Depths: the normally quiet master of Snack K
 * Turns out the two Abhorrent Admirers can cook.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: with a trifecta of Gratuitous English, the word 'Joutai' meaning 'state' or 'condition', and an exclamation mark.
 * Joshikousei: KosuK, even though what she's attending looks more like a nighttime cram school (which she keeps skipping anyway)
 * I Just Want to Be Normal: Shishimaru.
 * Katanas Are Just Better
 * Kick the Dog: just like the Operative in Serenity, Gousan lures our heroes out of hiding by
 * Large Ham: Junior again. Shishimaru is a close second.
 * Legacy Character: Nearly all the characters are named for someone in the original Kaiketsu Lion Maru. Even Shishimaru's Cool Bike is named after the original Lion Maru's steed Hikarimaru.
 * The theme song namedrops Saori and Kosuke so it may have been unavoidable.
 * Let's You and Him Fight
 * Lovable Sex Maniac: Shishimaru (YMMV on the 'lovable' part)
 * Love Letter Lunacy: eps 6 & 7
 * Mood Whiplash: a particularly jarring case in the
 * Ms. Fanservice: Saori (but of COURSE!)
 * New Powers As the Plot Demands: Kinsachi turns out to be an Empathic Weapon.
 * The Obi-Wan: Kashin Koji.
 * Once an Episode: The next episode previews being narrated over by a different character each time.
 * Orcus On His Throne: Gousan.
 * Playing Against Type: You may remember Junior from several previous roles in toku as a Japanese equivalent of the Scary Black Man (the Big Bad of the Dekaranger movie, for one)
 * Product Placement: the jingle for Fuji Safari Park comes up twice in relation to describing Lion Maru.
 * It may just be an Actor Allusion considering theme song singer Akira Kushida sings their commercial jingle.
 * The Rival: Jounosuke, who's frankly insulted that he's the rival to Shishimaru.
 * Secret Keeper: KosuK documents the exploits of Lion Maru in magazine articles, while leaving out the important fact that it's Shishimaru.
 * Serious Business: the 'hosts' at the club going through morning drills in ep. 1.
 * Shout-Out: Junior's Drill Sergeant Nasty outfit pretty much screams Full Metal Jacket.
 * Shishimaru practically spells out how him and Jounosuke going into hiding resembles the latter half of Robo Cop.
 * Someone to Remember Him By:
 * Stealth Pun: Turning into Lion Maru doesn't award Shishimaru any badass levels at first - he's literally a Cowardly Lion.
 * Steven Ulysses Perhero: possibly averted as Shishimaru is hinted at to be a 'host name' that comes with the job (Makage also goes by 'Kagemaru' for his brief stint).
 * Thirteen Episode Toku
 * Took a Level In Badass: Shishimaru eventually - and unknowingly too, as he curbstomps a gang of four without using Kinsachi in ep. 10.
 * Tsundere: Saori. The fact that even her drunken ranting is directed at Shishimaru sells this.
 * Possibly Jounosuke as well.
 * Unlucky Everydude
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: Junior
 * Wholesome Crossdresser: Junior (well, mostly)
 * Wretched Hive: Neo-Kabuki-Cho.
 * Xtreme Kool Letterz: Kosuke from the original Lion Maru is now KosuK, Internet handle for Saori's sister.
 * Adding a G to the title could also count.
 * You Killed My Father:
 * You Suck: Shishimaru.
 * Yubitsume: in ep. 6, the thug of the week never bends his little finger - because it's a prosthesis. In a jarring case of Foreshadowing, another thug makes the wagging-pinky gesture earlier to his partner, a known euphemism for 'that special someone'.