Shiro Shishi Kamen

[Zone Fighter]

Shiro Shishi Kamen [White Lion Mask] (Yamato Planning, April 4, 1973 - June 27, 1973, 13 episodes)

Despite the title the hero does not resemble a lion, except for long, shaggy hair (which is white). Maybe he's a Japanese theater version of a lion. Shiro Shishi Kamen is armed with a sword and a long black whip. He's dressed in white with a red lined cape. He rides a masked horse, which comes when he whistles for it and runs away when he returns to normal. In his normal every day form he's a warrior who wears a faint blue outfit with a red and white vest. Unlike the samurai he lives with he lets his hair grow and instead of a katana he carries twin short bladed weapons. He gains the power to transform into Shiro Shishi Kamen when a white haired silver masked face appears to him after an explosion traps him inside a cave. He uses his weapons in the henshin sequence.

It looks like each week there will a different group of indentitical monsters. In the first episode they're all wolf-men. The second episodes monsters are umbrellas. I didnt recognise them at first because they spend most of the episode folded. In that form they have one large eye and a mouth with a large tongue sticking out. They could unfold and fly. The wolf-men spewed a poisoness red gas and shot hypnotic rays from their eyes. The umbrellas were armed with knives and shot darts from under their tongues.

When the chief villain appears, he's transparent and always surrounded by fire. His face is obviously a mask and he has long black hair. He's the opposite of the white haired, white clad hero.

Besides the hero and chief villain the other regular characters are the head samurai, a woman named Lee (who's armed with throwing daggers) and two cowardly samurai who faint when they see a monster. I think they're supposed to be funny. I'm not sure what Lee's relationship is to the chief samurai, she could be either wife or sister.

[Xenorama ™]

sounds interesting, anyway! i'd like to see some episodes, of course, i say that about nearly every series!

[Zone Fighter]

In episode 3 the hero starts wearing a katana along with his other weapons. He doesn't use it (at least not in this episode) he just has it in his belt. The horse responded to his whistle even though he had not transformed. With out his two weapons he can't transform. Shiro Shishi Kamen does not seem to have any named combat techniques. He just hits the monsters with his cap, whips them, cuts them, stabs them, picks 'em up and throws 'em down.

The episode 3 monsters are cyclops. They have one large eye with a bushy eyebrow. They have beards that go up their large ears. They took black rods out of their ears which enlarged to pole weapons with blades on both ends.

My tape only has the first 3 episodes, trailers for first 4 episodes and a making of documentary. All of this Japanese without subtitles.

The opening theme, "Song Of White Lion Mask " or "White Lion Mask's Song" recorded by Mizuki, Ichiro & Columbia Cradle Club.

The ending credits show color drawings of the characters. I dont know if this means that the series is based on comics, but a lot of them were. The ending theme, "March Of Ten Hands" is by Columbia Cradle Club alone.

This series started 3 days before P-Production's Kaiketsu Lion Maru had its final episode and 10 days before P-Production's Fuun Lion Maru aired its first episode.