Line #6 Series/KaiketsuZubat


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kaiketsu_zubat.jpg]]
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3	->''"Here with a "zubat"! Solving problems with a "zubat"! People call me the wandering hero... Kaiketsu(Extraordinary/Swift Hero) Zubat!"''
4	-->--'''Ken Hayakawa/Zubat'''
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6	''Kaiketsu Zubat'' is a 1977 {{Toku}} series created by Creator/ShotaroIshinomori. It follows the tale of detective Ken Hayakawa, whose friend Gorou Asuka was murdered by the evil organization Dakker. To avenge him, Ken dons the mighty Zubasuit to become Zubat.[[note]]Alternatively romanized as "Zvatt". Apparently, the sound of something zipping by in a flash.[[/note]] Our hero roams the countryside, like a good ol' western gunslinger, to find Dakker criminals wherever they're terrorizing the innocent.
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8	Not to be confused with that {{Goddamn\|edBats}} Franchise/{{Pokemon}}, or ''Manga/KaiketsuZorori'' for that matter.
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10	----
11	!!This work features examples of:
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13	* TheAce: Ken codifies the ''hell'' out of this trope. He is #1 in Japan, after all.
14	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Inverted in every episode. The various hired guns will think they're the best at their specialty. Unfortunately, Ken's still better than them. Every damn time, at any damn skill. You aren't the best lethal thrower of plates in Japan - ''he is''.
15	* BadBoss: Boss L doesn't take kindly to anything delaying his organization's criminal operations, so he often threatens to kill his subordinates if they are doing poorly, as motivation.
16	* BetterManhandleTheMurderWeapon: Episode 16. The first time, it's invoked when the weapon is thrown to Ken as he enters the room, and he catches it before seeing the body. The second time, though, he picks the weapon up himself (though the victim in this case isn't killed).
17	* BoundAndGagged: Every other episode or so someone gets tied up, sometimes gagged too. Most of them are [[DamselInDistress women too]].
18	* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: The Zubat Suit has big Z's on the helmet, the chest, and the belt.
19	* CallingCard: Zubat always leaves a distinctive card on his defeated foe for the police to find, explaining the particular crime they've committed (ie: "This man is an arsonist", or "This man is a murderer").
20	* CelebrityParadox: Either this, or SharedUniverse. One episode’s VillainOfTheWeek brags that he’s stronger than Series/KamenRider, though it’s unclear if he’s referring to a tv character or a famous superhero.
21	* CreatorCameo: Shotaro Ishinomori shows up in an episode. Oddly though not as himself persay, but as a baseball player with his name.
22	* CoolCar: Ken's Zubacar.
23	* CreepyCrossdresser: Garaba in episode 30 is revealed to be a man dressed as an old woman during his fight with Zubat. It would be a way to get around WouldntHitAGirl... except Ken's shown no issues fighting women in the past, and even threw Garaba around pretty roughly before the disguise was revealed.
24	* CurbStompBattle: Once Zubat finally confronts the crime boss of the week, he doesn't give the enemy much chance to fight back, instead just giving him a beating and throwing him around with his whip while demanding to know if he killed Asuka. The "good" fight is with TheDragon with the special skill.
25	* DeathByOriginStory: Asuka Gorou.
26	* DontTryThisAtHome: Used as an OnTheNextEpisodeOfCatchPhrase.
27	* GratuitousEnglish: Episode 3's hired gun, Killer Joe seemed to be a fan of this.
28	* ImprobableAimingSkills: Ken was able to ShootTheBullet with every shot that the enemy in episode one fired. Made even more improbable by the fact that instead of facing each other, they were standing side by side!
29	* HenshinHero: Oddly enough, it seems that the suit has to be manually put on, and yet there are several instances in which Ken manages to change into Zubat while falling from a cliff or in some other situation where putting the suit on would be difficult. He can even do it when he isn't carrying his guitar, in which he usually carries the suit. Even if one assumes that he sometimes wears the suit under his other clothes, the helmet is what actually activates the powers, and there's no way he can hide that! His clothes-changing skills must be #1 in Japan too.
30	* HourOfPower: The Zubat suit can only work for five minutes, after which it goes BOOM.
31	* IAmNotLeftHanded: In episode 8, Zubat fights against a seemingly blind swordsman who always wears a blindfold. After Zubat cuts off the blindfold, the swordsman reveals that he can see fine, and was about to take the blindfold off himself.
32	* InTheNameOfTheMoon: Ken would call out the villain, saying their skill was "no. 2 in Japan"; when they asked who was first, he'd wag a finger, lift up his hat, and point to himself with a grin. Later, as Zubat, he'd deliver the page quote.
33	* MartialArtsAndCrafts: The hired guns tend to use their skills not just to show off, but also to fight.
34	* MonsterOfTheWeek: Or in this case, ''mobsters'' of the week, usually a crime boss and a hired goon who happens to specialize in a particular skill.
35	* NewOldWest: Despite taking place in [[TheSeventies 1970s]] Japan, with then-modern technology clearly present, especially in the early episodes the characters all dress and talk as if they were in TheWildWest.
36	* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Ken is essentially a cowboy scientist detective superhero.
37	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Ken tends to dish this out to the mobster of the week.
38	* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Even when the phrase isn't actually said, these sorts of situations are usually the prime opportunities for Ken to become Zubat.
39	* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: In the last episode, Zubat manages to defeat [[spoiler:three assassins whose armor is ten times stronger than his own, and the leader of Dakker who might also have the same amount of power]]. But we don't get to see how he does it- we see them fighting and then cut to the other characters discovering the aftermath.
40	* RasputinianDeath: Asuka. He's in a bus when it ''explodes'' then when ''that'' doesn't kill him, he gets shot ''twelve times'' and still lives long enough to swear vengeance.
41	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Ken's crusade against Dakker searching for Asuka's killer counts.
42	* SayMyName[=/=]BigWordShout: "ASUKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
43	* ShowyInvincibleHero: Ken Hayakawa is this trope like no one else. In order to get anything even close to the drop on him, the Dakker goons have to severely outnumber him, carry guns, and take hostages - and even then, the fight's even only until he puts on the Zubasuit.
44	** Clearly, [[{{Pun}} they needed]] [[MoreDakka More Dakker]].
45	* StrictlyFormula: The formula goes like this: Some bad guys are threatening someone innocent; Ken shows up and takes them out, then is challenged by the villains' hired goon, leading to the "#2 in Japan" line; Ken outdoes the goon in said challenge; Ken talks to the person who was threatened, and finds out what the villains are planning; Ken investigates the villains, usually getting captured in the process but also discovering the leader of the villain group; Ken escapes from the villains and returns as Zubat; Zubat fights some grunts, then the hired goon; Zubat beats up the crime boss, finds out that they didn't kill Asuka, then finishes them with a Zubat Attack and leaves his CallingCard, which is found by Tojo; Ken heads off to further adventures, usually leaving someone he helped out calling his name after him.
46	* SuperPrototype: The space suit boosts up Ken's already impressive physical abilities, but it's incomplete and defective, hence the five-minute limit.
47	* TheSyndicate: Dakker.
48	* ThisIsUnforgivable: When Ken confronts the villain of the week, he outlines their (usually monstrous) crimes before declaring this.
49	* WouldHurtAChild: Every enemy he fights against in every episode.
50	* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: While beating each latest crime boss, Ken would ask if they are Asuka Gorou's killer, only for them to confess that they didn't do it.
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Context Series / KaiketsuZubat