Space Sheriff Sharivan Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Space Sheriff Sharivan Blu-ray Movie Review

Space Sheriff Sharivan is an action-packed adventure series with plenty of spectacle to keep audiences glued to their TV set. Originally broadcast on TV Asahi, Space Sheriff Sharivan was first broadcast on television in Japan between March 4^th, 1983 and February 24^th, 1984. Space Sheriff Sharivan is the second installment in the Metal Hero franchise.

Narrated by Issei Masamune, Space Sheriff Sharivan became a popular hit with a good balance of action and spectacle. The opening theme music was composed by Akira Kushida. The ending theme music is “Tsuyosa wa Ai da” as performed by Akira Kushida.

Produced by Toru Hirayama, Space Sheriff Sharivan was both created and produced for television by Toei. Developed for television by Shozo Uehara, Space Sheriff Sharivan features all the trademark staples of spectacle one expects from a superhero space drama in the Japanese Tokusatsu genre. Starring Hiroshi Watari and Yumiko Furuya.

Den Iga (Hiroshi Watari) is a gifted space sheriff who has set forth on an important mission to protect planet Earth from the powerful Demon King Psycho and the demon’s syndicate of powerful villains, involved in Madou. The syndicate poses a huge threat to the planet and the safety of everyone. Determined to be the hero and rise to the occasion, Den Iga sets forth to be the best sheriff in the galaxy.

Den is joined by his beautiful partner Lily (Yumiko Furuya). The two fighters make sure to take on the bad guys and fight for the planet. Even along the milky way, these tough fighters have plenty of action – dangerous encounters arriving left and right. Can Den fight the good fight as Space Sheriff Sharivan? The risks might be high but the challenge is unyielding. The fate of Earth is at stake.

Space Sheriff Sharivan features impressive special effects by renowned special effects expert Nobuo Yajima (Message from Space: Galactic Wars, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot). Yajima is considered as one of the best leading special effects experts in Japan circa the era of production. The special effects play an enormous role in the production.

What would the series even look like without the special effects work done for the classic series? There is a lot of artistry on display when the effects work and these old-school special effects far exceed many modern and big-budget productions. There is something quite charming and delightful about the special effects work. The effects manage to feel artistic and sophisticated in a manner that is beautiful. The fun effects add so much to the production and elevate the material at times. Fans of the classic Tokusatsu genre won’t be disappointed.

The score composed by Michiaki Watanabe is a wonderful highlight of the production. The music plays a vital role in the series. Space Sheriff Sharivan is all the more entertaining and exciting in scope because of the fun music. Composer Watanabe is a talented composer who understands what the genre needs. The score perfectly highlights the action beats and the warrior cry. The music pushes the action and excitement forward in a significant way.

Perhaps the best thing about Space Sheriff Sharivan is the exhilarating action. The action scenes deliver enormous spectacle and style. Fans of Power Rangers and other classics will certainly find a lot worth appreciating with Space Sheriff Sharivan. Space Sheriff Sharivan provides intense battles and epic displays of adrenaline-rushed energy. The rare kind of action-packed fun that keeps audiences entirely thrilled. Space Sheriff Sharivan even utilized action choreography of Japan Action Club (renowned for Japanese Spider-Man and Kamen Rider Black). The Japan Action Club understood the assignment: a superb thrill ride of action beats that is a great showcase for the Tokusatsu genre.

Directed by Yoshiaki Kobayashi, Space Sheriff Sharivan is a thill ride and one that audiences won’t want to miss out on. Space Sheriff Sharivan is a total blast and it certainly delivers the kind of fun quotient audiences look for in the Tokusatsu genre. What an epic action series! Space Sheriff Sharivan is an essential gem of the genre and fans of classic Japanese television won’t want to miss it.

Space Sheriff Sharivan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek, Space Sheriff Sharivan is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The series looks impressive on the release. The presentation quality is certainly something that retains the series original, intended aesthetic. The aesthetic preserves the film grain and the grain is quite apparent throughout the transfer.

This is something that makes the presentation feel a lot more natural and it is certainly more engaging for purists. The transfer has good color reproduction and the scan looks quite clear overall, without much in the way of print damage, wear, or debris. The scan capably showcases the series.

One of the greatest strengths of the Blu-ray format is the superior encoding methods compared to streaming video services. Streaming video services tend to supply video with lower video bit-rates. Enthusiasts who are seeking the absolute best presentation quality achievable, even if it is only marginally superior, will want to consider physical media as the superior option. The format is something that provides better encoding methods and higher bit-rates – sometimes this even yields significantly superior video quality. This is something to remember – regardless of if said series is even on streaming platforms (or not).

Space Sheriff Sharivan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release is impressive. The clarity of the sound presentation is worthwhile. Dialogue is certainly well reproduced. The music is also well highlighted and integrated into the sound mix. A worthwhile encode.

Discotek provide quality encoding that showcases one of the strengths of the Blu-ray disc format. Physical media continues to reward audio enthusiasts with superior lossless audio and sound presentation. Streaming video services only provide lossy (non-lossless) audio quality so for the audience members wanting to eek out the absolute best quality achievable, Blu-ray provides a superior option.

This is important to consider as audiophiles are enormously discerning at times and can be hard to please. For audiophiles with superior sound systems (systems that sometimes can cost thousands to assemble, such as my high-end Marantz audio-video receiver with bit-for-bit perfect DAC chip), a investment is something that enthusiasts consider when considering Blu-ray purchases. Higher performance audio is important for the physical media market.

Space Sheriff Sharivan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a nice o-card slipcover. The slipcover features a great cover-art and one that makes a strong impression right off the bat. The slipcover art certainly shines and adds to the nice quality of the packaging. The artwork underneath the slipcover features more unique artwork. It highlights additional art that is different from the slipcover art. The interior art adds something noteworthy to the package design, too.

On disc supplements include:

Series Promo (HD, 00:31)

Reunion with Hiroshi Watari (Den Iga) and Yumiko Furaya (Lily) (HD, 1:10:20) is an extensive reunion video with both Watari and Furaya. Fans of the cast members of the series will find this to be a great bonus feature to find on the package. Fans wanting to see the cast members again with a new reunion will find it a well-worthwhile inclusion on the release. This is the type of bonus feature that rounds out the package on Boutique label releases. This is the type of extra fans have come to expect to add a wonderful addition to the entire package.

The Son of the Sun: The Rise of Space Sheriff Sharivan – Essay includes 24 click-through slides.

Gallery includes 29 click-through slides of art.

Space Sheriff Sharivan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Space Sheriff Sharivan is an enormously entertaining classic Japanese Tokusatsu genre. The series has a fun concept and the cast does a great job bringing the tale to life. The production values are great, too. Special effects guru Nobuo Yajima (Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot) adds visionary effects to the series production.

The Blu-ray release features a quality video and audio presentation alongside interesting bonus features – including a reunion video with stars Hiroshi Watari (Den Iga) and Yumiko Furaya (Lily). The Blu-ray release is well worth a pick-up for Space Sheriff Sharivan fans. Recommended.