Crush Gear Turbo
Encyclopedia
, also known just as Crush Gear, is an anime
and manga
series. The anime series, produced by Sunrise
, spanned 68 episodes, aired across Japan
on the anime television network Animax
, from October 7, 2001 to January 26, 2003. It was followed on by a sequel, Crush Gear Nitro, which has also been aired across Japan by Animax
. Crush Gear Turbo was about people who threw mechanical vehicles into a large ring to fight and "crush" each other. Magna Pacific
released Crush Gear Turbo in English
in Australia
.
and director Shūji Iuchi
's experience on Mashin Hero Wataru
in the formation of Crush Gear Turbo.
Furusato intended for the creators of the series to "encourage children to think and place on value on things like friendship and trust in others" and for the series to express deepening human relationships. He added that the series "got kind of a Heisei Era [1989-present] "Kyojin no Hoshi
" and "Ashita no Joe
" feeling to it" and that the current generation of children "are fundamentally a more cheerful lot and go in for a bit of a slapstick flavor."
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series. The anime series, produced by Sunrise
Sunrise (company)
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...
, spanned 68 episodes, aired across Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on the anime television network Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
, from October 7, 2001 to January 26, 2003. It was followed on by a sequel, Crush Gear Nitro, which has also been aired across Japan by Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
. Crush Gear Turbo was about people who threw mechanical vehicles into a large ring to fight and "crush" each other. Magna Pacific
Magna Pacific
Magna Pacific is a leading independent film and home entertainment distributor headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, operating within Australia and New Zealand...
released Crush Gear Turbo in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Japanese Cast
- Megumi MatsumotoMegumi Matsumoto
is a Japanese voice actress who works for Ken Production.-Notable voice roles:*Dinobreaker *Gakuen Alice *Ga-Rei Zero *Gekitou! Crush Gear Turbo...
-
- Naotake FurusatoNaotake Furusatois an anime producer. Furusato produced Crush Gear Turbo and Gear Fighter Dendoh.-External links:...
, the producer of Crush Gear Turbo, said that the creators "lost a lot of sleep over" trying to name the main character. Furusato credits Shūji IuchiShuji Iuchiis a director of anime series. Iuchi directed Crush Gear Turbo, Mashin Hero Wataru, Mashin Hero Wataru 2, Cho Mashin Hero Wataru, and several other series.-External links:...
, the director, with the final naming. The creators decided to use "Kouya" as the name "had a ring to it like brothers would have and that made it kind of realistic" and that the name literally means "wilderness" and "sounded right for a main character." Furusato added that the name "Kouya" made him want to see the character "grow up big and strong." - Kenji NojimaKenji Nojimais a Japanese seiyū who was born in Tokyo. He is employed by Japanese voice talent agency Aoni Production. He is the son of veteran seiyū Akio Nojima and is the younger brother of seiyū Hirofumi Nojima... - Furusato said that Yuya's name was decided on early in the production. - Akira SasanumaAkira Sasanumais a Japanese voice actor who is a member of Arts Vision.-Notable voice roles:*Crush Gear Turbo *Gundam Seed *Gundam Seed Destiny...
- Furusato described the name "Manganji" as having "an image of wealth" - He added that "Japanese people are suckers for names that end in "ji"! (laughs)" - Masato Amada - Chika SakamotoChika Sakamotois a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo affiliated with Arts Vision.-Television animation:*Baby and Me *Ashita no Nadja *Legend of the Mystical Ninja *Fighting Foodons *Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ...
- Naomi Shindoh - Furusato said that the name originates from a samurai in the Edo PeriodEdo periodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
. - Michiko NeyaMichiko Neyais a female Japanese voice actress born in Echizen, Fukui . Neya is a freelancer, although she worked at Arts Vision.-Anime:*Aka-chan to Boku *Cardcaptor Sakura *Chrono Crusade...
- Naotake Furusato
- Kaoru Hanano- Akemi KandaAkemi Kandais a Japanese voice actress who is affiliated with Aoni Production. She was formerly a member of the voice actor unit DROPS, which included fellow voice actors Ai Nonaka, Tomoko Kaneda, Mariko Kōda, and Ryōko Shiraishi, and of the voice actor unit Aice5 along with Yui Horie, Chiaki Takahashi,...
- Mitsuke Ohmori - Yumi KakazuYumi Kakazuis a female seiyū from Kamifukuoka, Saitama . She is currently affiliated with Genki Project...
- Sayaka AidaSayaka Aidais a Japanese voice actress who is affiliated with the Arts Vision management company. She's originally from the Metropolitan Tokyo Area. Her maiden name is .- Anime Series :* Monkey Typhoon * Onmyō Taisenki...
- Kousuke OkanoKousuke Okanois a Japanese voice actor often featured on Japanese anime television network Animax as narrator along with fellow voice actor Yukari Tamura.-Notable voice roles:*Taichi Miyamoto in Bleach*Recca Hanabishi in Flame of Recca*Russell Tringum in Fullmetal Alchemist...
- Yuu Asakawa - Makiko Ohmoto - Carlos "U-YA" Williams - Omi MinamiOmi Minamiis a Japanese voice actor. She is mostly known for her work in anime and video game roles.-Notable anime voice roles:*Tama *Shimajirō Shimano *Euphemia Li Britannia...
- Sean Firestone - Tetsuya IwanagaTetsuya Iwanagais a Japanese voice actor. As of April 1, 2009, he is affiliated with maxmix.-Notable voice roles:*Kensuke Aida in Neon Genesis Evangelion*Makoto Mizuhara in El-Hazard*Imaichi in Fancy Lala*Tomite in Fushigi Yūgi...
Staff
- Director - Shūji IuchiShuji Iuchiis a director of anime series. Iuchi directed Crush Gear Turbo, Mashin Hero Wataru, Mashin Hero Wataru 2, Cho Mashin Hero Wataru, and several other series.-External links:...
- Series Writer - Fuyunori Gobu, Shūji Iuchi, Hiroaki Kitajima, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Noboru Kimura, Shin Yoshida, Shino Hakata
- Character Design - Atsuo Tobe
- Mecha Designer - Kunio Okawara & Kimitoshi Yamane
- Music Composer - JAM Project, Kenichi Sudo, Yogo Kono
Theme songs
- "CRUSH GEAR FIGHT!!" by JAM ProjectJAM ProjectJAM Project is an anime music genre "supergroup" based in Japan, originally founded on July 19, 2000 by famous 1970s theme song artist Ichirou Mizuki...
- "Ai da yo ne!! ~Gear wo tsunagou~" by JAM Project
- "Kaze no EAGLE" by JAM Project
Production
Planning for Crush Gear Turbo began in March 2001, with intent to begin airing in October 2001. Naotake Furusato, the producer of Crush Gear Turbo, received a toy car prototype that used two AA batteries and a motor. The toy car operated in circles instead of straight lines, and operators could cause them to collide with one another. Furusato used this concept to develop Crush Gear Turbo. According to Furusato the show was the first Sunrise production to "genuinely adopt the use of 3D graphics." Furusato added that the 3D rendering allowed the animators to "brilliantly express the stage presence of the Gear Fights" and incorporate effects not in real-life toy gears such as fireworks and smoke. According to Furusato 3D Production Chief told Furusato that, because there are some elements that may only be expressed in 3D, the series ought to use 3D "to full effect." Furusato concluded that this caused the battle scenes to appear "a little bit unique." Furusato credited the customization and element attributes in each gear to Sunrise's "already well-established know-how." In addition the producer credited his own experience on Gear Fighter DendohGear Fighter Dendoh
is an anime series that aired in Japan. It ran for 38 episodes, from October 4, 2000 to June 27, 2001, on the TV Tokyo network and its affiliates.-Overview:...
and director Shūji Iuchi
Shuji Iuchi
is a director of anime series. Iuchi directed Crush Gear Turbo, Mashin Hero Wataru, Mashin Hero Wataru 2, Cho Mashin Hero Wataru, and several other series.-External links:...
's experience on Mashin Hero Wataru
Mashin Hero Wataru
is a comedy/adventure Super Robot multimedia franchise originally consisting of 45 episode anime series created by Sunrise first aired on April 15, 1988. Sunrise credited "Hajime Yatate" for the storyline and Shuji Iuchi directed the series...
in the formation of Crush Gear Turbo.
Furusato intended for the creators of the series to "encourage children to think and place on value on things like friendship and trust in others" and for the series to express deepening human relationships. He added that the series "got kind of a Heisei Era [1989-present] "Kyojin no Hoshi
Star of the Giants
is a sports manga written by Ikki Kajiwara and drawn by Noboru Kawasaki. It was adapted as the first sports anime television series broadcast in Japan, in 1968. It later spawned 2 anime sequels and different anime movies....
" and "Ashita no Joe
Tomorrow's Joe
is a critically acclaimed boxing manga written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Tetsuya Chiba in 1968 that was later adapted into an anime series and movie. It is most commonly referred to as Ashita no Joe. Outside Japan it is also referred to as Rocky Joe or Joe...
" feeling to it" and that the current generation of children "are fundamentally a more cheerful lot and go in for a bit of a slapstick flavor."