Tekkaman Blade

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Tekkaman Blade
DVD cover of Teknoman collection one
宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレード (Uchū no Kishi Tekkaman Burēdo)
Genre	Adventure, drama, science fiction
Anime television series
Directed by	Hiroshi Negishi
Written by	Mayori Sekijima Satoru Akahori
Music by	Kaoru Wada
Studio	Tatsunoko Productions
Licensed by	NA BVS Entertainment (UPN TV version) Media Blasters (Uncut and International dub versions)
Original network	TV Tokyo
English network	AU Network Ten US UPN (UPN Kids)
Original run	February 18, 1992 – February 2, 1993
Episodes	50 (Uncut version) 43 (Saban version)
Original video animation
Directed by	Hideki Tonokatsu
Written by	Akihiko Ureshino (Twin Blood) Hideki Tonokatsu (Burning Clock, Missing Link)
Music by	Kaoru Wada
Studio	Tatsunoko Productions
Released	1998
Episodes	3
Game
Uchū no Kishi: Tekkaman Blade
Developer	Bec
Publisher	Bec Yutaka (Game Boy)
Genre	Scrolling shooter/fighting (SNES) Platform (Game Boy)
Platform	Game Boy, Super Famicom, NEC PC-9801
Released	July 30, 1993
Original video animation
Tekkaman Blade II
Directed by	Hideki Tonokatsu
Produced by	Kyouko Okazaki Shuuji Uchiyama
Written by	Hiroyuki Kawasaki
Music by	Takashi Kudoh
Studio	Tatsunoko Productions
Licensed by	NA Urban Vision (former) Discotek Media
Released	July 21, 1994 – April 21, 1995
Runtime	30 minutes
Episodes	6
Manga
Written by	Noritaka Suzuki
Published by	MediaWorks
Imprint	Media Comics
Magazine	Comic Comp
Demographic	Shōnen
Published	1994
Manga
Tekkaman Blade II
Written by	Rei Nakahara
Published by	MediaWorks
Imprint	Media Comics
Demographic	Shōnen
Published	1995
Anime and manga portal

Tekkaman Blade (Japanese: 宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレード, Hepburn: Uchū no Kishi Tekkaman Burēdo, lit. "Space Knight Tekkaman Blade") is a 1992 Japanese anime television series produced by Tatsunoko Productions 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 the Radam. The Space Knights are assisted by Takaya Aiba, who has the ability to transform into an armored warrior known as Tekkaman Blade.

The first series, of 50 episodes (including episode 0), aired in Japan from February 18, 1992 to February 2, 1993 on TV Tokyo. This was followed by two 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 a series of six Japanese original video animation (OVA) releases 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 internationally, including North America and was dubbed in English as Teknoman.^[1] In the English-dubbed versions, the series was heavily cut compared to the original Japanese version and shortened from 50 to 43 episodes.

Plot[]

Tekkaman Blade[]

In the United Earth Year 192, Earth is under attack from an alien race known as the Radam, which consists of bug-like monsters and armored warriors known as Tekkamen. The Radam's spaceship lies dormant on the dark side of the Moon where the Radam wait for it to be repaired.

Fighting against the Radam is a special defense force called the Space Knights. The group consists of Heinrich von Freeman, the group's commander; Noal Vereuse, the pilot of the Space Knights' ship Blue Earth; Aki Kirasagi, the Blue Earth's navigator; Milly, the communications operator; Levin, a computer mechanic; and Honda, the group's mechanic.

Before the start of the Radam invasion, the exploration ship Argos discovered the dormant Radam spaceship in the outer rings of Saturn. While exploring the ship, the crew were captured by pods and converted into Tekkamen. Before he was fully converted, Takaya Aiba (Tekkaman Blade) was freed by his father and placed into an escape pod; his father then activated the Argos' self-destruct. The Radam crashed on the Moon and began their attacks on Earth.

After spending six months drifting toward Earth, Blade bursts free from his escape pod and attacks the Radam forces, entering into a fight with Tekkaman Dagger (Fritz von Braun). After the fight, Blade crashes on Earth and is found by Noal and Aki, who take him back to their headquarters. Blade is initially hostile towards the Space Knights, but as time progresses, he begins to respect them for their dedication and develops a romantic interest in Aki. With Blade's help, the Space Knights begin to repel the Radam until Blade's transformation crystal is shattered during a battle with Dagger. Levin develops a battle robot named Pegas which houses the shards of Blade's crystal and enables him to transform again. In his first transformation using Pegas, Blade challenges Dagger and kills him.

Meanwhile, Earth's belligerent military leader, General Colbert, becomes obsessed with acquiring the Tekkaman armor for his own use. He attempts to attack the Space Knight's base during an emergency, but is forced to withdraw by order of Earth's President. He later sends in the spy Balzac Asimov, posing as a journalist, to infiltrate the Space Knights. Balzac acquires data on the Tekkaman armor system and Earth's military create their own Tekkamen armor, which are worn by Balzac and Noal.

Four more Tekkamen — Tekkaman Lance (Molotov), Tekkaman Axe (Goddard), Tekkaman Sword (Hun-Ri) and Tekkaman Evil (Takaya's twin brother Shinya) — arrive on Earth to challenge Blade. Tekkaman Rapier (Takaya's younger sister Miyuki) also arrives on Earth, but like Blade she is not under the Radam's control. Evil, Lance, Axe, and Sword attack the Space Knights' base and attempt to kill Rapier. Although outnumbered, Rapier self-destructs in an attempt to destroy the four Tekkamen. Blade manages to kill Lance and Axe and he later gains the power to attain Blaster Tekkaman mode, although he loses more of his memories whenever he uses it. Evil is given the same ability as the last line of defense for the Radam's leader, Tekkaman Omega.

At the end of the war, Blade and Evil meet for the last time, where Blade kills Evil after a long fight. As he dies, Evil is freed from the Radam's mind control. Balzac kills Sword and they both burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

Blade takes Pegas to the Moon, where he confronts Omega, who reveals that he is Takaya's older brother Kengo. Omega launches the repaired Radam spaceship and heads for Earth. Blade attacks Omega, who easily defeats him. 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. As a result, Blade is left bound to a wheelchair and is completely amnesiac, cared for by Aki.

Tekkaman Blade II[]

This six-episode series is set ten years after the original series and a new group of Space Knights confront the Radham. The group features Yumi Francois, Aki, Natasha, David and their mysterious leader, D-Boy. Tekkaman Blade joins them to fight the sinister alien enemy, but things become complicated by the appearance of Dead End. He blames the Space Knights for the destruction of the Tekk-plant at Praha after it was captured by revolutionary generic Tekkamen. See individual episode summaries below.

Episodes[]

Tekkaman Blade[]

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Tekkaman Blade was broadcast in Japan on TV Tokyo and 50 episodes were aired between February 18, 1992 and February 2, 1993.^{[citation needed]} It uses four pieces of theme music: two opening themes and two ending themes.^{[citation needed]} The first opening theme is "Reason" by Yumiko Kosaka, which is used from the first through twenty-seventh episodes. The second opening theme is "Eternal Loneliness" (永遠の孤独) by Yumiko Kosaka, which is used from the twenty-eighth episode onwards.^{[citation needed]} The first and second ending themes are "Energy of Love" and "Lonely Heart" respectively, both performed by Kosaka.^{[citation needed]}

In 1995, the series was dubbed in English by Saban Entertainment for UPN Kids, under the name Teknoman. Their dub featured a new theme song and background score by Ron Wasserman (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, X-Men, Dragon Ball Z). The American broadcast version was heavily cut compared to the original Japanese version and shortened from 50 episodes to 43.^{[citation needed]} Saban's dub also aired in Australia during 1996 and 1997, on Network Ten's Cheez TV morning cartoon block.

The series was licensed by Media Blasters Entertainment, through its AnimeWorks label in 2006, with separate boxsets for Teknoman and Tekkaman Blade.^[2]

The rights to the edited Saban/UPN Kids TV dub version of Teknoman was owned by Disney Enterprises thru BVS Entertainment, after Disney acquired the Fox Family/Fox Kids Worldwide franchise in 2001, while Media Blasters/AnimeWorks owns the rights to the International dub of Teknoman in 2006, after they released this dub, along with the uncut Tekkaman Blade on Region 1 DVD.

The character names were altered for the English-dubbed Teknoman release: Blade's "D-Boy" nickname was dropped in favor of "Blade" (in the edited UPN TV version, it was changed to "Slade") and his full name "Takaya Aiba" became "Nick Carter". Similarly, "Commander Heinrich von Freeman" became "Commander Jamison", "Noel" became "Ringo Richards", "Aki" became "Star Summers", "Milly" became "Tina Corman", "Levin" (an effeminate male in the original Japanese version) became the female "Maggie Matheson", "Honda" became "Mack", and "Miyuki" became "Shara". The "Radam" were now called "Venemoids" and their leader "Omega" became "Darkon".

In January 2016, the series was released as a remastered Blu-Ray boxset in Japan. The set contains all 50 episodes of the first series and all 6 episodes of the second series, as well as the OVA specials from the laserdiscs, an unreleased episode entitled "Virgin Memory", and a new video interview with Toshiyuki Morikawa.^[3]

Specials[]

These OVA specials were originally included in the Crystal Box laserdisc set and later included as special features for the DVD and Blu-Ray releases.

Tekkaman Blade II[]

Tekkaman Blade II (宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレードII, Uchu no Kishi Tekkaman Burēdo Tsū, lit. Space Knight Tekkaman Blade II ) is a six-episode original video animation (OVA) that was released in 1994 by Tatsunoko and serves as a sequel to the Tekkaman Blade anime series. The series was originally licensed by Urban Vision on VHS in 1998 and later released on DVD in 2001,^[5] before later being picked up by Discotek Media in 2012 for an uncut home-media release on DVD and Blu-Ray format, with English dubbing and subtitles as options.^[6] The series aired on Starz Encore's Action Anime programming block in 1999.^[7]

See also[]

• Tekkaman: The Space Knight

References[]

External links[]

• Space Knight: Tekkaman Blade
• Tekno-Mania
• Tekkaman Blade (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia