Chargeman Ken!
| Chargeman Ken! | |
 | |
| チャージマン研! (Chājiman-ken!) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Noboru Miura |
| Written by |
Masaki Wakuda Toyohiro Ando Yoshio Tamado |
| Music by | Kunio Miyaichi |
| Studio | Knack Productions |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | TBS |
| Original run | April 1, 1974 – June 28, 1974 |
| Episodes | 65 |
Chargeman Ken! (チャージマン研! Chājiman-ken!) is a science fiction anime series created by Eiji Tanaka and animated by Knack Productions. It was directed by Noboru Miura and written by Masaki Wakuda, Toyohiro Ando and Yoshio Tamado. Consisting of 65 7-minute episodes, it originally aired on TBS from April 1, 1974 to June 28, 1974. Discotek Media currently licensed the series outside Japan.[1]
Plot
The show takes place in a futuristic city, where science has greatly progressed. A race of aliens called the Jurals invade the Earth to steal its resources, and Ken Izumi must become the superhero Chargeman Ken to stop them.
Production and cult status
Most of the staff had previously worked on Knack’s Super Robot anime Astroganger, which had a very similar plot and character design. Due to lack of credits, the identities of its voice cast (save for the main villain) remain unknown to this day.
After its initial broadcast, the show remained obscure until 2007, when it was released on DVD and uploaded to the video sharing site Nico Nico Douga. The show quickly gained a cult reputation as “so bad it’s good” due to its ridiculous dialogue, limited animation and sound effects, the ineptitude of the villains and the cruelty of Ken, the “hero” of the show. It then became a popular internet meme, leading to dozens of video remixes and MADs.[2] An original soundtrack was released in 2010.[3] On 2017, Discotek Media announced that the show would be fully released in DVD on October 31st of the same year.[4]
References
- ↑ http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2016/08/13-1/discotek-licenses-charge-man-ken-urusei-yatsura-beautiful-dreamer-arcadia-of-my-youth-and-more-lupin
- ↑ Cartoon Research. "Worst Anime Ever: “Chargeman Ken” (1974)". Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ↑ Amazon Japan. "Chargeman Ken! Tribute to Soundtracks. Vol. 1". Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ↑ @discotekmedia (2017-07-17). "The action-packed unintended comedy CHARGEMAN KEN Complete series set, coming to DVD on Halloween Day (Oct 31)!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
- "Official website (Japanese)". Archived from the original on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
- Chargeman Ken! (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia