From design to toy · 2000–2005
Senpuujin: Three Animals and a Secret in Its Chest
A hawk, a dolphin and a lion become a ninja giant with a weapon hidden in its chest. Explore Senpuujin’s three machines, Karakuri Balls, Harrier form and original Japanese toys.
- From the world of
- Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger
- Toy maker
- Bandai
Original AI cover illustration inspired by Senpuujin’s finished design. Historical artwork and toy photographs follow below.
AI cover illustration - Rewind: Northwest RetroDesign reference ↗01 / The design
Senpuujin: the finished combined design. The three animal identities remain visible in its head and contrasting arms.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 004 · PDF p. 12
02 / The toy
The original DX Chogokin Ninpu Gattai Senpuujin, with its contrasting animal arms and circular chest.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 004 · PDF p. 12
Open the chest
Senpuujin has a transformation inside its transformation. Three animal machines make the giant robot; inside its circular chest, a ball hides a bird-shaped weapon that unfolds into a sword.
Follow the sequence below: the open DX chest, Karakuri Ball 01, the compact Sword Slasher, then the extended blade. The little bird has to fit into a sphere before it can become a weapon for the much larger warrior. The finished design studies and original Japanese DX photographs let you compare both scales of the idea. Artbook, pp. 004–005; DX photographs.
Look closer
Inside the chest
Rear, chest-opening and head studies, shown together in a focused excerpt. These document the finished design; they are not an earlier abandoned robot.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 004 · PDF p. 12
From ball to blade
The red-and-gold No. 01 ball and its Sword Slasher. The bird motif carries from the compact weapon into its extended blade.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 005 · PDF p. 13
Three machines, one silhouette
The larger combination is deliberately unequal. Hurricane Hawk supplies the small red head. Hurricane Dolphin becomes the right arm. Hurricane Leon supplies most of the body and the left arm, with its circular mane high on the shoulder. The separate toys make their different shares of the robot easy to grasp.
In Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger, the machines are Oboro Hinata’s blend of ninja mechanisms and technology, disguised as a jumbo jet, pleasure boat and Ferris wheel. Trace the lion’s wheel from the animal to the robot; the DX uses Leon’s tail rod to turn it. Artbook, pp. 004–005.
The book notes one difference between versions of Hurricane Hawk: the drawing lacks the intake wheel that the filming miniature has at its throat.
Look closer
Three machines, one robot
Hurricane Hawk forms the head; Hurricane Dolphin forms the right arm; Hurricane Leon supplies the body and left arm. The complete animal-design panel preserves the rear views as well as the larger front views.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 005 · PDF p. 13
Further explorationMore Karakuri weapons
For a further look, these designs extend the same system from one transforming bird to weapons that join each other. Goat Crusher (02) and Tortoise Hammer (03) join as Goat Hammer; Gatling Leo (05) and Squid Attacker (06) become Gatling Attacker. Look for horns, shell, lion muzzle and pointed squid body surviving in the weapons. These depict the wider equipment system, not everything included with the original DX robot. Artbook, pp. 006–007.
Look closer
Further animal weapons
No. 02 Goat Crusher and No. 03 Tortoise Hammer, followed by their joined Goat Hammer configuration. The drawings make the relationship between the separate animal weapons and their combination visible.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 006 · PDF p. 14
No. 05 Gatling Leo. The clustered barrels replace a conventional lion muzzle.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 006 · PDF p. 14
No. 06 Squid Attacker and the Gatling Attacker combination of Nos. 05 and 06. These are character-design views, not photographs of accessories included with the DX set.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 007 · PDF p. 15
Further explorationHarrier: sixty seconds of speed
Harrier explores a different change: speed through a smaller outline. Senpuujin Harrier trades the large limbs for a slim silhouette while keeping the red helmet, dolphin detail and lion shoulder. In the story, its Hurry Up mode increases mobility at the expense of armor for sixty seconds.
The pictured Action Pla-Dera Senpuujin Harrier is a separate product, with its own sword-based Wheel Crash feature. It is not a demonstration of the combining DX shrinking into this form. Artbook, p. 007.
Look closer
Harrier: a lighter silhouette
Senpuujin Harrier, front and rear. The smaller chest emblem and compact animal details preserve the identity while changing the proportions.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 007 · PDF p. 15
The separately identified Action Pla-Dera Senpuujin Harrier toy. This is a different product from the combining DX Senpuujin shown at the opening.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 007 · PDF p. 15
Double Harrier Swords and Wheel Crash action studies. The book links the separate Harrier figure to this sword-based play feature.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 007 · PDF p. 15
Further explorationThe next combination
The last comparison enlarges the original silhouette. Gourai Senpuujin adds Gouraijin and Furaimaru. Find the lion wheel again: it moves from the shoulder to the center of the chest as beetle components broaden the robot. The design and corresponding DX assembly show this further combination, which requires additional products. Artbook, pp. 010–011.
Look closer
Gourai Senpuujin: Senpuujin combines with Gouraijin and Furaimaru. Notice how the lion wheel moves from the shoulder to the center of the chest.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 010 · PDF p. 18
The corresponding toy assembly from the book. It brings together DX Senpuujin, DX Gouraijin and the separately offered Furaimaru.
Super Sentai Art Collection - MediaWorks, 2002 · printed p. 010 · PDF p. 18
Back to the bird inside
The further forms change Senpuujin’s scale: more animals join into weapons, Harrier compresses the silhouette, and Gourai Senpuujin builds it outward. The original three-machine robot already contains the same pleasure in miniature.
Return to the open chest. Its circle holds a ball, and the ball holds a bird whose shape survives as a blade. The large lion, arm-sized dolphin and tiny hawk finish one transformation; opening the chest starts another. That smaller discovery is what makes the completed giant feel unfinished in the best possible way.
Sources
- Super Sentai Art Collection - series introduction, Senpuujin and original DX toy · MediaWorks · 2002 · page 004 · scan page 12
- Super Sentai Art Collection - Shinobi Machines, Karakuri Ball 01 and Sword Slasher · MediaWorks · 2002 · page 005 · scan page 13
- Super Sentai Art Collection - Goat Crusher, Tortoise Hammer, Goat Hammer and Gatling Leo · MediaWorks · 2002 · page 006 · scan page 14
- Super Sentai Art Collection - Squid Attacker, Gatling Attacker and Senpuujin Harrier · MediaWorks · 2002 · page 007 · scan page 15
- Super Sentai Art Collection - Gourai Senpuujin design and combined toys · MediaWorks · 2002 · page 010 · scan page 18
- Super Sentai Art Collection - Furaimaru design and separate toy · MediaWorks · 2002 · page 011 · scan page 19
- Solokichi - DX Chogokin Ninpu Gattai Senpuujin, original toy photographs · Solokichi / Akukan 2
Artwork and toy photographs are credited reproductions from published sources. This is a virtual exhibit.