History Film / InvasionOfTheNeptuneMen

* AcePilot: We're apparently supposed to buy that Space Chief is one of these.

* BlindIdiotTranslation: Whoever did the English dubbing was too lazy to try to get the dialog to sound like things actual English speakers would really say. Not to mention the "Roji-Panty Complex".

* HongKongDub: The above-mentioned BlindIdiotTranslation means that not only are lines completely alien to normal English conversation, there's also the problem of matching up that dialog with the Japanese actors' lip movements. The result is something like Creator/WilliamShatner and Burgess Meredith doing a cold recitation of a particularly pause-heavy Creator/HaroldPinter play after a few strong drinks.

%%* SpaceClothes

* ShootTheShaggyDogStory: Space Chief turns out not to even be necessary, as it's the alpha-electron rockets (invented by humans) which ultimately destroy the Neptune men.

* {{Mondegreen}}: Many mishear the names Rojium and Tanium (radioactive elements named after two scientists in the film) as "Roji-Panty". The fact this is ''never actually explained'' in the English dub doesn't help, not that it would make any sense if it was explained, since all the character names have been changed around anyway.

* StockFootage: Lots, though how much of it is documentary footage versus recycled shots from other movies is unclear. At least one shot of the Japanese Diet being bombed does appear to be genuine World War II footage. The Hitler Building itself came from a 1960 Japanese UsefulNotes/ColdWar film ''World War III Breaks Out'', in what is supposed to be a kid's movie.
** Even weirder: ''World War III Breaks Out'' was recut and dubbed into English as ''The Final War'' several years later. The English-language version included additional effects footage from...''Invasion of the Neptune Men''.

* StockFootage: Lots, though how much of it is documentary footage versus recycled from other fictional works is unclear. At least one shot of the Japanese Diet being bombed does appear to be genuine World War II footage. The Hitler Building itself came from a 1960 Japanese UsefulNotes/ColdWar film ''World War III Breaks Out'', in what is supposed to be a kid's movie.

* StockFootage: Lots. The Hitler Building itself came from a 1960 Japanese UsefulNotes/ColdWar film ''World War III Breaks Out'', in what is supposed to be a kid's movie.

* SureWhyNot: Space Chief apparently never bothered to come up with a superhero name, so when the kids just randomly call him that, he rolls with it.

* AlienInvasion: A particularly slow, lumbering invasion carried out by about seven or so aliens equipped with endlessly looped weaponized stock footage. They try to spice things up by disguising the aliens as a brigade of transvestite soldiers, but it's still one of the least exciting struggles for mankind's future ever filmed.

* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: The aliens don't bother attacking anywhere else even though the only notable defense they face is a stationary shield.

* FreeRangeChildren: The kids' parents are not only never seen, they're never even ''mentioned''. They're so free-range, in fact, they don't even have ''names'' except the inevitable Ken. Well, one of them is supposed to be the son of the facility's chief scientist, but the rest are pretty much orphans as we know them

*

%%* NonindicativeName

* BlindIdiotTranslation: Whoever did the English dubbing was too lazy to try to get the dialog to sound like things actual English speakers would really say.
** Not to mention the "Roji-Panty Complex".

* FragileSpeedster: Space Chief's power. He's not invulnerable to the enemy lasers - he just has super-reflexes and dodges them.
* FreeRangeChildren: The kids' parents are not only never seen, they're never even ''mentioned''. They're so free-range, in fact, they don't even have ''names'' except the inevitable Ken.
** One of them is supposed to be the son of the facility's chief scientist. The rest? Who knows.

* HongKongDub: The voices for the kids are incredibly stupid. Disregarding that, fairly standard for its time, but... gah, those stupid kids.
** Then there is all the other stupid voices in the dubbing, like Professor Froggy and Minister Sugar Bear.
** Even the normal voices are weird, since the above-mentioned BlindIdiotTranslation means that not only are the lines completely alien to normal English conversation, there's also the problem of matching up that dialog with the Japanese actors' lip movements. The result is something like Creator/WilliamShatner and Burgess Meredith doing a cold recitation of a particularly pause-heavy Creator/HaroldPinter play after a few strong drinks--except without a scintilla of the entertainment value such a recitation would provide.

* TheLoad: The omnipresent Japanese children when they have to be saved by Prince of Space Chief. However, this trope is subverted as follows:
** The kids are the ones to discover and report the aliens, find the piece of the spaceship that is blown off, and deliver the device that the aliens use to communicate with the humans. They even notice the disguised soldier aliens before anyone else. They're actually more useful than Space Chief is.
*** Bear in mind that they were just the first ones on-site in both instances. Anyone with a pair of working eyes... or, failing that, ''one'' working eye, would have been able to see what they did. And be a lot less shrill when telling people about it. And probably cut down on all the running time by having a driver's license and car.

* NonindicativeName: Space Chief is never seen to go into space. He's more like Lower Atmosphere Chief, really. Or Barely-Off-The-Stupid-Ground-Chief. Of course, those idiot kids gave him the name, so it's hardly his fault.

* [[OverlyLongFightingAnimation Overly Long Fighting Scene]]: The infamous final showdown between Space Chief and the Neptunians lasts longer than most Music/{{Yes}} songs and is pretty much composed of the same few shots repeated ''ad nauseum.''
* ParentalAbandonment: No one seems to care that the kids are just wandering aimlessly around town.
* SpaceClothes
* StockFootage: Lots.
** StockFootageFailure: Infamous for using footage from a 1960 Japanese UsefulNotes/ColdWar film ''World War III Breaks Out'', in what is supposed to be a kid's movie. Including the Hitler Building.
* StuffBlowingUp: You'd think a hostile spaceship reducing Tokyo to rubble would be exciting, right? Nope. Not a chance.
** In fact, this is probably the only movie in existence where the big, epic, action-packed climax is even more boring and tedious than the stuff preceding it.
* SureWhyNot: Space Chief apparently never bothered to come up with a superhero name, so when the kids just randomly call him that he rolls with it.
* SwissCheeseSecurity

*** Bear in mind that they were just the first ones on-site in both instances. Anyone with a pair of working eyes...or, failing that, ''one'' working eye, would have been able to see what they did. And be a lot less shrill when telling people about it. And probably cut down on all the running time by having a driver's license and car.

For the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode see ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S08E19InvasionOfTheNeptuneMen here]] .''

A 1961 sci-fi flick (''Uchū Kaisokusen'', or "The High-speed Spaceship", in the original Japanese) famous for its appearance by a young Creator/SonnyChiba. What little plot there is concerns a gang of nameless Japanese children wandering around town and running into an invasion by the titular torpedo-headed Neptune men, some sort of "[[DeflectorShields electro-barrier]]", and Space Chief (''Iron-Sharp'' in the original), a superhero and "ineffectual chicken-headed bachelor" dedicated to fighting the Neptunian menace. Aside from that, it's pretty much ''Film/PrinceOfSpace'' with added World War II stock footage (featuring a delightful cameo by Adolf Hitler) but without [[SoBadItsGood the charm of the Chicken Men of Krankor]].

A 1961 sci-fi flick (''Uchū Kaisokusen'', or "The High-speed Spaceship", in the original Japanese) famous for its appearance by a young Creator/SonnyChiba. What little plot there is concerns a gang of nameless Japanese children wandering around town and running into an invasion by the titular torpedo-headed Neptune men, some sort of "[[DeflectorShields electro-barrier]]", and Space Chief (''Iron-Sharp'' in the original), a superhero and "ineffectual chicken-headed bachelor" dedicated to fighting the Neptunian menace. Aside from that, it's pretty much ''PrinceOfSpace'' with added World War II stock footage (featuring a delightful cameo by Adolf Hitler) but without [[SoBadItsGood the charm of the Chicken Men of Krankor]].

* [[OverlyLongFightingAnimation Overly Long Fighting Scene]]: The infamous final showdown between Space Chief and the Neptunians lasts longer than most Music/{{Yes}} songs and is pretty much composed of the same few shots repeated ''ad nauseum''.
* ParentalAbandonment: No-one seems to care that the kids are just wandering aimlessly around town.

For the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode see ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S08E19InvasionOfTheNeptuneMen here]] ''.

* CannedOrdersOverLoudspeaker: '''"DO NOT PANIC. DO NOT PANIC."'''[[note]]'''Mike:''' Yeah, ''right''.[[/note]]

** In the original Japanese release he was known as "Ironsharp," apparently. This isn't really any better than Space Chief, since neither his ship or his superhero costume imply sharpness, with the possible exception of his table saw helmet.

* CannedOrdersOverLoudspeaker: '''"DON'T PANIC. DON'T PANIC."'''