Review: Much like some sick side-effect of Professor Gil's nefarious flute, Shotaro Ishinomori's blue and red wonder has had me under a spell from the beginning. After six volumes that have come and made themselves comfortable on my shelf and deep within the recesses of my mind, it becomes more and more difficult not to sound like a broken record when recommending each consecutive heroic outing to a new audience. As the third to last DVD installment of this epic series, volume 7 is nowhere near grinding the brake on this train, but sparks haven't stopped flying since episode one.

The volume opens with episode 31, resurrecting the never-tired formula for a bout with Gold Octopus, who's assisting Professor Gil in the construction of a secret base (though I swear by now he already has a small country's worth of hidden fortresses). Continuing in the tradition of volume 6, "Kikaida" is much more ripe with vicious cliffhangers that carry on through the following episode or two. Throughout the course of these 5 episodes, we see Ban Daisuke get his arm chopped off and later replaced with the awkward clawed grabber of Blue Electric Eel, amongst the more typical scenarios such as villainous quests for microfilm in episode 34.

"Kikaida" is 6 miles of rubber and a trustworthy optical printer played to the tune of pure 70s funk, and has enough heart to fill the plates of 1,000 starving children while backflipping and kicking Destructoid ass until the end theme rolls. Part 4 of the interview with Ban Daisuke (Jiro) continues to solidify him as the true chambered muscular organ of the series, an actor that still cares deeply about this aged show (and will be appearing at Comic Con '04 for nerds the world over to rejoice around).

In all honesty, one wouldn't feel too confused starting out with volume 7. Aside from the details like Dr. Komyoji's amnesia and other sub-plots (which are all easy to pick up on), the formula remains strong and stands out like Kikaida at a funeral home (or anywhere). So while starting here won't hinder your enjoyment of the series, it's best to start at the beginning and get the full picture if you're really interested. Kikaida is as wonderful an entry point to the world of Tokusatsu as classic shows such as Ultraman or Goranger, but be forewarned: The world of Japanese Superheroes is not as easy to escape as it is to get into. If you don't mind entering the beautiful black hole that is Tokusatsu, by all means snatch up all the Kikaida DVDs you can, and pick a couple up for me as well.