Heat Guy J

Heat Guy J

UK DVD box set
ヒートガイジェイ
(Hīto Gai Jei)
Genre Science fiction noir
Anime television series
Directed by Kazuki Akane
Written by Akihiko Takadera
Hiroshi Ōnogi
Kazuki Akane
Miya Asakawa
Studio Satelight
Licensed by
Original network TBS
English network
Original run 1 October 2002 – 25 March 2003
Episodes 26
Manga
Written by Chiaki Ogishima
Published by Kodansha
English publisher
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Magazine Z
Published 2003
Volumes 1

Heat Guy J (ヒートガイジェイ, Hīto Gai Jei) is a 26 episode science fiction anime series created by Escaflowne director Kazuki Akane and Satelight.

Heat Guy J was licensed and distributed in the U.S. in 2003 by Pioneer (which subsequently became Geneon Entertainment). It was re-released by Funimation Entertainment in the fall of 2009. The first 13 episodes of the show also was broadcast on the cable channel MTV2. A one volume manga was created based on the series, and was licensed and distributed by TOKYOPOP. The show was picked up for a UK DVD release by Manga Entertainment starting in March 2006. It was packaged in double DVD sets to make up for the long delayed release of the series.

Plot

Heat Guy J chronicles the adventures of a young Special Services officer named Daisuke Aurora and his android partner known simply as "J". The pair live and work in the fictional, futuristic Metropolis of "Judoh" (Jewde), where the understaffed and underfunded Special Services Division of the Bureau of Urban Safety has its headquarters.

Characters

Special Services

Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze (Japanese); Steve Cannon (English)
Nicknamed "Dais" (or "Dice"). Cool and laid back, Daisuke is one half of the Special Services Bureau's investigative team. He prefers action to paperwork, but when he's not out on the street fighting crime, he's often seen in various states of in-action.
Although he never really shows it, Daisuke is quite compassionate and has a strong sense of justice. However, he has deep and painful memories of the vanishing of his mother and his father (a politician) being murdered by an android. The only memento of his father is a bullet pendant he wears around his neck.
Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese); Bob Papenbrook (English)
An android with incredible power, J was created in cooperation between a government facility and a civilian enterprise; androids are illegal in Judoh, but a special exception is made for J, much to the dismay of wary city officials. Despite his hulking size, J can run at enormous speeds and packs a powerful punch. However, after prolonged bouts of action, J must cool himself down by venting a great deal of superheated air from pipes mounted on his shoulders, making a sound like a howling wolf. J is maintained by the Civilian Enterprises Sect technician Antonia Bellucci. It is said that J is modeled after Antonia's father. This is probably why J seems to be so human sometimes, with a noble character and strong beliefs on things like how a man should act.
Voiced by: Saeko Chiba (Japanese); Kay Jensen (English)
A young auditor and accountant for Special Services, Kyoko is strait-laced and always plays by the rules. This causes her stress when dealing with Daisuke, whom she often scolds. However, she eventually develops feelings towards Daisuke, after letting go of her crush on his brother Shun.

Friends

Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (Japanese); Wendee Lee (English)
An employee of the civilian enterprise "Sect," (the company responsible for creating J) she is responsible for J's maintenance. She still mourns the death of her father at an early age and was responsible for creating J in his image and personality. She worries and cares a lot for J. Daisuke also harbors a secret crush on Antonia.
Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese); Sparky Thornton (English)
A crime scene investigator who is constantly annoyed with the Special Service Agency, he usually scolds and antagonizes Daisuke when he arrives on the scene. He does, however, help Daisuke on various occasions, and is a valuable ally in many of the Special Services cases.
Voiced by: Ai Shimizu (Japanese); Sandy Fox (English)
To earn money for herself, her mother and her donkey, Parsley, Monica works as a photographer who operates by wagon in the city of Judoh. She wants to preserve the long dead age of photography (which explains why she has so much trouble making a sale). However, she has accumulated a great deal of information on Judoh and its business trends. Her mother, Christina, is an unemployed degenerate drunk, and for the most part sponges off her daughter's meager earnings and sleeps off her hangovers inside the wagon during the day. Monica is a friend of Daisuke and gives him important advice and information whenever he needs it. She is like a little sister to Daisuke, and he made a move to adopt her in episode 9, but Monica's mother refused.
Voiced by: Yuji Ueda (Japanese); Steve Blum (English)
Met Daisuke when he was being beaten up by a group of guys attempting to take his money (he threw the first punch when they mentioned his father). Daisuke saved him from getting his butt kicked, but he seemed embarrassed that he had to be rescued like that. So, when Daisuke turned around, Kia was already gone. He apologized later, and the two became instant friends when he played the guitar for Daisuke. Obviously, hates his father, who was the famous Blues Dullea. Turns out, his father was abusive to his mother; and, not only that, he ran off with Kia's half-brother (Ray Dullea) to go play music with him. In spite of this, Kia still really enjoys playing his guitar. He refuses to make a career out of it, on account of it would make him remotely like his father.
Cynthia Voiced by: Ryoko Nagata (Japanese); Midge Mayes (English)
Janis Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese); Wendee Lee (English)
Vivian Voiced by: Ai Tokunaga (Japanese); Michelle Ruff (English)
Three girls who hang out and work on Kabuki Road. The three girls are a source for the latest Judoh news and gossip for Daisuke. They also often try to hit on him, but never succeed.
Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki (Japanese); Lex Lang (English)
Daisuke's older brother and the General Manager of Special Services, Shun prides himself on his rational and logical thinking. Shun's logical nature is usually in conflict with Daisuke's more impulsive personality. This causes a gap between the two brothers, despite the fact that Shun raised Daisuke after their father's death at the hand of an android. Another point of contention between them is Shun's inability to forgive his mother for leaving their family when Shun was 9 and Daisuke 3. Shun is responsible for the partnership of his brother with J.
Voiced by: Michiko Neya (Japanese); Julie Ann Taylor (Ep. 1-13), Mia Bradly (Ep. 14-26) (English)
Phia is Shun's head secretary over at the Special Services office. She is very reliable although she seems to take enjoyment in seeing Shun and Daisuke argue.

Enemies

Voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
Clair inherited his title of Vampire, head of the crime syndicate Company Vita, after his father, Lorenzo Leonelli, died at the beginning of the series. He lives in his father's shadow and constantly flashes back to instances of both physical and emotional abuse. Being compared to his father is his biggest weakness as well as the easiest way to anger him. Due to his father's abuse, he is also unpredictable and emotionally unstable. He struggles to retain the loyalty of the other crime leaders in the city, who fear his dangerous personality. He causes much trouble for Daisuke and J though he is by no means the pair's only problem.
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (Japanese); Lex Lang (English)
Giobanni is Clair's constant companion and his most consistent guard. He protects Clair against everything and, in episode 17, tells Clair that he is what really matters to all his personal guards.
Voiced by: Nobuaki Sekine (Japanese); Anthony Mozdy (1st Voice), Steve Kramer (2nd Voice) (English)
An important adviser who has worked for the Leonelli family for generations. His loyalty towards the family is unwavering, and he constantly worries about Clair.
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese); Ethan Murray (English)
The second close bodyguard of Clair's, and tends to be a ladies man. He makes comments on Kyoko, and women in general. He is often seen handling a pair of casino dice he considers 'lucky'.
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (Japanese); Dave Wittenberg (English)
The third close bodyguard of Clair's, and is in charge of the technical aspect of things. He is an expert programmer and a very good spy. He is quiet most of the time though he quotes percentages and probabilities.

Other

Voiced by: Hikaru Miyata (Japanese); Abe Lasser (English)
The former boss of a crime syndicate, Shogun has grown old and now lives a simple life as a Dry Goods store owner. However, he still keeps tabs on the Underground and often passes on his knowledge to Daisuke.
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Edward Villa (English)
A mysterious and silent refugee who is searching for his missing sister Usagi, or Bunny. For punishment of a crime committed in his past, he was transformed into a "beast-human" hybrid - criminals who have committed a crime so grave as to warrant life in prison have beast heads grafted onto their bodies in order to both make them regret their sin for the rest of their lives and ensure that escaped hybrids can easily be tracked down. Boma disguises his wolf-like features with a holographic device. He accepts one job for Clair Leonelli - to destroy J. However, he ends up refusing the job. He is a skilled swordsman, wielding a monomolecular blade, and makes a deadly enemy (and later, a powerful ally) for Daisuke and J.

Manga

Coinciding with the anime series in 2002, a manga version of Heat Guy J was released. It was eventually distributed in the U.S. by TOKYOPOP in 2005. It was written and drawn by Chiaki Ogishima. While the main characters and general setup were similar to the anime, the manga has its own unique storyline and supporting characters. There is only one volume in the series, and it includes several pages of bonus material related to the show.

Theme songs

  1. "FACE" by Tryforce
  1. "心の隙間 [Kokoro no Sukima - Gap in the Heart]" by WYSE
  2. "Hikari [Light]" - by Saeko Chiba

Episodes

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