Spider-Man (Japanese TV series)

Spider-Man
Series logo
Genre	Superhero
Created by	Toei Company Marvel Comics
Based on	Spider-Man by Stan Lee Steve Ditko
Written by	Shozo Uehara Susumu Takaku
Directed by	Koichi Takemoto
Starring	Shinji Tōdō Rika Miura Mitsuo Andō Yukie Kagawa Izumi Ōyama Yoshiharu Yabuki
Narrated by	Tōru Ōhira
Opening theme	"Kakero! Spider-Man" by Yuki Hide
Ending theme	"Chikai no Ballad" by Yuki Hide
Composer	Michiaki Watanabe
Country of origin	Japan
No. of episodes	41 (+ 1 film)
Production
Running time	24 minutes
Production company	Toei Company
Original release
Network	Tokyo Channel 12 (TV Tokyo)
Release	May 17, 1978 (1978-05-17) – March 14, 1979 (1979-03-14)
Related
The Amazing Spider-Man (TV series) Spider-Man (1981 TV series) Super Sentai (Power Rangers)
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Spider-Man (Japanese: スパイダーマン, Hepburn: Supaidāman), also referred to as Japanese Spider-Man or Toei Spider-Man, is a Japanese live-action tokusatsu superhero television series produced by Toei Company, loosely based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name through a contract negotiated by producer Gene Pelc.^[1][2][3] The series aired for 41 episodes on Tokyo Channel 12 from May 17, 1978, to March 14, 1979. A theatrical episode aired at the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival on July 22, 1978. From March 5 to December 24, 2009, Marvel uploaded English subtitled versions of the episodes to their website.^[4]

While Toei's version of the character, Takuya Yamashiro/Spider-Man (portrayed by Kōsuke Kayama (Shinji Tōdō)), wore the same costume as his Marvel Comics counterpart and had similar powers, the series' storyline and the origin of his powers differed from the source material. In addition to fighting, he piloted the giant mecha Leopardon, which he would summon to fight off enlarged versions of the show's monsters; the giant robot concept would later be used in Toei's Super Sentai franchise. Yamashiro later appeared in the comic storylines Spider-Verse and Spider-Geddon.