Tekkaman Blade

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Tekkaman Blade
DVD cover of Teknoman collection one
宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレード (Uchū no Kishi Tekkaman Burēdo)
Genre	Adventure, Drama, Science fiction
Anime television series
Directed by	Hiroshi Negishi
Written by	Mayori Sekijima Satoru Akahori
Studio	Tatsunoko Production Sotsu Agency
Licensed by	NA: Saban (US TV version) Media Blasters (uncut version)
Original network	TV Tokyo
English network	AU: Network Ten US: UPN
Original run	February 18, 1992 – February 2, 1993
Episodes	50 + 3 (List of episodes)
Video game
Uchū no Kishi: Tekkaman Blade
Developer	Bec
Publisher	Bec
Genre	Scrolling shooter/Fighting game
Platform	Game Boy, Super Famicom, NEC PC-9801
Released	July 30, 1993
Original video animation
Tekkaman Blade II
Directed by	Hideki Tonokatsu
Produced by	Kyoko Okazaki Shuji Uchiyama
Written by	Hiroyuki Kawasaki
Music by	Takashi Kudo
Studio	Tatsunoko
Licensed by	NA: Discotek Media
Released	July 21, 1994 – April 21, 1995
Episodes	6 (List of episodes)

Tekkaman Blade (Japanese: 宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレード, Hepburn: Uchū no Kishi Tekkaman Burēdo, lit. "Space Knight Tekkaman Blade") is a 1992 Japanese anime television series created by Tatsunoko Production and Sotsu Agency. The series was directed by Hiroshi Negishi and written by Mayori Sekijima and Satoru Akahori. The story follows an organization called the Space Knights and their war against aliens known as Radam. The Space Knights are assisted by Takaya Aiba, who has the ability to transform into the armored warrior known as Tekkaman Blade.

The first anime series aired in Japan from February 18, 1992 to February 2, 1993 on TV Tokyo and ran for 49 episodes. This was followed by three specials. A sequel series called Tekkaman Blade II, which is set ten years after the first series and follows the events of the second Radam invasion, was released as series of six OVAs in Japan from July 21, 1994 to April 21, 1995. A video game titled "Uchū no Kishi: Tekkaman Blade" was also released in Japan on July 30, 1993. The original series was released in Australia and the United States as Teknoman with an English dub, although in the US the series was canceled before airing completely.

During the United Earth Year 192, the Earth is under attack from an alien race known as the Radam, whose forces are composed of bug-like monsters and armored warriors known as Tekkamen. The Tekkamen are humans who transform using a crystal which endows them with impenetrable armor, superhuman strength, flight, energy weapons, and a lance. The Radam's spaceship lies dormant on the dark side of the Moon where the Radam wait for it to be repaired. Unlike the other Tekkamen, Blade fights to defend the Earth and is free of the mind control which the Radam have imposed on the Tekkamen.

Before the start of the Radam invasion, a deep space exploration ship called the Argos, crewed by the Aibas and their friends, discover the Radam spaceship lying dormant in the outer rings of Saturn. While exploring the Radam ship, Radam pods capture the crew and turn them into Tekkamen while the Argos is assimilated. Takaya's father, rejected by the Radam pods, frees Takaya before he is fully converted and puts him into an escape pod before activating the Argos' self-destruct. Upon the Argos' explosion, the Radam spaceship crash lands on the dark side of the Moon. In his Tekkaman armor, Takaya spends six months drifting back to Earth in his escape pod. By the time he arrives, the Radam have begun their invasion. Takaya bursts free from his escape pod and attacks the Radam forces, which draws Tekkaman Dagger's attention and causes the two to fight. After his fight with Dagger, Blade crashes down to Earth where he is discovered by two of the Space Knights, Noal Vereuse and Aki Kisaragi, who take him back to their headquarters.

Fighting against the Radam and their Tekkamen are the Space Knights. Led by Commander Heinrich von Freeman, the Space Knights are a special defense force consisting of Noal, the pilot of the Space Knights' ship the Blue Earth; Aki, the Blue Earth's navigator; Milly, the communications operator; Levin, computer mechanic; and Honda, mechanic.

In the beginning, Takaya is hostile towards the Space Knights. However, as time progresses, he begins to respect the Space Knights for their dedication in even the toughest of situations and develops a romantic relationship with Aki. The Space Knights, with the help of Takaya, begin to repel the Radam forces until Blade's crystal is shattered during a battle with Dagger, rendering him unable to transform. Levin develops a battle robot named Pegas which contains the shards of Blade's crystal and allows him to transform again. Pegas and Blade become friends. In his first transformation using Pegas, Blade challenges Dagger and kills him.

Eventually four more Tekkamen (Tekkaman Lance, Tekkaman Axe, and Tekkaman Sword, led by Blade's twin brother Tekkaman Evil) arrive on Earth to challenge Blade. Blade's sister Miyuki, Tekkaman Rapier, also arrives on Earth. However, like Blade, she is not under the control of the Radam. Miyuki arrives on Earth very ill and is given a blood transfusion from Takaya and Aki. Evil, Lance, Axe and Sword attack the Space Knights' base and attempt to kill Miyuki. Although outnumbered, Miyuki fights the four Tekkamen and self-destructs in an attempt to destroy them. Blade, now left without a family, resolves to destroy the Radam and manages to kill Lance and Axe and later gains the power to take on the Blaster Tekkaman mode. Evil is given the same ability as well in order to serve as Omega's last line of defense.

At the end of the war, Blade and Evil meet for the last time. The two of them fight and Blade kills Evil. As he dies, Evil is freed from the Radam's mind control and hands his crystal to Blade, telling him that he will need its power to reach the Radam spaceship. Balzac kills Sword as they both burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Blade takes off on Pegas and arrives on the Moon, where he confronts the Radam leader Tekkaman Omega, who reveals that he is Blade's older brother Kengo. Omega begins to resurrect the Radam spaceship and takes off towards Earth. Blade attacks Omega, who proves too powerful and easily defeats Blade. Omega is about to kill Blade when Pegas steps in front of the killing blow and sacrifices itself. Pegas' destruction enrages Blade and causes him to transform into Blaster Tekkaman mode for the last time. Blade kills Omega and causes the Radam spaceship to explode. The remnants of the Radam spaceship fall to Earth along with Blade, now stripped of his armor.

The series ends with Blade and Aki watching the sunset and Noal recalling what a miracle it was that he and Blade survived the war. However, Blade is now bound to a wheelchair and completely amnesic.

Tekkaman Blade was broadcast in Japan on TV Tokyo and aired 49 episodes between February 18, 1992 and February 2, 1993.^{[citation needed]} It uses four pieces of theme music: two opening themes and two ending themes.^{[citation needed]} The first opening theme is "Reason" by Yumiko Kosaka and is used from the first through twenty-sixth episodes. The second opening theme is "Eternal Loneliness" (永遠の孤独) by Yumiko Kosaka and is used from the twenty-seventh episode onwards.^{[citation needed]} The first and second ending themes are "Energy of Love" and "Lonely Heart" respectively, both performed by Yumiko Kosaka.^{[citation needed]}

The series was aired with an English dub in the United States and Australia under the name Teknoman. The broadcast version was heavily cut from the original Japanese version and was reduced from 49 episodes to 43.^{[citation needed]} The series was licensed by Media Blasters in 2006 with separate boxsets for Teknoman and Tekkaman Blade.^[1]

Tekkaman Blade II (宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレードII, Uchu no Kishi Tekkaman Burēdo Tsū, lit. Space Knight Tekkaman Blade II) is a six-episode original video animation that was released in 1994 by Tatsunoko and serves as the sequel to the Tekkaman Blade anime series. The series was licensed by Discotek Media in 2012 for an uncut home media release on DVD format in English dubbed and English subtitled options.^[3]

A video game based on the anime series titled Uchū no Kishi: Tekkaman Blade was released for the Super Famicom on July 30, 1993.^{[citation needed]} The majority of the game is a scrolling shooter where the player takes control of Tekkaman Blade. Boss battles hold elements of a fighting game genre. There is also a two player versus mode.^{[citation needed]}

Tekkaman blade is also a playable character in the Capcom fighter Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars. ^[5]

• Tekkaman: The Space Knight

• Space Knight: Tekkaman Blade
• Tekkaman Blade (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia