Time Bokan
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| Time Bokan | |
|---|---|
| タイムボカン | |
| Genre | |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | |
| Studio | Tatsunoko Productions |
| Network | |
| Original run | October 4, 1975 – December 25, 1976 |
| No. of episodes | 61 |
| OVA | |
| Directed by | |
| Studio | |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Released | |
Time Bokan (タイムボカン?) is a anime series first aired from October 4, 1975 to December 25, 1976 throughout Japan on every Saturday at 6:30pm, with a total of 61 30-minute episodes. It was produced by Tatsunoko Productions, and is the very first show in the sequence of "Time Bokan Series". It was succeeded by a show named Yattaman.
Contents |
[edit] The Story
Dr. Kieda, a somewhat slightly wacky, but intelligent scientist, had finally succeeded in inventing insect-shaped all-terrain time machines called "Time Bokan". To prove its efficiency and safety, he decided to serve as the very first guinea-pig for its maiden voyage; however, by the time the machine returned, he wasn't anywhere inside the machine. The only thing that returned with it was a talking parrot who called himself Perasuke, along with a large gemstone called the Dynamond (ダイナモンド?) which was seemingly the most powerful and valuable jewel in the world. Now it is up to a search party, founded by Dr. Kieda's lab assistant Tanpei, to travel though time to find Dr. Kieda; but it seems that someone power hungry is looking for the "Dynamond"...
[edit] The Plot
The story starred two vividly opposing sides, the protagonists (善玉) and the antagonists (悪玉). Typical plots follow this format:
- The protagonists travel to a particular era/space during their search for Dr. Kieda/hunt for the nature of the Dynamond
- They eventually encounter the antagonists
- The two sides battle each other with their time machines
- The antagonists always suffer a crushing defeat, mainly due to their own mistakes made on their own machines or their plots, or the smart foiling of their plants from the heroes.
In fact, all of the other shows in this anime series followed a style and story-line plotting familiar to this one.
[edit] The Cast
[edit] The Heroes
Tanpei (丹平?): (Voiced by Yoshiko Ohta) The lab assistant of Dr. Kieda, a smart and sporty boy at the age of 13. He is warm, pure, and courageous, also he is a genius at mechanics. Everybody in the team calls him "Tanpei-chan". Not much of his family and school background is given.
Junko (淳子?): (Voiced by Mori Okamoto) Dr. Kieda's granddaughter, a typical erudent and talented girl at the age of 10. She misses her grandfather dearly, thus earning a lot of sympathy from the rest of the team. She might seem a little cry-babyish at the first glance, but is actually quite strong inside. She also vows to become stronger under Tanpei's influence. Her name is derived from Sakurada Junko, a famous singer.
Chorobot (チョロ坊 Chorobou?): (Voiced by Reiko Katsura, Keiko Yokozawa in eps. 34~36) A robot created by Tanpei, it can appear pretty childish in both appearance and actions, but it is not always a hindrance. Its power source is the winding key protruding from its back, also a flamethrower is built into its mouth. Although a robot, it is seen briefly eating shoe-cream in the second episode.
Dr. Kieda (木江田博士 Kieda-hakase?): (Voiced by Ryūji Saikachi) Junko's grandfather and creator of the "Time Bokan" time machines. A world famous scientist and wasn't recovered until the 27th episode, and soon joined Tanpei's team on other journeys.
Perasuke (ペラ助?): (Voiced by Junpei Takiguchi) A talking parrot who seems to be the only source of information about Dr. Kieda's location when he was lost in time, but he always made random testimonies on that. The only thing he fears is probably his wife. His voice can be heard in the next episode previews.
Otake-san (オタケさん?): (Voiced by Haru Endou)
[edit] The Villains
Commonly known as "The Skull Trio" ("ガイコッツ トリオ") through the show, the three villains portrayed in this show were even more familiar to the audience than the heroes, mainly due to their reknowned stupidity shown by the inevitable fate of always suffering a crushing defeat in each episode.
Marjo (マージョ?): (Voiced by Noriko Ohara) This 30-year old is the female leader of the trio. She has been portrayed as the typical "vain villainess" of animations, thinking she is the most beautiful and intelligent. She is the wildest desirer of the "Dynamond", and virtually does nothing except bossing his two henchmen around before the hunts and scold at them after the "defect" sequence in each episode.
Grocky (グロッキー?): (Voiced by Jouji Yanami) The "smart alert" henchman of Marjo aged 25. He used to work for Dr Konoeda, therefore he is in charge of building a different mecha in each episode to encounter the Time Bokans used by the heroes. He is cunning if quite prone of making silly mistakes on the machinery (most of which became the key issue of their bad lucks in the episodes), and slightly erotic if resourceful.
Walsa (ワルサー?): (Voiced by Kazuya Tatekabe) The "strong fellow" henchman of Majo aged 35. He is seemingly less intelligent and more clumsy than the other two of the trio, and is often seen controlling the weaponry devices of their mecha. He is heard speaking in an accent known as the Kansai-ben and frequently end his sentence with a ~man-nen (~まんねん?).
Narration: Kei Tomiyama
[edit] Time Bokans
Created by Dr Kieda at the beginning of the series, there is a total of three machines which formed the "Time Bokan" series of time/space traveller. Every one of them follows the design as one particular kind of insect, both appearance-wise and function-wise. Although the term "time" is the only term in their name to state their function, they are also capable of travelling between spaces, even fictional and hypothetic ones: including the spaces depicted in Grimm's fairytales and the ones making hypothesises to some unsolved mysteries such as Easter Island. (Although written in katakana, "Bokan" can mean "mothership" if written in hiragana or kanji.)
Time Megabuton ("タイムメカブトン"): This machine, bearing the vivid resemblence of a Japanese rhinoceros beetle , is the Time Bokan used the most by the heroes. It features a rotary cutter/digger fashioned like the beetle's large single horn, incorporating a defensive missile launcher. With its durable all-terrain tyres it is able to travel to a maximum of 200km/h, and it also has wings. which will open just like the actual insect's, to allow its flight. The small red dome on its back is a remote- or self-control robot, and can function as a survilliance and scouting unit on its own.
Time Dotabattan ("タイムドタバッタン"): This locust-shaped Time Bokan is propelled with extreme manueoverbility on its four strong mechanical limbs, which function can be replaced by a set of retractable caterpillar tracks in its belly. The two holes on its bow can launch certain projectiles.
