Tekkaman: The Space Knight
| Tekkaman: The Space Knight | |
 Italian DVD cover of Tekkaman The Space Knight. | |
| 宇宙の騎士テッカマン (Uchū no Kishi Tekkaman) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action, Science fiction |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by |
Hiroshi Sasagawa Hisayuki Toriumi |
| Studio | Tatsunoko Productions |
| Network | NET |
| Original run | July 2, 1975 – December 24, 1975 |
| Episodes | 26[1] |
Tekkaman: The Space Knight (宇宙の騎士テッカマン Uchū no Kishi Tekkaman) is an anime produced by Tatsunoko Productions in 1975.[2] A short-lived English adaptation aired in the US in 1984. Two decades later, it was followed by the much more popular Tekkaman Blade, which was dubbed in the U.S. by Saban as Teknoman.
Plot
The Earth has entered the 21st century and it is in peril. The “Green Earth” project has been abandoned and scientists look to the stars to find a “Second Earth.” The Space Angel, on its mission to find this “Second Earth,” is attacked by a group of aliens named the “Waldarians.” The Space Angel is destroyed and with it the hope of mankind. Dr. Amachi manages to create “Pegas” and the “Tekset” system, designed to combat the aliens by augmenting a human with a certain wavelength into a Tekkaman, giving them enhanced strength abilities. Test pilots Joji Minami and Hiromi Amachi, along with Andro Umeda and Mutan, two alien beings from the planet Sanno, rid the dying Earth from the threat of the “Waldaster” and continue to research the “Leap Flight Engine” to reach a new home for humanity.[3][4]
Production
The opening theme, “Tekkaman no Uta,” is sung by Ichirou Mizuki, written by Tatsunoko’s Planning Department (lyrics) and Asei Kobayashi (music) and arranged by Bob Sakuma, who composed all the music for the series.
An English-language version was created by a small independent company called William Winckler Productions. However, the dub was cancelled in mid-story with only 13 of the show’s 26 episodes produced.
Over forty-thousand original Tekkaman the Space Knight VHS video cassettes were successfully sold throughout the U.S. to major retail stores by Congress Video Group (the largest video distributor at the time), and later by L.D. Video. Congress Video sold half-hour episodes, whereas L.D. Video sold two 96-minute movie compilations.
William Winckler attempted to stay as true to the original Japanese series as possible, with little editing of violence as possible, and retaining all the original Japanese music and sound effects. This was in stark contrast to Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, another Tatsunoko series which was dubbed by Sandy Frank as Battle of the Planets.
English Cast
- Bill Hedderly Jr. as Barry Gallagher / Tekkaman
- Kathy Pruitt as Patricia Richardson
- Reginald Bennett as Andro
- Clancy Syrko as Pegas / Randrox / Narrator
- Jean Veloz as Mutan / Computer
- Robert Winckler as Dr. Richardson / Emperor Devoral[5]
Japanese Cast
- Katsuji Mori as Johji Minami/Tekkaman
- Kan Tokumaru as Pegas
- Junpei Takiguchi as Rambos
- Kazue Komiya as Mutan
- Kenji Utsumi as Chief Tenchi
- Miyuki Ueda as Hiromi
- Shinji Nakae as Narrator
- Takeshi Kuwabara as Doburai
- Yasuo Yamada as Andro Umeda
- Yuzuru Fujimoto as Jupiter[1]
Episode list
| No. | Original Title / English Title | Original Japanese airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Hero of the Sun / N/A" (太陽の勇者[6]) | June 02, 1975 |
| 2 | "The Stellar Rogue Cluster, Waldastar / N/A" (悪党星団ワルダスター) | June 09, 1975 |
| 3 | "The Shadow-Hunting Alien! / N/A" (影狩り宇宙人) | June 16, 1975 |
| 4 | "The Birth of the Space Knights! / N/A" (スペース・ナイツ誕生) | June 23, 1975 |
| 5 | "The Great Asteroid Plot! / N/A" (アステロイド大作戦) | June 30, 1975 |
| 6 | "Lunar Quicksand / N/A" (月面アリ地獄) | August 6, 1975 |
| 7 | "Space Transport K-432 / N/A" (宇宙輸送船K432) | August 13, 1975 |
| 8 | "The Man-Eating Space Plant / N/A" (宇宙の食人草) | August 20, 1975 |
| 9 | "The Shinobi-I Space Ninjas / N/A" (宇宙忍者シノビーノ) | August 27,1975 |
| 10 | "The Rascally Tekkaman Team Takes Action / N/A" (わんぱくテッカマン隊大活躍) | September 3, 1975 |
| 11 | "The Lost Spaceship / N/A" (失われた宇宙船) | September 10, 1975 |
| 12 | "Charge! The Robot Army! / The Robots Rescue Pegus" (激突!ロボット軍団) | September 17, 1975 |
| 13 | "The Daring Space Skirmish / N/A" (決死の宇宙海戦) | September 24, 1975 |
| 14 | (せまる巨大惑星) | October 1, 1975 |
| 15 | "The Plan to Annihilate the Earthlings" (地球人ぜんめつ作戦) | October 8, 1975 |
| 16 | (ミクロ・アリ星人) | October 15, 1975 |
| 17 | (宇宙怪鳥ヒヨクダー) | October 22, 1975 |
| 18 | (大回転・テックランサー) | October 29, 1975 |
| 19 | (宇宙ランド作戦) | November 5, 1975 |
| 20 | (宇宙ロボット・ガニラ) | November 12, 1975 |
| 21 | (対決!ぼうけん少女) | November 19, 1975 |
| 22 | (アンドロー危機いっぱつ) | November 26, 1975 |
| 23 | (ボルテッカ三段返し) | December 3, 1975 |
| 24 | (砕け!魔のお化けメカ) | December 10, 1975 |
| 25 | (ちびっ子勇者の挑戦) | December 17, 1975 |
| 26 | "Tekkaman's Victory" (勝利のテッカマン) | December 24, 1975 |
Appearances in other media
Tekkaman, Andro, and Doburai appear in the PlayStation fighting game Tatsunoko Fight as playable fighters representing their series.[7] Tekkaman reappears in both versions of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom with the Wii version also having Tekkaman Blade; Tekkaman's mini-game involves him throwing his Tek Lancer against a horde of Waldester fighters from the early part of series.[8]
See also
References
- 1 2 作品データベース 宇宙の騎士テッカマン. Tatsunoko Productions (in Japanese). Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ↑ "Tatsunoko Pro". Tatsunoko Productions. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ↑ 破裏拳ポリマー ダイジェスト. Tatsunoko Productions (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ↑ "宇宙の騎士テッカマン キャラクター". Web.archive.org. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
- ↑ "Tekkaman: The Space Knight". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ↑ "宇宙の騎士テッカマン サブタイトルリスト". Web.archive.org. 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
- ↑ "Tatsunoko Fight". GameFaqs. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
- ↑ "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes". GameFaqs. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
External links
- Uchuu no Kishi Tekkaman (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- CDJAPAN DVD RELEASE
- (Italian) Tekkaman (Anime Mundi), detailed production information
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