B-Fighter Kabuto
Five years later, a new generation of Insect Armor rises.
B-Fighter Kabuto is a Japanese TV show from the Metal Hero Series. It follows Juukou B-Fighter, set five years after that series. Kabuto ran from 1996 to 1997. Its action footage, suits, and props were later reused for Beetleborgs Metallix.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 25 minutes
- Composer
- Katsunori Ishida
- Country
- Japan
- Network
- TV Asahi (ANN)
- Episodes
- 50
- Genre
- Tokusatsu
- Superhero fiction
- Science fiction
- Military fiction
- Creator
- Saburō Yatsude
- Company
- Toei Company; Asatsu-DK
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Peace returned to Earth five years after Jamahl's fall. The Earth Academia reorganized into the United Nations, a scientific and military body where Takuya Kai and Sage Guru developed a new Insect Armor generation. A Cosmo Academia submarine found a deep-sea fissure, and an ancient Melzard fortress rose from it. Matriarch Mother Melzard ordered her sons Raija and Dezzle to attack using Raija's Elebamamoth. Guru infused the Neo Insect Armor with Insect Power, producing three Command Voicers. Kengo Tachibana and Ran Ayukawa became B-Fighter Kuwagar and B-Fighter Tentou. The last Command Voicer flew to student Kouhei Toba, who became B-Fighter Kabuto. Together they fought Elebamamoth, and Kabuto destroyed it. Mother Melzard kept attacking, while Raija and Dezzle undermined each other.
Characters
Kouhei Toba is a high school student who starts off at age seventeen in the second grade and later turns eighteen and moves up to third grade. He is a standout athlete, brave in a fight, but can act without thinking. He lives with and is very protective of his younger sister Yui. When he transforms into Kabuto, his armor takes the shape of a Japanese rhinoceros beetle. He is the only B-Fighter capable of using the Astral Saber, which lets him merge with and pilot the giant robot Kabuterios. He has romantic feelings for Sophie. Following the final battle, he goes to the United States with Sophie to study and train at two Cosmo Academia head offices in New York City. Kengo Tachibana is a twenty-two-year-old environment investigator with a serious demeanor. He initially resents Kouhei for being chosen as Kabuto instead of him, partly because Kouhei is younger, but they eventually become friends. As Kuwagar, his armor is styled after a stag beetle. By the series end, Kuwagar can wield the Geist Axe to control the giant robot Kuwaga Titan, which was previously used for evil by Descorpion and Mother Melzard but is not inherently evil. Episode 11 reveals that Kengo’s father works as a diplomat. Ran Ayukawa is an eighteen-year-old cyber engineer who tends to focus too much on machines and overlook nature. She develops feelings for Julio after he helps her appreciate the natural world. She enjoys eating and is talented at playing the shamisen. She moved out of her parents’ home at age fifteen. Her Tentou armor is modeled after a ladybug. After her father dies, her mother goes to the United States to study hotel management. Four Cosmo Academia agents from branches in New York City, Machupicchu, Beijing, and Paris use Insect Commanders, a special version of the Command Voicer that stores their Neo Insect Armor. They activate it by inserting a data card and shouting “Chou Juukou!” They expend most of their power to destroy a crystal that Mother Melzard used to trigger detonators inside people. In the finale, their Insect Commanders combine with the Geist Axe.
International Broadcasting and Home Video
In Japan, Toei Video released the series on VHS from March 1997 to February 1998 across 12 volumes, with four episodes per volume except the final volume which contained five episodes. From November 21, 2006, to March 21, 2007, Toei Video released the series on DVD across five volumes, each holding two discs and containing ten episodes. In the Philippines, a Tagalog dub aired on IBC from 2000 to 2001 under the title Beetle Fighters Platinum. In Thailand, TIGA Company licensed the series for VCD distribution under Iron Armor B-fighter Kabuto.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created B-Fighter Kabuto?
B-Fighter Kabuto was created by Saburō Yatsude.
Who stars in B-Fighter Kabuto?
B-Fighter Kabuto stars Hideomi Nakasato, Naoto Adachi, Yukina Kurisu, Reuben Langdon, Seiji Takaiwa, Hideki Anzai and Reika Hashimoto.
Which network aired B-Fighter Kabuto?
B-Fighter Kabuto aired on TV Asahi (ANN).
How many episodes of B-Fighter Kabuto are there?
B-Fighter Kabuto has 50 episodes.
More in Japanese Science Fiction Television Series
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