Super Rescue Solbrain

Super Rescue Solbrain (特救指令ソルブレイン) is a Japanese tokusatsu television series produced by Toei Company. It ran for 53 episodes from January 20, 1991 to January 26, 1992 on TV Asahi. It is part of the Metal Hero Series franchise; a sequel to Special Rescue Police Winspector, it is the second installment in the Rescue Police Series trilogy.

For distribution purposes, Toei refers to this television series as simply Solbrain.

Plot
After the Winspector police team leaves Japan to fight crime in France, Chief Shunsuke Masaki realizes he must create a new police team to defend Tokyo from crime. He creates Solbrain – a high-tech special rescue force, expert in missions requiring rescue and firepower. Its leader is Daiki Nishio, a rookie detective who can use the Plus Up command in his car to transform into SolBraver. Other members are Reiko Higuchi, also able to use the Plus Up command to transform into SolJeanne, SolBraver's female counterpart; and SolDozer, a yellow bulldozer robot. Later in the series, the Winspector team returns to Japan and teams up with Solbrain for a three-part story (episodes 21-23). From episode 34 on, Ryouma, the protagonist from Winspector, returns as a member of Solbrain, wearing a suit dubbed the Knight Fire.

The team

 * Daiki Nishio / SolBraver (西尾 大樹/ソルブレイバー): Daiki is Ryoma's successor. He wears blue armor, and his primary vehicle is SolGallop. He only can wear his solid suit, and his transformation call is "Plus Up" (プラスアップ). He is armed with Cerberus Delta (a triangular gun), which can transform into a rod or a sword.
 * Reiko Higuchi / SolJeanne (樋口 玲子/ソルジャンヌ): Reiko is Junko's successor. She wears red armor, a black-and-white flameproof suit and a helmet without a mouthplate (so she can wear also an oxygen mask). Her primary vehicle is SolDrecker, which also carries Dozer. Her transformation call is also "Plus Up" (プラスアップ), and her weapon is a small gun.
 * SolDozer (ソルドーザー): Dozer is Bycle's and Walter's successor. He is a yellow heavy-duty robot (with design elements from a bulldozer, as the name implies) and can transform into a rescue machine.

Other members

 * Jun Masuda (増田 純): A Solbrain member, unlike Daiki and Reiko he does not wear a solid suit; however, he is always in action.
 * Shunsuke Masaki (正木 俊介): Chief of Solbrain. Compassionate and dedicated, he usually goes into the battlefield to help his subordinates.
 * Kamekichi Togawa (戸川 亀吉): A machine expert, he is Nonoyama's successor.
 * Takeshi Yazawa (矢沢 武): A pilot of the mothership Solid States-I, he leads the mothership's operating team and is senior to Daiki.
 * Midori Aikawa (相川 みどり): Solbrain's Operation's team leader, she sees computer literacy as a main duty.
 * Ryoma Kagawa / Fire, Knight Fire (香川 竜馬/ファイヤー、ナイトファイヤー): Winspector's former leader, he first reappears in episode 21 with the Winspector team (robots Walter and Bikel) chasing an android named Messiah. He later transformed into Fire and helped the team with Walter and Bikel. Later returns in episode 34 as Knight Fire, a new member of Solbrain, armed with Cerberus Delta and Pile Tornado. He is portrayed by Masaru Yamashita, reprising his role from the previous Metal Hero series.
 * Cross 8000 (クロス8000): Solbrain's supercomputer, and Madocks' successor.

Arsenal

 * Solid Suit (ソリッドスーツ): Daiki, Reiko and Ryōma's armor.
 * Proto Suit ( プロトスーツ, Puroto Suutsu ? ) The prototype of SolBraver's Solid Suit, Katsuhito Sasamoto (笹本勝彦) steals the armor to destroy SolBraver, but the armor had a timeout, similar to the Crush Tector's 5 minute time limit. Sasamoto was known as a psychotic person who had no qualifications to become the SolBraver.
 * SolGallop (ソルギャロップ): Daiki's car, based on the Toyota Sera
 * SolDrecker (ソルドレッカー): Reiko's car, sometimes also driven by Jun. Based on the Toyota Previa
 * Knight custom (ナイトカスタム): Ryōma's car, based on the Mazda RX-7 FC
 * Masaki's undercover car: Chief Masaki's car. Initially, a Third-Generation Mazda Luce seen on Winspector, but in mid-series changed to a Mazda Persona.
 * Winsquad Stock-type (市販車型ウインスコード): In the episode 21, when Ryoma chases an android, he drives this car, a tenth generation Cadillac Eldorado with all the equipment and transformation mechanisms installed inside the car.
 * Solid States I (ソリッドステイツI): the mothership (abbreviated S.S.-I (エスエスワン)). S.S.-I takes off from Solid Hanger (ソリッドハンガー) in one minute.
 * Cerberus Delta (ケルベロスΔ): SolBraver and Knight Fire's weapon. It has two operating modes: Shot Mode (ショットモード) (used as a ray gun) and Slash Mode (スラッシュモード) (used, as a sword, to break obstacles such as girders and fighting enemies armed with knives).
 * BosWinder (ボスワインダー): a tool which shoots a special carbon-fiber rope or a special bullet
 * SolIndicater (ソルインジケーター): Daiki and Reiko's police license
 * O2 Pack (O2パック): oxygen cylinder
 * Medical Pack (メディカルパック): emergency equipment used by SolJeanne
 * Cuffs Lock (カフスロック): handcuffs
 * GigaStreamer (ギガストリーマー): the only weapon Solbrain inherited from Winspector (see Tokkei Winspector for details).
 * Pile Tornado (パイルトルネード): SolBraver and Knight Fire's big gun, with three functions:
 * Super Discharger (スーパーディスチャージャー): shoots a fire-extinguishing beam
 * Caulking Puncher (コーキングパンチャー): shoots a special gelatinous, gluey, freezing bullet
 * Tornado Burst (トルネードバースト): a hail of 40 plasma-energy bullets per second, fired by Cerberus Delta. Its power is two times that of GigaStreamer's maximum mode (when SolBraver and Knight Fire fire it at the same time, its power is four times GigaStreamer's).

Episodes

 * 1) Tokyo Skies' SOS (東京上空SOS): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Masao Minowa
 * 2) The Explosive ESP Sisters (爆襲!エスパー姉妹): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Masao Minowa
 * 3) Is Father an Angel or a Devil? (父は天使か怪物か): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 4) The Game-Software of Dreams (夢のゲームソフト): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 5) The Mutant's Courage (怪人のくれた勇気): written by Takahiko Masuda, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 6) The Storyteller and the Bomb (バクダンと落語家): written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 7) The Reincarnated Human Machine (人間再生マシーン): written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 8) The Vanishing Power-Suit (消えた強化スーツ): written by Takashi Yamada, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 9) Father and Daughter's Red Bond (父と娘の赤い絆): written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 10) The Naive Arson Team (わしら純情放火団): written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 11) The Elegy of Love and Revenge (愛と復讐の挽歌): written by Takahiko Masuda, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 12) Birth! The New Dozer (誕生!新ドーザー): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 13) Murder Playback (殺人プレイバック): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Kiyoshi Arai
 * 14) The Love-Calling Bullet (愛を呼ぶ銃弾): written by Takashi Yamada, directed by Kiyoshi Arai
 * 15) The Dove Doll (人形は平和の使者): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 16) The Disappearance of Mothership S.S.-I (母艦S.S.-I消失): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 17) Escape in Handcuffs (手錠のままの脱走): written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 18) Bicycling for Tomorrow (明日に走る自転車): written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 19) Kame-chan and the Detective Girl (亀ちゃんと探偵娘): written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Hidenori Ishida
 * 20) Shoot the Handcuffs of Tears (涙の手錠を打て): written by Takashi Yamada, directed by Hidenori Ishida
 * 21) The Returned Winspector (part one) (帰ってきたWSP(PART-I)): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 22) Heartless Fire (part two) (非情のファイヤー(PART-II)): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 23) From Ryōma to Daiki (part three) (竜馬から大樹へ(PART-III)): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 24) Rescue the Goshawk (オオタカをすくえ): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 25) The Gigantic Mothership Response (巨大母艦応答せよ): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 26) The Trap-Setting Detective (罠をしかけた刑事): written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 27) The Story Plant's Secret (お話し植物の秘密): written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 28) Hurry! Mothership of Life (急げ!命の母艦): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 29) The Revolt of the Children's Empire (子供帝国の反乱): written by Takashi Yamada, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 30) God is Painful! (神様はつらいよ): written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 31) She is a Dream Future Car (彼女は夢の未来車): written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 32) Pursue the Murderer Policeman (警官殺人を追え): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 33) When the Hero Cries (勇者が涙を流すとき): written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 34) New Hero to Kyushu! (part one) (新英雄九州へ!I): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 35) New Hero to Kyushu! (part two) (新英雄九州へ!II): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 36) The Kidnapper is the Commanding Officer! (誘拐犯は隊長!): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 37) The Sad Hitman (哀しいヒットマン): written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 38) The Devil Whispers Death (死をささやく悪霊): written by Susumu Takaku, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 39) The Space Alien who Delivered the Dream (夢を届けた宇宙人): written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 40) Trap the Hero (英雄を罠にかけろ): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 41) Clash! High Speed Machines (激突!高速マシン): written by Takahiko Masuda, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 42) Oath of Revenge in Hand (グラブに誓う復讐): written by Junichi Miyashita and Yasuyuki Suzuki, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 43) The Woman with Two Faces (二つの顔を持つ女): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 44) The Thief and the Old Doctor (コソ泥と老博士): written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 45) The Target is the Small Witness (標的は小さな証人): written by Junichi Miyashita and Yasuyuki Suzuki, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 46) The Ingenious Time Machine (瞬間天才製造器): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 47) Digression! The Divine Investigation Team (脱線!占い捜査隊): written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
 * 48) Today Without Papa Again (今日もいないパパ): written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 49) Love Her! The Bad Child (大好き!悪い子): written by Noboru Sugimura and Akiko Asatsuke, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 50) The Devil-Dog's Birth of Hope (希望を生んだ魔犬): written by Mayumi Ishiyama and Junichi Miyashita, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 51) Special Rescue: Breakup Order (特救・解散命令): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Takeshi Ogasawara
 * 52) Special Rescue: Explosion Order (特救・爆破命令): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi
 * 53) Until We Meet Again (また逢う日まで): written by Noboru Sugimura, directed by Michio Konishi

Video game
A video game for Tokkyū Shirei Solbrain was released in 1991 for the Famicom, published by Angel and developed by Natsume. It was localized into Shatterhand, which was published by Jaleco for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America and Europe shortly after the Japanese release. The differences are mainly cosmetic (changing music and graphics) but there were also several substantial changes, such as which boss appeared in which area. In addition, the theme-park stage from the Famicom version was replaced with a nuclear-submarine stage in the NES version.

Cast

 * Daiki Nishio (西尾 大樹) - Kōichi Nakayama (中山 幸一)
 * Reiko Higuchi (樋口 玲子) - Mitsue Mori (森 みつえ)
 * Reiko Higuchi (child - ep. 11): Miho Tamura
 * SolDozer (ソルドーザー) - Seizō Katō (加藤 精三)(voice)
 * Shunsuke Masaki (正木 俊介) - Hiroshi Miyauchi (宮内 洋)
 * Jun Masuda (増田 純) - Hidenori Iura (井浦 秀智)
 * Kamekichi Togawa (戸川 亀吉) - Mitsuru Onodera (小野寺 充)
 * Ryōma Kagawa (香川 竜馬) - Masaru Yamashita (山下 優)
 * Takeshi Yazawa (矢沢 武) - Kaname Kawai (河合 要)
 * Midori Aikawa (相川 みどり) - Mayuko Irie (入江 まゆこ)
 * Norio Tsuruoka (鶴岡 則夫) - Mitsutaka Tachikawa (立川 三貴)
 * Hiroshi Tsuruoka (鶴岡 浩) - Kunihiro Tomita (富田 晋寛)
 * S.S-I Crew (S.S.-I乗組員) - Koji Matoba, Takeshi Ishida, Tokio Iwata, Emiko Takahashi and Kimiko Imai
 * Cross 8000 (クロス8000)(voice)/Ryūichi Takaoka (高岡 隆一) - Masaki Terasoma (寺杣 昌紀)
 * Narrator (ナレーター) - Takeshi Kuwabara (桑原 たけし)

Guest Stars

 * Dr.Inagaki (1): Shinya Ono
 * Kazuo Inagaki (1): Hirofumi Taga
 * Simulated Brain A320 (1 - voice): Yoshio Kawai
 * Ryuzo Makimura (2): Katsuhiko Kobayashi
 * Emi Makimura (2): Miki Takahashi
 * Rumi Makimura (2): Masami Hosoi
 * Yuka Mizusawa (2): Yoko Honna
 * Dr. Shibuzawa (3): Toshimichi Takahashi
 * Hatta (3): Koji Takahashi
 * Jun Tashiro (3): Shiro Saito
 * Kenta Tashiro (3): Mitsunari Hashimoto
 * Yukio Sano (4): Ryosuke Kaizu
 * Sano's minion (4): Kazuhiko Shimizu
 * Aoyama Electric Officer (4): Daisaku Shinohara
 * Aoyama Electric Researcher (4): Koji Imai
 * Game Machime Monster (4 - voices): Toku Nishio, Kaoru Shinoda
 * Koichi Ishikawa/Phanton Bond (5): Ritsuo Ishiyama
 * Yasuhiko Kujo (5): Maroshi Tamura
 * Naoto Yamaguchi (5): Shogo Kudo
 * Naoto's mother (5): Noriko Ikeda
 * Yumi Saiga (5): Mayumi Yoshida
 * Shinichiro Ishimaru/Kinta Kinentei (6): Kintoli Sanyutei
 * Shigeko Ishimaru (6): Sayoko Tanimoto
 * Kumagai Family (6)
 * Hanji Kumagai: Yutaka Oyama
 * Teruichi Kumagai: Yuji Okada
 * Tokuko Kumagai: Sayako Satake
 * Jingoro Makino (7): Tadayoshi Ueda
 * Masaru Makino (7): Kenzo Miyake
 * Kasai (7): Hironobu Kasahara
 * Saeki (7): Yuji Terada
 * Katsuhiko Sakamoto/Proto Solbraver (8): Junichi Haruta
 * Mamoru Okayama (8): Hiroshi Fuji

Suit Actors

 * Solbraver: Kazutoshi Yokoyama and Tokio Iwata
 * SolJeanne: Emiko Takahashi
 * Soldozer: Toshiyuki Kikuchi
 * Knight Fire: Hiroshi Maeda, Jiro Okamoto and Tokio Iwata

Philippine English Voice Cast
This is the first and only entry in the Metal Hero series to be given an English dub, as it was done in the Philippines. All 53 episodes were covered. But unlike the Malaysian English dub of Choujin Sentai Jetman, some of the characters had their first names changed to be more anglicized, while their surnames were kept. However, several characters have kept their Japanese full names completely intact. For example, Daiki Nishio, Reiko Higuchi and Jun Masuda were renamed to Corey Nishio, Rachel Higuchi and John Masuda respectively. The series' English dub aired in the country on IBC-13 (formerly VTV) in 1997 and again on ABC 5 (now TV5) in 1999. The former aired reruns in 2000 and also reran on the Solar Channel in 2002. The series would also return once again in 2006 on GMA Network, but instead aired a newly produced Tagalog dub.


 * Daiki Nishino/Corey Nishio/SolBraver - Unknown
 * Reiko Higuchi/Rachel Higuchi/SolJeanne - Unknown
 * Jun Masuda/John Masuda - Earl Palma

Crew

 * Original story by Saburo Yatsude
 * Screenplay by: Noboru Sugimura, Nobuo Ōgizawa, Takahiko Masuda, Junichi Miyashita, Susumu Takaku, Takashi Yamada, Kyōko Sagiyama, Mayumi Ishiyama, Akiko Asatsuke
 * Music: Kaoru Mizuki
 * Photography: Susumu Seo, Takakazu Koizumi
 * Assistant Director: Hidenori Ishida, Masashi Taniguchi
 * Action Directors: Junji Yamaoka, Jun Murakami
 * Special-Effects Director: Nobuo Yajima
 * Produced by: Kyōzō Utsunomiya, Atsushi Kaji (TV Asahi), Nagafumi Hori (Toei)
 * Directed by: Masao Minowa, Michio Konishi, Takeshi Ogasawara, Kaneharu Mitsumura, Kiyoshi Arai, Hidenori Ishida
 * Production: TV Asahi, ASATSU, Toei

Songs

 * Opening theme
 * "Tokkyū Shirei Solbrain" (特救指令ソルブレイン)
 * Lyrics: Akira Otsu (大津 あきら)
 * Composition: Kisaburō Suzuki (鈴木 キサブロー)
 * Arrangement: Tatsumi Yano (矢野 立美)
 * Artist: Takayuki Miyauchi (宮内 タカユキ)
 * Chorus: Morinoki Children Choir (森の木児童合唱団)
 * Closing theme
 * "Ai ni Dakarete" (愛に抱かれて)
 * Lyrics: Akira Ōtsu
 * Composition: Kisaburō Suzuki
 * Arrangement: Tatsumi Yano
 * Artist: Takayuki Miyauchi
 * Chorus: Morinoki Jidō Gasshōdan

International Broadcasts and Home Video

 * The series aired in Indonesia on Indosiar with an Indonesian dub in the mid-1990s and also in 2001 by Erfas Studio.
 * It also aired in Thailand on Channel 3 with a Thai dub.
 * In Brazil, the series aired as Super Equipe de Resgate Solbrain on the now-defunct Rede Manchete in 1995 with a Brazilian Portuguese dub. This was the final Metal Heroes series to be released in the region with a dub.
 * The series received a Latin Spanish dub dubbed in Mexico with its dub produced by Comarex dubbed by Larsa Studios, recorded and released in 1996. It aired as Super Rescate Solbrain.
 * This series aired in the Philippines with all episodes dubbed into English, first airing on IBC 13 in 1994 with all episodes dubbed in English and later Filipino in 1997. However, most characters in the English dub had their first names changed. It also aired again on ABC 5 (now TV5) in 1999. The English dub was also released on DVD in 2004 and is reported to be the only Metal Heroes series to ever be released with an English dub. Later on, the series was bought back on the air in 2006 on GMA Network with a newly produced Tagalog dub of the series.