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Mega Man (1994 TV series)

Mega Man is a science fiction superhero animated television series co-produced by Ruby-Spears Productions and Ashi Productions, and based on the video game series of the same name by Capcom.[1] It aired from September 11, 1994 to January 19, 1996, lasting two seasons. A spin-off based on Mega Man X was planned, but did not go through.[2]

Mega Man

Science fiction
Action/Adventure
Superhero

Mega Man
by Capcom

Joe Ruby
Ken Spears

Jeffrey Scott (season 1)
Michael Maurer (season 2)
Richard Merwin (seasons 1-2)

Katsumi Minokuchi (chief)

Cesar De Castro

Ian James Corlett
Scott McNeil
Jim Byrnes
Terry Klassen
Robyn Ross
Garry Chalk

Tom Keenlyside
John Mitchell

United States
Japan
Canada

English

2

27

Kenzo Tsujimoto
Toshihiko Sato
Joe Ruby
Ken Spears

Akio Sakai
Jun Aida
Eiichi Takahashi
Daniel Kletzky

Mitsuru Sugiura

Craig Paulsen
Toshio Henmi

24 minutes

Ruby-Spears Productions
Ashi Productions
Capcom

Syndication

September 11, 1994 (1994-09-11) –
January 19, 1996 (1996-01-19)

The rights to the series are currently owned by Shochiku.

Plot[edit]

Dr. Light and Dr. Wily were brilliant scientists in the field of robotics and coworkers at a laboratory. One day, they finished an extremely advanced prototype, but shortly after being activated, it began destroying the laboratory. Dr. Light believed that the prototype's guidance system, which Dr. Wily had personally programmed, was the source of the problem. Dr. Wily attempted to steal the plans later that night, but Dr. Light catches him. Despite this, Wily is able to steal the plans and uses them to construct 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 steal Ice Man, Guts Man, and Cut Man, reprogramming them to be henchmen. Dr. Wily attempts to reprogram Rock and Roll, but Rock tricks Dr. Wily by telling him that Dr. Light also built "super warrior robots", and that if Rock and Roll are let go, he will tell him how to defeat the robots. Since Dr. Wily believes robots cannot lie, Rock uses this lie to cause a distraction and escape with Roll. Dr. Light decides to reprogram and reoutfit Rock into Mega Man, who from then on protects the world.

(voiced by Ian James Corlett) – Mirroring his origins in the video games, he was originally an assistant robot built by Dr. Light named 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 and unsuccessfully attempts to reprogram Rock and Roll, he is rebuilt into a fighting robot. He mainly wields 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. He has numerous catchphrases, with the most common one being "Sizzling circuits".

Mega Man

(voiced by Jim Byrnes) – Mega Man's creator, who once worked with Dr. Wily and created 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; Cut Man, Guts Man and Ice Man. After Wily reprogrammed his industrial robots, Light rebuilds Rock into Mega Man to stop his schemes. Throughout the series, Light builds other robots and inventions to help humanity and stop Wily's plots. His appearance differs slightly from his game counterpart, as he has a shorter beard and grey hair. Jim Byrnes would later reprise his role as Dr. Light in the English dub of Mega Man: Upon a Star, where he is named Dr. Wright.

Dr. Light

(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. She mostly uses a vacuum cleaner which has enough force to pull robots to pieces and which can suck in enemy projectiles and fire them back. She is more mature than her game counterpart and wears a red-and-yellow jumpsuit instead of a dress.

Roll

(voiced by Ian James Corlett) – Mega Man's robot dog, who has several modes; Mega Man uses his jet-mode, in which he turns into a jet board, as a primary means of transportation. . He has enhanced smell and hearing, and alternates between making typical dog sounds and speaking. Though he mostly parrots other characters, he seemingly has a limited ability for independent speech, such as announcing "Mega, Mega. Right back. Messages". during the show's commercial bumpers.

Rush

Release[edit]

Broadcast[edit]

Mega Man entered first-run syndication in the United States on September 17, 1994,[5] and aired new episodes through January 1996. It was rerun on Fox Family Channel (now Freeform) between 1999 and 2001.

Home video release[edit]

Episodes were released on VHS by Sony Wonder beginning in January 1995.[6]


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.[7][8]

Reception[edit]

At one time, Mega Man was placed as the number one weekly syndicated children's show in the Nielsen ratings.[9]

MegaMan NT Warrior

Mega Man Star Force

Mega Man: Fully Charged

at IMDb

Mega Man

A website dedicated to the Mega Man Cartoon Series

at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

Mega Man