Ninja Senshi Tobikage (忍者戦士飛影, lit. Tobikage the Ninja Soldier), known as Ninja Robots outside Japan[2] and as Ninja Robot Tobikage by
Pierrot,[3] is a Japanese
anime television series, produced by
Pierrot, which aired from 6 October 1985 to 13 July 1986 on the
Nippon Television network.[4] It was also broadcast to parts of Asia and Australia on
Cartoon Network, but never aired in the United States.
Plot
It is the 23rd century and Earth have colonized
Mars and the
Moon.[5] Much like the legendary
convicts in Australia during the
18th and
19th century, the settlers of Mars consist mostly of convicts from
Earth. The Martian colony is run by a dictatorial Commander
Hazzard Pascha, who tests every settler on whether they should serve in the military or become a laborer.
Joe Maya is a 16-year-old who lives on Mars and dreams of returning to Earth. He has two friends:
Mike Coil and
Jenny Ai. When escaping from the Martian military police, Joe and Mike stumble upon a crashed spaceship, the Xenos 5, being attacked by huge robots. In his attempt to escape chasing robots, Joe gets into the spaceship where he encounters three human-looking aliens: the beautiful
Princess Romina, her willowy attendant
Jade, and a young General
Icelander. A robot locates them and the three aliens hide, leaving Joe to fend for himself. Joe tries hiding in a pile of glowing metal, which turns out to be a ninja robot named
Black Lion. The battle leads outside the ship where a mysterious ninja robot
Cybertron suddenly appears when the Black Lion struggles. It wipes out several enemy robots before merging with Joe's robot, transforming into a mechanical lion that destroys the remaining attackers.
After the attack, Joe, Mike, and Jenny are forcibly taken to the alien spaceship. It transpires that the aliens are from the planet Ladorio (also romanized as "Radorio") in a distant galaxy (Andromeda, also "Black Star Galaxy" in the English version), and are at war with the Zaboom army who captured their planet. They came to the Milky Way seeking ninjas who could operate their three ninja robots. Joe, Mike, and Jenny agree to help them for a variety of reasons. Along the way, as they fend off the constant attacks by the Zaboom army and their allies, they make new friends and enemies, while Cybertron looms mysteriously in the background.
Joe is a 16-year-old boy who lives with his father (a construction worker) on Mars at the beginning of the series. He lost his mother when he was young, but often reminisces about the beauty of Earth. He is rebellious (especially against authority), quick-tempered, insensitive, and impulsive, the opposite of his father, who is calm and thoughtful. His nonattendance at the compulsory military exam leads to him and
Mike being chased by the military police into the area where the spaceship crash lands.
At first, Joe attempts to leave his friends in order to go after
Hazzard, but they support him when Hazzard imprisons his father and
Jenny's parents. He is the first to discover and operate one of the three ninja robots: the
Black Lion. He is usually the first to spring towards defending Xenos 5 during the numerous attacks.
Cybertron appears when he is in a dire situation and either aids him or merges with the Black Lion. He eventually pilots Cybertron. He is often singled out by
Icelander (piloting
Mantis or
Zerokage) for duels. His motivation for helping Xenos 5 changes as the series progresses: rebel against
Hazzard, rescue the parents, inform Earth of
Hazzard's evil plans, find the ninjas, and free Ladorio from the Zaboom army. His tactics are very daring, such as infiltrating C-Terahertz as a prisoner.
Joe's childhood friend is
Ronin and their friendship stands several tests. He and
Mike are close, referring to each other as brothers. He enjoys teasing
Jenny and treats her like one of the guys, but becomes jealous when he wrongly suspects Mike of fancying her. He is struck by the beauty of
Princess Romina upon their first meeting and is willing to do anything to protect her. He continues being attracted to both Jenny and Romina and admits this to Jenny in the final episode (the English version strongly hints that he reciprocates Jenny's love and confesses his love to her in episode 41).[note 1] His infatuation with the princess, as well as his rude and rash behavior, puts him at odds with
Icelander . This results in an animosity that persists until the very end - when Joe encourages him to fight against dying and they join hands to power Xenos 5.
Jenny Ai (レニー・アイ, Renī Ai, known as Lennie Ai in Japan), Voiced by:
Noriko Hidaka[6]
Jenny is a 16-year-old girl (turns 17 during the series) who is friends with
Joe and
Mike. She is a no-nonsense girl-next-door, determined, stubborn, but also caring about her family who faces Hazzard's machinations. She is the second of the group to operate a ninja robot; she pilots the
Phoenix Thunderhawk. She is almost as daring as Joe in combat and comes to his rescue several times.
A local boy, Kenji, has a crush on her, but she does not reciprocate, and gets irritated whenever Joe teases her about him. She is passionately in love with Joe and is very jealous and possessive, becoming upset and hurt by Joe's continued insensitivity to her feelings and occasional flirting with
Princess Romina. She reacts violently whenever she observes signs of Princess Romina's increasing love for Joe. The two girls reach a truce when Romina admits loving Joe, but requests her for a united front until Ladorio is freed. Although Jenny does not like going to Ladorio (fearing she may lose Joe to Romina), she changes her mind when Joe confesses his love for her. Jenny is also close to Mike, giving him advice on courting
Jade.
Mike is a 15-year-old boy who treats
Joe like an older brother, although he is the opposite in personality, being sensitive, perceptive, and reserved. He is protective of Joe, leaping to his defense when
Icelander or
Gameran criticizes or are skeptical of Joe. He completes the initial trio who pilot the Ninja Robots; he pilots
Burst Dragon.
He eventually falls in love with
Jade and gets contrasting love advice from both Joe and
Jenny. He is critical of Joe's treatment of Jenny, sometimes even physically fighting.
Damian is the 18-year-old son of the Martian north pole's guerrilla leader. He initially mistrusts
Joe and the Ladorians, but later joins them when Hazzard attacks both Xenos 5 and the North Pole. After Joe pilots
Cybertron, Damian works hard and succeeds in piloting the
Black Lion.
His microchip on the ninjas provides them with information on the mechanism of Cybertron strengthening the ninja robots. He falls in love with a female ninja (led by Charme and sent to trap Xenos 5), but she sacrifices her life to enable them escape.
Ronin Sanada (ローニン・サナダ, Rōnin Sanada), Voiced by: Masashi Hironaka[6]
Ronin is a childhood friend of
Joe ,
Mike, and
Jenny, and is a Major General in Earth. He was very close to Joe when he lived in Mars with his father. He trusts his childhood friends despite the convincing lies told by Hazzard and unwaveringly tries to help them and Xenos 5 by using his father's power and connections, often at great risks to himself. He is arrested when Hazzard frames him and is forced to attack Xenos 5 and Joe. He is daring and provides fuel for Xenos 5, an act for which he is dismissed. He is reinstated when the Earth Federation decides to support Xenos 5. He discovers Xenos 5's previous visit to Japan in A.D. 1790.
Kegare Sanada (ケガレ・サナダ, Kegare Sanada), Voiced by:
Rokurō Naya[6]
Kegare is the father of
Ronin. He is the North American representative to the Earth Federation and was the previous commander of the Martian colony. He, along with his son, tries to lobby support for Xenos 5. When the Earth Federation allies with Hazzard (and the Zaboom army), he withdraws North America's membership of the Earth Federation and offers assistance to Xenos 5. He is later forced to rejoin the Earth Federation and become hostile to Xenos 5.
Hazzard is the 40-year-old dictatorial commander of Mars who persecutes the polar guerrillas and imposes his will on the inhabitants. He is power-hungry, opportunistic, devious, a liar, and a master manipulator. He waits for an opportunity to take revenge on earth for transferring him to Mars. The crash-landing of Xenos 5 makes him realizes that he could use the technology to conquer earth. All of his future actions are motivated by this purpose. He kidnaps
Princess Romina for coercing her into giving him the technology. Upon her refusal, he allies with
Grathan, the first deal being to receive the enemy robots in exchange for Romina. The fine-print of his alliance with the Zaboom army varies during the course of the series, but through this he increases his arsenal of enemy robots and hopes to conquer the solar system using these and the ninja robots.
He fears King
Annex, is angry at Grathan for his occasional disregard, and deeply hates
Icelander for mainly three reasons (beating him in the race to succeed Grathan, his arrogant behavior, and for seeing through his machinations). In the finale, he rescues Joe and Icelander (and their robots-
Cybertron and
Zerokage) after the destruction of the Zaboom fortress and plans to use them to conquer the universe. He places bombs on both robots to ensure their destruction if they disobey. When Joe and Icelander escape to duel outside Xenos 5, Hazzard triggers the bombs upon realizing that they are fueled by hatred towards each other and would only be counterproductive to his plans. He tries to kill everyone on
Xenos 5, but is destroyed by the
Phoenix in Houraiou mode.
Romina (Rowena in the English version) is the young daughter and heiress of King Ladorio VII of Ladorio. When the Zaboom army invades Ladorio, her parents entrust her with the task of finding the ninjas from the Earth who could pilot the three ninja robots and defeat the invaders. She strongly believes that
Joe and his friends are the ninjas despite their denials. Unlike others on Xenos 5, she readily accepts Joe and his friends, considers their advice, and is distressed by fights and arguments between Joe and
Icelander or
Gameran. Although she puts on a brave and composed front, she mourns over the destruction of her home planet, her father's assassination, and her mother's imprisonment. This also makes her sensitive to the lives of humans, often vetoing plans by Icelander and/or Gameran that involves such collateral destruction and loss.
She has a strong sense of ethics and is both diplomatic and decisive. She is courageous, attacking Icelander (in
Mantis or
Zerokage) when he overpowered Joe (in the Black Lion or
Cybertron) and throwing herself under the two robots to prevent them from fighting. Although she is perturbed by
Grathan and
Annex, she refuses to waver from her mission of finding the ninjas and redeeming her home planet, even if she is the last one standing. This single-minded focus leads her to rebuff Icelander's attempt at courting her (giving him a lecture on their priorities) and postpones acting on her growing love for Joe. She is also rational, explaining to
Jenny that she would compete for Joe only if her feelings are unchanged after accomplishing her mission. In the finale, she seems to give up on winning Joe when she sees him with Jenny.
Her attitude towards Joe results in Icelander concluding he cannot win her heart, thus defecting to C-Terahertz and flaming his hatred of Joe. This action devastates her and, regardless of his reasons (which Gameran was commanded to divulge), she considers him a betrayer and enemy. Yet, she is forgiving and does not prevent several of her frightened crew from defecting (in fact, she forgives Gameran's attempts at defecting; presumably Icelander is forgiven in the finale).
Jade (シャフ, Shafu, known as Schaffe in Japan), Voiced by:
Rika Fukami[6]
Jade is an 18-year-old lady-in-waiting and confidante of
Princess Romina. She is conscientious, kind, and understanding, often protesting on behalf of the Princess who does not vocalize her feelings. She was skeptical of
Joe being a ninja owing to his brash character. She is very protective of Romina and threatens Joe against capturing Romina's heart for this is a guaranteed heartbreak (Romina can marry only a Ladorian). She is cautious, not divulging Icelander's attempt at killing Romina as she does not know his reasons. She does not tolerate bad behavior and scolds others for being insensitive and Joe for his treatment of
Jenny. She is courageous, impersonating Romina when visiting the Earth Federation and earns the admiration and love of
Mike.
Icelander (イルボラ・サロ, Irubora Saro, known as Irbora Saro in Japan), Voiced by:
Kenyu Horiuchi[6]
Icelander is a reserved, but very ambitious general who commands Xenos 5 (later, C-Terahertz for King
Annex). Known as "The Best Warrior" and "Pride" of Ladorio, he identifies himself as a soldier and is proud and arrogant, tending to look down upon others. He is both an excellent warrior and military tactician, often divining his opponents' game-plans, capitalizing on the context, and giving little thought to collateral damage. Throughout the series, he is driven by his deep love for Princess
Romina, his dream of rebuilding Ladorio with her, and his great hatred and envy of
Joe. He pilots the
Mantis and the ninja robot
Zerokage.
Both he and Joe are "people of action" and this mutual antipathy ends up in open quarrels and fights. He does not accept Joe and his friends and hates him for disagreeing on his tactics, disobeying him, and attracting Romina. The need to win her love and trust makes him reckless and he is captured by Grathan and Hazzard who offer a tempting deal, lies of Ladorio's destruction, and pokes at his feelings (better to kill her rather than lose her to Joe). Although his love for her prevents him from killing her, he feels guilty for breaking his promise to protect her and leaves Xenos 5.
He becomes a mercenary, fighting for Grathan and King Annex and targeting Joe for duels. His loyalty to Annex is suspect, harboring plans of single-handedly freeing Ladorio. He negotiates with Grathan for Romina's survival and expects her to understand his feelings when he saves her. Prior to a plan of destroying Xenos 5, he infiltrates the spaceship and warns Gameran, begging him to move Romina to safety. He finally gloats to Joe about the sole reason for working for Annex: the opportunity to destroy him. This hatred for Joe persists until he is seriously injured. Expecting to die, he confesses his feelings to Romina and entrusts her to Joe. He is believed to have survived as Zerokage/him and
Cybertron/Joe join hands and enter the secret room together to power the Xenos 5, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
Gameran (ガメラン, Gameran, known as Gamellun in Japan), Voiced by:
Masashi Sugawara[6]
Gameran is the second in command aboard the Xenos 5. He deeply distrusts
Joe and his friends and their efforts to help Xenos 5, often assuming that they are betraying them or are using them. He takes the initiative to attempt at murdering Joe and
Jenny and often tries to prevent Joe from leaving the ship- whether it be for fighting against the enemies or negotiating. He is the only person to whom
Icelander confesses his reasons for leaving Xenos 5. He remains more loyal to Icelander who prevents his attempts at following him to C-Terahertz and commissions him with protecting
Princess Romina. This makes him angrier at Joe and his friends, seeing them as the reasons for Icelander's departure.
Zaboom
A list of notable characters in the army of Zaboom.
Grathan Gryn is the first commander of the Zaboom army who pursues Xenos 5 to the Solar System. His mission shifts from capturing Xenos 5 to killing
Princess Romina and reluctantly allies with
Hazzard. He is manipulative, but is also manipulated by Hazzard. The duo traps
Icelander and offers him a deal: the three ninja robots in exchange for murdering the Princess. His lies and manipulations contribute to Icelander abandoning Xenos 5 and joining C-Terahertz. Grathan later agrees (with the fullest intention of reneging) to a revised deal with Icelander: the capture of Xenos 5 in exchange for the survival of Princess Romina. When Romina attacks Mantis/Icelander, Grathan shoots at her plane, even shooting down Mantis/Icelander when he obstructs and protests. He is killed by
Cybertron just as he is about to kill Romina.
King
Annex's trusted and devoted General (with her own female warriors) and possible lover. She is beautiful, but stern, cruel, ruthless, and devious. She is struck by the beauty of the planet Earth, which Annex promises to give her. She is suspicious of
Icelander and believes he has hidden motives. This leads her to disregard Icelander's tactical advice and tries to kill him (and
Cybertron) in the force room. She is killed in the destruction of G-Excellent.
King Annex (アネックス・ザブーム, Anekkusu Zabūmu, known as Anecs Zaboom in Japan), Voiced by: Masaaki Okabe[6]
King Annex is the ruler of planet Zaboom and seeks to become the ruler of the universe. He possesses a large fleet of spaceships and robots. He invades Ladorio under the pretext of punishing King Ladorio VII for disagreeing with his viewpoint on the population decline in the galaxy. The more compelling reason is the
legend and prophecy on the ninjas. He goes on to conquer the galaxy and focuses on achieving absolute victory: killing Princess Romina and appropriating the three ninja robots. He comes to the solar system due to
Grathan's consistent failures at both tasks. He appoints
Icelander as Grathan's successor and correctly guesses Icelander to be the destined pilot of another ninja robot that he possesses, the
Zerokage. Upon understanding that ninjas have died out, his aim shifts to securing the other part of the prophecy from Romina and using
Cybertron to conquer the universe. He supposedly leaves for Zaboom in C-Terahertz, leaving
Charme in charge, but hides in the vicinity of G-Excellent. He is killed when Joe destroys the G-Excellent.
Machines
Ninja Legend and Prophecy
The ancient legend, pieced together during the series, speaks of mysterious ninjas who, 500 years ago, fought off an invading Zaboom army trying to conquer Ladorio. They had been transported from Japan in A.D.1790 and brought to planet via Xenos 5. Subsequently, they were the models for the three ninja robots (Black Lion, Phoenix Thunderhawk, and Burst Dragon) and it was believed the robots could be piloted only by the ninjas.
When the Zaboom army attacks Ladorio, King Ladorio VII entrusts Princess Romina with the task of finding the ninjas from Earth who could pilot the three robots and defeat the Zaboom army. King Annex aims at not only preventing Romina from finding the ninjas, but also use the ninjas and the ninja robots to conquer the universe.
Both Annex and Romina possess a torn piece each of a parchment containing the prophecy. Annex's parchment, with the latter half of the prophecy, states that the ninjas in Xenos 5 would emit a great light and would have the power to destroy stars and planets. Romina's parchment (hidden in her tiara and discovered in the final episode), with the former half of the prophecy, states that when Cybertron and Zerokage meet at Xenos 5, they will combine to generate great energy, resulting in the transformation of Xenos 5.
The prophecy is fulfilled when Icelander and Joe join hands to merge into Cybertron and Zerokage, emitting the great light, and enter the secret, forbidden chamber in Xenos 5 where they power and transform Xenos 5 and journeys back to Ladorio.
Ninja Robots
The ninja robots are mechas that can be controlled only by individuals with special abilities. In the event of the pilots losing their physical strength, they merge with a special ninja robot called
Cybertron (Tobikage) and transform into a more powerful combination.
The pilots of both Cybertron (Joe) and
Zerokage (
Icelander) have a deeper association with their ninja robots. The robots instinctively respond to them and merges with them when their lives are in danger (as seen when Joe and Icelander are in their mortal forms when G-Excellent is destroyed, but are found by
Hazzard drifting in space in their robot forms). They also have reciprocal power levels. They combine to form a luminous power source that not only energizes Xenos 5, but also has the potential to destroy stars (and their previous inadvertent combination contributes to a widespread damage of G-Excellent).
Cybertron (飛影, Tobikage, lit. Flying Shadow)
Cybertron is a small ninja robot, approximately 3.6 m (12 ft) tall and weighing 500 kg (1,100 lb). It mysteriously appears whenever the ninja robots are low on power or are facing overwhelming odds. It can fight on its own or can combine with one of the ninja robots (when the pilots are weak) to form a more powerful mode. From episode 26 onwards,
Joe is able to summon and pilot Cybertron.
Icelander tracks the origin of Cybertron to the secret chamber aboard the Xenos 5.
Black Lion (黒獅子, Kurojishi)
Black Lion was the first ninja robot to be activated. It is initially piloted by
Joe and later by
Damian. When it merges with
Cybertron, it is known as "Beast Demon Kurojishi", and looks more like a lion. As per its namesake, it has an armored mane that shoots bullets and is the most agile and speedy of the ninja robots. It is 6.5 m (21 ft) tall and weighs 10 tons.
Phoenix Thunderhawk (鳳雷鷹, Hōraiō)
Phoenix Thunderhawk is the ninja robot used by
Jenny. It has powers of fire. When it merges with
Cybertron, it is known as "Sky Demon Hōraiō", and resembles a fiery phoenix. In this form, it can fly and cast a flame that spans its wings. It is 7.2 m (24 ft) tall and weighs 9.6 tons.
Burst Dragon (爆竜, Bakuryū)
Burst Dragon is the ninja robot used by
Mike. When it merges with
Cybertron, it is known as "Sea Demon Bakuryu", and resembles a dragon. Its form is large and strong, but slow and ungainly. Its special ability is a lightning strike that is capable of wiping out entire robot armies. It is 8.3 m (27 ft) tall and weighs 12 tons.
Zaboom Robots
Shadow Bots (シャーマン, Shāman, known as Shaman in Japan)
The generic battle mecha used by the Zaboom army. They are colored red, have camouflaging abilities, and are equipped with
kamas. They are 3.6 m (12 ft) tall and weigh 750 kg (1,650 lb).
Stealth Destroyers (バンクス, Bankusu, known as Bankz in Japan)
A more powerful mecha used by the Zaboom army. They are equipped jumonji type
yari and are significantly larger than the Shadow Bots at 10 m (33 ft) tall.
Mantis (スケルトン, Sukeruton, known as Skeleton in Japan)
A giant, blue robot created by
Grathan and having four times the strength of the Stealth Destroyers. As part of a deal with Grathan,
Icelander is allowed to pilot this (from episode 19 until episode 24) and lead the Zaboom attacks on Xenos 5. It was destroyed by the Black Lion in Kurojishi mode.
Zerokage (零影, lit. Null Shadow)
Zerokage is a very agile and sentient Ninja Robot possessed by King
Annex. Given its reference in the prophecy, it is not known how Annex got it. It merges with
Icelander when Icelander was thrown out of the
Mantis. Its main opponent is the
Cybertron and both robots are comparable in ability. It is 4 m (13 ft) tall and weighs 550 kg (1,210 lb).
Fortresses
Xenos 5 (エルシャンク, Erushanku, known as Ellshanc in Japan)
Also: Cinos 5. The mother ship for the aliens from Ladorio. It is 300 m long and 250 m wide. It carries a crew of 50 people, both male and female. Xenos 5 had visited the earth 500 years ago to carry away several ninja warriors to Ladorio.
C-Terahertz (C・テラヘルツ, Shi Teraherutsu)
A giant space fortress used by the Zaboom army and Commander Grathan when pursuing Xenos 5. It is 500 m tall and is later commanded by
Icelander. The Black Lion in Kurojishi mode cripples it (temporarily) to permit Xenos 5 to reach the Earth.
G-Excellent (G・エクセレント, Ji Ekuserento)
King Annex reaches the solar system in this gigantic space fortress commanded by
Charme. C-Terahertz is a dwarf when compared to this. It is first damaged by the Earth's missiles and later crippled by
Icelander/Zerokage's attack on
Joe /Cybertron. It is finally destroyed by Joe's time bombs.
Famille Ship
A cruiser used by Hazzard. It is destroyed in the 41st episode by the Phoenix in Houraioh mode.
Media
Anime
The anime series was produced by
Studio Pierrot, and aired on
Nippon Television network from 6 October 1985 to 13 July 1986 with 43 episodes.[7] The initial plan was to finish the series with the recapture of the planet Ladorio, but financial difficulties stopped the show with the plot ending at Xenos 5 leaving for Ladorio.
In 1995, it was dubbed & under the title Ninja Robots. The series was written, produced, and directed by Buz Alexander of Alexander Entertainment Group.[8] The English cast credited
Los Angeles-based voice actors
Cam Clarke,
Steve Kramer,
Wendee Lee,
Mike Reynolds, and
Doug Stone[9] for providing voices, however the actual voices were done by
Miami-based actors at Sonic III Studios.[10] It is rumored that a test pilot with done with those voice actors before the Miami cast was brought in. The first eleven episodes of this version do not follow the original order of episodes.
The opening theme song is titled "Love Survivor" (LOVEサバイバー, LOVE Sabaibā?).[11] The closing theme song is titled "Ichi Seikime no Angel" (一世紀めのエンジェル, Ichi Seikime no Enjeru?).[11] Both songs were written by Kumiko Aoki, and the composition and arrangements were done by Yūichirō Oda.[11] The songs were sung by HIT BOY.[12]
In the English adaptation, the opening theme song is used for both the opener and closer; the lyrics were written by Lisa McBride and the song was performed and arranged by Jerry Cobb.[9] For the Latin American Spanish version of the show, the theme song, based on the English version, was performed by
Ricardo Silva.
Episode list
This section needs expansion with: consider adding broadcast dates. Also needs better episode translations for episodes 16–43.. You can help by
adding to it. (September 2013)
Aspects of Ninja Senshi Tobikage appeared in Super Robot Wars Compact 2, Super Robot Wars Impact,[13] Super Robot Wars UX[14] and Super Robot Wars X-Ω.
Release
Japan
The anime has been released in two DVD boxsets on March 22, 2002 and June 25, 2002 by PioneerLDC.[15] The Blu-Ray box was sold on December 26, 2014.[16]
North America
The series used to be streamed in North America via Yomiura Group's now defunct Anime Sols video service in spring 2013.[17] In December 2021, the series became available for streaming on RetroCrush.[18]
Discotek has licensed the anime for a release in North America.[19] On June 7, 2021, the company issued calls for assistance in locating the English dub tracks for episodes 34, 37, 42 and 43.[20] The series was released with an English dub on
Blu-ray on January 25, 2022.[8]
Streaming
As of 2023, both the Japanese version and the English Blu-ray dub of the series can be streamed on
RetroCrush. Some of the episode titles have been altered, and the order of the episodes in the English version matches the original Japanese release.
Reception
This section needs expansion with: detail how the series was received. You can help by
adding to it. (November 2012)
During its time at the
Cartoon Network it was well received and popular. The show has 186 reviews on
IMDB, with an 8.4 user rating.[21]Animenewsnetwork user ratings gave the show an average score of 6.34 out of 10, ranking it #5788 of the 9076 shows on the website.[22] Neil Lumbard of Blu-Ray.com gave the North American Blu-ray release a positive review, noting the hand-drawn artwork as "a fascinating example of how excellent traditional art looks with anime series," and calling the show overall "an exciting action series with a lot to offer fans of classic (vintage) anime."[23]
Notes
^The Japanese version has no resolution for the love triangle among Joe, Jenny, and the Princess.