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Spider Riders
Format	Animated television series
Starring	English cast Japanese cast
Opening theme	"Calling All Spider Riders" (English) "Alright" (eps. 1-26; Japanese) "Brave Heart" (eps. 27-52; Japanese)
Country of origin	Canada  Japan
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	52 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Kouji Kumode Lesley Taylor Michael Hirsh Patsy Cameron Tedd Anasti Yasuharu Iwakiri
Running time	22 minutes approx.
Production company(s)	Cookie Jar Entertainment Bee Train
Broadcast
Original channel	The CW (Kids' WB) This TV (Cookie Jar Toons) Kix Teletoon TV Tokyo Kids Station TV2 (Malaysia)
External links
Official website
Production website

Spider Riders (スパイダーライダーズ ~オラクルの勇者たち~, Supaidāraidāzu ~ Orakuru no Yūsha-tachi~^?, Spider Riders ~the Heroes of Oracle~) started as a series of science fiction novels first published in December 2004, published by Newmarket Press which are authored by Tedd Anasti, Patsy Cameron-Anasti, and Stephen D. Sullivan (books 2-3). The stories became the basis of the animated television series produced by Cookie Jar Entertainment of Canada and Bee Train of Japan. The three novels are titled Spider Riders: Shards of the Oracle, Spider Riders: Reign of the Soul Eater, and Spider Riders: Quest of the Earthen. Spider Riders broadcasts on Teletoon, This TV, and Kids' WB!. Koichi Mashimo co-directed the staff at Bee Train with Takaaki Ishiyama. Writer Yosuke Kuroda adapted the novels. Robert Pincombe and Shelly Hoffman wrote the English version.

Plot introduction

Eleven-year-old Hunter Steele searches for the legendary inner world by following the instructions in the journal of his grandfather. He goes into a cave where he finds a mysterious manacle that somehow attaches itself to him. A spider startles Hunter into falling down a hole, straight to the center of the Earth and into the fantastic subterranean world of Arachna. Here, he discovers a small band of elite warriors struggling to survive and to save Arachna from the attack of giant insect mutants. The warriors are kids, just like Hunter, each fighting with the help of their own ten-foot battle spiders. They call themselves "Spider Riders."

Changes made to the English TV series included lowering the ages of the characters.

Concerning Hunter, there is a prophecy that says an Earthen will bring disaster to the Inner World. Sparkle mentions it in the beginning of the TV series, but it's not known whether the Earthen shall be their Salvation or Our Destruction. When Princess Sparkle finds out she says, "I wonder if he will bring doom to us...or to them."

Broadcast history

The Spider Riders animated series debuted on March 25, 2006 on Canada's Teletoon network. Kids WB! on The CW began airing it during the 2006-2007 season. The last Spider Riders episode was shown in Canada on April 29, 2007. However, there are rumors that Teletoon is making new episodes. The series began airing reruns on weekdays and Sunday from June-August 2007, and went on hiatus for the 2007-08 season. Now it is aired on Kix sky channel 627 double billing first aired 12 June. As of September 1, 2008, Teletoon is airing the anime again in rerun form, but only on weekdays. As of November 2008, the show airs rerun on the Cookie Jar Toons block on This TV.

Web manga

On May 31, 2006, the Spider Riders manga premiered at TV Tokyo's ani.tv website, illustrated by Junji Ohno of Studio 23. The seventh and final volume was published between 2006-11-29 and 2006-12-27. Previous volumes were removed on 2006-11-29.

Starting on December 27, 2006, the manga was republished under Monthly Fang Comic site. Under this new publisher, two more chapters of the manga were later released.

The web comic was first published in paper form on June 19, 2007, by the Monthly Fang Comic publisher LEED Publishing Co., Ltd.; however, the online chapters were removed soon after. Currently, there is nowhere to read the Spider Riders manga other than purchasing the first volume. Even Shonen Fang, the magazine in which it was serialized, is being suspended at its September 2007 issue.

The web manga has an alternate beginning, where Hunter Steele enters a spider-shaped monument and discovers the manacle (which looked different from the one in the TV series) floating above a spider web. Hunter wears the manacle when it flies to his hand (in TV series, it simply fell into his hand out of nowhere) and falls into Inner World through a gap between web strings (in TV series, Hunter falls into Inner World when the pyramid collapses). Inside the Inner World, Hunter discovers Shadow after peeking at the bathing Corona and after trying to rescue a cart of caged humans by himself (neither has happened in the TV series).

Each chapter of the web manga ends with the Sparkling Sparkle section, following the adventures of Princess Sparkle and Hortala in 4-square manga format.

In the Boy's Fang manga version, certain scenes are re-edited; for example, Corona is now naked instead of in underwear when Hunter first met her in chapter 1, an illustration is added at the beginning of each chapter, and Sparkling Sparkle segments have been removed.

List of Spider Rider characters

Oracle Keys

The Oracle Keys are fractions of the Oracle's power. They take the form of a card that can be split in two. The Invectids hope to gain them for Mantid who wants to use their power to rule Arachna, which is why the Oracle uses much of her strength to protect them. The Spirit Oracle Key passes its power onto Hunter and Shadow, giving them new armor and weapons as well as new abilities.

To activate these keys, the holder must shout "Oracle's Light!". Two in combination can create more powerful armor and weapons. The wielder must have a sincere desire to protect without arrogance, otherwise the keys will not work. The Oracle Key from Nuuma was called by Corona (using her power) to let Hunter use it without him actually holding it.

Mantid had used two of the Oracle's keys to power himself, plunging the Inner World into darkness and preventing Hunter from using his own keys.

Currently four of the locations of the four Oracle Keys are known in the English version:

1. Found in the Oracle's shrine in Arachna, the first key is taken by Hunter and Shadow, who retain possession of it throughout the series.
2. The second key is brought to Arachna by a page from Nuuma. Hunter and Shadow have it in their possession for most of the series, though it was briefly taken by Aqune and Portia.
3. The third key is initially kept in a sanctuary in Nuuma and allows the castle to float in the sky via the Oracle's power. It is taken by Aqune for the Invectids, but eventually ends up in the possession of Hunter and Shadow during the final battle against Mantid.
4. The fourth key held by Mantid, powering both Castle Mantid and sustaining Mantid himself, throughout the series until he steals the Oracle's power and abandons it. It ends up in the possession of Hunter and Shadow during the final battle against Mantid.

Episodes

Music

Japan

• Opening Theme #1: "Alright" (eps. 1-26)
• Opening Theme #2: Brave Heart by Saeko Chiba (eps. 27-52)
• Ending Theme #1: "Twilight Time" by MCU (eps. 1-13)
• Ending Theme #2: "Koi no Keshiki" by Tamaru Yamada (eps. 14-26)
• Ending Theme #3: "Towards a Dream" by Takashi Kondo and Sanae Kobayashi (eps. 27-52)

North America

• Opening Theme: "Calling All Spider Riders" written by songwriter Jason Gleed for Grayson Matthews Audio

Cast

English voice actors (Riders)

• Hunter Steele - Julie Lemieux
• Corona - Stacey DePass
• Prince Lumen - Cameron Ansell
• Princess Sparkle - Melanie Tonello
• Igneous - Tim Hamaguchi
• Magma - ?
• Aqune - Alyson Court

English voice actors (Spiders)

• Shadow - Joe Motiki
• Venus - Caroly Larson
• Brutus - Darren Frost
• Flame - Peter Capllan
• Hotarla - Grace Fulliton
• Ebony - Stephen Apostolina
• Portia - ???
• Dagger - ???

English voice actors (Invectid)

• Mantid - Lawrence Bayne
• Buguese - Jack Langedijk
• Grasshop - Carman Melville
• Beerain - Ellen Ray Snow
• Stags - ???

English voice actors (Other)

• Slate (recurring) - Dan Petronijevic
• Queen Illuma (recurring) - Julie Lemieux

Crew

• Music Score: David Shaw
• Voice Director: Melodie Vaughan

Japanese cast

Seiyū (Riders)

• Hunter Steele - Motoko Kumai
• Corona - Saeko Chiba
• Prince Lumen - Kumiko Higa
• Princess Sparkle - Kaori Shimizu
• Igneous - Takehito Koyasu
• Magma - Kinya Kotani
• Aqune - Sanae Kobayashi
• Brade - Chikao Ōtsuka

Seiyū (Spiders)

• Shadow - Takashi Kondo
• Venus - Sanae Kobayashi
• Hotarla - Yuu Asakawa
• Brutus - Shigeru Chiba
• Portia - Kumiko Higa
• Ebony- Kenta Miyake

Seiyū (Insectors)

• Mantid - Hiroshi Yanaka
• Baguese - Toshihiko Seki
• Grasshop - Shigeru Chiba
• Stags - Kenta Miyake
• Beerain - Yuu Asakawa
• Lemin - Megumi Toyoguchi
• Messenger bug- Kaori Shimizu
• Insector captains- Wataru Hatano, Hiroshi Tsuchida, Shigenori Sôya,
• Celpido- Takuma Suzuki
• Gold Beetle- Kiyoyuki Yanada
• Scarab- Tetsuya Sakai

Others credited

• Lily - Takako Honda
• Melissa - Naoko Matsui
• Grey - Anri Katsu
• Elma- Yuko Kobayashi
• Toure- Nozomu Sasaki
• Sina- Maya Okamoto
• Mina- Sara Nakayama
• Nuuma page- Takuma Suzuki
• Mariner- Ryusuke Oobayashi
• Paradise Woman- Masumi Asano
• Quint- Hidetoshi Nakamura
• Kenta Miyake
• Kinya Kotani
• Yuu Asakawa

Web games

Tribal Nova produced the tie-in online game based on the show, available on the official site.

Phone games

On July 29, 2006, the Anime X site published Spider Catcher and Oracle Daifugo downloadable phone games based on the show for the FOMA-enabled cell phones. A third game, Jumping Spider, was released on August 9, 2006. Each game cost 105 yen.

Differences between the English and Japanese versions

• The Insectors in the Japanese edition are known as Invectids in the English version.
• In the Japanese version, Hotarla's vocabulary consists of "Kyu", while in the English version (in her first appearance in "Spider Riders' Ball") she can speak in full sentences. This changes in "Big Bug", and Hortarla's "Kyu" is transferred to the English version.
• Aqune is referred to as a priestess in the Japanese version and an enchantress in the English version
• Some dialogue in the English version was altered, often for the inclusion of puns or English slang, but none have affected the plot so far.
• The opening theme in the Japanese version (Alright) differs from the OP in the English version (Calling All Spider Riders.) None of the Japanese ending themes are used in the English version.
• The eyecatch in each version is the same, with the exception of the language that the logo is written in. However, as of episode 27, the English eyecatch is used for both versions.
• In the English version, the song "Calling All Spider Riders" plays frequently during the series as an insert song. A number of other BGM changes have also been made.

• Several characters have been renamed in the English version of Spider Riders:
  • The character Ignus is called Igneous in the English version. This is not an edit, because his name was Igneous in the original novel series. It is debatable whether his name was meant to be Igneous in both versions, but it is written as "イグナス" (I-gu-na-su) on the official Japanese site.
  • Grey in the Japanese version is called Slate in the English version
  • Lemin in the Japanese version is called Kati in the English version
  • Melissa in the Japanese version is called Galena in the English version
  • Quake is called Brade in the Japanese version, as well as in the original plans made available in a Teletoon Corp. press release
  • Queen Elma in the Japanese version is called Queen Illuma in the English version.
  • Toure in the Japanese version is called Solan in the English version.
  • Each of the Machine-sectors are given a unique name in the English version.

• Spider Riders aired all fifty-two episodes in Canada. In Japan, the series was split into two halves and is currently airing the second half. Initially, however, TV-Tokyo had planned on airing all 52 episodes, but was cut short at 26 episodes. It is entirely possible due to the low ratings (averaging around 0.5% - 1.5% per episode) it was removed initially. The second half of the series began to air on April 14 on Kids Station, under the name "Spider Riders ~Yomigaeru Taiyou~" as opposed to "Spider Riders ~Oracle no Yuusha-tachi~," which was the subtitle for the first 26 episodes.

• Episode differences
  • In episode 6 of the English version, the scene of Lumen calling Sparkle cute while watching her play is removed. This is likely because of Lumen and Sparkle's sibling relationship.
  • In episode 18 in the Japanese version, the song Aqune hums is actually the second ending theme. This scene is also extended slightly.
  • Loraine, a body in which Mantid keeps stored in a room of his castle, is seen on a few occasions in the Japanese version. She was cut from the English version, as her existence was thought to be too disturbing for North American viewers. Shadowed versions of her can be seen, however, in episodes 34 and 50.
  • Dialogue in episode 23 was changed substantially in the English version. In the dub, Buguese explained to Aqune that the Oracle had taken the sun away from the Insectors world as a form of punishment, because they had devoured all the plant-life. In the Japanese, the reasoning for the loss of the sun is unknown to Buguese, who believes Spirit Oracle simply favored the humans. This explains his hate toward humanity and was intended to make his character seem more sympathetic. Interestingly enough, later on in the dub, the changes become inconsistent. In episode 46, Buguese claims to not know the reason that the sun was taken away.
  • In episode 27 of the Japanese version, when Grasshop was afraid that his wife had replaced him for an Insector captain, he came to this conclusion after seeing them hug.
  • In episode 31 of the Japanese version, a closer shot of Aqune and Corona in their swimsuits can be seen.
  • In episode 33 of the Japanese version, Scarab threatens Sprakle with a sword and offers Grasshop the weapon to use against her.
  • There were multiple changes to episode 34. In the dub, there is a change of dialogue where Hunter and Aqune make promises to each other. Also, Aqune is much less reluctant to return to the Insectors in the Japanese version. Rather than refusing to go back, even when Buguese takes Corona hostage, she asks Hunter for the keys and then goes back to Buguese in the Japanese version. Also, Buguese asks for Aqune as well as the two keys in his trade.
  • Both episodes 14 and 39 originally ended with Stags making a long, drawn-out, psychotic laugh. His behavior is more sane in the English version.
  • In episode 48, a scene of Brade attempting to flirt with Corona was cut.
  • Some footage was cut in both episodes 42 and 49, probably due to time constraints, of other characters reacting to the fading of the sun.
  • In episode 52, Brade asks whether Hunter will choose Corona or Aqune as his love. In the dub, he asks who he'll choose as his battle partner, which looks as if it's both.

External links

• Spider Riders at Cookie Jar Entertainment
• Spider Riders at This TV
• Newmarket Press SR page
• Official Spider Riders page
• Spider Riders Wiki - a Wikia of the Spider Riders Series
• Bee Train SR page
• Tribal Nova's SR page
• TV Tokyo's Spider Riders page
• Kids Station SR page
• Library of Congress entry for SR book
• Telefilm Canada's approval of funding Spider Riders
• Teletoon's announcement on SR
• Ani.tv's SR page
• Studio 23 home page
• Screenshots from the TV series
• Monthly Boys Fang SR page

• 'Spider Riders (anime) (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• 'Spider Riders (anime) at the Internet Movie Database
• 'Spider Riders (anime) at TV.com