Medabots
Medabots, known in Japan as Medarot, is a Japanese role-playing video game franchise created by Rin Horuma and currently owned by Imagineer. The main series of RPGs focus on collecting and battling with the titular robots. The bulk of the games releases have been on Nintendo platforms, including the Game Boy, GameCube, and the DS, and 3DS handhelds.
The series was adapted into a Japanese anime television series spanning two adaptations. The first was animated by Bee Train while the second, Medarot Damashii, was animated by Production I.G. The television series originally aired on TV Tokyo from July 2, 1999, to March 30, 2001. Both series were originally licensed and localized into English by Nelvana and were broadcast on YTV in Canada and Fox Kids and ABC Family in the United States from 2001 to 2004.
A manga series, written by Rin Horuma, was also produced. It was serialized in the children's magazine Comic BomBom in Japan and then published into collected volumes by Kodansha. The manga based on the first game, Medarot, was never translated into English, but the manga based on the sequel, Medarot 2, was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media, simply under the title Medabots. Medarot 2, 3, and 4, have also been translated into English for distribution in Singapore by Chuang Yi.
To date, only Medabots, Medabots AX, and Medabots Infinity have been released in North America. There have also been plastic models produced by Kotobukiya.
A compilation game Medarot Classics Plus was released on November 12, 2020. It features the Kabuto and Kuwagata versions of the first eight mainline games.
Plot
In the future, the Medabots are a type of robot that are owned by different people and engage in Robattles. The theories and processes of the Medabots led to their creation at the hands of Dr. Eugene Aki, Professor Hushi, and Dr. Armond. In submission battles, the loser of the battle must give up one of their Medabots' parts ranging from their head, one of their arms, or their legs to the victor of the Robattle.''Medabots''
The series centers around Medabots, artificially intelligent robots, whose purpose is to serve humans in a future time. The series begins with a ten-year-old boy named Ikki Tenryō, who wants to become a champion of the World Robattle Tournament. However, Ikki is unable to afford a Medabot and his parents refuse to buy him one. However, he manages to get enough money to buy an outdated model, and, with a bit of luck, he finds a medal in a river that was previously dropped there after the Phantom Renegade thwarted a robbery by members of the Rubberobo Gang. Ikki quickly inserts it into the Medabot he purchased named Metabee. The only problem is that the medal he found gives Metabee a severe attitude problem, which leads Ikki to think he is defective. However, this theory is proven wrong later in the series as it is revealed that Metabee actually has a rare medal. Ikki and Metabee end up in different robattles while also contending with the Rubberobo Gang members Seaslug, Gillgirl, Squidguts, and Shrimplips who are led by Dr. Armond under his alias of Dr. Meta-Evil. In addition, they also encounter the Medabot Rokusho who was originally owned by Professor Hushi who was presumed dead in a fire.The rare medals were kept secret by the Medabot Corporation, as very little was known about them. However, a Medabot with a rare medal would be able to call upon an attack called the "Medaforce". In the manga, the Medaforce is a form of medal mind control as explained by Dr. Aki in the third graphic novel of Medabots. In the anime however, it is shown as a way of increasing the power of the Medabot's special skill into a focused beam attack.
Another important aspect is the story of Henry, the store clerk who sold Metabee to Ikki. It is revealed that he is, quite obviously, Phantom Renegade. A running gag of the series was Henry almost telling everyone he is the Phantom Renegade, with no one ever discovering this fact. Space Medafighter X is introduced, who is another one of Henry's secret identities, the number one Medafighter in Japan. Later during the World Finals, he rarely shows up to the fights, instead sending substitutes and working behind the scenes. This being because he supposedly started The Ten Days of Darkness, which occurred eight years before the events in the series during the World Robattle Cup when Henry fought as Hikaru Agata with the original Metabee. The Medabots went on a rampage during the Ten Days of Darkness which stopped when Henry was forced to kill his Medabot by destroying his medal.
At the end of the second season, it is revealed that Victor was helping Dr. Meta-Evil to get medals during the tournament. During the finals, Metabee and Warbandit continue to fight, even with their partners lost and their bodies damaged. It is during this event that Dr. Meta-Evil starts his plan using Metabee and Warbandit's medals; trapping them both in a dream. However, Ikki manages to get Metabee to wake up from the dream, while the other medabots, free now, help Metabee to fight against Dr. Meta-Evil.
Later in the series, Medabots are found to be actually thousands of years old; remnants of an ancient civilization who called themselves Medalorians. The Medalorians were obsessed with war, and to become more effective warriors they fastened metal armor to themselves. However, their wars decimated the civilization, and the survivors coded their memories onto hexagonal pieces of metal. These, "Medals", cloned and mass-produced by the Medabot Corporation, are the Medabot equivalent of a brain and soul. The original medals, referred to as rare medals, are kept in storage because of the extreme power they have. After Dr. Meta-Evil was defeated, Professor Hushi was revealed to have been saved from some aliens as he invites Dr. Meta-Evil with him on a space trip ultimately resulting in the disbandment of the Rubberobo Gang.
''Medarot Damashii (Medabots Spirits)''
Medarot Damashii, a sequel to the original series, follows Ikki and Metabee as they face a new challenge some time after the events of the original series. Kam Kamazaki, a 12-year-old boy, has designed one of the most dangerous Medabots in the entire story called Kilobots who use the X-Medal. These Kilobots have no feelings, since the emotion part of the Medabot medal has been removed, and more strength parts have been replaced instead, and can break the rules in order to win a fight. Because they have no personality, the Medaforce is useless against them. In the first episode, Ikki loses a Robattle to Ginkai and his Kilobot Desperado when it cheats and reloads. But he soon meets Nae, a Medabot mechanic and Dr. Aki's granddaughter, who gives Ikki new medaparts in order to defeat Desperado through using a new feature called Action Mode. Throughout the season, Ikki, Erika and their new friend Zuru battle several of Kam's friends and their Kilobots. The Mystery Medfighter's ambition is to rid the world of Kilobots with the help of his Medabot Roks. Eventually, Ginkai re-discovers the true spirit of medafighting, defects from Kam's side, and returns to using Medabots. Eventually, Kam realizes the error of his ways and stops trying to develop stronger and more dangerous Kilobots following the Kilobot Gryphon's defeat, choosing to remain with his Kilobot Blackbettle, who has a personality installed into her X-Medal.This sequel is often criticized for the dropping of several supporting characters such as Henry/Hikaru Agata/Phantom Renegade/Space Medafighter X and Arcbeetle, Rokusho, Koji and Sumilidon, Rintaro and Kantaroth, Karin and Neutranurse, Victor and Warbandit, Mr. Referee, the Rubberobo Gang, and the Chick Salesman, as well as for the fact that many of the new Kilobots and Medabots are simply slightly modified versions of the original series without relation to the original characters: Roks, Exor, Arcdash, Unitrix.
Characters
Main characters
; Ikki Tenryou; Metabee
; Erika Amazake
; Sailor-Multi
Supporting characters
; Karin Junmai; Neutranurse
; Koji Karakuchi
; Sumilodon
; Samantha
; Peppercat
; Spike
; Cyandog
; Krosserdog
; Sloan
; Totalizer
; Hikaru Agata
; Arcbeetle
; Mr. Referee
; Rokusho
; Dr. Eugene Aki
; Rintaro Namishima
; Kantaroth
; Nae Aki
; Honey
; Tak
; Komandog
; Ginkai
; Arcbeetle Dash
; Zuru Zora
; Gorem-2
; Roks
; Tyrelbeetle
Villains
Rubberobo Gang
The Rubberobo Gang are a group of thieves who serve as the primary antagonists of the first series. They often target rare medals and get their name from their rubber suits. In addition to a substantial number of generic Rubberobo Gang grunts, the following are the known members of the Rubberobo Gang.; Dr. Armond
; Michael
; Seaslug
; Whitesword
; Gillgirl
; Seagaru
; Spiritus
; Squidguts
; Gobanko
; Shrimplips
; Gokudo
; Sir Gold
; Hakado
; Noctobats
Rogue Medafighters
The Rogue Medafighters are Medafighters in Medabots Spirits who make use of Kilobots leading them to run afoul of Ikki's group and the Mystery Medafighter. The following are known Kilbot Medafighters:; Kam Kamazaki
; Blakbeetle
; Masa
; Brat Brothers
; Suzie
; Banjo
; Minitora and Kintora
Other characters
; Chidori Tenryou; Jouzou Tenryou
; The Rockers
; Principal
; Samurai
; Coach Mountain
; Digmole
; Student Council
; Dr. Bokchoy
; Miss Caviar
; Belzelga
; Select Corps
; Henry McKenna
; Shin Kamazaki
; Eddie
; Maizu Zora
World Robattle Cup competitors
; Team Kenya; Team Caribbean
; Team France
; Team Mexico
; Team Spain
; Team Sweden
; Team Siberia
; Team Egypt
; Team Czech
; Team USA
; Team Iceland