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Android Kikaider: The Animation (人造人間キカイダー THE ANIMATION, Jinzō
Ningen Kikaidā Ji Animēshon
?), the anime adaptation of the Japanese superhero Kikaider, was produced
by Sony Animation and broadcast on Kids Station from October 16,
2000 to January 8, 2001, with a total of 13 episodes.
It was followed by the OVA
4-episode sequel, Kikaider 01: The
Animation (キカイダー０１ THE
ANIMATION, Kikaidā Zero Wan Ji
Animēshon
?).
The Anime followed more of the manga, with a darker nature of
Jiro's reason to exist. It was followed by said 4-episode OVA
series, which was the finale. Afterwards, there was also an OVA
special which teamed Kikaider with Inazuman, another classic manga/tokusatsu
superhero created by Shotaro Ishinomori (This latter
special has yet to be seen in America).
Since the Animation has fewer episodes than the Kikaider tokusatsu and was based on the manga series,
several details are changed in the overall storyline.
- In the live-action show, Jiro (Kikaider) is created by Dr.
Komyoji and Mitsuko Komyoji while they are both forced to create
DARK's Destructoids, in an attempt to overthrow DARK. In the anime,
Jiro was created by Dr. Komyoji in his laboratory in the hopes that
Kikaider (his latest robot model) can protect his children from
DARK.
- In the anime, Jiro wakes up in some remote area of the
mountains with no memory after Professor Gill has Komyoji's
laboratory destroyed. He then later discovers Mitsuko and Masaru at
the site of Komyoji's laboratory and saves them from Grey Rhino
King.
- The conscience circuit is given the name "GEMINI" (pronounced
in the Japanese version the same as "Jiminy")
- Mitsuko was never aware of her father's relationship with DARK
or Jiro. She learns of Jiro's existence (as well as GEMINI) after
she discovers Jiro's diagnostic along with a hidden message to her
from her father.
- When Jiro starts out, he is the equivalent of a newborn baby,
as he knows nothing of what he is, who he is, or the world around
him, and has to learn more and more about himself during his
travels. In the tokusatsu, Jiro is very much aware of everything,
and has no problem blending into society.
- Like in the tokusatsu, the design plans for Jiro's conscience
circuit is inside his guitar. In the anime, however, Jiro never
knew this, the blueprint is discovered by Mitsuko only after Saburo
destroys the guitar.
- In the tokusatsu, the DARK robots Professor Gill sends after
Kikaider are known as Destructive Army, and possess individual
identities. In the anime, they are little more than mindless
automatons who blindly follow Gill's orders, and are simply called
robots.
- The private detective Hanpei Hattori is more mature in the
anime, and is given an assistant named Etsuko.
- After Dr. Komyoji is found out by Gill in the live-action show,
Jiro and Mitsuko lose him amidst a fire. Later, he somehow ends up
with amnesia, and is constantly on the run from DARK until his
capture. In the anime, he is captured right from the start.
- The anime introduces Mitsuko and Masaru's mother, who was
truthfully a spy for Gill from the first day she met Komyoji.
- After DARK collapses, Jiro disappears, believed by his friends
to had been presumably destroyed along with DARK's headquarters.
However, Mitsuko is hopeful of Jiro's survival, and that he will
return someday.
The Boy
Who Carried a Guitar: Kikaider Vs. Inazuman
This team up wraps up the Kikaider anime series as a whole. In
the team up with Inazuman,
it's revealed that Jiro is still fighting the left over DARK
Programming within him inserted by Dr. Gill, which enabled him to
kill his siblings, Ichiro and Rei. Jiro, filled with guilt, fears
that if he encounters both Mitsuko and Masaru, he will go berserk
and inflict harm to both of them. Hanpei Hattori is sent to search
for Jiro; in order to convince him to return to Mitsuko and Masaru.
During this time, he mistakes high school student Saburo Kazeda
(AKA: Sabu) for Jiro, unaware that Sabu has abilities of his own.
Meanwhile, Jiro is talking with Sabu's girlfriend Miyoppe. When
Hanpei is finally reunited with Jiro, he goes berserk at the
presence of Sabu, who then henshins into Inazuman, and the two
engage in battle. During the fight, Jiro finally manages to purge
the evil within him. However, a mysterious creature suddenly
attacks Inazuman. Jiro henshins into Kikaider, and briefly aids
Inazuman by killing the creature with his "Denji End" attack. Jiro
shakes hands with Sabu, and heads off, leaving Hanpei and the
others behind to search for a purpose in life, but he believes that
he may one day return to Mitsuko and Masaru.
Differences from the tokusatsu version of "Kikaider Vs.
Inazuman"
- Here, Inazuman's alter-ego is high school student Saburo Kazeda
(nicknamed "Sabu"), as in Ishinomori's manga (as opposed to his
tokusatsu counterpart, Goro Watari, who was a college
student).
- In the tokusatsu series, the monsters are mutants, not evil
spirits. In addition, the unnamed monster that attacks Inazuman
here is Itsutsu-Bambara from the tokusatsu version.
- In the tokusatsu series, Inazuman's psionic abilities are
greatly reduced so that he actually has to punch and kick the evil
mutants. His civilian form does not exhibit any abilities at
all.
- Inazuman doesn't generate lighting bolts in the original live
action Inazuman series, which doesn't happen until Inazuman
Flash, when he's fighting evil robots which are harder to
destroy than mutants, and is done only as a last resort.
- Here, as in the manga, Inazuman does not have the flying
monster-like car, Raijin-Go, which was in the tokusatsu
series.
- Hanpei Hattori mistaking Sabu for Jiro is an in-joke; actor Ban
Daisuke portrayed both Jiro/Kikaider and Goro/Inazuman in their
respective tokusatsu TV series in the 1970s.
Cast
Dub-Cast
Episodes
Airdates are from broadcast on Adult Swim in the US.
- Lonely Puppet (孤独な人形, Kodoku na
Ningyō
?) (Originally Aired 6/9/2003)
- Mad Machine (狂った機械, Kurutta
Kikai
?) (Originally Aired 6/10/2003)
- Stray Sheep (ストレイ・シープ, Sutorei Shīpu
?) (Originally Aired 6/11/2003)
- Mirror (鏡,
Kagami
?) (Originally Aired 6/12/2003)
- City of Rain (雨の街, Ame no
Machi
?) (Originally Aired 6/16/2003)
- Negative Fragments (負の断片, Fu no
Danpen
?) (Originally Aired 6/17/2003)
- Afterglow of Regret (非の残照, Hi no
Zanshō
?) (Originally Aired 6/18/2003)
- Blue Moon, Red Dreams (青い月、赤い夢, Aoi
Tsuki, Akai Yume
?) (Only on DVD)
- Friends (ともだち,
Tomodachi
?) (Originally Aired 6/19/2003)
- Frozen Bonds (凍る絆, Kōru
Kizuna
?) (Originally Aired 6/23/2003)
- The Destroyer (破壊魔,
Hakaima
?) (Originally Aired 6/24/2003)
- The Machine That Dreams (夢みる機械, Yumemiru Kikai
?) (Originally Aired 6/25/2003)
- The End of the Dream (夢の末路, Yume no
Matsuro
?) (Originally Aired 6/26/2003)
Kikaider 01: The
Animation
- Jiro Meets Ichiro (Originally Aired 6/30/2003)
- Beautiful Enemy (Originally Aired 7/1/2003)
- Gil Rises Again (Originally Aired 7/2/2003)
- The Fate Of Pinocchio (Originally Aired 7/3/2003)
- OVA SPECIAL The Boy Who Carried a Guitar:
Kikaider Vs. Inazuman (not seen in America)
External
links
Kids Station
Cartoon Network
(Adult Swim)
Wikis
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