Jushin Liger (獣神ライガー Jūshin Raigā, lit. Beast God Liger,) is an anime superhero TV series created by Go Nagai. Produced by Sunrise, the series ran through 1989 to 1990 with a total of 43 episodes. This anime was responsible for kicking off the wrestling career and popularity of Jushin Thunder Liger.
The story of this anime starts off with three bodies of Dragonite appear. Possessing overwhelming destructive force, they attack the city. By doing so, they also awaken the evil Jashin Drago from the seal he was trapped in. 200 years ago, Drago was trapped in the seal by a powerful warrior with the tattooed mark of the Liger.
Assuming that the warrior is dead, Drago and Empress Zara are free to conquer the Earth using their army of biomechanical beasts. Even the Japan Self-Defense Forces are no match for the Dragonites' awesome power. One of the people fleeing is the protagonist, a teenager named Ken Taiga. Unbeknownst to the Dragonites, Ken realizes that he is the descendant of the Liger warrior.
In a burst of anger, Ken's Liger birthmark appears, and he rises his palm into the air, shouting the henshin command, "LIGER!" which then covers him in demonic, long-haired biomechanical armor. Ken transforms into Jushin Liger to fight the evil forces of the Dragonite!
Tropes from this anime:
- All Men Are Perverts: Both Ken and Dangoro are quite prone to it, especially around the Kamishiro twins.
- Animal Motifs: Liger is based on a lion, while the Demon Dragon Empire are somewhat based on dragons.
- Animal Mecha: Velaguarda and Thunder Phoenix.
- Barehanded Blade Block: Liger does this against Maryuo Doll.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Drago and Empress Zara.
- Bloodier and Gorier: Between monster and bio-mechas, that is.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: It is implied that Zara took Ryu from a hospital and raised him to fight for their side.
- Darker and Edgier: When compared to other anime in the mecha genre.
- Evil Counterpart: Ryu and his mecha Maryuo Doll are one to Ken and Liger.
- Fat Best Friend: Dangoro.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: Yui, in contrast with the more tomboyish Mai.
- Hot-Blooded: Duh. It also inspired a real-life wrestler to take on the name from this anime.
- Honor Before Reason: Ryu refuses to finish a downed Liger after the latter is attacked In the Back by another Drago mook, and leaves the battlefield promising to defeat him cleanly some day.
- Humongous Mecha: Sort of. Liger is a bio-mechincal armor.
- Motion-Capture Mecha: Liger is this.
- Super Mode Liger's Fire and Thunder modes.
- The Tease: Both Yui and Mai. After an instance in which they accidentally enter the bathroom nude and starts bathing with Ken already there under the water, they take a liking to tease the boy with bathing with him and "washing his back".
- Tiger Versus Dragon: Ken and Ryu (which even is the word for "dragon" in Japanese).
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Mai and Yui Kamishiro.
- Wrestler in All of Us: Liger uses puroresu moves from time to time. It's not surprising that the character ended moving to real life pro wrestling.
