JAKQ Dengekitai (Jacker Blitzkrieg Corps) is the second Super Sentai series (although, like its predecessor Himitsu Sentai Goranger, it wasn't counted as part of the Super Sentai series until years later), aired in 1977. It lasted only 35 episodes (the shortest run of all Sentai shows) and a later crossover movie involving Goranger. It was the last one to involve the creative influence of Shotaro Ishinomori.The evil organization, CRIME, sets out to become the greatest criminal organization in the world. Only ISSIS (International Science Special Investigation Squad), a sector of INTERPOL, has the resources to stop the threat. They recruit four people to become playing card-themed cyborg warriors, the JAKQ Dengekitai, in order to take down CRIME.
Cool Car: The J.A.K.Q. Machines, individual vehicles for each of the original four: the Spade Machine (based on a Fiat X1/9), the Mach Dia (a Formula 1 race car),the Heart Buggy (based on a Mini Moke) and the sole motorcycle of the group, the Auto Clover (a Kawasaki Triple).
Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Although they don't use color-based codenames (instead using a different playing card suit as the head word and a rank as the tail), the original four members of J.A.K.Q. wear the same colors as their predecessors in Goranger, minus yellow since they're one member short (although their commander Joker does wear a yellow military jacket and hat). Big One on the other hand wears primarily white and is even nicknamed the "white birdman", but he's really more of a Rainbow Ranger, both literally (due to the four-color symbol on his helmet and chest) and figuratively (he is powered by the same four energies that each of the other members possess individually).
Crossover: J.A.K.Q. vs. Goranger. This was 19 years before the Super Sentai Versus Series was officially started with Ohranger vs. Kakuranger.
Eye Catch: Similar to Goranger's, it features illustrations of the JAKQ team with Joker, and also has a similar sting.
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: All episodes contained two sentences, the first ending with an exclamation point (or two). For the first twelve episodes, the first sentence consisted of "[Number] [Noun]!!".
Law of Chromatic Superiority: Subverted. Spade Ace starts out as the team's leader, but loses this position once Big One arrives.
Suit design-wise, Spade Ace stands out among the pre-Big One team. While the other three's helmets are white, with their colors being represented on their visors (though Dia Jack's is more purple than blue, and Heart Queen is cherry red). Like Aka Ranger of the previous Sentai, Spade Ace's visor is blue, which is probably why Dia Jack's is purple.
Monster of the Week: The Machine Monsters (Kikai Kaibutsu, also known as Devil Robots), who are replaced with the Invader Robots from Episode 23 and onward. The early episodes also had human crime bosses that were the ones who employed the Machine Monsters.
The Movie: Two. The first was a theatrical edition of Episode 7; the second was not only the Series Finale, but serves as a crossover with the previous Sentai team (although, only Peggy Matsuyama appears out of costume, the rest never leave their suits).
Transformation Trinket: Instead of anything like the later wrist-worn or hand-held small transforming devices, JAKQ had the Strengthening Capsules (resembling giant batteries), which the heroes must enter to change - there's a set of four in their base, and another in the Sky Ace.
Bamba on the other hand has a rose, which he sniffs and tosses into the air before jumping and then landing as Big One.
Acting for Two: Subverted in JAKQ vs. Goranger. Although Hiroshi Miyauchi voices both, Big One and Ao Ranger, only Sokichi Bamba appears out of costume. None of the Gorangers appear in their civilian identities (except Peggy), so the scenes that have Ao Ranger and Big One together are actually stuntmen in costume with Miyauchi providing the voices.
Badass Cape: The main four; most prominently seen on Big One.
Early Installment Weirdness: No giant robot yet and the initial roster consists of four members instead of the usual five (or three for that matter). When Big One joins, he takes over the team's leadership from Spade Ace, subverting the franchise's tradition of having the red ranger as the lead character. Additionally, instead of using transformation devices, the team must enter the "Strengthening Capsule" booths to have their transformations applied.
Elemental Powers: The four energies used by the team are based on the four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism (in this case split into electricity and magnetism), and the weak/strong nuclear forces are loosely represented by atomic energy.
Its Pronounced Tropay: The team's name is pronounced "Jacker" (a play on "Joker", which is the codename of their original commanding officer Kujirai), despite the fact that the official spelling is J.A.K.Q., although "Jacker" is sometimes used as an alternate title.
Kiai: The Crimers have a distinctive "kwee" sound.
And JAKQ vs. Goranger has them teaming up with Goranger's mooks, the hoi-ing Zolders.
Retirony: Karen's dad had just retired when he was taken out.
Retool: Episode 23, where the team are not only joined by Big One, the show becomes a bit more light-hearted and the monsters of the week are completely different.
Scary Black Man: Big Saturn, a competitor in an underground fighting tournament in Episode 9.
Something about a Rose: Sōkichi is never seen without one: he even takes a sniff of it before morphing into Big One.
The Psycho Rangers: Sort of. In #22, four mooks dress up as JAKQ, but don't fight the real team. Instead, they are used as training for a group of cyborgs led by the monster of the week.
Kamen Rider and Super Sentai are set to cross over again in Gokaiger, and Let's Go, Kamen Riders reinforces Kikaider being in the same verse as Kamen Rider, and there's not even a Kamen Rider Decade-style dimension jump to say that they're normally separate. The connections are definitely, unambiguously established now.
Transformation Is a Free Action: JAKQ has what is possibly the longest individual transformation in Sentai history. It's amazing that Tokyo isn't destroyed by the time they're finished.
Very Special Episode: Of sorts, one episode had a drug-addicted character played by the then-unknown Kenji Ōba and his sister as part of it's plot.
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