| Time Fighters (Time Bokan) | |
| タイムボカン | |
|---|---|
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Hiroshi Sasagawa |
| Studio | Tatsunoko Productions |
| Network | Fuji TV |
| Original run | October 4, 1975 – December 25, 1976[1] |
| Episodes | 61.[2] |
| Original video animation | |
| Time Bokan: Royal Revival | |
| Episodes | 2 |
Time Fighters (Time Bokan or タイムボカン) is a Japanese anime series first aired on Fuji TV from October 4, 1975 to December 25, 1976 throughout Japan every Saturday at 6:30pm, with a total of 61 30-minute episodes. It was produced by Tatsunoko Productions, who later produced a number of spinoff programs as part of the "Time Bokan Series".
Contents |
Dr. Kieda, a somewhat wacky but intelligent scientist, has finally succeeded in inventing insect-shaped all-terrain time machines called "Time Bokan". To prove its efficiency and safety, he decides to serve as the very first guinea-pig for its maiden voyage. However, by the time the machine returned, he isn't anywhere inside. The only thing that returned with it is a talking parrot, along with a large gemstone called the Dynamond (ダイナモンド), which is 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".[1]
The story starred two vividly opposing sides, the heroes, and the villains. Typical plots follow this format:
Jett/Tanpei (丹平): (Voiced by Yoshiko Ota) The loyal lab assistant of Dr. Kieta, a smart and sporty boy at the age of 13. He is warm, pure, and courageous, also he is a genius at mechanics. He is often seen sparring with Starr, his fellow assistant and Dr Kieta's granddaughter, comforting and encouraging her, and has been depicted as having a crush on her for more than once. Everybody in the team calls him "Tanpei-chan". Not much of his family and school background is given.
Starr/Junko (淳子): (Voiced by Keiko Yokozawa in eps. 34~36, and Mori Okamoto in all other episodes) Dr. Kieta's 10-year-old granddaughter, gentle and resourceful young girl who is always lending a helping hand to others. She is gentle, caring, erudite and resourceful. She misses her grandfather dearly, thus earning a lot of sympathy from the rest of the team as they search for him. She might seem a little cry-babyish at the first glance, but vows to become stronger under the influence of Tanpei, who she has a crush on.
Tonk/C-robot (チョロ坊 Chorobou): (Voiced by Reiko Katsura) A robot sidekick created by Jett, 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. Its features include also a flamethrower built into its nose, extendable limbs, and an ability to shock others with a significant amount of voltage output. (Although a robot, it is seen briefly eating cream puffs in the second episode.)
Dr. Kieta (木江田博士 Kieta-hakase): (Voiced by Ryūji Saikachi) Starr's grandfather and creator of the "Time Bokan" time machines. A famous scientist, he wasn't recovered until the 27th episode, but soon joined Tanpei's team on other journeys.
Squarky/Perasuke (ペラ助): (Voiced by Junpei Takiguchi) A talking parrot who seems to be the only source of information about Dr. Kieta'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, Otake. It turns out that he accidentally triggered the time machine while Dr Kieta was absent in a particular age (which turned out to be the present days), and returned to the lab with it. After the journeys he took with the heroes, he reunited with his wife in the finale. His voice can be heard in the previews of upcoming episodes at the end of each episode before the ending theme. His name is a pun on his species.
Otake-san (オタケさん): (Voiced by Haru Endou) A bossy and impatient female parrot of Squarky's kind and his wife. She is depicted with a distinct air of vanity and a body frame much larger than Perasuke's. She is also frequently kicking Squarky about, despite her love for him. At the beginning of the series, she and Dr Kieta are frequently soothing each other's eagerness of reunion.[3]
Commonly known as the "Time Skeletons" ("タイム ガイコツ") through the show, the three villains portrayed in this show were even more familiar to the audience than the heroes, mainly due to their renowned stupidity shown by the inevitable fate of always suffering a crushing defeat in each episode.
Lucinda Skulduggery/Majo (マージョ): (Voiced by Noriko Ohara) Majo, 30 years old is the attractive blonde female leader of the trio. Her character was written after the "vain villainess" stereotype, and accordingly, she often acts and speaks as if she were the most beautiful and intelligent character in the series. Of the trio, she is the most enthusiastic about capturing the "Dynamond", but ends up doing virtually nothing except bossing her two henchmen around, invariably cursing them after the "defeat" sequence in each episode as well as ending up naked through some misfortune. Her name is derived from the Japanese word "魔女" (majo), which means "witch".
Captain Arrow/Grocky (グロッキー): (Voiced by Jouji Yanami) The "brain" henchman of Lucinda, aged 25. He used to work for Dr. Kieda under cover, therefore he's usually employed to build a new and different mecha in each episode to encounter the Time Bokan used by the heroes. He is cunning though quite prone to making silly mistakes on the machinery (most of which became the key issue of the villains' misfortune throughout the episodes). His name is derived from the Japanicized word for "grotesque".
Mungo/Warusa (ワルサー): (Voiced by Kazuya Tatekabe) The "muscle" henchman of Lucinda 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 Kansai-ben and frequently ends his sentences with the phrase "~man-nen" (~まんねん). His name is a play on the Japanese term "悪さ" (warusa), which means "evil behavior" or "level of evil".
Narrator: Kei Tomiyama His voice is mainly in charge of introducing the different eras/spaces the characters are travelling to, and sometimes it can also give a brief comment or overview on the episode, especially at the end.[4]
Created by Dr. Kieda at the beginning of the series, there are a total of three machines. Each one is designed after a 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 dimensions, including fictional and hypothetical ones. An example of the former is a dimension based on Grimm's fairytales while an example of the latter is one based on Easter Island.
Time Mechabuton ("タイムメカブトン", aka Time Bokan I): This blue machine, which resembles a Japanese rhinoceros beetle, is the Time Bokan used the most by the heroes. Its features include:
Time Dotabattan ("タイムドタバッタン", aka Time Bokan II): This green, locust-shaped Time Bokan was actually captured by Dr. Kieda in the 27th episode from a species known as "Insect People", the seemingly futuristic dominant species of Earth. It is modified later in the series to increase its functions and transport capacity. Its features include:
Time Kuwagattan ("タイムクワガッタン", aka Time Bokan III): This red, stag beetle-shaped Time Bokan was created later by Dr. Kieda after he was found. Its features include:
Note: Although written in katakana, "Bokan" can mean "carrier" (such as an "aircraft carrier") if written in hiragana or kanji, as each the main machines carries a few smaller mechas with them all the time.
Only one recurring mecha has ever appeared in the villain trio's garage: the "Time Skull"("タイムガイコッツ"), a small, skull-shaped time machine built by Grocky.
In order to match the "time bokan" in strength and maneuverability, this mecha is often linked to a larger mechanical structure, of which it serves as the head. This construction often results in various animal-shaped mechas as large as (or even larger than) the Time Bokan. These machines are often equipped with an abundance of concealed gadgets and weapons, most of which are capable of leaving the heroes' machines severely damaged.
Two running gags exist for the villains' mecha in the show. The first is that: after the mechas' departure in a large bang, a few stray parts can always be seen on the floor when the explosion clears. (In the first few episodes of the show, the director used the same group of pictures, which depicted exactly same stray parts to emphasize this gag.) Secondly, the villains rarely had a smooth landing in their arrival, always ending either in awkward poses or locations.
The most important feature of these mecha is a deadly device which the villains wish to finish the heroes off for good, and has been dubbed as "Highlight of the Week" ("今週のハイライト") by the villains (It is usually in the shape of a bomb launched in various crazy fashions). However, the triggering of such device often backfires onto the villains themselves either by silly mistakes in mechanical design or the foiling of the heroes, causing the whole structure to explode spectacularly, only leaving the Time Skull fully intact and the villains very tattered (Grocky, unfornately, is victimized every time by his female boss for the failure).
(Number. JP Kana Title JP Romaji Title JP English Translation Title)
１６ ズッコケ！ ライト兄弟だペッチャ
Zukkoke! Raito kyōdaida petcha
Zukkoke! The Wright Brothers
１７ ドロロン！ 五右衛門だペッチャ Dororon! Goemon Da petcha Dororon! Goemon
１８ 急げ！ 白雪姫があぶないペッチャ Isoge! Shirayukihime ga abunai petcha Hurry! Snow White is dangerous
１９ 1000年後のロボット国だペッチャ 1000-Nen-go no robotto-kokuda petcha Robot country after 1000 years
２０ イワンはウソをいわないペッチャ Iwan wa uso o iwanai petcha Ivan does not say a lie
２１ そこのけ！ ドン・キホーテだペッチャ Sokonoke! Don kihōteda petcha There he goes away! Don Quixote
２２ ピノキオの大冒険だペッチャ Pinokio no dai bōkenda petcha The adventures of Pinocchio
２３ 黄門さまはステキだペッチャ Kōmon-sama wa sutekida petcha Our nice anal
２４ 牛若丸と弁慶の大決闘だペッチャ
Ushi waka maru to Benkei no dai kettōda petcha
Benkei
２５ 出たぞ！ ロビン・フッドだペッチャ
Deta zo! Robin fuddoda petcha
２６ それ行けやれ行け宝島だペッチャ
26 Sore ike yare ike takarajimada petcha
２７ 木江田博士を発見だペッチャ
27 Ki Eda hakase o hakkenda petcha
２８ ジャックと豆の木大騒動だペッチャ
28 Jakku to mame no ki dai sōdōda petcha
２９ 枯れ木に花を咲かせるペッチャ
29 Kareki ni hana o sakaseru petcha
３０ 赤頭巾ちゃん気をつけてだペッチャ
30 Aka zukin-chan ki o tsuketeda petcha
３１ 夢見るシンデレラ姫だペッチャ
31 Yumemiru shinderera himeda petcha
３２ 未来の象さんを守ろうペッチャ
32 Mirai no zō-san o mamorou petcha
３３ ビックリ！ 天女は宇宙人だペッチャ
33 Bikkuri! Ten'nyo wa uchū-jinda petcha
３４ 突撃！ ヤマタのオロチだペッチャ
34 Totsugeki! Yamata no orochida petcha
３５ フランケン！ がまんだペッチャ
35 Furanken! Gamanda petcha
３６ 未来はヒヒの国だペッチャ
36 Mirai wa hihi no kunida petcha
３７ 王様は裸だペッチャ
37 Ōsama wa hadakada petcha
３８ 桃太郎の鬼退治だペッチャ
38 Momotarō no oni taijida petcha
３９ ハメルンの笛吹きだペッチャ
39 Hamerun no Usui Kida petcha
４０ 鶴の恩返しだペッチャ
40 Tsuru no ongaeshida petcha
４１ 竜宮は最高だペッチャ
41 Ryūgū wa saikōda petcha
４２ アパッチ谷の秘密だペッチャ
42 Apatchi tani no himitsuda petcha
４３ かぐや姫は美人だペッチャ
43 Kagu ya hime wa bijinda petcha
４４ サルカニ合戦だペッチャ
44 Sarukani kassenda petcha
４５ ジキル博士の謎だペッチャ
45 Jikiru hakase no nazoda petcha
４６ マッチ売りの少女だペッチャ
46 Matchi uri no shōjoda petcha
４７ アラジンと魔法のランプだペッチャ
47 Arajin to mahō no ranpuda petcha
４８ 足柄山の金太郎だペッチャ
48-Soku Karayama no kintarōda petcha
４９ 海さち山さち仲直りだペッチャ
49 Umi sa chi yama sa chi nakanaorida petcha
５０ 赤い靴は悲しいペッチャ
50 Akai kutsu wa kanashii petcha
５１ 月の世界はステキだペッチャ
51 Tsuki no sekai wa sutekida petcha
５２ 人魚姫を助けるペッチャ
52-Nin-gyo hime o tasukeru petcha
５３ 透明人間はつらいよペッチャ
53 Tōmei ningen wa tsurai yo petcha
５４ 地底王国のナゾだペッチャ
54 Chitei ōkoku no nazoda petcha
５５ ピラミッドをつくるペッチャ
55 Piramiddo o tsukuru petcha
５６ イースター島の巨人騒動だペッチャ
56 Īsutā-tō no Kyojin sōdōda petcha
５７ ぶどう畑の宝だペッチャ
57 Budō hatake no takarada petcha
５８ 雀のお宿はどこだペッチャ
58 Suzume no o yado wa dokoda petcha
５９ ぼくたちガリバーになったペッチャ
59 Boku-tachi garibā ni natta petcha
６０ シンドバットのロマンだペッチャ
60 Shindobatto no romanda petcha
６１ ダイナモンドを発見だペッチャ
61 Dainamondo o hakkenda petcha
Several of the historical-themed episodes were edited together and dubbed by Jim Terry Productions (of Force Five and Robby the Rascal fame) for the US home video market in 1984, under the name Timefighters.
Several of the fairytale-themed episodes were also edited together and dubbed by Jim Terry Productions for the US home video market in 1984, under the name Timefighters in the Land of Fantasy. [7]
Name changes:
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