The Epilogue of Jetman: Some Disputes On Manga VS. Toei Encyclopedia

So I just thought of the Jetman's final epilogue on the married life of Ryu and Kaori.  Why I was pretty pleased with the ending makes me go nuts.. and some people wished it were the wedding of Raita and Satsuki instead of the former.  Now let's move on to this part... and I decided to update this post with some new information.


I remembered during the time when the Internet was so young, the time of dial-up modems before the ever-convenient DSL allowed you to use both phone and Internet at the same time. I just barely graduated from high school and I could remember running into Jillun's site where I ran into the Manga conclusion. I thought it was penned by the writer Toshiki Inoue (and I only ran across important names through the Internet) but it was done by Saboru Yatte -- a pen name for a group of people so we don't know who's who in there, right?

The Jetman Manga was pretty much where I just thought, "Was Jetman ALL that popular?" Yup, I didn't even realize that Jetman was supposedly the last Super Sentai series but it was so popular that everyone renewed interest in the series. The popularity caused a Manga "sequel" to be released in 1996 -- that would be five years after the original story ended. I decided to give it a shot and thought it was more of a fan-fiction approved by Toei to be the epilogue since I discovered it had no penmanship by Inoue.

Many inconsistencies happen and it can be evident. The Neo-Jetmen appear but didn't they give up their powers already? You can also think about the presence of the mecha which were all badly wrecked during the final battle with Radiguet. I don't even feel like honoring Jeffry Kensaki the non-canon Manga only character as an official Jetman. On the other hand, I couldn't help but think that Jeffry from the Jetman non-canon Manga would end up creating Eiji Takaoka or Bouken Silver for Boukenger. I mean, the references were somewhat there like Eiji temporarily taking over Masumi's post (and yes, Masumi was meant to be another Gai Yuki) and the rocker hair.

There were also clear Gatchaman references. Heck, Radiguet even looks like Count Egobossler after he's done possessing Tranza's body. The Jetmen end up wearing Gatchaman-style helmets instead of their usual Super Sentai style helmets. Radiguet kidnaps the daughter of Ryu and Kaori and turns her into Mira. Wait -- didn't that happen in Gatchaman II with Gel Sadora? What's interesting is that Chokan in Jetman wasn't based on Dr. Nambu but Dr. Sylvie Pandora from Gatchaman II. Weird turn of events isn't it?

For me, I just didn't appreciate it too much. It wouldn't be long until I discover that was truly Inoue's penmanship...

Years later, I ran across the Jetman Encyclopedia subbed by Grown Ups In Spandex. So really, why did it take me SO LONG to discover my teenagehood. I just kept reading of Ryu and Kaori having a son named Gai Tendo -- something that contradicted the Jetman Manga where they had a daughter named Aya instead. This was pretty much where I thought about the encyclopedia and where it was actually penned by Inoue himself.

The beginning shows a preview of Ryu and Kaori as husband and wife. I heard that the two DID NOT marry in real life. It was amazing to see how both celebrities came to film this segment in late 1993 -- two years after Jetman ended. It was a bit of a nostalgic review. Didn't the same also happen with Kamen Rider Black due to its popularity. Fortunately, no second season for Jetman was created and Super Sentai was allowed to continue its annual turnover. Too bad that passing of the torch didn't become so standard -- it would've been cool to see Red Hawk hand over the torch to Tyranno Ranger and let Jetman be the start of it!

The hour-long video featured details on the equipment and mecha of Jetman. Not to mention, a nice review of the Vyram and the monsters. There's also that touching scene where Ryu somehow still remembers Rie even after her ghost bid her farewell on his wedding day. Raita brought vegetables though nothing is known of Ako except she continued her career. So what happened to Chokan? I wish the TV special expanded more on that.

So what's official? It turns out that by the pen of Inoue -- both Ryu and Kaori named their son Gai after their fallen friend, Gai Yuki. It wasn't stated outright that he died though. I wish it was done that way since the whole death made the Jetmen look like idiots. I even felt like killing Gai Yuki by a mugger felt anti-climatic since we already know the heroes aren't invincible. Like I said -- why wasn't Gai just killed in the final battle in a super reckless act? He was willing to give his life for Kaori and later for the team. That was the true ending Gai deserved -- a glorious superhero death which this special could have been proud of.

The whole wrap-up was a bit nice to see what was done with Ryu and Kaori. What was amazing was that somehow, this wasn't the last of the release of a post-series feature or OVA. Timeranger would release a special episode making a review and introduction of the 23 other Super Sentai seasons before them. Shinkenger was the first to release an OVA  -- though I wish they released an encyclopedia instead of that idiotic OVA. I even wish Gokaiger did something like this considering they are the biggest anniversary season ever. Better, I wish Kyuranger will release an encyclopedia as well.

Updated: January 28, 2018