Kakure Daishogun: The Faces Inside Its Fists

The faces inside the fists

Kakure Daishogun’s hands began as animal heads. The artbook says the ape God Saruder and wolf God Rougan were originally meant to become its fists directly. The finished design adds covers, turning those expressive faces into a warrior’s silver hands.

The close details below isolate the change: two toothed animal mouths in the early hands become two silver fist surfaces. The full-body drawings keep that detail in context. In drawing 62, the animal faces remain exposed at the ends of the arms and the chest has no scroll. The combination was largely settled while this styling was still changing. Compare those hands with the finished color design beside them. Early sketches, p. 149.

The older idea did not disappear completely: the book connects the animal faces seen during the finishing attack to that first fist concept. A small cover changes how the hand reads at rest while leaving the creature identity available for action. Artbook, p. 077.

Five creatures to find

The five beasts perform Five-God Combination in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. Kakure Daishogun represents skill among the divine generals and first combines in episode 31. Artbook, p. 076.

Use the labeled gallery to trace the creatures: red ape God Saruder, white crane God Kark, blue wolf God Rougan, yellow-and-black bear God Kumard, and black frog God Gammer. The crane becomes the crest, the bear’s face fills the chest, and the frog remains visible at the waist. The original DX lineup shows how different those five silhouettes are before they join.

A warrior with animal memories

Bandai’s 1994 catalog lists Five-God Combination DX Kakure Daishogun at ¥7,800. The opening photograph shows that set by itself. Its broad torso and solid silver fists make a useful counterpart to the more animated drawing. Bandai catalog, printed p. 4 / PDF p. 5.

The small change at the hands tells the clearest design story: the animals supply the body, then a few finishing surfaces give the assembled figure a new identity. Once you have seen the exposed heads in the sketches, the silver fists are no longer anonymous robot hands.