YMMV / Jikuu Senshi Spielban

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Given The Reveal in the final two episodes that Pandora and Waller are effectively the same being, was Waller Pandora's puppet or was it the other way around? Since Waller disappears after Pandora is killed, it's implied to be the former.
• Awesome Music: The show’s OP and two EDs are pretty cool.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • Episode 7 has the Mooks getting stoned in the middle of a fight.
  • Episode 16 ends with Spielban standing on a beach and singing his "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune. It has little to do with the rest of the episode and is basically Padding.
• Complete Monster: Queen Pandora is the true ruler of the Waller Empire, using their supposed deity Waller as a means of keeping her subordinates in line through fear. Driven purely by a desire to sustain her own life, Pandora ravaged numerous planets for their resources, including Spielban and Diana's homeworld of Clin. Seeking the genius of Clin biologist Doctor Ben for her own ends, Pandora forcibly converts him into Doctor Bio and later makes him roboticize his own daughter into the cyborg assassin Hellvira. Her other subordinates fare little better under her rule; she tricks Shadow, Gasher and Deathzero into going on suicide missions and petrifies Rikki into a throne to sit on as punishment for questioning her.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Like its predecessor Juspion, Spielban was popular in Brazil and even got its own Brazilian-exclusive comic series where he met Juspion.
• Heartwarming Moments: Episode 30, which sees Helen finally reunited with her little brother Spielban. It quicks escalates to awesome an episode later when she forms a Power Trio with Spielban and Diana.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • When it comes to double-bladed Laser Swords, Spielban has Darth Maul beat by 13 years.
  • "Pandora" is also one letter off from the role Machiko Soga would become most famous in the west for playing.
• Love to Hate: Queen Pandora is wrathful, psychopathic and utterly self-concerned, but Machiko Soga does such a good job playing her that she's just fun to root against.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Queen Pandora crosses it not only by forcibly roboticizing Dr. Ben into Doctor Bio, but also by forcing him to perform that same procedure on his daughter Helen to turn her into Hellvira.
  • Emperor Guillotine crosses it when he manipulates Shadow and Gasher into becoming unknowing suicide bombers and sends them on a Suicide Mission against Spielban.
• Narm: Spielban flashing back to his childhood every time he performs his Finishing Move on a Monster of the Week. The first time isn't too bad, but him doing it every time just feels overdramatic. Thankfully he stops doing this about halfway through.
• Retroactive Recognition: Three of the show's episodes were penned by Noburu Sugimura. Who not only would go on to be the head writer of some well known tokusatsu shows by Toei but also one of the most critically acclaimed video games ever made.
• The Woobie: All three of our protagonists get major woobie points:
  • Yousuke lost his sister and father to the same people who later destroyed his home planet. Then his mother nominated him and Diana to survive above everyone else.
  • Diana went through the same experience as Spielban, but was much younger.
  • Helen has been a captive since childhood and constantly lives in fear of turning into her evil alter-ego Hellvira at any time.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Dr. Bio, serves the Waller, but he's only with them because he was abducted by the Waller for his genius and forced into serving them through having his memories of his son wiped from his memory.