Space Adventure Cobra

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Space Adventure Cobra
スペースアドベンチャーコブラ
Genre	Science Fiction
Manga: Cobra (also, "Cobra the Space Pirate")
Authored by	Buichi Terasawa
Publisher	Shueisha
Serialized in	Shonen Jump
Original run	1978 – 1984
No. of volumes	20
Movie
Directed by	Osamu Dezaki
Studio	TMS/Toho
Released	1982
Runtime	133 minutes
TV anime : Space Cobra
Directed by	Osamu Dezaki
Studio	TMS
Network	Fuji Television
Original run	10/7/82 – 5/19/83
No. of episodes	31

Space Adventure Cobra is a sci-fi manga created by Buichi Terasawa, later turned into an anime movie and a TV series. Each version has had a slightly different name:

Manga title: コブラ; Cobra (also, "Cobra the Space Pirate")
TV anime title: スペースコブラ; Space Cobra
Theater released anime title: コブラ (Cobra) SPACE ADVENTURE
DVD released anime title: スペースアドベンチャーコブラ; Space Adventure Cobra

1 Background
2 Cobra
3 Availability in English
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Background

The series features the infamous space-pirate Cobra who was once forced to hide from enemies by surgically altering his face and erasing his own memory. At the start of the story he is living an ordinary life but after going to a trip-parlor (where ordinary people live out their fantasies thanks to hypnotic suggestion - a similar concept is Philip Dick's Total Recall) he starts to regain his true memories. With his android partner Lady Armaroid (a female armored being) literally 'bursting' out of the bulky domestic robot she impersonated in his years of 'vacation', and his old ship Tortuga, he now faces foes both old and new. The first, and most well-known of the manga stories sees him encountering the Royal sisters whose bodies hold the map to a great treasure.

The anime movie version and the TV series were both directed by Osamu Dezaki. The movie was released in 1982. The TV series was a 31 episode anime that was first broadcast from 7 October 1982 to 19 May 1983 on Thursdays at 7:00pm on Fuji Television.

[edit] Cobra

Cobra's signature weapon is his Psycho-gun, a cybernetic arm-laser which is connected to his brain and capable of targeting enemies without needing a line-of-sight. This allows him to defeat most foes with ease but some are not so vulnerable to the laser itself, also the gun drains Cobras mental energies after extended use. For backup he carries an old-fashioned Magnum revolver.

Buichi Terasawa created the main character based on the famous French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. Cobra's facial features bear resemblance to Belmondo's, and the peculiar sense of humour Cobra exhibits throughout the story seems to have been inspired by the characters Belmondo played in films.

[edit] Availability in English

Selected early manga stories were released by Viz from 1990-1991, and featured a dialogue adaptation by Marv Wolfman.

Only the movie has been dubbed into English, with both a U.S. and UK produced dub, with the UK one featuring a newly recorded soundtrack by Yello. The 31 episode TV series has yet to be dubbed into English, although a prospective pilot episode designed to sell the TV series to the U.S. was produced in English. The pilot, featuring original animation, was also written by Marv Wolfman, but has not yet been released in the U.S. The first 24 episodes have also been fansubbed by ILA(I love anime fansubs).

[edit] Trivia

Rock musician Matthew Sweet, who scored a hit with his single Girlfriend, used clips from the anime movie version of Space Adventure Cobra for the music video.

There have been many Japan only Space Adventure Cobra videogames over the years. The Sega CD videogame would see a US release in 1994 under the title The Space Adventure - Cobra: The Legendary Bandit. Cobra is also a Support character in the Nintendo DS game Jump Ultimate Stars. It was also adapted into an arcade game by Namco entitled "Cobra: The Arcade".

Cobra's ground vehicle, the Psychoroid, was included in the Japanese "Machine Robo" toyline by Popy/Bandai, where it was given the ability to transform into a robot. It was later exported to the USA as part of the MR-inspired "Gobots" toyline under the shortened name "Psycho".