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This article is about a/an villain in Android Kikaider. |
Saburo (サブロー Saburō), also known as Hakaider (ハカイダー Hakaidā), is DARK's trump card, created by a mind-controlled Dr. Komyoji to be Jiro/Kikaider's greatest adversary. Implanted with his creator's brain, Saburo is a technorganic, requiring regular blood transfusions from Dr. Komyoji's body to operate at peak efficiency.
Similar to Jiro, Saburo makes his presence known through a melancholic tune, executed via whistling.
Personality[]
Created solely to destroy Jiro, Saburo possesses a strong desire to carry out his given task, bordering onto obsession. Thus, he has no qualms endangering others if to carry out his goals, regardless of their standing. However, unlike DARK's Destructoids, Saburo refuses to rely on cowardly tactics in battle, being disgusted by such acts. Furthermore, he is largely harmless to innocent bystanders, provided that they are not in the same vicinity as Jiro.
Possibly from being a creation of Dr. Komyoji, Saburo has shown a certain fondness for Masaru, Mitsuko, and Hanpei, protecting them from danger if needed. Notably, even in a crazed state, Saburo retained enough self-control to not harm any of them, so long as that they did not stand in his way.
Arrogant and prideful, Saburo readily mocked other robots as beneath him, convinced that none could surpass him. This belief proved a significant weakness for Saburo, causing him to become blindful of certain situations. Evidently, in stark contrast to his usual attitude, Saburo later revealed himself to have felt some kinship to DARK's Destructoids, expressing remorse after killing Red Mine Toad in battle.
Ironically, in spite of his constant boasts of superiority, Saburo ultimately showed himself to be the same as DARK's robots; a simple killing machine that followed orders. Having been told by Gill that his sole purpose in life was to destroy Kikaider, Saburo felt despair upon believing that his mission was completed, now aware of how empty his life was. Thus, Saburo wound up fully rebelling from DARK, not caring whether he lived or died. Once learning of Jiro's survival however, Saburo's sanity was restored, reigniting his desire to fight Jiro.
In his final moments, Saburo admitted that he secretly felt respect toward Jiro, sincerely expressing it before dying.
Character History[]
After Jiro managed to defeat Black Crow in battle, the evil Professor Gill revealed of DARK's intention to create a powerful soldier known as Hakaider, whom Gill stated was more powerful than Jiro himself.
Later on when DARK managed to kidnap Dr. Komyoji (who regained his memories), they forced him to make Saburo under the influence of drugs by DARK to "correct" his mistake of creating Kikaider. Unlike other DARK androids, Saburo is technically a cyborg as Gill had Dr. Komyoji's brain transplanted into the very android he created, to use as a shield against Jiro. He soon revealed himself in battle form to Jiro once he broke out of prison, challenging his older brother to a duel.
Although Jiro was able to hold his own against his younger brother (despite having a malfunction at the time), he was ultimately defeated once Hakaider used the White Crow's missiles. Hakaider then almost succeeded in killing Kikaider, but was forced to stop fighting due to his time limit. Later on, Gill revealed that Saburo needs periodic blood transfusions from Dr. Komyoji's body each hour, otherwise it would kill both of them. Afterwards, the cyborg revealed himself to Mitsuko, Masaru and Hanpei, where he lied and stated that he was programmed by Dr. Komyoji to awaken from his deep slumber in case Jiro ever malfunctioned. He soon somewhat gained their trust once he saved them from Purple Starfish's attack. Once questioned by the Destructoid over his motives, Saburo stated that he hates unfair plans and ordered him to tell Gill not to interfere.
This caused the Destructoid to greatly hate the cyborg, to the point of escaping from Jiro once Saburo appeared in front of them from afar. After Jiro learned of Dr. Komyoji's state and defeated Purple Starfish in battle, the cyborg challenged his brother for a rematch. Despite Jiro's unwillingness to fight him, Hakaider left him no other choice by pointing his Hakaider Shot towards him. He then told Jiro that he prefers to not use weapons against an unarmed opponent before attacking him with powerful moves. Trying to end the battle as quick as possible, Jiro used a weakened version of his Ginga Hurricane against Saburo, defeating him without inflicting fatal injury. This allowed Jiro to escape from their duel, with Hakaider grudgingly stating he is the only one capable of killing Jiro.
When Masaru wrongly confronted Jiro over killing his father, Saburo appeared in the midst of his confusion, with Masaru siding over him. Asked who he is by Jiro, Saburo revealed his name and told Jiro he is his brother. Jiro did not believe Saburo's words, not knowing it to be the truth. Acting very cocky, Saburo then referred Jiro as junk and tauntingly challenged him to a duel. Despite his willingness to fight, Jiro decided to run when Mitsuko pleaded him not to. The next day, Saburo gave the Death Whistle to Masaru after showing it's effects to him, with Saburo telling him to use it on Jiro, with Masaru agreeing without a second thought.
Once Jiro raced on his Side Machine with a small child helping him find the kidnapped children, Hakaider attacked them with his White Crow, which Jiro and the child narrowly escaped from.
Arriving later on when Masaru used the Death Whistle on Grey Grasshopper, Saburo grew slightly annoyed once he found out Jiro wasn't there. Despite slightly being annoyed, Saburo told them to escape while he confronted the Destructoid. Asked who he is, Saburo revealed his battle form and told Grey Grasshopper not to lay a hand on them. Questioned whether he was a warrior of DARK for his actions, Saburo harshly replied to Grey Grasshopper that he was not a feeble minded robot like them, and told Grey Grasshopper if he is still bent on going after them, he would have to face his wrath. Despite Grey Grasshopper threatening to tell Gill about this before leaving, Hakaider only sneered and stated he was not afraid.
When Masaru did later find Jiro who was winning in his fight with Grey Grasshopper, he used the Death Whistle on him and called for Saburo. Seeing that Masaru was aiming the Death Whistle at Grey Grasshopper instead, Saburo told him to properly aim for his prey, with Masaru surprised at the predicament. Immediately afterwards, Hakaider broke through Gill's room, which Gill questioned him for. Stating that he heard Gill was looking for him, he was confronted by Gill for interrupting Grey Grasshopper, which Hakaider aloofly confirmed and flew out the ceiling, making Gill curse him.
Once Jiro saved Mitsuko and Masaru from Grey Grasshopper, he told Masaru that he would rather die than continue to be distrusted by him. This was followed with Saburo's appearance, where he easily subdued Grey Grasshopper and challenged Jiro to a fight. Deciding to wait for Jiro to defeat Grey Grasshopper, he saw their fight through. Suddenly though, Gill's flute combined with Grey Grasshopper's speaker allowed them to fully control Kikaider, forcing him to fight Saburo. Revealing his identity as Hakaider to Kikaider, Saburo fought him in battle. Their battle soon ended once Mistuko and Masaru interrupted Grey Grasshopper, allowing Jiro to regain his sanity. Despite Mistuko and Masaru being chased by Grey Grasshopper, Hakaider would not allow Jiro end their fight to save them. In a struck of luck however, Hakaider's time for blood infusion came, forcing him to end their battle.
When Jiro went to DARK base after learning they sent the Komyoji siblings a mail on their whereabouts, Saburo appeared in front of them and Hanpei, where he told them Jiro won't make it there, and encouraged them to go as well. He then transformed into battle form and chased after Jiro with his White Crow. Asked by Jiro if he plans on interrupting again, Saburo snidely confirms he will until he defeats his archenemy. He then forces Jiro to fight him again, which ends with Jiro unwittingly knocking him off a cliff. Later on when Jiro was destroyed by Red Mine Toad, Saburo appeared after throwing his knife at the Destructoid to disable its ability to explode others through touch. Challenging the Destructoid to a duel, Hakaider easily defeated the grunts who got in his way. Facing off Red Mine Toad, both arrogantly stated themselves as stronger than Kikaider as they fought. Without his main ability however, Red Mine Toad proved little match for Hakaider and was easily defeated.
It was after his victory that Hakaider realized he destroyed an ally, and started to question his purpose in life. This made Hakaider go insane and cause him to question Hanpei on what life is about, then state his hatred towards Gill for creating him. He then nearly attacked Hanpei in confusion, before being told by the man that he wasn't Gill, causing Hakaider to slightly regain his senses and break into DARK's base to kill their leader.
Confronting Gill, whom Saburo stated will be murdered at his hands, ruthlessly attacked DARK's leader. Telling Hakaider to calm down, Gill tried to coax him by telling his supposed plans to make Hakaider the . Without even thinking things through, Hakaider went to go kill Dr. Komyoji, not knowing his creator's death would mean his own. As he tried killing Dr. Komyoji (Despite plea's from Mitsuko and Masaru not to) he found Jiro was still alive and seemed to have restored his (usual) sanity. Jiro then told Hakaider he would face him instead, with Hakaider telling Jiro he would wait for his brother to be fully fixed. Once Jiro was restored to his natural state (or so they thought) the two siblings fought in their human forms. When it seemed Jiro slightly had the upper edge, Saburo decided to turn into Hakaider prompting Jiro to try and change as well. Learning that his transforming circuit was still broken, Jiro was mercilessly attacked by Hakaider, who knew of his opponent's disadvantage.
The fight was luckily interrupted by Android Men, who attacked both of them. Fighting through the hoard of grunts, Hakaider and Jiro split up, not knowing about the last Destructoid's presence nearby. Ambushed by White Bone Flying Squirrel, Hakaider was easily defeated by it. The defeated Hakaider then fell on the ground where he was found by Jiro. Warning Jiro about the last Destructoid whom Hakaider stated was stronger than even himself, the cyborg uttered that if he was going to be defeated anyways, then he would of wanted to be defeated by Jiro instead, before succumbing to his injury. Jiro then carried his fallen sibling to return Dr. Komyoji's brain back into his body. Telling a reluctant Mitsuko that if she did not perform the surgery, then both Dr. Komyoji and Saburo would die, Jiro seemingly showed some care for his brother in the end. The body of Hakaider was later left in the surgery room after Dr. Komyoji was revived.
Though Hakaider had died, his mass-produced copies would later form as remenants of DARK, one of them hosting Professor Gill's brain. Naming their organization as the Hakaider Squad, they were the primary antagonists of Ichiro/Kikaider 01, until later being replaced by an organization known as Shadow.
Abilities and Arsenal[]
Being created by Dr. Komyoji himself, Saburo is a powerful warrior, proving far more advanced than an average Destructoid. Even without transforming into battle mode, Saburo was capable of outfighting Purple Starfish and Grasshopper Gray with ease, overall rivaling Jiro in human form[1].
As Hakaider, Saburo could destroy Androidmen with a single attack, dismantling them in the process[1]. Evidently, only Jiro as Kikaider and White Bone Flying Squirrel had ever defeated him in battle[2], the latter doing so via an ambush.
One of Hakaider's biggest weakness however, is that he needed periodic blood transfusions from Dr. Komyoji's body every hour, a side effect to having his creator's brain inside him. Another weakness is his arrogance and obsession to defeat Jiro, which caused him to go insane at one point.
- Devil Circuit: A circuit designed to be the antithesis to the Conscience Circuit.
- Hakaider Shot: As noted above, the Hakaider Shot takes the form of a knife when Hakaider was in his human form.
- White Crow: A bike that was not only faster than the Side Machine, but could also shoot missiles powerful enough to injure Kikaider
- Suction Powers: Like Jiro, Saburo could easily walk on walls with his feet as if they were the ground.
- Air Craft: If needed, Saburo could fly through the air, doing so on several occasions.
Attacks[]
- Guillotine Drop: Grabbing the opponent's head with his legs, Hakaider reverses said opponent before slamming them on the ground.
- Hell Five Step Reversal: When the opponent jumps high in the air, Hakaider also jumps with them before reversing them five times, dealing damage to said opponent.
- Moon Flight Kick: Flying high in the air, Hakaider zooms into the opponent while spinning, then dealing a kick.
Appearances in other media[]
Video Games[]
Super Hero Tactics[]
Super Hero Tactics Daidal's ambitions[]
Tokusatsu Adventure Action Drama Super Hero Biographies[]
Super Tokusatsu Taisen 2001[]
Notes[]
Portrayal[]
- Saburo is played by Jouji Mayama for his human form but is voiced by Shōzō Iizuka in his battle form.
Behind the Scenes[]
- to be added
References[]
Trivia[]
- The producers of Kikaider 01 have confirmed in supplimentary material that Saburo and Gill Hakaider are different robots altogether, the latter simply resembling Saburo the most among the Hakaider Squad, with significant differences in facial and chest designs. Yet, almost every character in-series treat the two as the same individuals, despite their very obvious differences in personality and prowess.
- This is in stark contrast to the manga by Shotaro Ishinomori, in which Saburo's body was indeed used to host Professer Gill's brain, proven at one point when Gill took on Saburo's human form as a disguise.
- Notably, despite being established as Jiro's most powerful foe in the franchise, Saburo has an abysmal track record in their duels[2][3], suffering several defeats by a hesitant Jiro[4], the latter ensuring that Dr. Komyoji's brain is not harmed in any way. Considering Jiro's ever-growing deveopment as a warrior, it would stand to reason that he simply learned to counter Saburo's combat style, similar to how he defeated DARK's strongest Destructoids.