Eat-Man

Eat-Man

Cover of Vol. 1
イートマン
(Īto Man)
Genre Action, adventure, science fiction
Manga
Written by Akihito Yoshitomi
Published by MediaWorks
English publisher
Viz Media (former)
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Dengeki Comic Gao!
Original run December 13, 1996September 27, 2002
Volumes 19
Anime television series
Directed by Koichi Mashimo
Written by Atsuhiro Tomioka
Music by Yuki Kajiura
Tomomasa Yoneda
Studio Studio Deen
Original network TV Tokyo
Original run January 9, 1997 March 27, 1997
Episodes 12
Anime television series
Eat-Man '98
Directed by Toshifumi Kawase
Written by Atsuhiro Tomioka
Music by Yu Imai
Studio Studio Deen
Original network TV Tokyo
Original run October 8, 1998 December 23, 1998
Episodes 12

Eat-Man (Japanese: イートマン, Hepburn: Īto Man) is a Japanese manga series created by Akihito Yoshitomi in 1996 which was serialized by MediaWorks monthly in 19 volumes until 2002 manga magazine Dengeki Comic Gao!. In 1997 Studio Deen adapted the manga into a 12 episode anime television series which was broadcast in Japan from January 9 to March 27, 1997 on TV Tokyo. A sequel, Eat-Man '98, was also animated by Studio Deen and ran from October 8 to December 23, 1998. Both anime series are licensed in North America by Bandai Entertainment and the manga series was licensed by Viz Communications before it was dropped.

Story

Eat-Man is a series of short, episodic stories about an "explorer" (a type of mercenary job) named Bolt Crank, who has the ability to eat virtually anything, and can then produce from his body at will any object he has consumed. Eat-Man's world is a mix of high tech futurist (See Cyberpunk) and fairy tale styles. The episodes take place in various worlds and in undefined times.

About Bolt Crank

Bolt Crank is the best "explorer" in the world. "Explorer" in the manga is a kind of mercenary. Although mercenaries in the manga do any job, even assassinations, the explorers were employees with principles.

Bolt has a bizarre power, the ability to eat anything inorganic and then later recreate it (even fixing the item ingested) from any part of his body. The item usually comes out from his arms and hands, but sometimes can be created in other body areas, like his head, chest, or legs.

In the manga, it was implied that inside Bolt's body was actually a void of space. Objects that he has consumed float around in a seemingly endless space, much like the inside of Doraemon's fourth-dimensional pocket.

He is a man of few words and doesn't show his feelings. Always acting cool, his cynical personality and his "always get the job done" attitude can make him seem like a very cold and dark character. But in the end, he always finds a way to do the right thing. He never appears to look back at the past, never regretting it.

Although Bolt's past remained a mystery in all the series, some stories gave clues about his past, including some characters that appeared in various episodes. In the end of the manga series revealed a lot about who and what Bolt is, but his exact identity still remains a mystery.

Here are some hints in the series:

Recurring characters

The adventures in Eat-Man are usually unrelated. However, a few characters are recurring, especially in later volumes.

The anime series

A 12 episode anime series was released by TV Tokyo in 1997 and was written and directed by Koichi Mashimo and animated by Studio Deen. The series featured music by Yuki Kajiura and was the first time Kajiura and Mashimo worked together and would work together for several more projects over the next several years. The series was very loosely based on the manga featuring Bolt Crank, played by Masashi Ebara, as the main character and keeping the fictional currency of Lido. The following year a second 12 episode series, Eat Man '98 was released, once again animated by Studio Deen and with Ebara reprising his role as Bolt Crank, but under new direction by Toshifumi Kawase.

Reception

Although the manga series was a success, the 12-episode anime series released by Studio Deen was highly criticized by fans of the manga because of the great differences between the plots of the manga and the anime.

Almost all fantasy elements were removed from the anime, leaving a futuristic world. Bolt Crank's personality was very different from the manga. This Bolt showed more feelings, hated his explorer life, and desired to be a normal person. The series is episodic and mysterious. The magic crystal that appeared in the opening, the glass monoliths, the ever-floating ship known as "LAVION", and the afterlife dream in the 11th episode are never explained, creating a very bizarre and abstract atmosphere. Most of the episodes ended with unanswered questions.

Due to the fans' dissatisfaction, a new season was released as Eatman '98 one year after. Almost all the stories were directly based on stories from the manga, making it very true to the manga.

Later appearance

The character of Bolt Crank made a guest appearance in Akihito Yoshitomi's later creation, Ray. The story is included under a special chapter, "Drop in", in Ray volume 5 from pages 167 to 190.

See also

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