While the legendary mangaka Shotaro Ishinomori is best known in the world of tokusatsu for the likes of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, his creativity was stamped all over a number of shows produced by Toei in the 1970s and 80s. Among his more popular superhero entries is Kaiketsu Zubat ("The Magnificent Zubat"), a 1977 series that ran for a total of 32 episodes. The series stars Hiroshi Miayauchi in the lead role, a legend in the world of henshin heroes but arguably best known for his roles as Shiro Kazami/Kamen Rider V3 and Sokichi Banba/Big One in JAKQ Dengekitai. A rather unique series that rejects some of the more traditional henshin hero tropes in favour of modern Western/detective flavour, it initially received high audience ratings but poor toy sales led to the loss of its sponsor (and in turn, early termination at 32 episodes). Though the show has never been revived in any form, modern fans may be more familiar with the cameo he made in OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders, where he appeared alongside fellow Ishinomori heroes Kikaider, Kikaider 01 and Inazuman to defeat General Shadow.
