Samurai Flamenco

Main characters

• Masayoshi Hazama (羽佐間 正義)
• Masayoshi is a male model who assumes the identity of the costumed hero Samurai Flamenco (サムライフラメンコ). Inspired by his grandfather's tokusatsu-inspired "Samurai Flamenco Project", he initially combats ordinary criminals before facing genuine threats like the Torture organization. Following their defeat, he leads the Samurai Sentai Flamenger (サムライ戦隊フラメンジャー) as Flamen Red (フラメンレッド) against the From Beyond cadre. After this conflict, he becomes a fugitive and resumes his solo activities, eventually discovering that a being known as Alien Flamenco has been manipulating events. Despite his heroic persona, Masayoshi possesses a shy demeanor in his civilian life.
• Hidenori Gotō (後藤 英徳)
• Hidenori is a diligent policeman with a cynical worldview. After discovering Masayoshi's secret identity as Samurai Flamenco, his life becomes increasingly complicated. He maintains the fiction of a long-distance relationship, though his girlfriend has been missing for years; he preserves his sanity by saving her old text messages. The villain Haiji exploits this vulnerability, deleting the messages to psychologically torment him. Despite his initial cynicism, Hidenori gradually develops a respect for Masayoshi's unwavering commitment to justice.

Mineral Miracle Muse / Flamenco Girls

• Mari Maya (真野 まり)
• Mari is a member of the idol group Mineral Miracle Muse (ミネラル★ミラクル★ミューズ), serving as its composer and lyricist. Her bright personality makes her sociable. She fights as the magical girl Flamenco Diamond (フラメンコダイヤ) and is aware of Masayoshi's dual identity. Her brutal, vengeful approach to crime contrasts with his idealism. After being kidnapped and tortured, she develops a hatred for superheroes and goes into hiding, wrestling with shame and inferiority. She eventually reconciles with her friends and resumes her role. Mari also has a distinct fondness for men in uniform.
• Mizuki Misawa (三澤 瑞希)
• Mizuki is the leader of the idol group Mineral Miracle Muse, known for her caring nature. She is recruited by Mari to join the superhero team as Flamenco Ruby (フラメンコルビー). A native of the Kansai region, she is later poisoned by the villain Haiji before a concert as part of his campaign against Masayoshi.
• Moe Morita (森田 萌)
• Moe is a member of Mineral Miracle Muse and later becomes the magical girl Flamenco Sapphire (フラメンコサファイア). A reserved yet carefree high-school student and a native English speaker, she shares a close bond with Mari. During their kidnapping by King Torture, she offers herself in exchange for Mari's freedom, resulting in a severe injury. She later finds Mari in hiding and helps reconcile their relationship, leading to the Flamenco Girls' reunion. Like Mizuki, she is also poisoned by the villain Haiji.

Samurai Sentai Flamenger

• Anji Kuroki (黒木 闇児)
• Anji is recruited by Joji to serve as Flamen Black (フラメンブラック), the weapons specialist of the Flamengers. In his civilian life, he farms and cares for his sickly grandfather. The villain Haiji later attacks his grandfather as part of a campaign to agitate Masayoshi.
• Sakura Momoi (桃井 桜)
• Sakura is the only female member of the Flamengers, serving as Flamen Pink (フラメンピンク) and handling public relations. She joins due to her strong affection for Joji Kaname, causing friction with his wife. Hailing from a wealthy family, she is disowned for this obsession but is later reconciled. She enjoys knitting despite considering it overly feminine. Sakura is deeply proud of her long hair and is traumatized when the villain Haiji cuts it.
• Soichi Aoshima (青島 蒼一)
• Soichi is a longtime friend of Joji and serves as Flamen Blue (フラメンブルー), the Flamengers' second-in-command and strongest fighter. He initially resents Masayoshi's leadership, desiring the position of Flamen Red for himself due to his loyalty to Joji, but eventually gains respect for Masayoshi. Despite his youthful appearance, he is the team's oldest member. The villain Haiji later vandalizes his apartment, destroying his collection of Red Axe memorabilia to agitate Masayoshi. Following the team's dissolution, Soichi and Joji work together as actors portraying the hero "Neo Axe".
• Hekiru Midorikawa (緑川 碧)
• Hekiru is the stoic Flamen Green (フラメングリーン), the Flamengers' strategist and tactical analyst. He cares deeply for his sister and young niece. The villain Haiji exploits these attachments and destroys Hekiru's favorite book to torment him. After the team's dissolution, Hekiru attends graduate school, where he gains a number of persistent female admirers.

Antagonists

• King Torture (キング・トーチャー)
• King Torture is a criminal mastermind who delights in torturing his victims. He commands hypnotized individuals, transforming them into monsters whose crimes grow increasingly absurd to mask his true goal: merging humanity into a single hive-minded entity to enforce a twisted peace. A former enthusiast of superheroism who embraced villainy, he views heroism as futile. He claims his followers willingly undergo transformation for their shared dream, memorializing them in a shrine. In his fanatical devotion, he amputates his own arm to attach a chainsaw weapon. King Torture is ultimately impaled on a fragment of his own statue and dies after his final missile is destroyed. His defeated followers shout "Viva Torture" upon death.
• From Beyond (フロム・ビヨンド)
• From Beyond is an alien organization that supplied King Torture with the power to create monsters. It introduces its threats through stylish promotional videos. The group is structured into smaller cadres, which the Flamengers confront individually. Its de facto leader is Beyond Flamenco, a being identical to Masayoshi who claims to be his brother but is actually an alternate version who abandoned his ideals in a crusade against evil. After Beyond Flamenco dies by suicide with Masayoshi's gun, the entire remaining membership of From Beyond vanishes. Its defeated monsters recite the oath "From Beyond to Heaven" upon death.
• Shintarō F. Okuzaki (尾久崎・F・慎太郎)
• Shintarō is the Prime Minister of Japan who spearheads an anti-vigilante campaign to raise his public approval rating. He possesses a special suit of armor that grows stronger as his ratings increase. The "F" in his name stands for "Flamenco", a pattern Masayoshi notices is recurring. He is ousted from office after the public learns his campaign was motivated by ratings rather than civic concern. In reality, his goal was to amass enough power to defeat the extraterrestrial threat, Alien Flamenco.
• Haiji Sawada (澤田 灰司)
• Haiji is a delinquent youth first encountered by Masayoshi. After the defeat of Alien Flamenco, he re-emerges, destroying Masayoshi's apartment and revealing a deep obsession with Samurai Flamenco. He orchestrates a campaign of psychological torment against Masayoshi's allies, aiming to transform the hero into a dark anti-hero called "Samurai Flamenco Darkness". His plan culminates in an attempt to be killed by Hidenori to provide Masayoshi with a tragic backstory, which fails. Haiji is subsequently subdued by Mari and incarcerated. He vows to return, a challenge Masayoshi accepts on the condition that his friends remain unharmed.

Other characters

• Joji Kaname (要 丈治)
• Joji Kaname is a famous action actor, known for starring in the television show Red Axe (レッドアックス). He becomes Masayoshi's combat trainer and later reveals he is a member of a secret organization, recruiting Masayoshi and others to form the Flamengers. He subsequently discloses that he is the genuine Red Axe, having secretly fought monsters for years alongside other heroes like Harakiri Sunshine and his wife, Lady Axe. Joji is critically injured when Haiji runs him over with a truck. After recovering, he becomes the director of a museum dedicated to heroes.
• Jun Harazuka (原塚 淳)
• Jun Harazuka is a middle-aged developer for the stationery company Monsters Stationery. He provides Masayoshi with non-lethal weapons disguised as stationery to aid his crime-fighting. Habitually wearing protective body armor of his own design, this precaution saves him from grave injury when the villain Haiji pushes him down a flight of stairs.
• Sumi Ishihara (石原 澄)
• Sumi is a strict and competent manager at the production company Caesar Pro, acting as Masayoshi's employer. She suspects his secret identity early on and works diligently to protect it until he makes a public revelation. After being saved by Samurai Flamenco, her demeanor softens. She suspects a close relationship between Masayoshi and Goto, often encouraging Masayoshi to confide in him. Sumi later confirms to Masayoshi that she had deduced his identity long before his official disclosure.
• Akira Konno (今野 明)
• Akira is the manager of the news website High Rollers Hi! and takes a professional interest in uncovering Samurai Flamenco's identity. He pursues Sumi Ishihara romantically, despite her repeated rejections, even proposing to her during a torture session. After being tortured by King Torture, he leaves the country to recuperate. Konno later films Mari's challenge to King Torture and the subsequent battle between the Prime Minister and Samurai Flamenco.
• Totsuka (戸塚)
• Totsuka is Goto's colleague and section chief at the police box. Preferring to remain focused on his duties, he is nonetheless observant of Goto's personal life. He notices Goto's concern for Masayoshi, having been present when Masayoshi first returned a dry-cleaned shirt and on numerous occasions when Goto was researching Samurai Flamenco.

Anime

The series, directed by Takahiro Omori and written by Hideyuki Kurata, was broadcast on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block from October 11, 2013, to March 28, 2014.[3][4] It was simulcast by Crunchyroll. The episodes have been collected in eleven DVD and Blu-ray volumes released between December 25, 2013, and October 22, 2014.[6] The series has been licensed by Aniplex of America in North America, Anime Limited in the United Kingdom, and Madman Entertainment in Australia.[2][7][8]

For the first part of the series, the opening theme for the anime is "Just One Life" performed by Spyair and the ending theme song is "Date Time" (デートTIME), performed by Haruka Tomatsu, Erii Yamazaki, and M·A·O as their characters' band Mineral Miracle Muse.[9] For the second part, the opening is "Ai Ai Ai ni Utarete Bye Bye Bye" (愛愛愛に撃たれてバイバイバイ) by Flow and the ending is "Flight 23-ji" (フライト23時) also performed by Mineral Miracle Muse.[10]

Episodes

Episodes 6, 8, 12, 15, 17, 19 and 20 were written by Takahiro. All other episodes were written by Hideyuki Kurata.

Manga

A manga series written by Seiko Takagi and illustrated by Shō Mizusawa, titled Samurai Flamenco Another Days (サムライフラメンコ Another Days), was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly GFantasy magazine from October 18, 2013, to July 18, 2014.[11][12][13] Its chapters were collected in two volumes, released on March 27 and September 27, 2014, respectively.[14][15]

Mobile phone game

A mobage of Samurai Flamenco was released on February 28, 2014. It works on iPhone, iOS6 and Android. The genre is RPG.[16]