Medabots

was originally an Imagineer video game released in 1997. The game 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 it's 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 Gamecube, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance.

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 Tenrio, 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, and names him 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.

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 joke 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.

Medarot Damashii

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. 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 and the Chick Salesman does not appear in the sequel.

As of 2008, Medarot Damashii is available for purchase on Amazon Video on Demand at $1.99 per episode.

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 an outdated model, which he names 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 voiced by Samantha Reynolds in the English translation.

Metabee (whose name is a portmanteau of Metal Beetle) is a Medabot belonging to Ikki Tenryou. Metabee is an outdated beetle type Medabot, specialising 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 Joe Motiki.

Media

Video games

Medarot: Kuwagata Version, which started the Medabots series, is a role-playing game Imagineer released in Japan in 1997 to the Nintendo GameBoy handheld gaming system on November 28, 1997. A remake of the game, Medarot: Perfect Edition, was released to the WonderSwan on May 04, 1999.

Natsume has released several video games tied to Metabots. Medabots: Metabee Version, released in the United States on Mar 31, 2003, is a Nintendo GameBoy Advance 3D 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 in 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.

Anime

The Medabots anime series was adapted from the original 1997 video game, with its robotic combat elements inspired by Plawres Sanshiro. 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. The DVDs will contain only the English dubbed version.

Manga

Written by Horumarin, the Medabots manga series was originally serialized in the shōnen 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.