Nebula Mask Machineman

Nebula Mask Machineman (星雲仮面マシンマン) is a Japanese tokusatsu television series created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by Toei Company. It aired from January 13 until September 28, 1984. It revolves around the adventures of Nick (Nikku), a college student from the Ivy planet (located at the Pleiades) and his arrival on Earth to study the earthlings' behavior. Upon arrival, he is called in for the activities of the evil organization called "Tentacle", whose don, Professor K, wishes to eliminate all children in the world.

The series is rumored to have been inspired by the American DC Comics superhero, Superman, although this was never confirmed by either Ishinomori or Toei.

Plot
Traveling in the spaceship "Space Colony", Nick, with the help of his ball-shaped robot "Ball Boy", arrive on Earth to study the behavior and manners of human beings for his doctoral degree thesis. Under the human identity of a young man named Ken Takase, he meets Maki Hayama, a photographer at Shukan Hit newspaper, and later saves her from a building fall. Maki was taking pictures for a scoop about a building which had been mysteriously demolished. Later, she and Ken find that the evil organization "Tentacle" is behind the demolitions and other evil deeds around the world. Nick then decides to extend his stay on Earth and uses his advanced technology and superior powers to protect Maki and the children of Earth under the alter-ego of Machineman, a red- and yellow-suited superhero. Armed with an advanced technology weapons, he begins fighting Tentacle's cyborgs and protect humankind.

A few episodes later, Machineman succeeds in dismantling Tentacle; however, Professor K flees to Spain and his niece, Lady M, appears. With her aide Tonchinkan, they establish a new organization called "Octopus". Like her uncle, she is allergic to children (whenever she is near one, her nose turns red). In the beginning, she calls up various thieves and legendary criminals from around the world, but later robotic drones are assembled to combat Machineman. By the end of the series, the missing Professor K returns, bringing with him the biggest threat the hero had ever faced: Golden Monsu, a fortified version of Tetsujin Monsu.

Main characters

 * Ken Takase (Nick)/Machineman (高瀬 健(ニック)／マシンマン): the series' protagonist and main hero, Ken was born at the Ivy Planet and eventually graduated with a degree in Sociology. Upon arriving on Earth, his primary objective is studying human behavior and mannerisms in order to obtain his doctoral degree. However, upon meeting Maki and learn about Tentacle, he decides to stay longer in order to protect her and the children from Professor K's plans.
 * Ball Boy (ボールボーイ): a baseball-shaped robot who is Nick's companion. Smart and clever, it usually serves as his friend, advisor and sidekick, to a certain point. It is also used as a throwing projectile by Machineman in battles, under the name "Fighting Ball". Ironically, Ball Boy says it does not have any information about baseball.
 * Maki Hayama (葉山 真紀): a photographer and journalist at Shukan Hit newspaper. She is involved in a traffic accident with Ken and they eventually become friends. She instantly falls for Machineman (exactly like Lois Lane and Superman) after being saved by him, but begins to fall in love with Ken a few episodes later.
 * Masaru Hayama (葉山 勝): Maki's 10-year-old brother. Usually serves as victim of Tentacle's inventions and is saved by Ken/Machineman.
 * Editor-in-chief Henshu (編集長): The editor-in-chief of Shukan Hit, and Maki's boss.
 * Rumiko (ルミ子): A member of Shukan Hit's junior editorial staff.
 * Kameta (亀太): The greengrocer for the Hayama family.
 * Hiroshi (浩), Saburo (三郎), Yutaka (豊) & Misa (美佐): Masaru's classmates, that were involved with the incidents of Tentacle and Octopus.

Tentacle
Tentacle (テンタクル) is the organization led by Professor K.


 * Professor K (プロフェッサーK): The leader of the Tentacle criminal organization.
 * Iron Man Monsu (鉄人モンス): A humanoid robot that serves as Tentacle's chief executive. In episode 17, Monsu was defeated by Machineman.
 * Mechanical Parrot (メカオウム): A robotic parrot created by Professor K, and can speak fluently.

Octopus
Octopus (オクトパス) is the succeeding organization led by Lady M, after taking over Tentacle.


 * Lady M (レディーM): The niece of Professor K, who made her appearance in Episode 20 after her trip from Spain. She renovated Tentacle's headquarters to form Octopus.
 * TonChinKan (トンチンカン): Lady M's boyfriend.

Episodes

 * 1) The White Textbook Case (教科書真っ白事件): written by Shozo Uehara, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 2) Rainbow-Colored Diamond Tears (涙は虹色のダイヤ): written by Shozo Uehara, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 3) Crush the Idol (アイドルをつぶせ): written by Shozo Uehara, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 4) Magical Stone Baked Potato (魔法の石焼きイモ): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 5) The Stamp Thief of Three-Hundred Million Yen (三億円の切手泥棒): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 6) Me... Mama's Children? (私、ママの子供?): written by Shozo Uehara, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 7) Hong Kong Karate Dangerous Ken (香港空手危うし健): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 8) Secret of the Baseball Boy (野球少年の秘密): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 9) The Mustache-Growing Girl (髭のはえた女の子): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 10) Telepathy Battle (テレパシー大作戦): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 11) Unimaginable Part-Time Job (とんだアルバイト): written by Shozo Uehara, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 12) Children are Disappearing (子供が消えていく): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 13) K's Look-alike (Kのそっくりさん): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 14) Ball Boy's Leaving Home (ボールボーイ家出): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 15) The Demon's Present (悪魔のプレゼント): written by Atsuko Osoya, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 16) Maki Hates Mice (真紀はネズミ嫌い): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 17) Ironman Monsu's End (鉄人モンスの最後): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 18) It's Nopperabo! (のっぺらぼうだ!): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 19) Stray Dog Koro's Adventure (野良犬コロの冒険): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 20) Octopus Queen (オクトパスの女王): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 21) Rain Rain Fall Fall! (雨雨降れ降れ!): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 22) The Clown's Secret Commands (ピエロの秘密指令): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 23) Interesting Funny Gun (おもしろおかし銃): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 24) Showdown! The Ninja Thief (対決! 忍者泥棒): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 25) Challenge of the Mummy-Man (ミイラ男の挑戦): written by Isao Matsumoto, directed by Atsuo Okunaka
 * 26) Scary! The Laughing Doll (こわい! 笑う人形): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Atsuo Okunaka
 * 27) Monster's Hands Swimming At Sea (海を泳ぐ怪物の手): written by Susumu Takaku and Tatsuro Nagai, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 28) I Like I Like! Maki (好き好き! 真紀): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 29) Find the Pirate's Treasure! (海賊の宝を探せ!): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Atsuo Okunaka
 * 30) The Village Inhabited by the Red Demon (赤い鬼のすむ村): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 31) The Dangerous Gourd (危険なひょうたん): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 32) Voice of a Bird Called Conflict (争いを呼ぶ鳥の声): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Atsuo Okunaka
 * 33) The Dogs have a Time Bomb (時限爆弾を抱く犬): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 34) K and M's Winning Strategy (KとMの必勝作戦): written by Shozo Uehara, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 35) Today is Goodbye (さようなら今日は): written by Shozo Uehara, directed by Shohei Tojo
 * 36) Collection Of The Fight Scenes (戦いの名場面集): written by Shozo Uehara, directed by Saburo Yatsude

Cast

 * Ken Takase (Nick)/Machineman (close-ups): Osamu Sakuta (佐久田脩)
 * Professor K: Hideyo Amamoto
 * Maki Hayama: Kiyomi Tsukada
 * Masaru Hayama: Kazuhiko Ohara
 * Kameda: Joe Onodera
 * Arata: Kansai Eto
 * Rumiko Matsumoto: Yuko Murakoshi
 * Lady M/Meiko: Chiaki Kojo
 * Ball Boy (voice): Machiko Soga
 * Tetsujin Monsu (voice): Toku Nishio
 * Golden Monsu (voice): Shōzō Iizuka
 * Machineman (suit actor): Jun Murakami (村上潤)
 * Narrator: Osamu Kobayashi

International Broadcasts

 * In the Philippines, The series was locally aired on IBC-13 in 1992.


 * The series was also broadcast in Brazil: first on Rede Bandeirantes, where it had a VHS release from its video label VideoBAN, in 1990; later on the Record network in 1993, first in the morning hours, later shown at 8pm. In 1994, the series was also broadcast by TV Guaíba, at the time an independent station; the station had local rights to some series aired by Record, which had no affiliate in the state at the time. United Kids also released VHS tapes under the title "Força Total Machine Man".

Songs

 * Opening theme:
 * "Seiun Kamen Machineman" (星雲仮面マシンマン)
 * Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori (石森 章太郎)
 * Composition: Yuji Ohno (大野 雄二)
 * Arrangement: Yuji Ohno (大野 雄二)
 * Artist: MoJo, Columbia Yurikago Kai


 * Ending theme:
 * "Ore no Na wa Machineman" (俺の名はマシンマン)
 * Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude
 * Composition: Yuji Ohno
 * Arrangement: Yuji Ohno
 * Artist: MoJo