Mega Man is a Japanese-American animated television series multi-produced by Capcom Productions, Ruby-Spears Productions, Ashi Productions, and Ocean Productions and is based on the game series of the same name. The TV series began on 11 September 1994 and ended on 10 December 1995 and was aired on many syndicated stations at the time. Two seasons were produced with a third season planned, but the show was cancelled due to budget constraints.
Dr. Light and Dr. Wily were brilliant scientists in the field of robotics, who worked together in a laboratory trying to advance the science. One day, they finished an extremely advanced prototype, but shortly after being activated, it started destroying the laboratory. Dr. Light immediately believed that the prototype's guidance system, which Dr. Wily had personally programmed, was the source of the problem and concluded they would start over again. Angered, Dr. Wily attempted to steal the plans later that night, but Dr. Light catches him. Wily is able to steal the plans after knocking Dr. Light down, and goes off to what is apparently an abandoned area, and modifies the old robot prototype into Proto Man.
Later, Dr. Light builds Rock and Roll, advanced robots with personalities, along with Ice Man, Guts Man, and Cut Man. Dr. Wily and Proto Man go and steal the robots, reprogramming the latter three robots as henchmen. Dr. Wily attempts to reprogram Rock and Roll at his lab later, but Rock decides to trick Dr. Wily. He tells Dr. Wily that Dr. Light also built "super warrior robots", and that if Rock and Roll are let go, he'll tell him how to defeat the robots. Rock uses this lie (Dr. Wily believing robots can't lie) to cause a distraction and escape with Roll. Dr. Light decides to reprogram and reoutfit Rock into Mega Man, who from then on keeps the world safe. This tale is told in Episode 1, "The Beginning".
Throughout the episodes, Mega Man thwarts Wily's various schemes, in a similar fashion to that of the "Super Friends", usually ending with Rush acting in similar vein to Scooby Doo.
History
Mega Man starred in a Saturday-morning style cartoon that premiered in 1994. Ruby-Spears, one of the producers of the show, redesigned the characters from the Mega Man video games to varying degrees. The show had a budget of 300,000 dollars per episode.
Despite consistent high ratings, the show was cancelled after 2 seasons. The decision to end the cartoon was handed down from Capcom, most likely due to merchandising pressures from toy-partner Bandai, which cut several other popular toy lines at the time short due to not meeting sales expectations (including The Tick, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball).. The show's animation director Kenichiro Watanabe went on to direct Power Stone, based on another Capcom franchise.
Protagonists
Mega Man (voiced by Ian James Corlett) – Mirroring his origins in the video games, Mega Man was originally an assistant robot built by Dr. Light and called Rock. He originally donned a blue T-shirt and shorts but also wore his typical robot boots. After Wily reprograms Light's first industrial robots (the Mega Man robot masters) he captures Rock and Roll to make them his servants too. Rock tricks Wily into freeing them as he can't conceive of a robot being able to lie. Rock is then rebuilt into a fighting robot. His primary weapon is the plasma-cannon which he fires from his left arm after withdrawing his hand into it. He can also copy Wily's robots' abilities by touching them. During battle, Mega Man cracks jokes and puns. He has numerous catchphrases; the one he uses most frequently is "Sizzling Circuits". Ironically, Corlett, who voices Mega Man here, previously voiced Dr. Wily in Captain N: The Game Master.
Dr. Light (voiced by Jim Byrnes) – Mega Man's creator. He used to work with Dr. Wily to create a line of industrial robots until the latter stole their plans and a defective prototype. Light built Rock, Roll, and the first three robot masters (unlike the six from Mega Man 1), Cut Man, Guts Man, and Ice Man. After Wily reprogrammed his industrial robots, Light rebuilds Rock into Mega Man in order to stop his schemes. Throughout the series, Light builds other robots and inventions to help humanity and to stop Wily's plots. His appearance differs slightly from his game counterpart; he has a shorter beard and grey hair. Fans of the show also note his ability to state the blatantly obvious. Jim Byrnes would later reprise his role as Dr. Light (although renamed Dr. Wright) in the English dub of Mega Man: Upon a Star.
Roll (voiced by Robyn Ross) – Mega Man's sister who assists him on missions. She was built as a household robot and possesses a number of home-appliances which switch on and off similarly to Mega Man's plasma cannon. Most frequently she uses a vacuum cleaner which has enough force to pull robots to pieces and which can also occasionally suck in enemy projectiles and fire them back. Roll is depicted as being much more mature than her game counterpart physically, and dons a red-and-yellow jumpsuit instead of a dress.
Rush (voiced by Ian James Corlett) – Mega Man's robot dog. Mega Man uses Rush's jet-mode, in which he turns into a jet board, as a primary means of transportation throughout the series. Rush also has a number of other modes though none which are directly derived from the games. Rush's nose can "sniff out anything" and was once used to locate a bomb planted by Wily. His ears also detect faraway sound. Rush acts similarly to Scooby Doo in many respects, often performing silly antics on his own. He also alternates between making typical dog-sounds and speaking. Though most of the time he only parrots other characters, he also appears to have a limited ability for independent speech, mostly for comedy purposes (such as announcing "Mega, Mega. Right back. Messages." during the show's commercial bumpers).
Antagonists
Dr. Wily (voiced by Scott McNeil) – Light's former assistant who stole the plans for the prototype industrial robots after their first test with a humanoid robot failed. Wily was convinced that Light sabotaged his work in order to get the credit and runs off before returning with ProtoMan to reprogram Light's industrial robots. In the first episode it is revealed that Wily has suffered envy through his entire life ("I didn't even have toys like the other children") and plans to exact vengeance on humanity by having his robots control everything. He is depicted very much like his original counterpart. He speaks with a German accent and is prone to fits of maniacal laughter. Scott McNeil would later reprise his role as Dr. Willy in the English dub of Mega Man: Upon a Star although his German accent is toned down.
Proto Man (voiced by Scott McNeil) – Mega Man's older brother and Wily's constant lackey. Despite working for Wily, Proto has a tendency to disobey him and ruin some of Wily's plans as he is obsessed with destroying his brother or recruiting him to Dr. Wily's side. Proto Man's abilities are similar to those of Mega Man; he fires plasma resembling blue-energy and has on one occasion copied Guts Man's power in order to fight Mega Man. The first humanoid prototype built by Light and Wily resembles his color-scheme though it is not directly stated if Wily rebuilt Proto Man from the prototype. Unlike in the Mega Man games, Proto Man does not carry his trademark shield in the series. Unlike his counterpart from the games, he is loyal to Wily alone, filling the role that Bass plays from Mega Man 7 onwards.
Cut Man (voiced by Terry Klassen) – One of Dr. Light's original six industrial robots that would serve as a logging robot who used his Rolling Cutters to chop down trees. He was reprogrammed by Dr. Wily and is one of his stock-lackeys alongside Guts Man and Proto Man appearing in every episode. He speaks with a Peter Lorre-esque nasal accent and makes cutting and scissors-related one-liner puns ("Cutting you down to size is going to be shear delight") while laughing at his own jokes. Despite his somewhat arrogrant attitude, he is usually defeated and this has become a joke among fans of the series. His overall design reflects his game counterpart though the details of his head and uniform are slightly different. Originally, he carried only one weapon that was thrown in a boomerang fashion; however later in the same episode he fired his weapon a seemingly unlimited number of times. However, he has used both methods throughout the series.
Guts Man (voiced by Garry Chalk) – One of Dr. Light's original six industrial robots that created as a robot to help in construction. Along with Cut Man, he appears in every episode as one of Dr. Wily's main henchmen. Contrary to his persona in the games and somewhat stereotypically, Guts Man is all muscle and little brain and always attempts to crush Mega Man. A recurring joke involves Rush biting Guts Man's leg before being kicked off. Guts Man is also shown often breaking through walls in order to get somewhere, rather than using/opening doors. This habit was used in one episode to trick him. Chalk's Guts Man voice is very similar to the one he used for King Hippo on Captain N: The Game Master (who was that show's "big and strong but slow-witted" character as well.)
Minor characters
Eddie (voiced by Scott McNeil) – A suitcase on legs, Eddie's primary function is to deliver Energy Cans (E-Tanks) to Mega Man when he is critically low on energy. Eddie is always ready for action and appears in a handful of episodes. Though resembling his game counterpart outwardly he was colored green rather than red.
Met/Doc – A single Met acts as an assistant to Dr. Light in the first episode. It does not make an appearance in any other episodes, although it is presumed to still be around since it was not destroyed. It is not equipped with a weapon like it's in-game counterparts and its only feature is a flexible grabber arm, which it uses to produce a variety of items, suggesting he was another lab assistant and a prototype for Eddie. He is referred to as "Doc".
Robot Masters – Various Robot Masters from the first five Mega Man classic games make appearances throughout the series, including Snake Man from Mega Man 3, Elec Man from the original Mega Man, and Pharaoh Man from Mega Man 4. Some appear more often than others, for example Snake Man appears in five episodes, while Pharaoh Man appears only in the second episode and Napalm Man only appears in the introduction. Interestingly, none of the Robot Masters from Mega Man 6 made appearances even though the show's first episode aired a year after the game's release. Most of the Robot Masters are voiced by the show's main cast, particularly Terry Klassen, Garry Chalk, Jim Byrnes and Ian James Corlett. Notable exceptions are Richard Newman (Wood Man) and Tony Sampson (Gemini Man). A common rumor suggests the Robot Masters who appear in the episode "Cold Steel" (Spark Man, Gemini Man, and Gyro Man) to be voiced by Sugar Ray members Mark McGrath, Craig Bullock, and Charles Stan Frazier, respectively. This, however, is not actually the case.
Mayor (voiced by Garry Chalk) – Appearing in a number of episodes, the Mayor often goes to Mega Man when a crisis involving Wily is threatening New York City. Despite his inability to stop Wily the Mayor did stand up to him during the Big Shake, refusing to surrender control of the city despite Wily's threats, his obvious fear of him, and Mega Man being out of commission. He reappears in "Campus Commandos", voiced by Scott McNeil. He is seen again (albeit a different appearance) in the episode "Mega Dreams", voiced by Jim Byrnes. In the post season two episode Crime of the Century, a new mayor is introduced. Despite the notable physical change, the old mayor being a standard size, moustached white man and the new one a large African American, Garry Chalk also provided him with the same voice. The Mayor characters did not appear in any video game and were made up for the show.
Batontons – The series version of the Bomb Bat enemies introduced in Mega Man 2. They're also referred to as Wily's Spy Bats. They're most frequently used for spying missions though they also possess the ability to attack using lighting projectiles.
Bree Ricotta (voiced by Robyn Ross) – A recurring news reporter character, appearing most prominently in the episode "Mega-Pinnochio". Her name seems to be a reference to brie and ricotta, which are both types of cheese. She did not appear in any video game, and was made up for the show.
Mega Man X (voiced by Michael Donovan)– The main character of the Mega Man X series, X makes an appearance in the same episode as Vile and Spark Mandrill, having chased them through time to stop them from taking Lightanium back to their own time to help Sigma finance his wars against humans. Like Mega Man, X has the ability to copy weapons from enemies by touching them, as he is seen copying Snake Man's weapon to destroy Dr. Wily's plasma cannon. Unlike Mega Man, X seems to be able to copy a weapon multiple times-Mega Man can only use a copied weapon once (as he only copies it once), while X was seen copying and using Snake Man's weapon three times.
Vile (voiced by Lee Tockar) – A battle Reploid and Maverick Warrior sent from the future to obtain Lightanium power rods in the episode "Mega X". He and his partner Spark Mandrill are hoping to distribute the rods to his master Sigma, who is the leader of the Mavericks planning to use to rods to finance his war against the humans in his time. Vile has entered into an alliance with Wily after learning that Wily has gained hold of the schematics of the power plant containing the rods. As compensation for Wily helping him to get the rods, Vile allows Wily to obtain some of the rods to power up his new blaster weapon that can annihilate anything in its way. However, the two are foiled by Mega Man and his future counterpart, Mega Man X, causing Wily and his henchmen to escape after the blaster weapon is destroyed while Mega Man X drags Vile and Spark Mandrill back to their time.
Spark Mandrill (voiced by Richard Newman) – A battle Reploid and Maverick Warrior who appeared in "Mega X". He is Vile's partner, supporting Vile to obtain the Lightanium rods to finance Sigma's war on the humans in the future. He is defeated by Mega Man X, who pushed him and Vile back to their time.
Release
Mega Man entered syndication on September 17, 1994. It was rerun on Family Channel between 1999 and 2001.
Home video release
Episodes were released on VHS by Sony Wonder beginning in January 1995.
The entire series was released on 2 DVD sets by ADV Films in 2003. Both sets are now out-of-print. In 2009, ADV Films re-released the 1st half of the series, but was shut down in 2009. Discotek Media released the entire series on September 30, 2014.
Reception
At one time, Mega Man was placed as the number one weekly syndicated children's show in the Nielsen ratings.
Music
The theme and background music was composed and produced by John Lee Mitchell and Tom Keenlyside at Anitunes Music. An official soundtrack was also released with songs by artists such as Sugar Ray. The cover of the soundtrack is from an early promotional image. Nearly all of the show's background music was reused in the early 2000s Westwood Media dub of Dragon Ball Z, which covered episodes 108 to 276.
