Tekkaman Blade
| Tekkaman Blade | |
 DVD cover of Teknoman collection one | |
| 宇宙ã®é¨Žå£«ãƒ†ãƒƒã‚«ãƒžãƒ³ãƒ–レード (UchÅ« no Kishi Tekkaman BurÄ“do) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Adventure, Drama, Science fiction |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Hiroshi Negishi |
| Written by |
Mayori Sekijima Satoru Akahori |
| Music by | Kaoru Wada |
| Studio |
Tatsunoko Production Sotsu Agency |
| Licensed by | |
| Network | TV Tokyo |
| English network | |
| Original run | February 18, 1992 – February 2, 1993 |
| Episodes | 50 + 3 |
| Game | |
| Uchū no Kishi: Tekkaman Blade | |
| Developer | Bec |
| Publisher | Bec |
| Genre | Scrolling shooter/Fighting game |
| Platform | Game Boy, Super Famicom, NEC PC-9801 |
| Released | July 30, 1993 |
| Original video animation | |
| Tekkaman Blade II | |
| Directed by | Hideki Tonokatsu |
| Produced by |
Kyoko Okazaki Shuji Uchiyama |
| Written by | Hiroyuki Kawasaki |
| Music by | Takashi Kudo |
| Studio | Tatsunoko |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | July 21, 1994 – April 21, 1995 |
| Episodes | 6 |
Tekkaman Blade (Japanese: 宇宙ã®é¨Žå£«ãƒ†ãƒƒã‚«ãƒžãƒ³ãƒ–レード Hepburn: UchÅ« no Kishi Tekkaman BurÄ“do, lit. "Space Knight Tekkaman Blade") is a 1992 Japanese anime television series created by Tatsunoko Production and Sotsu Agency. The series was directed by Hiroshi Negishi and written by Mayori Sekijima and Satoru Akahori. The story follows an organization called the Space Knights and their war against aliens known as Radam. The Space Knights are assisted by Takaya Aiba, who has the ability to transform into the armored warrior known as Tekkaman Blade.
The first anime series aired in Japan from February 18, 1992 to February 2, 1993 on TV Tokyo and ran for 49 episodes. This was followed by three specials. A sequel series called Tekkaman Blade II, which is set ten years after the first series and follows the events of the second Radam invasion, was released as series of six OVAs in Japan from July 21, 1994 to April 21, 1995. A video game based on the series, titled Uchū no Kishi: Tekkaman Blade, was released in Japan on July 30, 1993. The original series was released in Australia and the United States as Teknoman with an English dub, although in the US the series was canceled before airing completely.
Plot
During the United Earth Year 192, the Earth is under attack from an alien race known as the Radam, whose forces are composed of bug-like monsters and armored warriors known as Tekkamen. The Tekkamen are humans who transform using a crystal which endows them with impenetrable armor, superhuman strength, flight, energy weapons, and a lance. The Radam's spaceship lies dormant on the dark side of the Moon where the Radam wait for it to be repaired. Unlike the other Tekkamen, Blade fights to defend the Earth and is free of the mind control which the Radam have imposed on the Tekkamen.
Before the start of the Radam invasion, a deep space exploration ship called the Argos, crewed by the Aibas and their friends, discover the Radam spaceship lying dormant in the outer rings of Saturn. While exploring the Radam ship, Radam pods capture the crew and turn them into Tekkamen while the Argos is assimilated. Takaya's father, rejected by the Radam pods, frees Takaya before he is fully converted and puts him into an escape pod before activating the Argos' self-destruct. Upon the Argos' explosion, the Radam spaceship crash lands on the dark side of the Moon. In his Tekkaman armor, Takaya spends six months drifting back to Earth in his escape pod. By the time he arrives, the Radam have begun their invasion. Takaya bursts free from his escape pod and attacks the Radam forces, which draws Tekkaman Dagger's attention and causes the two to fight. After his fight with Dagger, Blade crashes down to Earth where he is discovered by two of the Space Knights, Noal Vereuse and Aki Kisaragi, who take him back to their headquarters.
Fighting against the Radam and their Tekkamen are the Space Knights. Led by Commander Heinrich von Freeman, the Space Knights are a special defense force consisting of Noal, the pilot of the Space Knights' ship the Blue Earth; Aki, the Blue Earth's navigator; Milly, the communications operator; Levin, computer mechanic; and Honda, mechanic.
In the beginning, Takaya is hostile towards the Space Knights. However, as time progresses, he begins to respect the Space Knights for their dedication in even the toughest of situations and develops a romantic relationship with Aki. The Space Knights, with the help of Takaya, begin to repel the Radam forces until Blade's crystal is shattered during a battle with Dagger, rendering him unable to transform. Levin develops a battle robot named Pegas which contains the shards of Blade's crystal and allows him to transform again. Pegas and Blade become friends. In his first transformation using Pegas, Blade challenges Dagger and kills him.
Eventually four more Tekkamen (Tekkaman Lance, Tekkaman Axe, and Tekkaman Sword, led by Blade's twin brother Tekkaman Evil) arrive on Earth to challenge Blade. Blade's sister Miyuki, Tekkaman Rapier, also arrives on Earth. However, like Blade, she is not under the control of the Radam. Miyuki arrives on Earth very ill and is given a blood transfusion from Takaya and Aki. Evil, Lance, Axe and Sword attack the Space Knights' base and attempt to kill Miyuki. Although outnumbered, Miyuki fights the four Tekkamen and self-destructs in an attempt to destroy them. Blade, now left without a family, resolves to destroy the Radam and manages to kill Lance and Axe and later gains the power to take on the Blaster Tekkaman mode. Evil is given the same ability as well in order to serve as Omega's last line of defense.
At the end of the war, Blade and Evil meet for the last time. The two of them fight and Blade kills Evil. As he dies, Evil is freed from the Radam's mind control and hands his crystal to Blade, telling him that he will need its power to reach the Radam spaceship. Balzac kills Sword as they both burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
Blade takes off on Pegas and arrives on the Moon, where he confronts the Radam leader Tekkaman Omega, who reveals that he is Blade's older brother Kengo. Omega begins to resurrect the Radam spaceship and takes off towards Earth. Blade attacks Omega, who proves too powerful and easily defeats Blade. Omega is about to kill Blade when Pegas steps in front of the killing blow and sacrifices itself. Pegas' destruction enrages Blade and causes him to transform into Blaster Tekkaman mode for the last time. Blade kills Omega and causes the Radam spaceship to explode. The remnants of the Radam spaceship fall to Earth along with Blade, now stripped of his armor.
The series ends with Blade and Aki watching the sunset and Noal recalling what a miracle it was that he and Blade survived the war. However, Blade is now bound to a wheelchair and completely amnesic.
Episodes
Tekkaman Blade
Tekkaman Blade was broadcast in Japan on TV Tokyo and aired 49 episodes between February 18, 1992 and February 2, 1993. It uses four pieces of theme music: two opening themes and two ending themes. The first opening theme is "Reason" by Yumiko Kosaka and is used from the first through twenty-seventh episodes. The second opening theme is "Eternal Loneliness" (æ°¸é ã®å¤ç‹¬) by Yumiko Kosaka and is used from the twenty-eight episode onwards. The first and second ending themes are "Energy of Love" and "Lonely Heart" respectively, both performed by Yumiko Kosaka.[1]
The series was aired with an English dub in the United States and Australia under the name Teknoman. The broadcast version was heavily cut from the original Japanese version and was reduced from 49 episodes to 43. The series was licensed by Media Blasters in 2006 with separate boxsets for Teknoman and Tekkaman Blade.[2]
| No. | English title Original Japanese title |
Original air date[3] |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | "Nagaki tatakai no jokyoku" (é•·ã戦ã„ã®åºæ›²) | February 18, 1992 |
| 1 | "The Sky-Soaring Super Man" "Ama kakeru no chÅ jin" (天駆ã‘る超人) | February 25, 1992 |
| 2 | "The Lonely Warrior" "Kodoku no Senshi" (å¤ç‹¬ã®æˆ¦å£«) | March 3, 1992 |
| 3 | "The Defense Army's Ambition" "BÅeigun no yabÅ" (防衛è»ã®é‡Žæœ›) | March 10, 1992 |
| 4 | "Senseless Desertion in the face of the enemy" "RiyÅ«naki tekizentÅbÅ" (ç†ç”±ãªã敵å‰é€ƒäº¡) | March 17, 1992 |
| 5 | "Kill Me!" "Ore wo korose" (オレを殺ã›) | March 24, 1992 |
| 6 | "Tekk-set Impossible" "Tekkusetto funÅ" (テックセットä¸èƒ½) | March 31, 1992 |
| 7 | "Launch of the Mobile Unit Pegas" "KidÅhei Pegasu Hasshin" (機動兵ペガス発進) | April 7, 1992 |
| 8 | "The Mysterious War Correspondent" "Nazo no JÅ«gunkisha" (謎ã®å¾“è»è¨˜è€…) | April 14, 1992 |
| 9 | "Rescue! The Jupiter Crew" "Kyūshutsu! Mokusei Kurū" (救出! 木星クルー) | April 21, 1992 |
| 10 | "A Lullaby Echoing in War" "Senka ni hibiku komori uta" (戦ç«ã«éŸ¿ãå守æŒ) | April 28, 1992 |
| 11 | "The D-Boy File" "Dboui Fairu" (Dボウイファイル) | May 5, 1992 |
| 12 | "The Red Horror, Evil" "Akai Senritsu Ebiru" (赤ã„戦慄エビル) | May 12, 1992 |
| 13 | "Brothers of Destiny" "Shukumei no KyÅdai" (宿命ã®å…„弟) | May 19, 1992 |
| 14 | "Demon Tied by Blood" "Chi wo waketa akuma" (血をã‚ã‘ãŸæ‚ªé”) | May 26, 1992 |
| 15 | "The Evil Spirit Revives" "Majin yomikaeru" (é”神蘇る) | June 2, 1992 |
| 16 | "Portrait of Betrayal" "Uragiri no shÅzÅ" (è£åˆ‡ã‚Šã®è‚–åƒ) | June 9, 1992 |
| 17 | "Savior of Steel" "KÅtetsu no KyÅ«seishu" (鋼鉄ã®æ•‘世主) | June 16, 1992 |
| 18 | "The Price of Glory" "EikÅhe no daishÅ" (æ „å…‰ã¸ã®ä»£å„Ÿ) | June 23, 1992 |
| 19 | "Warrior With a Closed Heart" "Kokoro tozashita Senshi" (心閉ã–ã—ãŸæˆ¦å£«) | June 30, 1992 |
| 20 | "Resurrected! Transformation of Rage" "Fukkatsu! Ikari no Henshin" (復活! 怒りã®å¤‰èº«) | July 7, 1992 |
| 21 | "Premonition of Love and Death" "Ai to Shi no Yokan" (æ„›ã¨æ»ã®äºˆæ„Ÿ) | July 14, 1992 |
| 22 | "Miyuki's Decision" "Miyuki no Ketsui" (ミユã‚ã®æ±ºæ„) | July 21, 1992 |
| 23 | "The Scarred Reunion" "Kizu darake no saikai" (å‚·ã らã‘ã®å†ä¼š) | July 28, 1992 |
| 24 | "The Torn-Open Past" "Hiki sakareta kako" (引ã裂ã‹ã‚ŒãŸéŽåŽ») | August 4, 1992 |
| 25 | "New Demons" "Aratanaru Akuma" (æ–°ãŸãªã‚‹æ‚ªé”) | August 11, 1992 |
| 26 | "Battle to the Death" "Shi wo kaketa tatakai" (æ»ã‚’ã‹ã‘ãŸæˆ¦ã„) | August 18, 1992 |
| 27 | "Legacy for the Survivors" "Nokorishi monohe no Isan" (残りã—者ã¸ã®éºç”£) | August 25, 1992 |
| 28 | "The White Majin" "Shiroi Majin" (白ã„é”人) | September 1, 1992 |
| 29 | "A Boquet of Followers on the Battlefield" "Tatakai no noni Hanataba" (戦ã„ã®é‡Žã«èŠ±æŸã‚’) | September 8, 1992 |
| 30 | "Traces of Father" "Chichi no Omokage" (父ã®é¢å½±) | September 15, 1992 |
| 31 | "Town of Vengeance" "FukushÅ« no Machi" (復è®ã®è¡—) | September 22, 1992 |
| 32 | "The Girl Who Waits Impatiently" "Machiwabita ShÅjo" (å¾…ã¡ã‚ã³ãŸå°‘女) | September 29, 1992 |
| 33 | "Reunion in the Wilderness" "KÅya no Saikai" (è’野ã®å†ä¼š) | October 6, 1992 |
| 34 | "Brothers of Light and Shadow" "Hikari to Kage no KyÅdai" (å…‰ã¨å½±ã®å…„弟) | October 13, 1992 |
| 35 | "Enemy in the Fog" "Kiri no Naka no Teki" (霧ã®ä¸ã®æ•µ) | October 20, 1992 |
| 36 | "A Decisive Battle!! Axe" "Kessen!! Akkusu" (決戦!! アックス) | October 27, 1992 |
| 37 | "The Decayed Body" "Mushibamareta nikudai" (è•ã¾ã‚ŒãŸè‚‰ä½“) | November 3, 1992 |
| 38 | "Labyrinth of Death" "Shihe no meikyÅ«" (æ»ã¸ã®è¿·å®®) | November 10, 1992 |
| 39 | "Super Warrior Blaster" "ChÅ Senshi BurasutÄ" (超戦士ブラスター) | November 17, 1992 |
| 40 | "The Love and Struggle of Two People" "Ai to Tatakai no Ninin" (æ„›ã¨æˆ¦ã„ã®äºŒäºº) | November 24, 1992 |
| 41 | "Evil, The Resurrected Devil" "Ebiru Yomikaeru Akuma" (エビル·蘇る悪é”) | December 1, 1992 |
| 42 | "Clash! The Old Red Enemy" "Gekitotsu! Akai Jukuteki" (æ¿€çª! 赤ã„宿敵) | December 8, 1992 |
| 43 | "Bullet of Parting" "Ketsubetsu no jÅ«dan" (訣別ã®éŠƒå¼¾) | December 15, 1992 |
| 44 | "The Approaching Darkness" "Semari kuru Yami" (è¿«ã‚Šæ¥ã‚‹é—‡) | December 22, 1992 |
| 45 | "The Truth of the Invaders" "Shinjitsu no shinryakusha" (真実ã®ä¾µç•¥è€…) | January 5, 1993 |
| 46 | "The House Where Time Stood Still" "Toki no tomatta ie" (時ã®æ¢ã¾ã£ãŸå®¶) | January 12, 1993 |
| 47 | "The Fate of Darkness and Death" "Yami to Shi no Unmei" (é—‡ã¨æ»ã®é‹å‘½) | January 19, 1993 |
| 48 | "Heroic! Evil Dies" "SÅretsu! Ebiru Shisu" (壮烈! エビルæ»ã™) | January 26, 1993 |
| 49 | "Life Burns Out" "Moetsukiru inochi" (燃ãˆã¤ãる命) | February 2, 1993 |
Specials
| No. | English title Original Japanese title |
Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Burning Clock" "Moeta Tokei" (燃ãˆãŸæ™‚計) | |
| Burning Clock shows Shinya's life in a series of flashbacks, focusing on Shinya and Takaya's rivalry, how Shinya felt how his family viewed him, and how his mother died. | ||
| 2 | "Twin Blood" | |
| Twin Blood is a retelling of Blade and Evil's first battle with different character designs than the series. | ||
| 3 | "Missing Link" | |
| Missing Link is the prequel to Tekkaman Blade II, showing events such as the beginning of the second Radam war, Aki's transformation into the Red Tekkaman, the Tekkaman Rebellion of Prague, and the restoration of Blade's crystal. | ||
Tekkaman Blade II
Tekkaman Blade II (宇宙ã®é¨Žå£«ãƒ†ãƒƒã‚«ãƒžãƒ³ãƒ–レードII Uchu no Kishi Tekkaman BurÄ“do TsÅ«, lit. Space Knight Tekkaman Blade II) is a six-episode original video animation that was released in 1994 by Tatsunoko and serves as the sequel to the Tekkaman Blade anime series. The series was licensed by Discotek Media in 2012 for an uncut home media release on DVD format in English dubbed and English subtitled options.[4]
| No. | English title Original Japanese title |
Original air date[5] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Stage 1: The New Generation - Part 1" (Virgin Flush) (「VIRGIN-FLUSHã€) | July 21, 1994 |
| Three Space Knights are chosen to become Tekkamen. In space, the United Earth Fleet fights off another invasion by Radam. The Radam Tekkamen wipe out the fleet, sending missiles to Earth. This causes a problem during the Tekkaman evolution process for the three new cadets, and a computer error results in Yumi, instead of Natasha, receiving the Reactor Voltekka. The Space Knights attack the Radam, but are overpowered. When attempting to help them, Yumi uses the Reactor Voltekka and is unable to control its power, which leads to a disaster. | ||
| 2 | "Stage 1: The New Generation - Part 2" (Virgin Blood) (「VIRGIN-BLOODã€) | August 24, 1994 |
| Yumi goes through training in order to control the Reactor Voltekka. Radam hit the Space Knights' HQ. The Space Knights hold back out of mercy for the enemy. Aki joins the fight and kills the Radam Tekkamen. | ||
| 3 | "Stage 2: The Alien Intruder - Part 1" (Virgin Dream) (「VIRGIN-DREAMã€) | September 21, 1994 |
| Blade reappears and destroys a group of Radam. Yumi contends with Aki for D-Boy's love. | ||
| 4 | "Stage 2: The Alien Intruder - Part 2" (Dead-Boy) (「DEAD-BOYã€) | February 22, 1995 |
| Dead End makes his first appearance and defeats Blade in space. David tries to prevent this by attacking, but Dead End escapes. | ||
| 5 | "Stage 3: Final Encounter - Part 1" (Dirty Night) (「DIRTY-NIGHTã€) | March 24, 1995 |
| David befriends Dead and remembers the events of Black September. Noal is revealed to have been apprehended by the military police supporting the General. His ultimate fate is unknown. | ||
| 6 | "Stage 3: Final Encounter - Part 2" (Dangerous Boys) (「DANGEROUS-BOYSã€) | April 21, 1995 |
| Blade battles Dead in a final showdown. | ||
Related media
Video games
A video game based on the anime series titled Uchū no Kishi: Tekkaman Blade was released for the Super Famicom on July 30, 1993. The majority of the game is a scrolling shooter where the player takes control of Tekkaman Blade. Boss battles hold elements of a fighting game genre. There is also a two player versus mode.
Tekkaman Blade is also a playable character in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ "Yumiko Kosaka - Reason / Energy of Love". anime-music.info. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
- ↑ "More on Tekkaman Blade - News". Anime News Network. 2006-02-08. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
- ↑ 宇宙ã®é¨Žå£«ãƒ†ãƒƒã‚«ãƒžãƒ³ãƒ–レード. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Discotek Licenses Tekkaman Blade II Anime - News". Anime News Network. 2012-08-13. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
- ↑ 宇宙ã®é¨Žå£«ãƒ†ãƒƒã‚«ãƒžãƒ³ãƒ–レードⅡ. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
- ↑ "The 28 characters of Tatsunoko vs Capcom". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
External links
- Space Knight: Tekkaman Blade
- Tekkaman Blade (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
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