Tekkaman Blade II
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| Tekkaman Blade II | |
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| 宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレードII (Star Knight Tekkaman Blade II) |
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| Genre | Adventure, Drama, Mecha, Science Fiction |
| OVA | |
| Directed by | Hideki Tonokatsu |
| Studio | Tatsunoko |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Released | 1994 |
Tekkaman Blade II (宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレードII Uchu no Kishi Tekkaman Burēdo Tsū?, literally Space Knight Tekkaman Blade II) is a 6 episode Original Video Animation.
10 years have passed since the end of the original Tekkaman Blade series (Teknoman in the US market) and a new generation of Tekkaman must confront a powerful new enemy while rebuilding their forces.
D-Boy/Blade, the title character of the preceding Tekkaman anime, appears here as well but no longer plays a major role. The main character this time around is Yumi Francois, a young and bumbling mechanic who proves to be the unlikely third candidate for the elite Tekkaman fighting trio. Thrust into battle with very little training, she must earn the trust and confidence of her team-mates if she is to succeed and survive.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
[edit] Pre-Episode 1: Black September Incident
Thousands of human beings altered into Primary Bodies by the First Invasion rally to Prague at the call of an insane Tekkaman named Mikhail. The Space Knights are deployed in a peacekeeping effort, unaware of world militaries preparing to annihilate the entire city in a nuclear attack. Aki, the Red Devil, fights and kills the leader of the uprising before assisting the sudden evacuation of the city, finding David Krueger moments before the bombs are dropped and spiriting him away on the back of Pegasus II. Dead End's friends and family are killed along with tens of thousands of others, though he survives the blast.
[edit] Episode 1: Virgin Flush
English Title: Stage 1: The New Generation - Part 1
Three Space Knights are chosen to become Tekkaman. In space, the United Earth Fleet is fighting off another invasion by Rahdam. The Rahdam bring Tekkaman and wipe out the fleet. They send missiles to Earth. This causes a problem during the Tekkaman evolution process for the three new cadets. Yumi receives the Reacter Voltekka by mistake. The Space Knights attack Rahdam but Yumi's power's goes out of control.
[edit] Episode 2: Virgin Blood
English Title: Stage 1: The New Generation - Part 2
Yumi is training and becoming better. Rahdam hit the Space Knights' HQ. The Space Knights hold back. Aki joins the fight and kills the Rahdam Tekkamen.
[edit] Episode 3: Virgin Dream
English Title: Stage 2: The Alien Intruder - Part 1
Blade finally shows up and destroys a group of Rahdam. Yumi contends with Aki for D-Boy's love.
[edit] Episode 4: Dead-Boy
English Title: Stage 2: The Alien Intruder - Part 2
Dead End makes his first appearance. He defeats Blade in the middle of a stormy night. The Space Knights want revenge but are defeated.
[edit] Episode 5: Dirty Night
English Title: Stage 3: Final Encounter - Part 1
David befriends Dead and remembers Black September. We also get to see Noal and Millie (from Tekkman Blade) in a flashback and learn of what happened to Noal: he is apprehended by military police who support the General. His ultimate fate is unknown (he probably just retired after the incident; executing him would have brought about the irresistible wrath of the Space Knight Tekkamen, and since the general is still alive during Tekkaman Blade 2..)
[edit] Episode 6: Dangerous Boys
English Title: Stage 3: Final Encounter - Part 2
Blade battles Dead in a final showdown.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main characters (Tekkamen)
- Yumi Francois
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Tekkaman Hiver - Known as Tekkaman Hiver. Originally one of thousands of Primary Bodies produced by the events in the first Tekkaman Blade, she dreamed of becoming a Space Knight her whole life, and finally joined as a mechanic despite her clumsiness, airheadedness and tendency to screw things up, but the same positive attitude and friendly enthusiasm that likely got her the job ends up getting her selected by Chief Aki Kisaragi to be the final, third member of the new Space Knights Tekkaman team (much to her surprise).
- Natasha, the Tekkaman for whom she worked previously, expresses disgust upon noticing Yumi's TekSet crystal and later resents her when Yumi inadvertently receives the Reactor Voltekka weapon as a result of an accident during the team's final conversion process into fully-fledged Tekkamen. Her nervousness and panic during her first use of the incredibly powerful weapon result in a portion of Earth's Space Ring being obliterated, but it becomes a potent ability once she learns to control it. Yumi is smitten with the image of the "White Tekkaman", having seen him fly over once during her childhood, and fantasizes about him constantly. This leads to something of a shock for her when she finds out he's still alive and that he's involved with the Chief - the love triangle turns into a total mess over several episodes as several other people express interest in her, including her pilot and her teammate Hayato.
- David Kruegel
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Tekkaman Summer - Known as Tekkaman Sommer or Tekkaman Summer. A survivor of the fictional Black September incident (a massacre in Prague), his easygoing, joke-telling mannerisms conceal his true feelings - deeply troubled by the past and often depressed, he goes bar hopping in an attempt to drown his sorrows, compounded no doubt by his love for Aki, who he knows is already beyond his reach. He unknowingly befriends Dead End by virtue of being one of the few survivors of Black September, and the only person Dead has met capable of truly relating to his loss.
- Natasha Pablochiva
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Tekkaman Vesna - Known as Tekkaman Vesna. She is the daughter of the general that was responsible for Black September, and as the most seasoned of the new Space Knights serves as their squad leader. Intelligent but short-tempered and prone to snapping, she finds herself constantly berating Yumi for her airheadedness and inexperience. She uses a pata for her lancer.
- Dead End
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Tekkaman Dead - Known as Tekkaman Dead, he uses the name Dead End in his non-Tekkaman identity. A survivor of Black September, he blames The Red Devil for the massacre and breaks into a military facility holding a captured Radam Tekkaplant, using it to upgrade him from a Primary Body to a fully-fledged Tekkaman. The use of the captured Radam technology as opposed to an adapted Earth Tekkaplant results in an exponentially higher level of power bestowed upon Dead during his first transformation, and he uses this power to cause widespread destruction in an attempt to attract the attention of The Space Knights.
- Motivated alternatingly by rage and despair, he believes that no one understands him and wants to die, but not before killing the woman he blames for the loss of his family and friends. His powers seem to increase as he gets angrier, much like Takaya/D-Boy/Blade in Tekkaman Blade, so much so that Blade is nearly killed when attempting to stop Dead End. He dresses femininely and develops a friendship out of mutual loss with David. Dead first meets David in a graveyard; they meet for the second time in their Tekkaman identities, and the third time in a bar, wherein Dead recognizes David as Tekkaman Sommer (David does not recognize Dead as a Tekkaman until a bit later, when David finds Dead's Tek crystal).
- Aki Kisaragi
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Aki - One of the leaders of the Space Knights, she has no Tekkaman moniker and is referred to by the members of the team as "Chief". Her hair and eye color have both changed since the original series (from dark blue hair and brown eyes to green hair and eyes), owing possibly to her first metamorphosis into Tekkaman form (but more realistically to the change in animation teams between series, especially since in the Tekkaman Blade OVA specials, which are set in the same time as the original Tekkaman Blade series but done by the same animation team as for Tekkaman Blade II, she has the same green hair and eyes). Early on she plays an administrative role, overseeing the training of the new Tekkamen and briefing the team on mission objectives, but soon it becomes necessary for her to intervene directly. She transforms into a red Tekkaman with the help of a new Pegasus robot based on the design of the original, which was destroyed by Tekkaman Omega in Tekkaman Blade. Her powers however, are incomplete in comparison to other "full" Tekkamen. Although she is able to leap great distances, she has no thrusters of her own, and is incapable of self flight. As well, she does not have any of the basic Tekkaman weapons. Her lance, and whip like cable ( from the bracelet on her wrists) are all provided by Pegasus II, and furthermore, she has no Voltekka of her own. This is probably due, in part, to the process she went under being a proto-type of the one more recently used.
- Dead calls her the Red Devil, a reference to the Black September massacre where he first saw her while she was assisting the evacuation of the soon to be destroyed city. Aki is one of the few original Space Knights still on the team; along with Honda and Takaya they train the next generation of Tekkamen to protect the Earth. Of more subtle importance, Aki has been at Takaya's side since the day he lost his memory, filling him in as much as she could and providing an anchor for an undoubtedly confused and terrified soul.
- The fact that she and Takaya have been in love for over a decade provides plenty of frustration for David, who has been infatuated with her since she rescued him from the impending destruction of Prague. In terms of power, Aki is head and shoulders above the other Space Knights (with the exception of Takaya), due to the fact that her initial transformation was brought about utilizing a crystal belonging to one of the members of the original Earth Invasion (she is seen in Missing Link clutching a red crystal, possibly Shinya's, and later fighting Blade, who is apparently under Radam control after his restoration at their hands.), from that point forward requiring Pegasus to transform and preferring to ride it into battle as Blade did in the original series. She is a firm believer in science, as evidenced by her comments about "superstition" when she finds David reading passages from the Bible aloud.
- D-Boy
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Tekkaman Blade
Known as Tekkaman Blade (real name: Takaya Aiba).
In the ten years of peace between Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Blade II and with Aki's guidance, he works towards forming a new generation of Space Knights that will be able to defend the Earth after he's gone. Over the course of these ten years, he also heals the shattered pieces of his crystal, enabling him to transform without the aid of Pegas and (theoretically) eliminating the debilitating effects of repeated transformation that plagued him earlier in life.
- His power has increased exponentially since the beginning of Tekkaman Blade - initially he could barely fly under his own power for more than a few minutes, and a Voltekka attack would leave him drained and exhausted, but ten years later he's seen flying to Earth's moon and back unassisted. A clear distinction is made between his level of power and that of any of the new Space Knight Tekkamen, with Dead End being the only living Tekkaman on an even playing field. He also appears to be the only Tekkaman experienced enough at controlling his powers to keep from obliterating his clothing upon transformation (on one occasion he's seen reverting to his human form clad in business attire). He however does not seem to have the ability to become Tekkaman-Blastor anymore.
- He appears calmer and less prone to impulsive action than his younger self, perhaps because his memory of having to face former loved ones in battle was almost certainly wiped by the end of the original series due to the neural degeneration his transformations caused. Since then he's worked from almost a clean slate mentally, though he does seem to recognize Aki during the final moments of the last episode of Tekkaman Blade, and the relationship and love that grows from that point forward is quietly but powerfully evidenced in Tekkaman Blade II.
[edit] Other characters
- Honda
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Honda
One of the last of the original Space Knights, Honda is responsible for many of the seeming miracles of engineering during both series, including the design and construction of Pegas I and II, and the design of the Space Knights' new Blue Earth tri-docked fighters which the Tekkamen ride into battle. Though seen rarely in the show, he works behind the scenes to support the efforts of the group and is seen by the team as a father figure. His friendship with Aki and Takaya has lasted more than a decade.
- Anita
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Anita - One of the pilots of the tri-hulled Blue Earth. Serving as David's counterpart in battle, she and Goliate are good friends and often drink together. She's cool under pressure and a top-notch pilot.
- Goliate
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Goliate - Natasha's pilot, Goliate is often seen hanging around with Anita, though they don't seem romantically interested in one another. Goliate is quick with a grin and eager to get into the fight, but tends to misinterpret other people when he's drunk.
- Hayato
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Hayato - Assigned to be Yumi's pilot, he develops a crush on her quickly but lacks the courage to tell her how he feels. David picks up on his infatuation quickly and torments him endlessly, and Yumi is far too preoccupied with the "White Tekkaman" to give him any notice. He's prone to bouts of passionate anger when his "love" is threatened, but his loyalty is absolute.
- Radam Tekkamen
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Radam Tekkaman fighting a Sol-Tekka soldier - The Radam Tekkamen possess many of the same abilities that the Earth Tekkamen do - that of self-powered flight, superhuman strength and dexterity, and the ability to launch quantum energy blasts from their shoulders - but their appearance contrasts sharply to that of the Space Knight heroes, and even to the mind-controlled Tekkamen of the First Invasion; rather than metallic, they appear much more organic in design and typically have tails and large, three fingered hands. As seen when they mourn for a fallen comrade, the Radam Tekkamen are intelligent, but it's unknown whether they are the actual Radam race or just another species assimilated by the Radam during their journey through the galaxy.
- Sol-Tekka Soldiers
- Utilizing designs based upon the original Sol Tekkaman power armors developed by the Earth military in Tekkaman Blade, the soldiers who serve as the planet's first line of defense are highly trained and courageous but ultimately only capable of thinning the ranks of the spider crabs before being literally torn limb from limb by a single Tekkaman. Their suits are pressurized to seal out the vacuum of space, armored to withstand attacks and armed with both energy rifles and high-yield shoulder cannons which mimick a Tekkaman's Voltekka attack, making them easily the most powerful soldiers on the planet.
- Pegasus II
- A semi-sentient battle robot that performs several functions for Aki Kisaragi, namely providing a way for her to transform and a ride for her during battle, much as the original Pegasus did for Blade in the first series. Pegasus has two main configurations - a bipedal, humanoid robot form rarely seen in Tekkaman Blade II and a flight configuration where a Tekkaman can ride on its back.
- Its predecessor was armed with forward-facing chainguns, but Pegasus II may possess energy blasters like those seen wielded by the Sol Tekkamen. Pegasus II was built between the events of Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Blade II, possibly during one of the Special OVAs, as the original robot was destroyed by Tekkaman Omega at the end of the first series.
- Other
- Primary Bodies are regular human beings who were captured by mobile Radam Tekkaplants (balloon-shaped biological creatures doubling as DNA resequencing pods) to prepare them for mass-conversion into Tekkamen during the final episodes of Tekkaman Blade. Given all evidence, the Tekkaplants would reject humans who were un-fit for conversion (those too old, too young, or the disabled or ill) who would quickly die thereafter, drained of all possible strength. Those fit for transformation were to be converted into Tekkamen in much the same way as D-Boy and his family and friends had been on the Argos, but due to the timely intervention of the Space Knights many tens (possibly hundreds) of thousands of Primary Bodies were rescued before the transformation could be completed (and certainly before any Radam parasites could be implanted, leaving their original personalities intact).
- The result is that a percentage of the global population of Earth was granted the beginnings of a transformation crystal (or Tek-Setter) and the ability to transform into a first-stage Tekkaman, which amounts to a hardened biometal shell similar to a "full" Tekkaman, but without the customized hand-to-hand weapon, thrusters, or any sort of energy weapon launchers. Yumi is seen practicing riding one of the Space Knight ships in first-stage Tekkaman form before she undergoes a full conversion in an Earth Tekkaplant, and later a large group (numbering in the thousands) of Primary Tekkamen is seen marching on the destroyed city of Prague at Dead's behest. "Primary Bodies" typically carry their crystals with them on a necklace or built into some sort of pendant, as D-Boy seems to be of the few individuals capable of simply absorbing his crystal into his body - Dead is seen with a dagger built around his crystal, which actually transforms along with him to become his main weapon in Tekkaman form.
[edit] Specials
Three little-known special OVAs exist in the Tekkaman universe (Burning Clock, Twin Blood and Missing Link), dealing with events that took place between the end of Tekkaman Blade and the beginning of Tekkaman Blade II that are never fully explained by either series.
The OVAs cover significant plot elements, such as how Aki became a Tekkaman, as well as more backstory into the rivalry and history between Takaya Aiba (Blade) and his brother Shinya (Tekkaman Evil). They were released in DVD format but have seen extremely limited distribution in the U.S. and Canada, exacerbating the difficulties facing fansubber groups attempting to create English conversions of the much sought after specials.
[edit] English cast
- Tara Strong: Yumi Francois/Tekkaman Hiver (credited as Tara Charendoff)
- Adam Paul: David Kruegel/Tekkaman Summer
- Tasia Valenza: Natasha Pablochiva/Tekkaman Vesna
- Scott Menville: Hayato
- Jessica Lynn: Anita
- Matt McKenzie: Goliate
- John Hostetter: Honda
- John DeMita: Takaya Aiba/D-Boy/Tekkaman Blade
- Julia Fletcher: Aki Kisaragi, Dead End/Tekkaman Dead (credited as Julia DeMita)
[edit] Trivia
- This anime has been dubbed in English and is licensed by Urban Vision.
- Unlike Tekkaman Blade, which received a major overhaul upon being released in Western shores as Teknoman, Tekkaman Blade II is an almost direct dub. It keeps all of the terminology used in the Japanese version, as well as most of the character names excluding Tekkaman Iberu (renamed 'Hiver' in the English dub) and Tekkaman Zommer (renamed 'Summer' in the English dub).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Tekkaman Blade II at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- Tekkaman Blade 2 at the Internet Movie Database
- Tekno-mania
- Tekkaman Blade II Shrine
- Urban Vision Urban Vision's site
| Animated titles |
|---|
| Tekkaman: The Space Knight - Tekkaman Blade - Tekkaman Blade II |
| Video game |
| Uchuu no Kishi: Tekkaman Blade |
| Soundtracks |
| Space Knight Tekkaman Blade: Original Soundtrack - Uchu no Kishi Tekkaman Blade II - Next Generation 1 |
