Toei announced the return of their "Metal Heroes" with Space Sheriffs Shaider and Sharivan. Sequels to last year's Space Sheriff Gavan, the two direct-to-video specials are slated for the year's end.
Sharivan Next Genertation will hit DVD and Bluray October 10th. Afterwards, Shaider Next Generation will be released November 7th. Both specials will be directed by fan favorite toku director Koichi Sakamoto who has worked on several incarnations of Power Rangers, Kamen Rider and, most recently, the highly successful Kyoryuger. (Which will be adapted into Power Rangers Dino Charge next year.) Sakamoto is also slated to direct episodes of the upcoming Ultraman Victory.
“I watched both series 30 years ago.” says Sakamoto, “I want to, while keeping the greatness it had originally, create new perspectives for each world, making Sharivan hardcore and Shaider a fantasy action comedy.” [translations by Tokunation]
Sakamoto will be directing actors and actresses who took the roles thirty years ago, making it a high profile project for fans of the Metal Heroes.
I've not explored Toei's Metal Heroes very thoroughly, but what little I've seen looks like a lot of fun. I'm also a big advocate of Sakamoto since he embraces absurdity like an art form with no apologies. Fans of both him and Metal Heroes should be pleased with what's to come.
Here's the teaser:
