'Kikaida' superheroes here to save us from destruction

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

The Japanese superhero crew (right, the evil Hakaida, oh-so-good Kikaida and Kikaida O1) return for three stage shows at the Hawaii Okinawa Center on Sunday. Brad Goda 'Kikaida Brothers: Live!' 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. Sunday Hawaii Okinawa Center, 94-597 'Uke'e St. $17 at door, $13 advance 836-0361 Also: Kikaida Brothers appearance and autograph session, 6-8 p.m. today at Shirokiya's toy department.

But when was the last time you heard of any Noh troupe with enough undeniable star power to nearly sell out not one, not two, but three stage shows at the Hawaii Okinawa Center in Waipio? Uh-huh, I thought so, theater snob.

Enter the Kikaida Brothers — again. Hawai'i's favorite primary-colored Japanese TV superhero mecha from the Me Decade are back in town this weekend for an all-new stage show the likes of which haven't been seen 'round these parts since, well, the Me Decade.

Also on hand, original 1970s-era series stars Ban "My Hero Jiro" Daisuke and Ikeda "My Friends Call Me Ichiro" Shunsuke to sell the drama as the human alter egos of, respectively, Kikaida and version 2.0 little bro Kikaida 01.

And because it wouldn't be a real party without a black-leather clad cyborg biker packing a long-barrel revolver and a Pentium-4 grade grudge against primary-colored mecha, the deliciously evil Hakaida returns, too.

Add sad-eyed robotic samurai warrior Waruda and his unattainable mouse-eared paramour Bijinda to the mix, and even Hawai'i Theatre subscribers never had it so good!

The action unfolds around recent attempts by those chaos peddlers from The Dark — led, once again, by blue-lit Zamfir of evil, Dr. Gill — to pound our state back into the Pacific Ocean with a volley of natural disasters not seen since biblical times. A couple of humans stand up to The Dark. But being human and all, they're quickly captured by Dark forces. Is there no one who can save us? Didn't a majority of Hawai'i residents vote Republican in the last gubernatorial election to prevent this sort of thing?

"Kikaida Brothers: Live!" it's worth noting, is a work of fiction.

Reach Derek Paiva at 525-8005 or dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.