"Uchû no kishi Tekkaman Burêdo" was a memorable TV show in my childhood. Nowadays it's rare to hear people talking about it, simply because this genre(Sci-fi hero) in this form(manga TV series) has been saturated by stylish drawings, parody characters and slowly becoming obsolete. However, I was brought back to it after almost 14 years, seeing it in Japanese-dubbed version. I must confess this is simply the best show in the genre to date.
The first thing dwelled in my childhood memory is the ultra-sad undertone of the story. I remember being so reluctant to see the characters being killed and all the suffering involved, yet still being caught by the characters. Now I am 22, but I can still feel the hearts given to the main characters. Tekkman Blade(in Japanese version D-Boy) was my all-time favorite sci-fi hero. Contrast to many hero shows, he is not a stereotypical "savior" role. Actually, he is the most broken, messed-up person in the whole story. His introduction into the story is simply anti-hero,namely,ignoring every warning, kicking everyone in his way, becoming even more arrogant after acknowledged by the earth defense superiors. He's like a little jerk who's given a super gift. But episode after episode, the reasons behind his personality issues became clear. And a broken, crying soul started to emerge from his incredible physical abilities. In most cartoons, the protagonist will eventually become a respected leader or something like that. But D-boy stayed an anti-hero. He's not fighting for love for all the human. Instead he's fighting because he had been put into a cursed liability to eliminate all his family, that would end up the same way despite his choice. This brought the show to a conclusion as controversial as classic among audiences. To reflect again on it, I had to admit this show is not simply for children, no wonder the Americans edited it so heavily. But the supporting characters were never so fresh and significant in a cartoon. Aki(Japanese version,Blade's girlfriend) has all the good qualities of an Eastern girl, yet she's not a cheap chick screaming all around. She's the mental support to Blade(D-boy), so fragile yet so persistent that even awed the enemies. Their connection, relationship is also developed very naturally and positively. Other characters, like the captain's wife who was only on screen for 10 minutes and ironically gave D-boy an important lesson that he remembered only for hours, definitely gave audiences a punch in the stomach. During the viewing, you would ask yourself how insignificant each person's life is, especially in a holocaust. The final battles were absolutely epic and had a deep touch of Eastern cultures, and the entire show's climax was also the strongest in all mangas.
Visually, it is dated. But underneath the simple colors and special effects is a good story, most fortunately the story is not shadowed by any visual elements. Despite the inconsistent art direction that had a negative effect on the production value, Tekkman Blade told a story that contains maybe the best implemented sci-fi concepts in a cartoon form. The strategies of both human and aliens are clearly developed. The orbital circle had a deep irony in it that humans reach hands to the space so desperately only to give the enemies a better invading base. The way the aliens conquer another species is also memorably detailed and well developed. Come to terms of artistic value, you have to give it to Tekkman that simple animation CAN tell a great story.
Finally, this 48-episode TV show is gonna stay in my memory for very long, and I am willing to tell this story to my child in the future. It's still inspiring after all these years.If you like good character-driven story and detailed, subtle writing in Sci-fi genre, Tekkman Blade is for you.
