Lion Maru G is a Toku series airing from October to November 2006.
Shishimaru is an Unlucky Everydude eking out a living in Neo-Kabuki-Cho as a 'host' in an exclusive club, who gets unwittingly wrapped up in the predominant gang violence in the city. An old man tells him that this was no accident, and hands him the legendary sword Kinsachi, explaining his true destiny as the next Lion Maru. And if that wasn't enough to take in all at once, someone out there's got the only weapon equal to its power, the Ginsachi, meaning that Shishimaru is in for at least one fight for his life...
The series itself, from the makers of GARO, is a followup to the classic Toku Kaiketsu Lion Maru and its sequel Fuun Lion Maru. The "G" addendum stands for "Ghetto"; or alternatively "Gigolo".
Tropes found in Lion Maru G:
- Abhorrent Admirer: the only two women who go for Shishimaru at all.
- All Your Powers Combined: Makage gets his hands on both Kinsachi and Ginsachi and turns into the hybrid creature ShishiTora... which eventually leads to Phlebotinum Breakdown.
- Animal Motifs: Lion Maru and Tiger Joe, obviously, while the Shadow ninjas resemble bugs.
- Audible Sharpness: Legendary swords, remember?
- Ax-Crazy: Makage.
- Big Bad: Gousan.
- Big Eater: Saori - just one time in ep. 8, but it's a bun as big as her head.
- Bratty Half-Pint: KosuK is older than the usual ones, but plays this straight.
- Breather Episode: ep. 10, complete with Lampshade Hanging when Kashin Koji appears just to say "the final battle is near..."
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Saori firmly believes in this.
- Character Tics: Shishimaru's... constant...
scratching. - Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Junior. That "teacher" at the night school.
- The Comically Serious: Jounosuke - though this should be expected considering this show is mostly comedy.
- Cool Bike: Shishimaru's modified Suzuki Burgman (though nobody in-universe agrees).
- Cosplay Otaku Girl:
- Junior.
- KosuK might actually count since she has several different Joshikousei suits.
- Cover Version: The Theme Song is the original Kaiketsu Lion Maru theme, redone by Akira Kushida. How could it NOT rock.
- Dark and Troubled Past: played for laughs when KosuK "theorises" the reasons for Jounosuke's behavior. Then played straight when the truth is slowly outed.
- Distressed Damsel: Saori
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: A drunk Shishimaru is convinced to turn into Lion Maru, who for some reason is shorter than usual.
- The Dragon: Jounosuke to Gousan.
- Dual Wielding: Kinsachi and Ginsachi can morph into dual weapons. Gousan does this after finally getting off his ass.
- Elite Mooks: Gousan's Shadow ninjas.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The barkeep at Snack Z, and possibly Junior himself since he's Junior CEO of Gousan's company.
- Evil Counterpart: Jounosuke as Tiger Joe. Makage to both of them.
- Eye Scream: in eps 3 & 4, Toppongi lost an eye to Junior in an Imperial Japan army uniform.
- Fan Disservice: Junior again.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Shishimaru and Jounosuke.
- For Halloween, I Am Going as Myself: A drunk and motivated Shishimaru is convinced to turn into Lion Maru for the talent segment of Saori's birthday party. Naturally, everyone thinks it's All Part of the Show.
- Gang of Hats: the Swankees, who wear baseball uniforms and bat grenades at you. An army-themed one appears briefly in ep. 10.
- Good-Guy Bar: Snack Z.
- G-Rated Drug: the "Skull Eyes" contact lenses.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Kashin Koji and Jounosuke.
- Hidden Depths: the normally quiet master of Snack K once mentored Yuri.
- Turns out the two Abhorrent Admirers can cook.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: with a trifecta of Gratuitous English, the word 'Joutai' meaning 'state' or 'condition', and an exclamation mark.
- Joshikousei: KosuK, even though what she's attending looks more like a nighttime cram school (which she keeps skipping anyway)
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Shishimaru.
- Katanas Are Just Better
- Kick the Dog: just like the Operative in Serenity, Gousan lures our heroes out of hiding by killing off the supporting cast.
- Large Ham: Junior again. Shishimaru is a close second.
- Legacy Character: Nearly all the characters are named for someone in the original Kaiketsu Lion Maru. Even Shishimaru's Cool Bike is named after the original Lion Maru's steed Hikarimaru.
- Let's You and Him Fight
- Lovable Sex Maniac: Shishimaru (YMMV on the 'lovable' part)
- Love Letter Lunacy: eps 6 & 7
- Mood Whiplash: a particularly jarring case in the "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue, as the real circumstances behind Saori getting pregnant are revealed. Fridge Brilliance kicks in when you realize that her getting pregnant is far more likely as a result...
- Ms. Fanservice: Saori (but of COURSE!)
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: Kinsachi turns out to be an Empathic Weapon.
- Once an Episode: The next episode previews being narrated over by a different character each time.
- Orcus on His Throne: Gousan.
- Product Placement: The jingle for Fuji Safari Park comes up twice in relation to describing Lion Maru.
- It may just be an Actor Allusion considering theme song singer Akira Kushida sings
their commercial jingle.
- It may just be an Actor Allusion considering theme song singer Akira Kushida sings
- The Rival: Jounosuke, who's frankly insulted that he's the rival to Shishimaru.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Shishimaru and Saori were extremely horrified at Tiger Joe's debut.
- Secret-Keeper: KosuK documents the exploits of Lion Maru in magazine articles, while leaving out the important fact that it's Shishimaru.
- Serious Business: the 'hosts' at the club going through morning drills in ep. 1.
- Shout-Out:
- Junior's Drill Sergeant Nasty outfit pretty much screams Full Metal Jacket.
- Shishimaru practically spells out how him and Jounosuke going into hiding after being curbstomped by Makage resembles the latter half of RoboCop (1987).
- Someone to Remember Him By: Saori is pregnant with Jounosuke's child at the end.
- Stealth Pun: Turning into Lion Maru doesn't award Shishimaru any badass levels at first - he's literally a Cowardly Lion.
- Steven Ulysses Perhero: possibly averted as Shishimaru is hinted at to be a 'host name' that comes with the job (Makage also goes by 'Kagemaru' for his brief stint).
- Thirteen Episode Toku
- This Loser Is You: Shishimaru.
- Took a Level in Badass: Shishimaru eventually - and unknowingly too, as he curbstomps a gang of four without using Kinsachi in ep. 10.
- Tsundere: Saori. The fact that even her drunken ranting is directed at Shishimaru sells this.
- Possibly Jounosuke as well.
- Unlucky Everydude
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Junior
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Junior (well, mostly)
- Wretched Hive: Neo-Kabuki-Cho.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: Kosuke from the original Lion Maru is now KosuK, Internet handle for Saori's sister.
- Adding a G to the title could also count.
- You Killed My Father: Actually both parents in Jounosuke's case, courtesy of Gousan.
- Yubitsume: in ep. 6, the thug of the week never bends his little finger - because it's a prosthesis. In a jarring case of Foreshadowing, another thug makes the wagging-pinky gesture earlier to his partner, a known euphemism for 'that special someone'.
