Medabots
Encyclopedia
Medabots, known in Japan
as , is a role-playing
video game franchise developed by Natsume and published by Imagineer in Japan in 1997. The video game franchise was later adapted into a Japanese anime
television series produced by Bee Train
. Spanning 52 episodes, the series originally aired on TV Tokyo
from July 2, 1999 until June 30, 2000. Medarot Damashii, a thirty-nine episode sequel to the anime series that was produced by Production I.G, aired from July 7, 2000 through March 30, 2001. Both the series and its sequel are licensed by Nelvana
. The Nelvana English dubbed
version of Medabots on the Fox Kids
network from September 1, 2001 through November 2, 2002 and was one of the channel's highest rated new series at the time. Medarot Damashii followed a year later, airing from September 13, 2003 until March 7, 2004.
A manga
series, written by Horumarin was also produced by the series. It was serialized in the shōnen
magazine Comic Bom Bom
in Japan and then published into collected volumes
by Kodansha
. The manga based on the first game, Medarot, was never translated into English. The manga based on the sequel, Medarot 2, was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media
, simply under the title Medabots. Further sequels Medarot 3, Medarot 4, Medarot 5, Medarot G, and spin-off manga Medarotter Rintarō and Medarot Navi were never licensed for release in the US. Medarot 2, 3, and 4 have, however, been translated into English for distribution in Singapore
by Chuang Yi
.
Several video games have been released for multiple platforms, including Nintendo GameCube
, Game Boy
, Game Boy Advance
, and Nintendo DS
.
The series begins with a ten year old boy named Ikki Tenryō, who wants to become a champion of the World Robattle Tournament. However, Ikki is unable to afford a Medabot, and his parents refuse to buy him one. However, he manages to get enough money to buy an outdated model, and, with a bit of luck, he finds a medal in a river. Ikki quickly inserts it into the Medabot he purchased named Metabee. The only problem is that the medal he found gives Metabee a severe attitude problem (a problem rarely seen in a Medabot), which leads Ikki to think he is defective. However, this theory is proven wrong later in the series, as it is revealed that Metabee actually has a "rare" medal.
The rare medals, as mentioned earlier, were kept secret by the Medabot Corporation, as very little was known about them. However, a Medabot with a rare medal would be able to call upon an attack called the "Medaforce". In the manga, the Medaforce is a form of medal mind control, as explained by Dr. Aki in the third graphic novel of Medabots. In the cartoon however, it is shown as a way of increasing the power of the Medabot's special skill. As well as kill other bots.
Another important aspect is the story of Henry, the store clerk who sold Ikki Metabee. We find out that he is, quite obviously, Phantom Renegade. A running gag of series was Henry almost telling everyone he is The Phantom, with no one ever discovering this fact. We are then introduced to Space Medafighter X, who is another one of Henry's secret identities, the number one medafighter in Japan. Later, during the World Finals, he rarely shows up to the fights, instead sending substitutes and working behind the scenes. This being because he supposedly started The Ten Days of Darkness, which occurred eight years before the events in the series during the World Robattle Cup when Henry fought as Hikaru Agata with the original Metabee ( however, the medal was different). The Medabots went on a rampage during the Ten Days of Darkness, which stopped when Hikaru Agata was forced to kill his Medabot by destroying his medal.
At the end of the second season, it is revealed that Victor (a medafighter for Team Kenya and Warbandit's owner) was helping Dr. Meta-evil to get medals during the tournament. During the finals, Metabee and Warbandit continue to fight, even with their partners lost and their bodies damaged. It is during this event that Dr. Meta-evil starts his plan using Metabee and Warbandit's medals; trapping them both in a dream. However, Ikki manages to get Metabee to wake up from the dream, while the other medabots, free now, help Metabee to fight against Dr. Meta-evil. Ikki must also stop the plans of the nefarious "RubberRobo Gang".
However, supporting characters such as Henry, Rokusho, Koji, Rintaro, Karin, Mr. Referee and the Chick Salesman do not appear in the sequel.
is a Medabot belonging to Ikki Tenryou. Metabee is a beetle
type Medabot, specializing in revolver tactics. He possesses a rare medal that allows him to access the Medaforce. Metabee is known to be quite aggressive and stubborn, and often causes problems due to his headstrong personality. He is often disobedient to his owner Ikki, but he shares a close bond with him, and so Ikki trusts him deeply. In the English version he is voiced by Joseph Motiki
.
that Natsume developed and Imagineer released in Japan in 1997 to the Game Boy
handheld gaming system on November 28, 1997. A remake of the game, Medarot: Perfect Edition, was released to the WonderSwan
on May 4, 1999.
Natsume and Imagineer have released and re-released several video games tied to Metabots. Medabots AX: Metabee Version, released in the United States on March 31, 2003, is a Game Boy Advance
fighting game that features characters from the anime series. Medabots Infinity
is another role-playing game for the Nintendo GameCube
developed by Victor Interactive. It was released in Japan on November 28, 2003 and in the United States on December 11, 2003.
Medarot Navi, based on the manga and anime, changed the plot of the original series. The story is about Kasumi, a teenage boy who lost his Medabot when he was a child. While visiting his old and abandoned school, Kasumi finds an abandoned medal. Thinking that it could bring his Medabot Metabee back, he places the new medal into his old medabot skeleton. Unfortunately, that new medal gives Metabee a stubborn and aggressive personality. Also, a Medabot named Baketsumaru (an advanced KWG model) and his Medafighter, a teenage girl, are well informed about Metabee's awakening.
In the September issue of Famitsu
, Rocket Company, Imagineer and Natsume revealed a new Medabot game titled for the Nintendo DS
. The game is considered as the sequel to the Gameboy Advance series with newer character designed and new versions and designs of all Medabots in the series. There will be two versions, Kabuto and Kuwagata, where the version decides the player's starting Medabot. In the Kabuto version, the player gets the rhinoceros beetle-type Gun-Nose, who specializes in shooting attacks. In Kuwagata, the player gets the stag beetle-type Sanjuro who specializes in close-range combat. The story revolves on the boy named Azuma Amakura, who somehow is introduced to the world of robattling with a KBT or a KWG-type Medabot. For doing so, he is given to a cellphone where he can install an application called the Medarotch, known in English as Medawatch, which can hold information about his Medabot. These special cellphones, though, are developed by four different companies. Other characters confirmed are Sakura Ooshima, Chitose Asakusa, Nut Daitoku and Taruto Benii. Azuma will have a rival, called Kohaku Himuro, who seems to be using a new STG (in the Kabuto Version) or KLN (in the Kuwagata Version) type Medabot. It has also been revealed that the Roborobo Gang will return as the player's main antagonist.
Characters from the older series will make their return in the game including Ikki Tenryou, who now owns ArcBeetle since Metabee took a new KBT body. Arika Amazake and Nae Akihabara were also confirmed as well. The game's release date was on May 27, 2010.
. Produced by Bee Train
, the fifty-two episode series originally aired on TV Tokyo
from July 2, 1999 until June 30, 2000. A thirty-nine episode sequel to the anime series that was produced by Production I.G, Medarot Damashii aired from September 19, 2003 through March 7, 2004. Both the series are licensed by Nelvana. The Nelvana English dubbed
version of Medabots aired on the Fox Kids
network from September 1, 2001 through November 2, 2002 and was one of the channel's highest rated new series at the time. Medarot Damashii followed a year later, airing from September 13, 2003 until March 7, 2004.
In 2007, Shout! Factory
announced that they will be releasing the first two seasons of Medabots to Region 1 DVD, containing the English dub only. The Japanese version has received a VHS and DVD release of the first series, while Medabots Souls has only received a VHS release. On January 29, 2010, a Region 2 boxset release known as MEDAROT DVD BOX 1 was released containing the first thirty episodes, with a second boxset on February 19 finishing with the last twenty-two episodes. Two boxsets for Medabots Souls will be released on December 30, 2010. This will be Souls very first DVD release.
magazine Comic Bom Bom
in Japan and then published in four volumes
by Kodansha
. The series was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media
.
Four sequel series followed, all written by Horumarin and published Kodansha. The two volumes of Medabots 3 were released in Japan in December 2000 and April 2001. Medabots 4 followed later in 2001. The first volume of Medabots 5 was released in July 2002, but the second volume was not released until August 2007. Medabots G, a sequel to Metabots 5, was released in 2003.
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...
as , is a role-playing
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
video game franchise developed by Natsume and published by Imagineer in Japan in 1997. The video game franchise was later adapted into a Japanese anime
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....
television series produced by Bee Train
Bee Train
, commonly referred simply as Bee Train, is a Japanese animation studio founded by Kōichi Mashimo in 1997. Since their involvement with Noir, .hack//Sign, and Madlax they have a strong following in the yuri fandom for being involved in series portraying strong female leads with speculatively...
. Spanning 52 episodes, the series originally aired on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
from July 2, 1999 until June 30, 2000. Medarot Damashii, a thirty-nine episode sequel to the anime series that was produced by Production I.G, aired from July 7, 2000 through March 30, 2001. Both the series and its sequel are licensed by Nelvana
Nelvana
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
. The Nelvana English dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
version of Medabots on the Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
network from September 1, 2001 through November 2, 2002 and was one of the channel's highest rated new series at the time. Medarot Damashii followed a year later, airing from September 13, 2003 until March 7, 2004.
A 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, written by Horumarin was also produced by the series. It was serialized in the shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
magazine Comic Bom Bom
Comic Bom Bom
was a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Kodansha and targeted at elementary school boys. Each issue had 700+ pages, with 80 of them being full-color advertisements. Similar to its rival CoroCoro Comic, it featured tie-ins with game makers and toy makers but toward the end of its run had...
in Japan and then published into collected volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
. The manga based on the first game, Medarot, was never translated into English. The manga based on the sequel, Medarot 2, was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
, simply under the title Medabots. Further sequels Medarot 3, Medarot 4, Medarot 5, Medarot G, and spin-off manga Medarotter Rintarō and Medarot Navi were never licensed for release in the US. Medarot 2, 3, and 4 have, however, been translated into English for distribution in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
by Chuang Yi
Chuang Yi
Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd. is a publishing company based in Singapore that specializes in producing domestic and imported comics and comics-related merchandise, in English and simplified Chinese. Chuang Yi distributes all or some of its products in Singapore, Malaysia, India, and the Philippines...
.
Several video games have been released for multiple platforms, including Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
, Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, and Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
.
Plot
The series centers around Medabots, artificially intelligent robots, whose purpose is to serve humans. Later in the series, Medabots are found to be actually thousands of years old; remnants of an ancient civilization who called themselves Medalorians. The Medalorians were obsessed with war, and to become more effective warriors they fastened metal armor to themselves. However, their wars decimated the civilization, and the survivors coded their memories onto hexagonial pieces of metal. These, "Medals", cloned and mass produced by the Medabot Corporation (a corporation founded by Dr. Aki), are the Medabot equivalent of a brain and soul. The original medals, referred to as "rare" medals, are kept in storage because of the extreme power they have.The series begins with a ten year old boy named Ikki Tenryō, who wants to become a champion of the World Robattle Tournament. However, Ikki is unable to afford a Medabot, and his parents refuse to buy him one. However, he manages to get enough money to buy an outdated model, and, with a bit of luck, he finds a medal in a river. Ikki quickly inserts it into the Medabot he purchased named Metabee. The only problem is that the medal he found gives Metabee a severe attitude problem (a problem rarely seen in a Medabot), which leads Ikki to think he is defective. However, this theory is proven wrong later in the series, as it is revealed that Metabee actually has a "rare" medal.
The rare medals, as mentioned earlier, were kept secret by the Medabot Corporation, as very little was known about them. However, a Medabot with a rare medal would be able to call upon an attack called the "Medaforce". In the manga, the Medaforce is a form of medal mind control, as explained by Dr. Aki in the third graphic novel of Medabots. In the cartoon however, it is shown as a way of increasing the power of the Medabot's special skill. As well as kill other bots.
Another important aspect is the story of Henry, the store clerk who sold Ikki Metabee. We find out that he is, quite obviously, Phantom Renegade. A running gag of series was Henry almost telling everyone he is The Phantom, with no one ever discovering this fact. We are then introduced to Space Medafighter X, who is another one of Henry's secret identities, the number one medafighter in Japan. Later, during the World Finals, he rarely shows up to the fights, instead sending substitutes and working behind the scenes. This being because he supposedly started The Ten Days of Darkness, which occurred eight years before the events in the series during the World Robattle Cup when Henry fought as Hikaru Agata with the original Metabee ( however, the medal was different). The Medabots went on a rampage during the Ten Days of Darkness, which stopped when Hikaru Agata was forced to kill his Medabot by destroying his medal.
At the end of the second season, it is revealed that Victor (a medafighter for Team Kenya and Warbandit's owner) was helping Dr. Meta-evil to get medals during the tournament. During the finals, Metabee and Warbandit continue to fight, even with their partners lost and their bodies damaged. It is during this event that Dr. Meta-evil starts his plan using Metabee and Warbandit's medals; trapping them both in a dream. However, Ikki manages to get Metabee to wake up from the dream, while the other medabots, free now, help Metabee to fight against Dr. Meta-evil. Ikki must also stop the plans of the nefarious "RubberRobo Gang".
Medarot Damashii (Medabots Spirit)
Medarot Damashii, a sequel to the original series, follows Kam Kamazaki, a twelve year old boy who has designed one of the most dangerous medabots in the entire story, called Kilobots (or Death Medarot, in the Japanese version). These medabots have no feelings, since the emotion part of the Medabot medal has been removed, and more strength parts have been replaced instead, and can break the rules in order to win a fight. In the first episode, Ikki loses a Robattle against one when it cheats and reloads. But he soon meets Nae, a Medabot mechanic who gives Ikki new medaparts in order to defeat the kilobot. As the series passes, the audience is introduced to new characters, such as Ginkai, the "bad" boy who in the future episodes becomes good.However, supporting characters such as Henry, Rokusho, Koji, Rintaro, Karin, Mr. Referee and the Chick Salesman do not appear in the sequel.
Characters
- Ikki Tenryou (天領イッキ Tenryō Ikki), is a lively and easygoing boy, although a bit timid. At first Ikki is unable to afford a Medabot. But after finding a medal in a river, he manages to buy a model, which is named Metabee. However, the medal he found appears to be defective, as Metabee is stubborn and disobedient. In spite of this, a strong bond grows between them after several robattles. Though Ikki is not a full-fledged Medafighter, he gradually matures through the Robattles he engages in. He is voiced by Samantha Reynolds in the English translation, also voiced by Deborah WalleyDeborah WalleyDeborah Walley was an American actress.-Biographical Information:Deborah Walley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Ice Capades skating stars and choreographers Nathan and Edith Walley. She attended Central High School in Bridgeport. At fourteen she was playing summer-stock theatre. She...
in the anime film.
is a Medabot belonging to Ikki Tenryou. Metabee is a beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
type Medabot, specializing in revolver tactics. He possesses a rare medal that allows him to access the Medaforce. Metabee is known to be quite aggressive and stubborn, and often causes problems due to his headstrong personality. He is often disobedient to his owner Ikki, but he shares a close bond with him, and so Ikki trusts him deeply. In the English version he is voiced by Joseph Motiki
Joseph Motiki
Joseph "Joe" Frederick Motiki is a Canadian television host and performer.Motiki was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario and graduated in 1995 from the Radio & Television Arts program at Ryerson University. While an undergraduate at Ryerson, Motiki beat out 350 hopefuls to become the host of What,...
.
Video games
Medarot: Kuwagata Version (also available in a Kabuto Version), which started the Medabots series, is a role-playing gameRole-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
that Natsume developed and Imagineer released in Japan in 1997 to the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
handheld gaming system on November 28, 1997. A remake of the game, Medarot: Perfect Edition, was released to the WonderSwan
WonderSwan
was a line of handheld game consoles produced in Japan by Bandai between 1999 and 2003. It was developed by the late Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto and Bandai...
on May 4, 1999.
Natsume and Imagineer have released and re-released several video games tied to Metabots. Medabots AX: Metabee Version, released in the United States on March 31, 2003, is a Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
fighting game that features characters from the anime series. Medabots Infinity
Medabots Infinity
Medabots Infinity is a role-playing video game published in 2003 by Natsume, and developed by Victor Interactive. The game is based on the Medabots series....
is another role-playing game for the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
developed by Victor Interactive. It was released in Japan on November 28, 2003 and in the United States on December 11, 2003.
Medarot Navi, based on the manga and anime, changed the plot of the original series. The story is about Kasumi, a teenage boy who lost his Medabot when he was a child. While visiting his old and abandoned school, Kasumi finds an abandoned medal. Thinking that it could bring his Medabot Metabee back, he places the new medal into his old medabot skeleton. Unfortunately, that new medal gives Metabee a stubborn and aggressive personality. Also, a Medabot named Baketsumaru (an advanced KWG model) and his Medafighter, a teenage girl, are well informed about Metabee's awakening.
In the September issue of Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
, Rocket Company, Imagineer and Natsume revealed a new Medabot game titled for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. The game is considered as the sequel to the Gameboy Advance series with newer character designed and new versions and designs of all Medabots in the series. There will be two versions, Kabuto and Kuwagata, where the version decides the player's starting Medabot. In the Kabuto version, the player gets the rhinoceros beetle-type Gun-Nose, who specializes in shooting attacks. In Kuwagata, the player gets the stag beetle-type Sanjuro who specializes in close-range combat. The story revolves on the boy named Azuma Amakura, who somehow is introduced to the world of robattling with a KBT or a KWG-type Medabot. For doing so, he is given to a cellphone where he can install an application called the Medarotch, known in English as Medawatch, which can hold information about his Medabot. These special cellphones, though, are developed by four different companies. Other characters confirmed are Sakura Ooshima, Chitose Asakusa, Nut Daitoku and Taruto Benii. Azuma will have a rival, called Kohaku Himuro, who seems to be using a new STG (in the Kabuto Version) or KLN (in the Kuwagata Version) type Medabot. It has also been revealed that the Roborobo Gang will return as the player's main antagonist.
Characters from the older series will make their return in the game including Ikki Tenryou, who now owns ArcBeetle since Metabee took a new KBT body. Arika Amazake and Nae Akihabara were also confirmed as well. The game's release date was on May 27, 2010.
Anime
The Medabots anime series was adapted from the original 1997 video game, with its robotic combat elements inspired by Plawres SanshiroPlawres Sanshiro
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jirou Ushi. It was serialized in the Akita Shoten magazine Shukan Shōnen Champion from August 6, 1982 to May 3, 1985. An anime adaptation aired in 1983 in Japan, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Greece and Algeria...
. Produced by Bee Train
Bee Train
, commonly referred simply as Bee Train, is a Japanese animation studio founded by Kōichi Mashimo in 1997. Since their involvement with Noir, .hack//Sign, and Madlax they have a strong following in the yuri fandom for being involved in series portraying strong female leads with speculatively...
, the fifty-two episode series originally aired on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
from July 2, 1999 until June 30, 2000. A thirty-nine episode sequel to the anime series that was produced by Production I.G, Medarot Damashii aired from September 19, 2003 through March 7, 2004. Both the series are licensed by Nelvana. The Nelvana English dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
version of Medabots aired on the Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
network from September 1, 2001 through November 2, 2002 and was one of the channel's highest rated new series at the time. Medarot Damashii followed a year later, airing from September 13, 2003 until March 7, 2004.
In 2007, Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
announced that they will be releasing the first two seasons of Medabots to Region 1 DVD, containing the English dub only. The Japanese version has received a VHS and DVD release of the first series, while Medabots Souls has only received a VHS release. On January 29, 2010, a Region 2 boxset release known as MEDAROT DVD BOX 1 was released containing the first thirty episodes, with a second boxset on February 19 finishing with the last twenty-two episodes. Two boxsets for Medabots Souls will be released on December 30, 2010. This will be Souls very first DVD release.
Manga
Written by Horumarin, the Medabots manga series was originally serialized in the shōnenShonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
magazine Comic Bom Bom
Comic Bom Bom
was a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Kodansha and targeted at elementary school boys. Each issue had 700+ pages, with 80 of them being full-color advertisements. Similar to its rival CoroCoro Comic, it featured tie-ins with game makers and toy makers but toward the end of its run had...
in Japan and then published in four volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
. The series was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
.
Four sequel series followed, all written by Horumarin and published Kodansha. The two volumes of Medabots 3 were released in Japan in December 2000 and April 2001. Medabots 4 followed later in 2001. The first volume of Medabots 5 was released in July 2002, but the second volume was not released until August 2007. Medabots G, a sequel to Metabots 5, was released in 2003.
External links
- Official Nelvana Medabots anime website
- Official Trans Arts Medarot Damashii anime website
- Medabots in anime-paradijs DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
- Medabots in Medabots wikia
- Official Viz Media Medabots manga website