The 1974 original hits because it commits fully to being a goofy detective comedy where the "hero" is actually useless, then casually reveals a transformation suit that turns him into a legitimate crimefighter, and never stops treating both halves as equally absurd. The energy never settles: slapstick one scene, genuine action the next, everyone constantly getting in each other's way in a cramped office that's somehow the emotional center of the whole thing. You're watching what happens when a show decides its lowbrow comedy and highbrow superhero narrative aren't in conflict, they're the same joke told two different ways.
Takeshi works at a ramshackle detective agency with Jo, a self-proclaimed heir to Sherlock Holmes who is more talk than talent. Between dodging eviction threats from Teru, whose father owns their building, and scrounging for cases, the two spy on the Secret International Police Department across the street, hoping to catch wind of actual work. What Jo doesn't know is that his easygoing assistant is the son of the police chief, and that with a polymer helmet made from a material tougher than steel, Takeshi becomes Hurricane Polymar, a masked hero with superhuman strength and fighting skill. Only his lazy Saint Bernard, Daisaku, knows the truth, and the dog shares his wry thoughts with the audience. In the future city of Washinkyo, the pair take on criminal gangs, evil organizations, mutants and monsters, mixing sci-fi action and adventure with plenty of comedy.
