Bismark (TV series)
Star Musketeer Bismark, also known as simply Bismark, is a Japanese anime television series created by Studio Pierrot.
the series itself seems to draw inspiration from both the Super Sentai and the Metal Hero Series franchises. It is said the show is a love letter to the genre at the time.
The series aired on Nippon TV and its affiliates from October 7, 1984 to September 25, 1985, totaling 51 episodes. In 1986, the rights to Bismark were sold to the United States company World Events Productions. WEP reorganized and rewrote the series, incorporating most of the original episodes and creating six new ones before releasing it under the name Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.
Plot
In the year 2069, humanity begins to terraform and colonize the Solar System. In order to protect the colonies and maintain law and order in the Solar System, the Earth Federation Government was created. Soon, many settlers started to resent the EFG and its sphere of influence, straining the relationship between the central government and the colonies.While a strained peace was being forged between Earth and the colonies, a race of non-human creatures known as Deathcula invaded the System in 2084. Without provocation, they attacked the colonies and killed many of the colonists. The EFG quickly realized that the Deathcula were technologically superior and their forces were hopelessly outmatched. In order to have a chance at survival, Dr. Charles Louvre developed a transformable starship known as the Bismarck.
Knowing that an advanced team of specialists were required to operate the Bismarck, four individuals came together and were charged with keeping the outer colonies safe from further Deathcula attacks.
Characters
Bismarck Team
;Shinji Hikari;Richard Lancelot
;Bill Willcox
;Marianne Louvre
;Charles Louvre
;General Domes
Deathcula
Deathcula are aliens who, after destroying their own planet in an internal war, transferred onto the planet Metheus. Unfortunately, this planet was also dying, so the Deathcula chose to leave it and conquer the Solar System. Their technology is quite advanced, and their society is one of discipline and obedience. Physically Deathcula look and act like humans, except that they have pointed ears and canine teeth. Due to this similarity, Deathcula are easily able to infiltrate and imitate humans.;Leader Hyuza
;Perios
;Zatola
;Gustav
Songs
; Opening theme: "Mystery CALL ME" by MIO; Ending theme: "Galaxy Dream" by MIO
Adaptation
When purchased by WEP in 1986, the studio reorganized and rewrote the series, and incorporated six newly written and animated episodes into the original Bismarck story before releasing it in 1987 under the name Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs. Saber Rider ran for 52 episodes between 1987 and 1988.In Saber Rider, the majority of the action is moved out of the solar system and into the rest of the galaxy. As opposed to a private group of four, the characters were written to be a small portion of a major military enforcement group known as the Star Sheriffs. Scenes of the main characters relaxing at a night club or bar and drinking alcohol were explained as "visiting a soda shop". Also, since showing death on American cartoons was much less accepted at that time, the Outriders were shown to "jump" back to their own dimension when defeated.
Shinji's name was changed to Fireball, a professional race car driver who had a crush on April Eagle. Richard's name was changed to the titular Saber Rider, who was now the leader of the group. Bill became Colt and was part of a traveling rodeo until tragedy struck, after which he joined the Star Sheriffs. Marianne Louvre was renamed April Eagle, and became a former tennis pro whose three love interests were Saber Rider, Jesse Blue, and Fireball. Professor Charles Louvre was renamed Commander Eagle, and was the leader of Cavalry Command and the Star Sheriffs.
The Deathcula became The Outriders. In the new storyline, the Outriders were humanoids who come from another dimension called the Vapor Zone. They wanted to conquer mankind and control the universe unhindered, thinking the human dimension has much more to offer than their own. When an Outrider was shot or wounded, they did not die, but rather performed a "dimension jump", a process where they vanished and returned to their home dimension to reform.
Hyuza was given the name Nemesis, and his story was altered so that he was the evil genius in charge of the renegade Outriders and the mastermind behind their insidious schemes. Perios became Jesse Blue, a promising cadet at Cavalry Command until he fell in love with April Eagle during a training exercise. When April rejected his advances, he turned against the Star Sheriffs and cultivated a personal grudge against Saber Rider, ultimately becoming a fugitive, and joining forces with the Outriders. Zatola was known as Gattler.
The American animation used for the extra six episodes of Saber Rider was visibly different from the Japanese animation. Though the basic character designs remained the same, the style was vastly different from the original character art by Shigeru Kato. These new episodes were made to help enforce the changes made to the series, such as enforcing the "Western" theme with Cowboys and Indians, expanding on the Cavalry Command military structure, as well as showing visual evidence of Outriders reforming in their home dimension.