Zone Fighter (流星人間ゾーン Ryūsei Ningen Zōn?, lit. Meteor Human Zone) is a Japanese tokusatsu kaiju show produced by Toho that ran from April 2, 1973 to September 24, 1973. The series is notable because Godzilla, Gigan, and King Ghidorah all made appearances, and the fact that the show exists in the Showa canon. During the oil crisis of the 70's the series was sadly cancelled, lasting only 26 episodes.
Plot
The premise of the show is the evil Garogas plan to take over Earth with their army of giant Fearbeasts. They are opposed by the members of a family from a planet called Peaceland that was also destroyed by Garoga. They use a variety of exotic vehicles and weapons but their primary weapon against Garoga is the oldest child Hikaru, who is able to transform into the giant Zone Fighter.
Godzilla was portrayed as more or less a superhero at the time and helped Zone Fighter battle evil monsters created by the show's villains. At times they were even shown having friendly mock combat with one another.
King Ghidorah's origin is changed, the show's villains saying they created him. He was unique for the show because he managed to escape from Zone Fighter without being killed.
Gigan also appeared in the show, having been captured by the Garogas after fleeing from Godzilla and Jet Jaguar. He did not share King Ghidorah's luck; he was dramatically killed by Zone Fighter's missile might bracelets.
Production
- Main articles: Toho Monster TV Film Project: Zone The Meteor Man and Toho Special Effects Terror-Beast Series: Zone The Meteor Man - Production Memo.
Episodes
- Destroy the Terror-Beast Missile!
- Attack! Destro-King
- Strike! Garoga's Underground Base
- Invasion! Garoga's Grand Army: Godzilla Appears
- Attack King Ghidorah!
- King Ghidorah's Counterattack!
- Zone Family's Critical Moment!
- Defeat the Invader of Fear!
- Find the Secret of the Red Spider!
- Zone Fighter, Destroyed!
- In a Hair's Breadth: The Roar of Godzilla!
- The Terror-Beast Base: Invade the Earth!
- Hair-Raising! The Birthday of Terror
- Rampage! The Garoga Boys Attack Force
- It's Sinking! Godzilla, Save Tokyo
- Terrifying Attack! The Garoga Robot
- Go! Fighter, Scramble
- Command: "Destroy the Japanese Islands"
- Order: "Destroy the Earth with Comet K"
- Fierce Fight! Can You Hear Fighter's Song?
- Invincible! Godzilla Rages
- Counterattack! Defeat Super Jikiro
- Secret of the Great Terror-Beast Bakugon
- Defeat the Needle Shooting Terror-Beast Needlar
- Carnage! Zone & Godzilla vs. the Allied Terror-Beast Forces
- Pulverize! The Garoga Gamma-X Strategy
Appearances
Characters and Monsters
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Weapons, Vehicles, and Races
 Hikaru, Hotaru and Akira before they transform  Hikaru, Hotaru, and Akira after they transform |
Gallery
Add an image to this galleryTrivia
- The suits reused and constructed for the kaiju and Terror-Beasts in the series are of considerably better construction and design than Toho's previous Tokusatsu series.
- In addition, the sets are also in better condition, and have a quality about them which is almost identical to Toho's late Showa era films.
- Supplementary material issued by Toho after the series' conclusion revealed that this series is included in the Showa era continuity, existing between Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla.
References
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