Kidou Keiji Jiban

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Kidou Keiji Jiban (Mobile Policeman Jiban) was the eighth entry in the Metal Heroes franchise, airing from 1989-1990

Sometime in the not so distant future, a detective named Naoto Tamura transfers to the Central City Police Department. However, he is soon killed by agents of the evil Bioron organization, led by the nefarious Doctor Giba. Then he gets revived as a cyborg police officer called Jiban, who sets out to rid the world of the threat that once killed him.

Tropes used in Kidou Keiji Jiban include:
  • Back From the Dead: Jiban twice.
  • BFG: The Daedalus initially, then the frickin' huge Autoderringer (with sub-machinegun and Final Cannon modes) once he gets his Perfect Jiban mode.
    • Not quite on the same scale, but the Maximilian Type-3 is considerably longer than the standard Metal Heroes sidearm.
  • Cop Show: Toku style.
  • Crossover: A rather odd one. Episode 31 involves Jiban teaming up with a character from the previous Metal Hero show and it's not the protagonist Jiraiya. It's his kid brother Manabu.
  • Death by Origin Story
  • Hey, It's That Guy!: Recurring character Ryo Hayakawa is played by Ryohei Kobayashi, who would play Fumiya Hoshikawa/FiveBlack in Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman the following year.
  • Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Jiban has this authority against members of Bioron only.
  • Laser Blade: The Maximilian Type-3's sword mode, used as the "Jiban End" attack.
  • Law of Inverse Recoil: Jiban is powerful enough to play this straight with anything up to and including the Autoderringer Sub-machinegun Mode, which he still holds two-handed (it isn't fantastically accurate and a few shots will generally miss to the sides of the intended target). The Final Cannon mode, however, pushes him back a foot or so per shot, and it's an Energy Weapon.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: Jiban is later remodeled into Perfect Jiban. Improved armor, replacement of forearm-mounted support weapons with hardpoints, and the Autoderringer. When he calls for them, the Needricker and Powerbreaker (a giant claw) appear on his forearms.
  • More Dakka: The Autodellinger. The Sub-machine Gun Mode can demolish a full-sized warehouse on its own, while the Final Cannon is a laughably overpowered sure-kill weapon.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: As human, Naoto always acts like an ignorant idiot just to make sure no one will suspect him being Jiban.
  • One-Man Army: Jiban is described as this, word for word, during "Perfect Jiban".
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: It's a mainstay of the Metal Heroes that they have light-up eyes of some kind or another, often activated when they're powering up for a finishing blow. Jiban's, though, actually are red.
  • Restraining Bolt: Complete aversion - Jiban's version of the Prime Directives give him greater freedom and authority instead. Far more than he conceivably needs, in fact.
  • Swiss Army Weapon: The Maximilian Type-3 - Gun, Shock baton, and Sword modes.
  • Taking You with Me: The Monster of the Week from episode 25 attempts to pull this on Jiban as a last-ditch effort. It fails, naturally.
  • Transformation Sequence: Averted, shockingly. Naoto transforms into Jiban pretty much like Superman could - runs behind a pillar as Naoto, emerges as Jiban.
  • We Can Rebuild Him: Jiban's origin. Essentially describes his "Perfect Jiban" powerup, too.