The live-action Android Kikaider television series follows Jiro, a powerful android built with a revolutionary conscience circuit that allows him to experience human emotions and distinguish right from wrong. Created in secret by the brilliant robotics professor Dr. Komyoji, Jiro is designed to protect the professor’s two children, a teenage daughter named Mitsuko and her young brother Masaru, from the evil organization DARK. Led by the sinister Professor Gill, DARK seeks to build an unstoppable army of machine soldiers to dominate the world. Dr. Komyoji had been kidnapped by DARK and forced to work on this army, and during his captivity, he built Jiro as a hidden failsafe to carry on his will and defend his family.

Jiro typically appears as a young man dressed in civilian clothes, but by pressing switches on his shoulders, he transforms into his combat form, the half-red, half-blue warrior known as Kikaider. The incomplete nature of his conscience circuit, which grants him a soul but also leaves him vulnerable to external manipulation, is a central source of drama. Professor Gill wields a hypnotic flute whose sound can override Jiro’s will, turning him against his allies or paralyzing him in battle. Much of the early series follows a recurring pattern where Jiro, accompanied by Mitsuko and Masaru, evades DARK’s forces, fights a new monster of the week known as a Destructroid, and searches for clues about their missing father, who is wandering the country suffering from amnesia after escaping the destruction of DARK’s initial laboratory.

The narrative takes a significant turn with the introduction of Hakaider, a powerful new android created by a brainwashed Dr. Komyoji. Unlike Jiro, Hakaider is built without a conscience circuit and is programmed only for destruction and combat. He becomes Jiro’s dark mirror and most personal rival. In a tragic twist, Hakaider’s body contains the preserved brain of Dr. Komyoji himself, forced to serve Gill’s purposes. This revelation paralyzes Jiro, who cannot bring himself to destroy the robot containing his creator’s essence. The arrival of Hakaider raises the stakes considerably, transforming the conflict from a simple battle against monsters into a tragic family struggle where Jiro must find a way to free his father’s mind without destroying his body.

As the series builds to its climax, Jiro is nearly destroyed in battle, and his pieces are gathered by his human friends. After being reassembled, he faces Hakaider in a final confrontation. Professor Gill eventually turns on Hakaider, sending a new monster to destroy him. When Hakaider is defeated, Jiro and Mitsuko recover Dr. Komyoji’s brain and successfully transplant it back into his original human body, restoring his memory and identity. With his father saved and his family reunited, Jiro defeats Professor Gill, who chooses self-destruction over capture. The series concludes with Dr. Komyoji leaving Japan with his children to begin a new life, while Jiro, having fulfilled his purpose as a protector, remains behind to wander the country alone, seeking to understand his own humanity and improve himself.