Time Bokan


Time Bokan is a Japanese anime series first aired on Fuji TV from October 4, 1975 to December 25, 1976 throughout Japan every Saturday at 6:30pm, with a total of 61 30-minute episodes. It was produced by Tatsunoko Productions in partnership with Topcraft, who later produced a number of spinoff programs as part of the "Time Bokan Series". A new anime adaption titled Time Bokan 24 ran from October 1, 2016 to March 18, 2017.

Story

Dr. Kieda, a somewhat wacky but intelligent scientist, has finally succeeded in inventing insect-shaped time machines called "Time Bokan". To prove its efficiency and safety, he decides to serve as the very first guinea pig for its maiden voyage. However, by the time his machine returned, he isn't anywhere inside. The only thing that it returned with is a talking parrot, along with a large gemstone called the Dynamond, which is seemingly the most powerful and valuable jewel in the world.
Now it's up to a search party, founded by Dr. Kieda's lab assistant Tanpei, to travel through time to find Dr. Kieda. However, it seems that someone power hungry is looking for the "Dynamond" as well.

Plot

The story starred two vividly opposing sides, the heroes, and the villains. Typical plots follow this format:

Heroes

Tanpei:
The loyal lab assistant of Dr. Kieta, a smart and sporty boy at the age of 13. He is warm, pure, courageous, and is a genius at mechanics. He is often seen sparring with Junko, his fellow assistant and Dr Kieta's granddaughter, comforting or encouraging her. Tampei has been depicted as having a crush on her for more than once. Everybody in the team calls him "Tanpei-chan". Not much of his family and school background is given.
Junko:
Junko is Dr. Kieta's granddaughter at 10 years of age. She's a responsible young girl who is always lending a helping hand to others. She is gentle, caring, erudite, and resourceful. She misses her grandfather dearly, thus earning a lot of sympathy from the rest of her team as they search for him. She might seem a little cry-babyish at the first glance, but vows to become stronger under the influence of Tanpei, who she has a crush on.
C-robot:
A robot sidekick created by Tenpei, he can appear pretty childish in both appearance and actions, but this is not always a hindrance. His power source is the winding key protruding from its back. Chorobo's features include also a flamethrower built into his nose, extendable limbs, and the ability to shock others with a significant amount of voltage output.
Dr. Kieta:
Junko's grandfather and creator of the "Time Bokan" time machines. A famous scientist, he wasn't recovered until the 27th episode, but soon joined Tanpei's team on other journeys.
Perasuke:
A talking parrot who seems to be the only source of information about Dr. Kieta's location when he was lost in time, but he always made random testimonies on that. The only thing he fears is probably his wife, Otake. It turns out that he accidentally triggered the time machine while Dr Kieta was absent in a particular age, and returned to the lab with it. After the journey he took with our heroes, he reunited with his wife in the finale. His voice can be heard in the previews of upcoming episodes at the end of each episode before the ending theme. His name is a pun on his species.
Otake-san:
A bossy and impatient female parrot of Perasuke's kind and his wife. She is depicted with a distinct air of vanity and a body frame much larger than Perasuke's. She is also frequently kicking Perasuke about, despite her love for him. At the beginning of the series, she and Dr Kieta are frequently soothing each other's eagerness of reunion.

Villains

Commonly known as the "Time Skeletons" through the show, the three villains portrayed in this show were even more familiar to the audience than the heroes, mainly due to their renowned stupidity shown by the inevitable fate of always suffering a crushing defeat in each episode. They also were the inspiration for the "Team Rocket" trio in the Pokémon anime as well as every anime that has a villain trio.
Majo: Majo, 30 years old is the attractive blonde female leader of the trio. Her character was written after the "vain villainess" stereotype, and accordingly, she often acts and speaks as if she were the most beautiful and intelligent character in the series. Of the trio, she is the most enthusiastic about capturing the "Dynamond", but ends up doing virtually nothing except bossing her two henchmen around, invariably cursing them after the "defeat" sequence in each episode as well as ending up naked through some misfortune. Her name is derived from the Japanese word "魔女", which means "witch".
Grocky: The "brain" henchman of Majo, aged 25. He used to work for Dr. Kieda under cover, therefore he's usually employed to build a new and different mecha in each episode to encounter the Time Bokan used by the heroes. He is cunning though quite prone to making silly mistakes on the machinery. His name is derived from the Japanicized word for "grotesque".
Warusa: The "muscle" henchman of Majo aged 35. He is seemingly less intelligent and more clumsy than the other two of the trio, and is often seen controlling the weaponry devices of their mecha. He is heard speaking in an accent known as Kansai-ben and frequently ends his sentences with the phrase "~man-nen". His name is a play on the Japanese term "悪さ", which means "evil behavior" or "level of evil".
Narrator: Kei Tomiyama His voice is mainly in charge of introducing the different eras/spaces the characters are travelling to, and sometimes it can also give a brief comment or overview on the episode, especially at the end.

Time Bokan machines

Created by Dr. Kieda at the beginning of the series, there are a total of three machines. Each one is designed after a particular kind of insect, both appearance-wise and function-wise. Although the term "time" is the only term in their name to state their function, they are also capable of travelling between dimensions, including fictional and hypothetical ones. An example of the former is a dimension based on Grimm's fairytales while an example of the latter is one based on Easter Island.
Time Mechabuton : This blue machine, which resembles a Japanese rhinoceros beetle, is the Time Bokan used the most by the heroes. Its features include:
Time Dotabattan : This green, locust-shaped Time Bokan was actually captured by Dr. Kieda in the 27th episode from a species known as "Insect People", the seemingly futuristic dominant species of Earth. It is modified later in the series to increase its functions and transport capacity. Its features include:
Time Kuwagattan : This red, stag beetle-shaped Time Bokan was created later by Dr. Kieda after he was found. Its features include:
Note: Although written in katakana, "Bokan" can mean "carrier" if written in hiragana or kanji, as each the main machines carries a few smaller mechas with them all the time.

Villains' machines

Only one recurring mecha has ever appeared in the villain trio's garage: the "Time Skull", a small, skull-shaped time machine built by Grocky.
In order to match the "time bokan" in strength and maneuverability, this mecha is often linked to a larger mechanical structure, of which it serves as the head. This construction often results in various animal-shaped mechas as large as the Time Bokan. These machines are often equipped with an abundance of concealed gadgets and weapons, most of which are capable of leaving the heroes' machines severely damaged.
Two running gags exist for the villains' mecha in the show. The first is that: after the mechas' departure in a large bang, a few stray parts can always be seen on the floor when the explosion clears. Secondly, the villains rarely had a smooth landing in their arrival, always ending either in awkward poses or locations.
The most important feature of these mecha is a deadly device which the villains wish to finish the heroes off for good, and has been dubbed as "Highlight of the Week" by the villains. However, the triggering of such device often backfires onto the villains themselves either by silly mistakes in mechanical design or the foiling of the heroes, causing the whole structure to explode spectacularly, only leaving the Time Skull fully intact and the villains very tattered.

Episodes

Timefighters

Several of the historical-themed episodes were edited together and dubbed by Jim Terry Productions for the US home video market in 1984, under the name Timefighters.
Several of the fairytale-themed episodes were also edited together and dubbed by Jim Terry Productions for the US home video market in 1984, under the name Timefighters in the Land of Fantasy.
Name changes:
Even Harmony Gold released a TV movie in 1985 as Time Patrol.