Supekutoruman

One of the wonders of Japanese television. Spectreman was the creation of P Productions, a low-end children's programming company. Their previous shows were animation and the Tezuka created live action Commander Magma which was released here as "Space Giants". This show is a combination of both of their departments.

Much cheaper than the similar Ultraman series, Spectreman was populated with wacky monsters, and a chief villain blue ape on the level of a Halloween rubber mask. Laser beams, rays, and other similar special effects were accomplished by animating over still photographs of the characters! The cheapness was offset by the sheer energy of the show. They kept it moving and fun.

The show was originally presented as three separate series ending up with 63 episodes. It starts as a traditional monster of the week program but it changed into a Kamden Rider / Power Rangers type format with legions of strange fighting aliens battling the hero and his friends in extended martial art battles. The giant monsters never disappear. The design is just bizarre. It's hard to tell if the monsters are lumpy and misshapen on purpose or they just didn't know how to make the suits.

Great fun but somewhat obscure now, that's too bad.