I'm a big fan of traditional heroism. Storytellers of the past decade have tried to evolve the tropes involved with superheroes by painting in grayer strokes, blurring hero and villain to add nuance. When they're not doing that, they look down at the classics with disdain and embarassment, believing that the simplicity of the stories are a weakness rather than their strength. But people enjoy that simplicity, and while nuance and complexity can be welcome additions I find myself drawn to the plain but real war between good and evil.

Liveman is an excellent example of traditional heroism in action. Three (later five) heroes, donning the products of their scientific achievements, take on the monsters of evil geniuses time and time again. The Sentai in this series are paragons of righteousness in the world, and the dynamic they have with their wicked counterparts only elevates them as true heroes. The production value is certainly of its time, yet still fun, and the strength of its themes and depth of its characters make Liveman a great watch.

Personal Score

this criteria uses the DecentFilms rating formula.

Letter-Grade Recommendability: A-
Artistic/Entertainment Value - ★★★☆☆
Moral/Spiritual Value - +4
Age Appropriateness: Kids & Up

The premise of Liveman is more grounded than I initially expected. Academia Island is a research facility born out of an international pursuit of science. It is here that several students at the Academy defect and are recruited by Volt, an evil organization that believes in the superiority of intellectuals. Said defecting students kill two others in the process before escaping, and on the advent of the Academy's graduation Volt reappears to lay waste to the premises. The three survivors - Yusuke, Jo, and Megumi - don the protective suits they helped their peers create and swear to foil Volt's evil schemes. Later on down the line they are joined by two others, Tetsuya and Jun'ichi, who wish to avenge their fallen siblings by aiding in the Liveman's war.

Liveman is very episodic, as one would expect from a 1988 hero show. The general formula is Volt's creation of Brain Beasts, who serve as the MOTW and cause trouble until the Liveman can overcome them in battle. Later on down the line we get more serial episodes, still in the same formula but now with more emphasis on an ongoing arc involving Volt's generals and their larger-scale plans. I can only say that I heavily disliked one episode in paricular, but despite this I think the episodes are fun, bordering on goofy at times. That innocent goofiness does go a long way in defining the show, from the escapades of a baby dinosaur thrown into the present day to Jo delivering pizzas via rocket-powered skateboard, and the earnestness at which it presents these things really sells the purity the writers want you to feel. It makes the darker aspects of the show, namely those surrounding Volt and its relationship with the Livemen, that much more compelling.

I like Kamen Rider Black's villains in the form of Golgom, but I think Liveman has the more interesting evil organization. Great Professor Bias is its head, and a driving motivation for his genius generals is to prove themselves to him. Their war against humanity and the Livemen isn't just borne from hatred, but also a rivalry with one another after leaving the Academy. This is much more emphasized in the latter half of the show as new generals appear to bolster the competition, and they even adopt a leaderboard for their achievements, which while arbitrary in its grading does mean that everyone gets their chance to shine in villainy. And this is all done by their choice, something that is repeated time and again with the Livemen's offers, and it makes them truly evil in their pursuit of pride and recognition.

And that's not even getting into the individual villains themselves, who I think are all great. My favorite general was Doctor Ashura, a former gang leader who is conscripted into Volt's ranks and imbued with incredible intelligence. His design and theatrics are great, and he is a delight to see in combat with the Livemen. His arc is also the strongest in the series, his resentment of intellectuals subverted throughout the story. The others, from the vain Kemp to the goofy aliens Guildos and Butchy, all have similar qualities that they work through over the course of the series in their own ways. I was also surprised by Great Professor Bias in the end, who despite having limited presence really comes into his own at the end as the main antagonist and final boss of the series.

With all that being said, I can't ignore the Livemen themselves any longer. I really like the main three, their chemistry works nicely and they feel like good friends. Yusuke and Jo have very fun characterizations, with Yusuke acting as the leader and eldest while Jo is the more passionate and athletic secondary, and Megumi acts as the counter to their enthusiasm with her calm demeanor and empathy. I also like their android assistant, Colon, who despite having a more technical role sometimes throws herself into the fray to back up her team. These four make a solid force and it was enjoyable to see them tackle the various adventures in their way.

Of course that's not everyone on the team; I've neglected to mention Tetsuya and Jun'ichi. It's not that I dislike these two, but I don't feel like they bring much to the table as people. As siblings of the fallen students Takuji and Mari they do bring added emotional weight to the main three, and their Live Boxer provides Live Robo with backup and a new transformation in the form of Super Live Robo, but outside of that I think they had the weakest characterizations. It probably didn't help that Jun'ichi had a weird mpreg episode right after his debut (I'm not exaggerating) so their inclusion does not start strong.

On the topic of their robots, I think the main fights are quite entertaining. There are a few nonsensical moments in the fights, such as several times when the heroes are shot outside of their transformations but don't die, but the battles were otherwise good against the fodder Jimmers and the pretty creative Brain Beasts. What I will definitely criticize, though, is the mecha fights, which a lot of the time feel like an afterthought; for most of the episodes the mecha battle consists of one or two attacks and then the super move to finish off, not even lasting a minute in duration. It's frustrating because I do like the designs of the robots and would have liked to see them doing more, but alas.

With all that being said, this is a great classic hero show. There's a lot of earnestness in both fun and tragedy, following the heroes in all manner of situations as they help others as well as themselves. I can hear the music playing in my head from time to time (there are great tracks here) and it reminds me of the righteous purity of Showa-era tokusatsu.