Bioman's Prince And Shuichi

I guess some people have already guessed that Dr. Man was a human being but not the Big Three. Doctor Man had a hint saying to Mason he didn't design him to fail. There are hints that Doctor Man was well, a man. Here's where the clues start to drop in!

Episodes 19-20 introduce us to Prince

Prince calls himself the son of Doctor Man. Mason found it unbelievable because New Empire Gear was composed of androids. Mason never knew that his master was a human being. Okay, that's kinda weird since the name Doctor Man is such a dead giveaway! What do you expect when Super Sentai purposely writes plots that aren't supposed to make sense? Prince comes out of nowhere and Doctor Man says, "This my my only son Prince!" Mason gets shocked not knowing that Doctor Man was a human. Mason is amazed that Prince is such a genius and says, "Truly, he is Doctor Man's son!"

The Prince story arc introduces Doctor Man's descent to madness. Prince is programmed to think he's a human being. We get to learn more about who Ryuta Nanbara was as a teenager. Ryuta turned out that he wasn't a victim of bully but HE WAS THE BULLY. Ryuta wanted to stop Prince for his own well-being. Prince is described to be "only a child". Ryuta believed that he could change Prince from the latter's delinquent ways. Ryuta's recollection of his younger days is given. Ryuta tells the team he was a former bully. Ryuta's story as a bully back in his younger days plays throughout the whole two-parter.

Ryuta gets mad seeing Prince going on a rampage. Ryuta mentions his mother. Prince starts to see multiple mothers. That was a dead giveaway that Prince was just a robot -- in contrary to the illusion that he bled. Why Prince was written off as a Mecha Human created by Doctor Man some time ago isn't explained. Prince looking for his mother made Doctor Man reprogram him. Prince is later destroyed in battle while using Grotesquekans. 

Sidenote: I remember laughing at the beginning of this episode. Seeing Mason and Mettlzer heavily damaged was a good LMAO moment. 

Episodes 25-26 feature the true son of Doctor Man

It's a good thing that Bioman started to deal with development. A lot of previous Super Sentai series (or even after) never told you why the villain was evil. I feel Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger still deserves some love for telling us why Bandora went evil. The Biomen discover a boy who looks like Prince. I'm amazed at Doctor Man's scientific genius and seldom lack of common sense. Why didn't Doctor Man think about creating devices to hi-jack the electronic abilities of the Biomen? This is the first time Green Two usedhis Electronic Scope on a HUMAN. I kinda wish that human anatomy was shown in trying t find out if Shuich was a Mecha Human or not. 

The story has some good nightmare fuel. Doctor Man creates a couple of "ghosts" (and it was nice to see Kazuo Niibori as one) as a counterattack. Doctor Man mentions he created Prince the way he imagined his son would grow up. Doctor Man finally gets into action and disguises himself in his former form. The late Munemaru Koda (who died at 77 years old) is one amazing actor. Doctor Man checks out on his son. At first, Doctor Man felt he really wanted his son back. Doctor Man continues to discard his humanity both figuratively and literally. 

Doctor Man is outraged to discover his estranged wife leaking him out. It gets interesting when the Biomen discover who Doctor Man was before his transformation. Doctor Man tries to appeal to his son but in vain. Doctor Man loses his humanity and orders his own son to be destroyed as well. Doctor Man later transform himself into a complete Mecha Human -- continuing to show disgust of his true origins. 

Doctor Man's son plays a significant role later in episodes 43-44 and the finale arc

Shuichi shows up again in the Satan Megas arc. Doctor Man creates an android girl named Miki. This was meant to send energy to Satan Megas. Satan Megas was indestructible as long as Miki lived. Doctor Man also starts to wonder if his former friend Shinichiro Gou -- Shiro Gou's father -- was still alive. It's because a mysterious professor installs the conscience circuit -- making Miki act and feel as a human. Miki was just a mindless android but gained human feelings as a result. This arc resumes the father-son feud between Shuichi and Doctor Man. However, Shuichi accepts the fact that Doctor Man is still his father.

The finale continues to expand Shuichi's role. Shuichi teams up with his father's former friend who's in incognito. It comes full circle when Shuichi dresses up as Prince and fools Silver. How Silver got to know of Prince's existence is best left to cartoon logic. Shuichi dresses up as Prince and tries to rescue Shinichiro. Shuichi wants to shoot Doctor Man to save the world but can't do it. It's because Shuichi feels that Doctor Man is still his father. This plot plays itself into the final episode. Shuichi even mentions his android doppelganger Prince in the final episode! Doctor Man may have really forgotten even Shuichi in the final episode -- all the while he waited for the Earth to erupt!

The English dub wrote its own conclusion. However, the original dialogue was left ambiguous. Did Doctor Man return to his final senses or not? The battle of emotions has Doctor Man declare he's the first and last Mecha Human. Doctor Man explodes and the location of the Anti-Bio Bomb is revealed. Did Shuichi finally reach out his father or not? It's one thing somehow left for the audiences to decide. 

Updated: October 30, 2024