Back With Some Updates

After dealing with stress IRL I’ve returned yet again, hopefully for good this time, and I have a lot to say.:

First of all, huge, huge thanks to NoraInuG for fan-translating the 1977 Yatterman series, and at such a rapid pace too with nearly half of the 108 episodes completed! He’s a veteran that actually tried his hand at translating Yatterman in the 90s, and it’s because of the great fan community that he’s been able to resume this monumental task again. If you haven’t already, check out and subscribe to his Youtube Channel for the Yatterman subs and other fansubbed anime, and I’ll post the episodes here whenever he finishes one.

Apparently the fansubs of the original Time Bokan still fall upon me, and while I did made progress on the first ten episodes over a year ago I still have quite a ways to go. I am really sorry that this is taking so long, and it’s inexcusable that I haven’t produced the results that everyone’s been wanting for so long. To that end, I’m going to dedicate as much time as I can to ensure that the original series will get subbed soon. I don’t mean or want to disappoint anyone, and I need to seriously work on this for everyone’s sake.

To focus on that among other non-Time Bokan projects, I’ve decided to step down from doing bios and such for the foreseeable future. Would you rather me spend time jumping around shows for screencaps and a brief synopsis for a series you don’t understand, or should I actually sit down and fully translate one of the series so you can see for yourself the zaniness of Time Bokan?

That said, in addition to the previously mention fansubs, posts from my old Tumblr will occasionally be added here with some updates (bigger images, updated information, and extra tidbits that may or may not come from other fans), and I’ll answer questions, post and answer any contributions, maybe even see if others want to write something for this site.

I’m so happy to see how the fanbase has grown over the last few years. I merely tried to bring attention to the Time Bokan series, but it’s the dedication from TimeBokanMan, Calva-Kun, NoraInuG and many others that has expanded the fanbase with their outstanding handling of the Discord server among many other contributions. I owe so much to you all, and I hope I can still lend a hand to the great and amazing Time Bokan community.

Time Bokan Character Biography: Junko

Junko (aka Selena in the Spanish dub or Starr in Time Fighters) is the main heroine of the original Time Bokan and the granddaughter of Dr. Kieta. Sporting a pink helmet and jumpsuit with bell-bottoms and a vest decorated with hearts, this ten year old girl endures many dangers throughout time to find her missing grandfather.

Junko is gentle, kind and compassionate, and she’s better at reasoning with others and figuring out problems than Tanpei, who tends to rush into things. Junko’s innocent nature alone was able to make a Gaikottsu seal/walrus mecha, fitted with an AI to better react to commands and it’s surroundings, opt to destroy itself rather than hurt her in any fashion. Despite her more calm and reasoning personality, she can get as easily startled by something as much as Tanpei does, possibly even more so.

She takes Dr. Kieta’s absence for the first half of the show more personally than the others, and although side material suggests that Junko does have other family members besides him, he’s the only one that deeply cares for her enough that she briefly expresses concern over losing him again once they find him.

Junko also has a crush on Tanpei, who more or less feels the same about her, and she was the only crew member Parrosuke barely got along with at the beginning of the series.

Compared to later heroines in the series, she hardly engages in any action role, and most her time in a Time Bokan mecha is infamously spent screaming whenever it gets hit. That said, she will pilot and fight in one of the Time Bokan mechas if need be and she even had to save Tanpei on a few occasions where he got captured.

Regardless, Junko and her role in the original Time Bokan would set things in motion for future female protagonists in the series such as Ai-Chan, many of whom would take up more direct fighting in order to preserve peace and justice.

Yatterman 1977 Character Biography: Ai-chan / Yatterman-2

Ai Kaminari (Janet in the Spanish and Italian dubs), better known as Ai-chan or Yatterman-2, is the heroine of this second iteration of the Time Bokan series. The 12 year old daughter of renowned electrician Gorozou, she fights together with her boyfriend Gan-chan to defeat the Dorombo gang at every turn.

She helped Gan-chan with completing Yatter-Wan, and shortly afterwards the two decided to become the heroic Yatterman to combat evil. It isn’t long until they’re actually out doing so, when they discover that the notorious Dorombo gang are searching for fragments of the mysterious Dokuro Stone.

Ai-chan’s normal appearance is in a yellow jumpsuit with a purple leotard underneath, and a stylish red cap with an overall heart motif. When she’s Yatterman-2, she turns her clothing inside out to fit her superhero identity. Her jumpsuit is now white (or light pink depending on the episode) and her cap red with the Yatterman insignia displayed on it, and she dons an additional purple mask and gloves.

At times she’ll display traits similar to Junko such as being passive and caring of others, and can be sensitive to personal remarks. Unlike her predecessor though, Ai-chan can be a bit mischievous and is a much more active fighter that can defeat crooks with little effort. Having a courageous, noble heart, she strives to protect the innocent and even help those that seek redemption, though she doesn’t cut the Dorombo gang any slack, especially after Doronjo starts eyeing her boyfriend.

Whenever evildoers get in her way, Ai-chan attacks with her Shibire Stick (aka Paralyzing Stick, Electric Stick in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom), a retractable rod that shocks anyone on the receiving end. It can also delfect projectiles and block all sorts of weapons, including swords. With both her and Gan-chan having equal yet distinct fighting skills, Ai-chan alone is capable of wiping the floor with most anyone who dares to fight her.

Roughly thirteen years after the events of the original series, Ai-chan is happily married to Gan-chan and the two are having a romantic honeymoon, almost completely ignoring Omochama’s warnings about the Dorombo gang’s return until the last minute. She and her new husband are definitely quick to respond to later events when the Dorombo gang attempt to challenge the Yatterman twice and seek out magical tulips for their boss.

After missing the initial roster Ai-chan finally made it into Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, replacing Hakushon Daimou. Though she has the smallest amount of health out of all the characters, even lower than Gan-chan’s, her lightning quick attacks can make her a formidable fighter. That’s not taking her supers into account which involve conjuring a heart-shaped spark, calling upon Omochama to fight alongside her, and unleashing Yatter-Pelican and his surprise mechas on the hapless opponent.

Her ending has her, Gan-chan, and Yatter-Wan encounter the Dorombo gang for their hundredth anniversary (which would be 2077?), in which the latter call upon the other bad trios from the various Time Bokan series. They’re all promptly defeated when Ai-chan shocks them all with her Shibrie Stick mid-speech.

Yatterman 1977 Character Biography: Boyacky

Boyacky Butsukusa (alternatively spelt Boyakki, often called Boyayan by Tonzura) is the 25 year old man responsible for the various inventions and mechas used by the Dorombo gang. “Pochittona”, the onomatopoeia uttered by Boyacky whenever he presses a button, has become a big part of Japanese pop culture.

His wildest dream is to be admired by high school girls, and to use the Dokuro Stone’s supposed fortune to afford plastic surgery to make this a reality. He’s also a bit more perverted than his predecessor Grocky, and is always trying to make some sort of advance on Doronjo. Ultimately, he really does want a consensual, mutual relationship with anyone willing to return his feelings.

Some of Grocky’s aspects like his doormat personality and eccentric quirks were toned down with Boyacky, although he enjoys crossdressing whenever he’s given the chance. In stark contrast to his predecessor, Boyacky tends to run his mouth off and make snarky remarks at everyone except Tonzura. And while he usually views himself quite highly, Boyacky even does this to himself via the gag robots that pop out of the mechas’ cockpit.

On account of being the smartest of the trio, Boyacky can be somewhat knowledgeable about the locations the Dorombo gang are sent to. He’s also responsible for the design of the mechas and controls the various gadgets deployed by them and by himself when he directly combats one of the Yatterman.

His biggest flaw is that he tends to overlook details, leaving the gang vulnerable to a mini-mecha attack or in the rare case of an advantage over the Yatterman, no clue how to proceed. Another bad habit of his is putting a self-destruct button in nearly every mecha, which is often bumped into by accident.

After the Dorombo gang parted ways, Boyacky married his high school sweetheart Ohana and opened up a successful noodle shop in Kokubunji (apparently being taught by Ippatsuman’s Kosuinen), and according to Heisei Time Bokan they had a daughter together named Happy.

Doronjo and Tonzura meet up with him for the first time in 14 years when they stopped by to ask him about entering a race against the other Time Bokan trios for the leading role in a OVA. Conflicted between reuniting with the gang again or keeping his current, peaceful lifestyle, Boyacky initially turned down the offer.

When Marjo’s gang snares the Dorombo gang’s Daidokoron (Kitchen Mecha) in a trap with Doronjo and Tonzura inside Boyacky decides to assist his friends and help them win the race. He then resumes his usual role in the OVA itself, being able to locate the Tatsunoko Kingdom due to a prior meeting with the Gatchaman at his noodle shop and attack said kingdom and the Yatterman with his magnum opus, a mecha capable of evolving from a little girl, to a high school girl (his favorite form), and finally a elderly woman.

Boyacky’s activities afterwards kicked off the plot of Heisei Time Bokan, having spent his time gambling at Las Vegas. When he winds up winning a huge sum of money as a result it is essentially used as funds for the Dorombo gang’s well intentioned “social reform” that ultimately went nowhere. Boyacky’s personal life didn’t affect subsequent stints with the Dorombo gang though, and he had a blast each and every time.

Time Bokan Character Biography: Grocky

Grocky (also spelt as Glocky, called Captain Arrow in the Time Fighters dub and Platypus in the lost Harmony Gold dub) is the brains behind Marjo’s gang in the original Time Bokan, and the one that set the precedent for Boyacky and his successors. His name is derived from the word “groggy”, specifically how it’s pronounced in Japanese as “gurokki”. Some have speculated that he’s named after a type of gun called a Glock, but that didn’t exist until 1979, two years after the original show.

He served as an assistant to Dr. Kieta and helped developed the Time Bokan (Time Mechabuton) alongside the doctor, Tanpei, Junko, and Chorobo. In truth, he was a spy for his true superior Marjo, and was planning to take the time machine and use it to make some form of profit for her.

When Dr. Kieta’s test run of the time machine resulted in it returning without him and with Parrosuke instead, Grocky noticed the parrot was wearing a rare jewel around his neck known as a Dynamond. While Tanpei, Junko, and Chorobo were discussing plans to rescue the missing doctor, Grocky took the Dynamond back to Marjo and Walsa.

The next day Grocky made his true nature known to the Time Bokan crew and held them at gunpoint with the intent of letting Marjo’s gang commandeer the Time Bokan and have Parrosuke lead them to more Dynamonds. The heroes are able to easily outwit the trio and take off in the ship, but using his prior knowledge of how the machine worked, Grocky was able to quickly make a time machine for Marjo, Walsa, and himself to travel around in, the Gaikottsu.

As the most intelligent of Marjo’s gang (which isn’t saying much), Grocky specializes in designing the animal-themed mechas that are built around the Gaikottsu, usually putting hatches on the rear for the gang to enter in and out of. It’s implied in one episode that he’s also capable of turning actual animals such as a small frog into giant mechas.

Despite his knack at making mechas, Grocky can be oblivious to his surroundings and is very clumsy. Even the simple act of preparing a mecha can result in a mishap such as the mecha interior becoming extremely hot or even destroying Marjo’s mansion. And whenever he plans a “highlight” attack on the Time Bokan crew, he never bothers to see it in motion in the event that it backfires. (which it always does). Even the simple act of preparing a mecha can result in a mishap such as the mecha interior becoming extremely hot or even destroying Marjo’s mansion.

Grocky has quite a quirky, if somewhat subservient, personality. He constantly mutters, especially when he’s frustrated, and he has a habit of hitting on just about everyone (male or female). With that said, he has no qualms about hurting or ruining peoples’ lives if it means getting Dynamonds.

Although Grocky constantly disagrees with Marjo’s decisions, he’s fiercely loyal to her no matter what. It’s made obvious that it’s because he harbors romantic feelings for her, and obeys her in the futile hope that she’ll return them. When she’s reduced to a stark raving mad looney at the end of the series, he still reluctantly continues to follow her.

Yatterman Night Character Biography: Dokurobei

(It goes without saying that this spoils a good deal of Yoru no Yatterman / Yatterman Night, so watch the series first if you’re interested, or check out what Doku-chan did in prior Yatterman media)

For the most part Dokurobei is mentioned in passing throughout most of Yoru no Yatterman / Yatterman Night. However, his presence is hinted at from the beginning of the first episode and the ominous looking skull shaped moon (normally a gag from the end credits of prior Time Bokan series, here not so much.)

He shows up in person on the throne of the Yatter Kingdom, “celebrating” the arrival of Leopard and her friends. Confused and unaware of Dokurobei’s origins and his nature they question how he is there and how he is still alive. After Dokurobei explains his past to the group, he states present. He is “Lord Yatterman”, the ruler of the Yatter Kingdom and the cause of so much pain and suffering.

Instead of being a skull shaped stone like before, Dokurobei somehow gained an actual, tall humanoid form .His mustache now goes down his face (or it’s part of a mask), the glasses have been traded in for a monocle, and he now has grey hair with a patch of black sticking out, although the tuffs remain intact. His personality and mannerisms are the same, although played in a darker light.

Somehow, both the original and 2008 happened and the Yattermans’ meddling in the former led to the latter show apparently being Dokurobei’s attempt at revenge towards them (even though are clearly the only characters who aren’t the same in both versions, and was seemingly indifferent to them as well).

Constant failure led to Dokurobei taking matters into his own hands and going all out on Earth itself, wiping out a good deal of it’s population, shattering the moon, banishing the Dorombo gang, and defeating the Yatterman. (whether or not he flat out killed them is never specified)

This wasn’t enough for him, and not only did Dokurobei pose as the Yatterman to taint their reputation and enslave and break humanity under his grip, but he also used propaganda to blame the Dorombo gang for everything bad and that the oppresive Yatter Kingdom, the only inhabitable place on Earth that he rules, is the people’s only salvation.

For some reason being split into four pieces and surviving for eons like that doesn’t mean Dokurobei’s immortal, so to maintain his immortality he has several people work their lives away at a factory to give him power, and plans to exhaust every last human being to death.

To that end, he created robotic shells of the Yatterman and their mechas to serve as his army, and brainwashed and rewired twelve innocent folks into his personal “Yatter-Guardian Gods” to maintain his law and order.

For old time’s sake, Dokurobei offers Leopard and her friends. But knowing that they wouldn’t accept the offer, he quickly refutes and decides to throw them in prison.

After they barely manage to escape, Leopard, Voltkatze, and Elephantus hold off the Yatter-Guardians while Galina and Alouette, taking up the mantle of Yatterman and onboard a newly built Yatter-Wan, proceed to fight Dokurobei, who grows to a colossal size to fight back.

After a long and tense struggle, the new Yatterman are able to strike down Dokurobei, seemingly ending him and his chaos once and for all.

Time Bokan Character Biography: Chorobo

Chorobo (alternatively C-Robot or Chorobot, Tonk in Time Fighters) is a clockwork robot with an insect motif that serves as a sidekick to Tanpei and Junko in the original Time Bokan. Initially conceptualized as a little boy akin to Kurio / Spritle from Mach GoGoGo / Speed Racer, he was redesigned as a robot to match the themes of the show and to serve as a marketable character. Traces of his original role are still evident in his personality and being the “caretaker” of the parrot Parrosuke.

Created by Tanpei, Chorobo resembles a a big windup toy with legs that let him dash across the ground instead of running, a drill-like nose, and antennae that blink when he talks, though he does have a mouth. Personality-wise he is quite cheeky and childish and he can either be insightful or insensitive depending on the situation because of it.

In the first half of the show Chorobo was usually the one actively looking for leads for the era Dr. Kieta was stranded in, and he’d find and deal with any eavesdropping attempts by Marjo’s gang, often by accident. He has a strong dislike for Parrosuke, constantly berating the parrot for getting the crew into trouble and wasting their time. They do get along more as the series progressed, but his dislike of the parrot does linger on somewhat.

When put into action he’s capable of stretching any part of his body, conducting electricity through his body, and shooting out flames from his nose. In addition, he’ll sometimes pilot one of the Time Bokans’ sub-mechas and has been the one to foil Marjo’s gang on a few occasions. After a given period of time Chorobo will power down and rendered immobile yet still active, and needs to be wound up with the key on his back in order to move again.

While Chorobo was mostly a tagalong to Tanpei and Junko for the majority of the series, Episode 30, “Take Care, Little Red Riding Hood! Pecha!”, was an episode largely dedicated to him.

As the episode begins Chorobo greets the morning and even exercises for a bit before deciding to see what Tanpei, Junko, and Dr. Kieta are up to. He overhears the crew talk about something being defective and needed to be junked and comes to the conclusion that it’s him.

Upset and furious he runs away in the Time Dotabattan to the past. The crew was actually talking about Dr. Kieta’s computer, and after Parrosuke alerts them to Chorobo’s actions they hop in the Time Mechabuton to find him before he gets into trouble. Having put tracking devices on both Time Bokan machines Marjo’s gang take notice and proceed to follow them.

However, Chorobo has no experience controlling the Time Dotabattan and he crashes into a flowery field. Shortly afterwards Chorobo meets and befriends Little Red Riding Hood, and helps guide her to her grandmother’s house.

When he heads back to find more flowers for her, Tanpei and Junko show up (while Dr. Kieta was repairing the Time Dotabattan) and he starts to panic. After a short-lived chase that ends with Chorobo unable to move due to being wound out, they’re able to explain the misunderstanding and everybody has a good laugh about it.

During those events Little Red Riding Hood encounters Marjo’s gang (disguised as wolves and with Marjo posing as her grandmother too, obviously) and is tricked into revealing the location of a sparkling lake, which supposedly contains Dynamonds. Upon noticing wolf tracks leading to the grandmother’s house Chorobo urges Tanpei and Junko to follow him and help his new friend. Both Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother are safe, but Marjo’s gang has already left for the lake.

Anticipating the Time Bokan crew to follow them the trio use the Gaikottsu Tapier’s ray to make the crew imagine monsters and fighting the nonexistant creatures. Chorobo is unaffected since he’s a robot, but he’s unable to stop them from crashing the Time Mechabuton into boulders, nearly attacking Dr. Kieta, and falling to the bottom of the lake.

When the crew come to Chorobo informs them about the ray and they quickly retaliate when Marjo’s gang drops a bomb into the lake. They’re able to bend the Gaikottsu Taiper’s nose and turn the ray against Marjo’s gang, resulting in them seeing their bomb as a Dynamond and picking it up, exploding shortly afterwards.

Despite the trouble he inadvertently caused, they all thank Chorobo for saving their lives and helping them stop Marjo’s gang.