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The Pollution G-Men
Jōji Gamō (Spectreman)
Jōji Gamō (蒲生 譲二)
Played by: Tetsuo Narikawa Other languages
Suit actor (Spectreman): Kōji Uenishi
Appearances: All episodes
A member of the Pollution G-Men. Upon receiving orders from Nebula 71, he transforms into Spectrum Man and fights monsters.
As Spectreman
- The Ace: Jōji Gamō is this to the Pollution G-Men, and it pisses everyone off on the team.
- Aesop Enforcer: In the first few episodes, he stresses to many people about the importance of keeping the environment clean.
- Beam Spam: Spectreman's Spectre Ray attack allows him to shoot rainbows out of his palms.
- But Now I Must Go: In the Grand Finale, Joji's newfound friends ask if will see them again. Knowing he will be recalled back by Nebula 71 once he completes his mission, but not wanting to hurt their feelings, he says he will. Later, director Kurata and his friends figure out he is Spectreman, and understand why he cannot stay. Thus, they bid him farewall after the death of Dr. Gori.
- Dub Name Change:
- He became George in the American English dub.
- He became George Kandor in the Italian dub.
- Friend to All Children: In the first episode, he befirends a little boy who lost his father to one of Dr. Gori's pollution monsters. The boy knows his secret identity, but promises he'll keep his lips sealed. When Joji is leaving, the boy asks if they will ever meet again, and Joji promises they will. Throughout the series, be rescues and befriends many children.
- Going Native: He is a cyborg who poses as a human to protect the Earth from extraterrestial threats.
- The Hero: His mission is to protect the Earth from the forces of Dr. Gori no matter what.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be rude, crass, belligerent and flippant to his friends, but always puts his own life on the line to save them, even if it gets him in trouble with his boss.
- No One Gets Left Behind: Spectreman would sometimes get in trouble with his boss over his position to save everyone he possibly could, while Nebula is willing to sacrifice a few people here and there to avert bigger tragedies.
- Not Quite Human: Spectreman is actually a cyborg created by Nebula 71; "Jōji Gamō" is merely a psuedonym to help him blend in with the Earthlings.
- Shock and Awe: One of his powers, Spectre Shock
◊ releases thunder and electrocutes his opponent. - Shout-Out: His name is a reference to the theoretical physicist George Gamow.
Shigeo Kurata
Played by: Tōru ŌhiraOther languages
Appearances: All episodes
The head of the Pollution Investigation Bureau's 8th Branch Office, the Pollution G-Men.
- Ambiguous Situation: In both the TV show and the manga series, he makes remarks that imply he knows Joji's secret identity is Spectreman.
- Arch-Enemy: Joji, because he always defies his orders, acts like a Jerkass and mysteriously disappears all of a sudden during Pollution Monster attacks (since he's Spectreman).
- Da Chief: He's the one who gives the final orders regarding the actions of the G-Men.
- Pointy-Haired Boss: He's extremely strict to his employees, especially Joji, who seems to not take his job seriously. He often fires Joji Once an Episode, only to re-hire him later.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Not apparent in the first half, but by the second half of the show he becomes more cool-headed and understanding to his team's needs.
Shinyoshi Kaga
Played by: Takamitsu Watanabe
Appearances: All episodes
Chief of the pollution G-men.
- Dub Name Change: He became Arthur in the American-English dub.
- Happily Married: Episode 19 reveals that he is married and expecting a child.
- Idle Rich: When he invites his co-workers to his house for dinner, Kurata expresses shock at how wealthy he is and admits he's surprised that he even works for them.
- The Lancer: Second-in-charge after Shigeo Kurata.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: His wife Amy is a prim and proper Yamato Nadeshiko, while he's fatter and dishevelled.
- Verbal Tic: He is from the Miyazaki Prefecture and speaks using the Miyazaki dialect in conversation.
- Wanted a Son Instead: When Director Kurata asks him about his and his wife's baby, Shinyoshi tells him he hopes it's a boy.
Takashi Ota
Played by: Kazuo Orai
Appearances: All episodes
- Brutal Honesty: Takashi has a tendency to be Innocently Insensitive.
- Innocently Insensitive: He often runs his mouth without thinking twice, which leads to him unintentionally offending others.
- Jerkass: He's not a bad guy (even if he is a bit arrogant), but has an inability to read the room.
- Motor Mouth: Takashi's default way of speaking falls into this.
Toshio Arito
Played by: Koji Ozaki
Appearances: All episodes
- Bash Brothers: With Joji. In the Grand Finale, they have a back-to-back badasses moment.
- Big Damn Heroes: When Hiromi was attacked by a Grass Man and passed out, he came to her rescue.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Was hypnotized by Igor in episode 50, but luckily the G-Men snapped him out of it.
- Dub Name Change: He became Johnny in the American English dub.
Rie Endo
Played by: Machiko Konishi
Appearances: Episodes 1-10, 12
- All Love Is Unrequited: She has a crush on Spectreman, but Joji doesn't like her back.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Rie Endo vanished after episode 10 for reasons that are hard to tell. In Real Life,her actress was going through health issues and couldn't act any longer.
- Dub Name Change:
- She became Minnie in the American English dub.
- And in the Italian dub, she became Rita.
- Fangirl: Of Spectreman ever since he defeated Hedoron.
- The Fashionista: Rie is always wearing stylish clothes and has a wolf-cut hairstyle.
- Interspecies Romance: Falls for Ra in one episode. They don't end up together, however.
- True Blue Femininity: She wears a blue shirt under a black overcoat.
Mineko Tachibana
Played by: Sakurako Shin
Appearances: Episodes 19-35
- Miss Fanservice: She dons a swimsuit to rescue an injured Joji.
- Women Are Wiser: Mineko often halts Joji from making hasty descisions and acting recklessly.
Midori Sawa
Played by: Rumi Goto
Appearances: Episodes 36-39
- Damsel in Distress: She discovers Dr. Gori's base by accident, after which she is kidnapped and told to tell them the true identity of Spectreman. Midori, however, has a will of steel and does not give in.
Hiromi Yanagita
Played by: Taeko Sakurai
Appearances: Episodes 40-63
- Action Girl: The most active female member of the G-Men and frequent ally of Joji.
- Dub Name Change: She became Kim in the American English dub.
Planet E
In General
The fifth planet in the Gaishites solar system, commonly known as "Planet E". It boasts an ultra-advanced civilization.
- Expy: Gori and Ra are evil exceptions from an all-pacifist intelligent simian race, just like DC Comics' villain Gorilla Grodd. Ra shares appearance and strength with Grodd, while Gori is similar to Grodd in intelligence. Planet E, homeland of highly evolved, pacifist apes, shares similarities with Gorilla City.
- Higher-Tech Species: They are far more advanced than Earth and many other planets of the solar system, their technological advancements giving their people a higher quality of life than most.
- Maniac Monkeys: Gori and Ra.
- Mind Rape: On Planet E, they don't have the death penalty, because whenever anyone commits a heinous crime, they are simply brainwashed into being a better person.
Dr. Gori
Dr Gori
Voiced by: Kiyoshi Kobayashi (Episodes 1-10, 19-29), Seizo Kato (Episodes 11-18), Ren Nishiyama (Episodes 30-63)Other languages
Suit actor: Takanobu Toya
Appearances: Episodes 1-43, episodes 46-63
An alien scientist who wants to take over the Earth.
- Aliens Are Bastards: While most people of Planet E are peaceful and oppose war, Dr. Gori believes that the other planets in the universe are inferior as they lack his nation's advanced technology and wants to conquer Earth.
- Bad Boss: He is often rude to Ra and quick to blame him for his failures.
- Dub-Induced Plotline Change: In the original Japanese version, Dr. Gori committed suicide because he couldn't bear life without Ra. In the American English dub, he tells Spectreman that he cannot live on a planet and not rule it, and jumps to his death.
- Dub Name Change: Dr. Gori became Dr. Stragor in the Italian dub.
- Driven to Suicide: After Ra died fighting Spectreman, Dr. Gori crossed the Despair Event Horizon and believed life wasn't worth living anymore. He then threw himself off a cliff.
- Enraged by Idiocy: While Ra loyally serves Dr. Gori, he also suffers from some impediment more or less akin to being mentally slow, hence Gori often losing his temper at him.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Dr. Gori is a racist bastard, but even though he doesn't show it, he loves Ra with all his heart.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Before his death, Spectreman tries to convince him to turn to the side of good, and use his genius to solve the world's problems such as pollution, waste and all the ills that plague mankind. Spectreman states that peace is the greatest victory, but Gori rejects this and chooses death instead.
- Evil Genius: Dr. Gori believed that the technology Planet E developed was being wasted on peaceful objectives, and began to design deadly weapons with which he could overthrow the central government of his planet, and then extend the domination of his kind to other worlds in the universe. Fortunately, his plan became known to the government before he could carry it out, and he was tried for his crimes. However, before he could be Mind Raped into being good, Ra helped him escape. It's also stated that he has an IQ of 300.
- Expy: Besides the aformentioned similarities with Grodd, Gori also shares traits with the Silver Age version of Brainiac: the pink suit with white accessories, the alien origin, the stereotypical flying saucer.
- Fallen Princess: He was once well-respected in Planet E, but his reputation crashed when it was found out he was creating weaponry for war, which went against the peaceful ways of Planet E's people.
- Fantastic Racism: He thinks Earth is a beautiful planet, and became angry at the selfishness of humans who continue to contaminate it with pollution. Even without that, he generally looks down on those not from Planet E.
- Jerkass: Ra is his closest friend and confidant, but he always takes out his frustration on him when he fails. Though Ra swears loyalty to Gori, he's slightly antipathic to him because of this.
- Large and in Charge: He is 2m tall and was appointed the leader of Planet E (before being ousted).
- Mad Scientist: He creates the Pollution Monsters that terrorize Earth.
- Orcus on His Throne: Usually, he sits on a multi-purpose chair inside his disc and issues commands to Ra.
- Punny Name: His name is a pun on "gorilla".
- Rasputinian Death: Dr. Gori dies by jumping off a cliff...and then exploding. The most plausible explanation is that he carried a grenade with him and set it off.
- Real Men Wear Pink: He wears white gloves and a pink space suit.
- Take Over the World: As he is exiled from Planet E, he wants to make Earth his second home.
Ra
Voiced by: Kōji Uenishi
Suit actor: Kōji Uenishi
Appearances: Episodes 1-43, episodes 46-63
A former military officer from Planet E and a loyal subject of Dr. Gori.
- All Men Are Perverts: Has a fondness for attractive human women.
- The Big Guy: He is 2.1m tall, making him slightly taller than Gori.
- Dub Name Change: Ra became Karras in the American English dub.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He may be your archetypical evil henchman but he loves Dr. Gori more than anything.
- The Heavy: While Gori formulates their plans, Ra carries them out.
- Interspecies Romance: Ra is often attracted to human women.
- Living Emotional Crutch: To Dr. Gori. When Ra dies, Gori commits suicide because he can't live without him. A Tragic Villain indeed.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: In many episodes, Ra wears very thin disguises that are usually just one or two articles of clothing that don't really hide the fact that he's a gorilla. Some of his brilliant "disguises" include a sunhat and a poncho, a pair of sunglasses, and a fedora.
- Punny Name: Similar to how Dr. Gori's name is taken from the first four letters of "Gorilla", Ra's name is taken from the remaining three letters. However, as the Japanese language doesn't have a proper rendition of the letter "L", this becomes romanized as "Ra".
- Race Fetish: Sort of. He is a Simian Alien of Planet E, but Earthling women get him weak in the knees.
- Super-Strength: He can kill ordinary humans with a single blow.
- Undying Loyalty: He is loyal to Gori no matter what. Even after finding out that he was making deadly weapons, he saved him from being punished by the Planet E government and helped him escape.
Other
Nebula 71
Voiced by: Kyoji KobayashiOther languages
Suit actor: Character doesn't appear
Appearances: All episodes
A satellite that guides Spectreman.
- Ambiguously Evil:
- On several occassions, Nebula 71 demonstrates it is willing to let several innocent people die as long as it completes the objectives it desires. Spectreman is horrified to hear this and disobeys them.
- Not to mention, in the planned sequel series, Nebula 71 brings Dr. Gori Back from the Dead despite all his evil deeds, because it believes that his genius is too valuable to be lost. Unsurprisingly, Dr. Gori goes back to being evil. Great work, Nebula 71!
- Big Good: Nebula 71 is meant to be this, but it's The Needs of the Many mentality and Lack of Empathy make it the above trope.
- Good Is Not Nice:
- Nebula 71 frequently threatens to dismantle Spectreman if he ever reveals his secret identity to anyone. Though many civilians do find out, they keep it a secret. Joji also seems overcome with fear when he talks about Nebula 71 with others, implying this kind of behaviour is a norm for it.
- In the Grand Finale, Nebula 71 orders Spectreman to leave Earth and never come back ever again (unless it faces an existential threat) as he has completed his purpose in defeating Dr. Gori. This is despite the fact that Spectreman, despite being a cyborg, has shown a capability to have human emotions and even cry. Nebula 71 basically treats Spectreman like an indentured servant, not allowing him to have a life of his own. On top of being cruel, it's also unnecessary, as Spectreman being allowed to visit Earth doesn't mean that he should end his planet-protecting duties - many a superhero have achieved the same thing.
- Ambiguous Gender Identity: It never makes an appearance on screen, but the disembodied voice that portrays it is always male.
- Dub Name Change:
- Nebula 71 became Overlord in the American English dub.
- Nebula 71 became Ultralogos in the Italian dub.
- The Voice: Nebula 71 communicates with Spectreman telepathically, though it's implied that since he's a creation of them, he's probably seen them before.
