Cyborg Kuro chan

Story

Kuro is a housecat for an old couple who cannot defend themselves and are in frequent danger. They rely on him to keep burglars from invading their house, at which he is skilled. Despite his courage, he is in love with the neighborhood dog, Pooly, and he sets out to confess this one day. While heading to see her, he and Pooly are ambushed and injured. Kuro is then kidnapped by Dr. Go, a mad scientist, and transformed into a cyborg with invincible steel frames and unlimited strength, the latest in a line of robot cats used for world domination, called the "Nyan-Nyan Army". He somehow, though, breaks a chip supposedly used to control him, and he escapes Go's laboratory as well as destroying it, while he now realizes that he is now bipedal and can speak human language. He comes to terms with his predicament, while maintaining his lifestyle as an average housecat. However, Go feels that Kuro is ungrateful to him, and he and the Nyan-Nyan Army, including the most well-known Mi, set out to find and kill him, though they eventually surrender and decide to live a more peaceful life.

Often, Kuro will save his owners and the city from trouble. He has multiple adversaries, including Go's Nyan-Nyan Army. Dr. Go and Mi help Kuro out in the toughest situations. Throughout the course of the series, there are phantasmal and extraordinary predicaments that Kuro and his friends must solve.

Main

Kuro (クロちゃん, Kuro-chan) - The main character who was kidnapped by Dr. Go and turned into a cyborg cat, along with various features and weapons. He has a horrible temper, and gets angry and out of control easily, but he is noble and good-hearted. He uses a Gatling gun as a signature weapon. Kuro was voiced by Chika Sakamoto.

Grandparents - The elderly couple who treat Kuro as a companion. They are not immune to trouble, never learn much, and are in need of Kuro's rescue frequently. However, they have no idea that Kuro is now a cyborg, though he intends to keep this secret.

Dr. Go (剛くん, Gō-kun) - The main antagonist and a major antihero, an eccentric inventor who wishes world domination by creating cyborg cats as weapons of mass destruction. His plan completely backfired when Kuro was created with a full will of his own. He later stops from his plans in world domination and decides to live in a more peaceful way of living with Mi and later Kotaro. He maintains a friendly rivalry with Kuro. His real name is Mantaro Go (剛万太郎, Gō Mantarō) Dr. Go is portrayed by Tōru Furusawa.

Mi (ミーくん, Mī-kun) - A cyborg cat created by Dr. Go to exterminate Kuro. He appears as a frequent "goon" of his but is in fact kind-hearted and noble. At a later part of the story where Go accepts defeat and turns down on his conquest to world domination, he is now often seen helping him and in times helping Kuro too. They are seen training together which often leads to them fighting for real which is to be stopped by Nana. Opposite to Kuro, Mi prefers a sword as his standard weapon. He can add himself to any weapon and additional items to them. Mi was portrayed by Chiharu Tezuka.

Matatabi (マタタビ, Matatabi)- An antihero, a regular cat who wears a red tattered "cloak" and has an eyepatch over his right eye, indicating injury. He was a childhood friend of Kuro, but he declared himself his enemy after assuming the cause of his problems was him. His main weapon is a wooden boomerang which he can use to hit targets at great distances. Whenever he is not fighting, he is seen hanging around on top of houses. He is skilled in craftsmanship and an experienced carpenter. Matatabi is portrayed by Makiko Ohmoto.

Kotaro (コタロー, Kotarō)- A boy genius dressed in a cat suit who helps Go and M out by assisting in their inventions or building his own. He has an obsession over Kuro, and tries to prove to be as powerful as him. This idea of his was the result of being an outcast. He is experienced in technology, with an IQ of 200. The reviewer for Manga-News describes Kotaro as walling himself into his world of video games, but also regards Kotaro as an author surrogate. Kotaro is portrayed by Rika Komatsu.

Nana (ナナちゃん, Nana-chan)- A female robot with a cat-like appearance that was created by Kotaro from a table lamp. She develops a love interest in Kuro, who denies her; she accepts his rejection after numerous attempts to win his heart, though it is shown that he does care for her. Nana is portrayed by Hiromi Tsunakake.

Secondary

Ichiro Suzuki (鈴木 一郎, Suzuki Ichirō) - A schoolteacher who also admires Kuro. He is an avid otaku, and often gets himself involved into Kuro's shenanigans. Suzuki is portrayed by Toshiyuki Morikawa.

Megumi (めぐみ, Megumi) - A female firefighter who is Suzuki's secret crush. She is a quick thinker in most situations, such as putting out even the least dangerous of fires in her debut appearance in the anime. Megumi is portrayed by Sayuri Yoshida.

Romeo (ロミオ, Romeo) and Juliet (ジュリエット, Jūrietto) - A duo of alien lovers. They are very optimistic, no matter what happens. They later marry and have a child together. Romeo is voiced by Kosuke Okano, while Juliet is voiced by Sayuri Yoshida.

Chieko Okada (岡田チエコ, Okada Chieko) - A girl with a deep hatred for Kuro and very powerful supernatural abilities, including ESP and telekinesis. Another notable feature of hers is her voluminous hair.

Dunk (ダンク, Danku) - Kotaro's robot friend. He was an ordinary lion, but he was involved in a near-death experience. Dr. Go successfully revived him in his current cyborg form. Later on in the series Dunk gets modified by Kotaro's farther who gives him the ability to make text boxes appear out of his head. Dunk is quite timid, gentle, and pure. He is voiced by Isshin Chiba.

YaYaYa aliens (ヤーヤーヤー星人, Yāyāyā boshijin) - A trio of friendly aliens that boast incredibly dangerous weapons. They are often also seen wearing special bracelets that can enlarge or shrink their targets. Their names are Yai (ヤーイ, Yāi), Yasu (ヤースー, Yāsū), and Yachi (ヤーチー, Yāchī); Yai is the leader. The aliens are anime-original characters.

Goro Nagase (長瀬 五郎, Nagase Gōrō) - A boy Chieko met once. Goro came from an abusive household. He is a big dreamer, but he is a loser. He boasts a large scar from his abuse.He ends up being temporarily turned into a cyborg after being seriously injured. Goro only appeared in the manga.

Prince Malo (マロ王子, Maro-ōji) - A prince of the YaYaYa group. He bears a striking resemblance to Kuro. Malo is supposed to be courteous and he has the opposite personality from Kuro, but he eats like a vampire, and he also boasts offensive British gas,he only appears in the anime and is voiced by Chika Sakamoto

Princess Mimi (ミミ姫, Mimi-hime) - A princess who looks exactly like Nana. Malo was supposed to marry her, but he refused. Despite her ladylike looks, she is actually quite selfish, she only appears in the anime and is voiced by Hiromi Tsunakake.

Yo (よくん, Yokun) - A caricature of the manga's creator, Naoki Yokouchi. He makes fleeting appearances in some anime episodes. He is depicted wearing a purple trenchcoat with a similarly-colored hat.

Nyan-Nyan Army (ニャンニャンアーミー, Nyannyanāmī) - A squadron of cyborg cats created by Dr. Go. Mi is the first in the line, created by Go from the remains of his pet kitten. There are four other members - #2, nicknamed Spyder, who can expand his arms, legs, and neck, #3, who also fights with his own sword and boasts a panda disguise, #4, who also has a bad temper and is the most frequently encountered, and #5, who is seen with a robot companion, Lassie, and also uses a Gatling gun. #2 is voiced by Yuko Sasamoto, #3 is voiced by Rika Komatsu, #4 is voiced by Sayuri Yoshida and #5 is voiced by Mami Nakajima

Tendou (天道, tendo) - The main enemy and rival of Doctor Go, and the guy responsible for the demise of Mi's mother. Unlike Go who's allies are cats, Tendou prefers to use dogs, he is voiced by Naoki Tatsuta

Pooly (プーリィ, Pūryi) - A stray pink poodle who was Kuro's crush in the beginning of the series. In the anime version, she lived in a house. She is voiced by Yuko Sasamoto.

Lily (リリィ, Riryi) - Mi's first love. She was abandoned by her owner and lived as a stray for a brief time before being adopted by a girl she had saved from an accident. She is voiced by Yuko Sasamoto.

Marie (マリー, Marī) - A stray dog in Kuro's past with a similar appearance to Pooly, but with pointed ears. She had been a surrogate mother to Kuro as a baby for a brief time before he was taken. She is in the manga only.

New Wild Kuro (真 暴走クロちゃん, Shin Bousou Kuro-chan) - An alternate form of Kuro which can be triggered by one of Dr.Go's machines or from extreme rage. He is a red and yellow more aggressive version of Kuro with large claws and teeth, he can also run much faster than Kuro but can also run out of fuel like his regular form, Kuro also seems to use a rocket launcher a lot in this form despite the gatling gun being his main weapon. He does not speak like normal Kuro, instead he angrily growls. This character was only featured in the anime and is voiced by Chika Sakamoto.

Manga

The manga was originally released in issues of Comic Bonbon from September 1997 until December 2001 with a total of 56 chapters. The chapters were then released across eleven volumes by Kodansha between 1998 and 2002. In Germany, Egmont Manga & Anime published the first three volumes. In France, Pika Édition published the entire series. It has been published in Indonesia by M&C Comics.

A sequel series, Cyborg Kuro-chan: Extra Battle (サイボーグクロちゃん 番外バトル, Saibōgu Kurochan Bangai Batoru) was published from 2005 to 2006. Like the original, it has been published in Indonesia by M&C Comics.

Anime

Cyborg Kuro-chan was adapted into an anime series produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha for TV Tokyo. The anime aired at 8:00am on Saturdays from 2 October 1999 to 6 January 2001 for 66 episodes. A total of 26 episodes were to be made but production was extended until March 2001 meaning that 78 episodes would be made instead. Only 66 of them aired because the producers "Studio Bogey" and "PIBI" fell into bankruptcy.

The opening theme is Guruguru Kuro-chan by Lady Q, who also sung Damedame no Uta for Crayon Shin-chan. Two closing themes were created. These are Positive Vibration by Sister K, and Parapara Kuro-chan by Kyuu. The anime has been exported to several countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa. It has been broadcast on such channels including Spacetoon and Italia 1. The opening for the latter airing was sung by regular contributor Cristina D'Avena and Giorgio Vanni. Naoki Tatsuta narrated the anime.

In Japan the anime was released on VHS by Media Factory and Public & Basic (PIBI), only the first 53 episodes were released after PIBI fell into bankruptcy. Other countries like Indonesia and China got the episodes released on VCD.

There were also two Kuro-chan CDs released, the first one (Cyborg Kuro-chan: strongest Uchimakuri Music Encyclopedia TV - Original Soundtrack) was released on June 21, 2000 and contained most of the tracks from the anime, the second one (Cyborg Kuro-chan Gatling mix) was released on November 18, 2000 but unlike the other CD this ones content mainly consists of remixes of tracks from the first CD. There was also a single which contained the opening and ending and their instrumental versions.

Other merchandise

Takara Tomy made toys based on the characters. In 1999 the company released posable figures of the characters which included bendable limbs and detachable weapons, they also made trading cards and figures of Kuro and Mi with action features. In 2000 the company release 4 vehicle toys based on the Battleborgs from episode 19 of the anime, Matatabi, Kuro, Mi and Cyborg Kuro were released. Tomy also made special boxed figures which contained many accessories including weapons. These were the last Kuro-chan toys released by Tomy.

Konami published video games based on the series. Kaettekita Cyborg Kuro-Chan, a shoot 'em up, was released for the PlayStation on 28 November 2002. Two Game Boy Color games were also released: Cyborg Kuro-chan: Devil Fukkatsu!! on 23 March 2000, and Cyborg Kuro-chan 2: White Woods no Gyakushū on 19 October 2000. Official game guides were released for the Game Boy Color games.

Reception

Christian Hess, writing for the German site Animepro, noted the "thin storyline" of the manga. Malindy Hetfield, writing for Splashcomics, felt that the artwork was closer to a child's drawing style than a manga style. She felt the parodies in the second volume were very funny, cautioning that one needed to become accustomed to the drawing style, and summed up the third volume as "You want hearty humor, wacky drawings, absolutely crazy characters and the greatest orgy of destruction that can be accommodated in 170 pages? Well then, let's go and buy!" Nicholas Demay compared the series with Samurai Pizza Cats, and described the drawing style as cartoonish, feeling that it supported the surreal tone of the manga, by reminding the reader that despite the "explosive ambiance" that this is a humorous series, intended for children. He felt that by the fourth volume, it was clear that Yokouchi intended to use simple characterisations (especially in Dr. Go's case), but felt that this was effective and heightened the contrast between the cuteness of the series and its depictions of mass destruction. Demay felt that the fifth volume, taking place in an alternate dimension, was a chance for Yokouchi to renew himself and to have a change of scenery, and noted that the backgrounds in this sequence are more detailed than usual. He felt that the story of Kuro-chan and Nana's true relationship was "cute and funny". Demay found the ninth volume "bleak", and hoped it was not a sign that the series was becoming tired, but was relieved to find that the tenth volume returned to humorous storylines. Demay was more prepared for the final volume's focus on action rather than comedy, but appreciated that the author "sprinkled through" many gags, which Demay felt Cyborg Kuro-chan would not be the same without, feeling that the it was an honorable conclusion to the series.

The reviewer for Manga-News felt that the parodies of the early volumes quickly ran thin, and that the author's attempt to revive the series by adding in multiple characters left the reviewer confused. He felt that the later volumes' turn into emotional scenes and tragedy did not suit the series. He noted the Die Hard parody in the second volume, and felt that the references to Japanese culture in this volume were not adequately explained by Pika in the appendix. Despite this, he felt that it was accessible to a wide audience as most of the gags were visual gags. He described Kuro-chan as "a cross between Astroboy and Felix the Cat on acid". He felt that the translation sometimes altered jokes when they were clear in the original, for example, removing a reference to Pikachu. The reviewer for Manga-News noted that although the fifth volume concerned a more serious initial scenario and could be read independently of the others, that the storyline was more of the same silly humor and exaggerated violence. He felt that in the sixth volume, a "naive sentimentalism" clashed with the general ambiance of the series. In the seventh volume, there is a fight between Suzuki's students and Kuro in the desert, which the reviewer for Manga-News describes as inappropriate. In the ninth volume, the reviewer for Manga News felt that Chieko and Goro steal the stage from the main characters, and that the tenth volume was unfocused.