Itadakiman (イタダキマン) is the 7th series in the Time Bokan franchise. It ran for 20 episodes, and aired between April 9th to September 24th, 1983. It's the final installment of the Shōwa era Time Bokan anime.
The Time Bokan Series installments had previously been broadcast in the late 6pm hours on Saturdays, but this series was moved one hour later to the late 7pm hours. Although it was moved to boost the broadcasting slot, the viewer ratings for this series were low at around 9%, and it was short-lived at only six months of air time. While the chief director Hiroshi Sasagawa was proud of the content, he analyzed the reasons for the low viewer ratings, believing, "The viewing habits that had been established due to the change in time slot may not have been present in the new time slot ".
With the end of this series and the bankruptcy of sponsor Takatoku a year later, further Time Bokan productions like Daredaman and Sappariman were scrapped and the franchise went on hiatus until 2000's Time Bokan 2000: Kaitou Kiramekiman.
Compared to previous series, this one is based on the Classical Chinese Tale of Journey to the West.
Plot[]
The story begins in the year of 20XX. Oshaka Academy in Kamakuland is a prestigious school of the world where only those who are pure and clearheaded descendants of Priest Sanzo's clan may be admitted. As for the familiar villain trio, they are in firm belief that they are genuine descendants of Priest Sanzo's clan although actually they are of uncertain lineage. They study hard to enter the school in spite of their repeated failure. One day three intelligent children are called in by the principal and asked by Shakyamuni dwelling in his body to find missing puzzle copperplates scattered all over the world and complete the puzzle board to heighten honor of Oshaka Academy. The conversation, however, is overheard by the villain trio and they decide to forestall those selected youngsters. Then they happen to meet with a brilliant boy named Kū-chan who appears handy and so they take him with them and attempt to take away puzzle copperplates from a goblin. At the same time, they try to win the goblin over to their side and attack our heroes together. Being aware of the evil scheme, Kū-chan transforms himself into Itadakiman and fights bravely to drive the wicked trio away.
Characters[]
Good Guys[]
- Kusaku Magota (Itadakiman)
Tatemae Trio[]
- Hōko Sanzo
- Sāgo Jō
- Yatsuo Inō
Other Characters[]
- Headmaster Ochaka
- Ms. Kanno
Bad Guys[]
Dirt Cheap Trio[]
Mechanics[]
Itadakiman[]
- Kabutozemi
- Wangaroo
- Peliguin
Dirt Cheap Trio[]
Music[]
Opening Theme[]
- Itadaki Mambo (イタダキマンボ)
Ending Theme[]
- Dobibin Serenade (どびびん～セレナデ)
Episodes[]
| # | Title (ENG/JPN) | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | A Close Call at the Oshaka Academy!! (オシャカ学園危機イッパツ!!) |
April 9th, 1983 |
| 02 | The Heart-Pounding Swimsuit Contest! (ドッキリ水着コンテスト!) |
April 16th, 1983 |
| 03 | Huh? Yan-Yan is Pregnant? (エッ!ヤンヤンに赤ちゃんが?) |
April 23rd, 1983 |
| 04 | Smile, Laugh, and Be Merry (笑って笑ってネアカになれ) |
May 7th, 1983 |
| 05 | KonKon Love Story (こんこん・らぶストーリー) |
May 14th, 1983 |
| 06 | Is That Even Possible?! The Great Mission (そんなことアリ?! 大作戦) |
May 21st, 1983 |
| 07 | If You Eat That, You're Done For! (それを食ったらおしまいよ!) |
May 28th, 1983 |
| 08 | The Love-Computer's Newlywed Operation (恋ピューター花嫁作戦) |
June 4th, 1983 |
| 09 | Hey, Don't Look! That's a Secret (見せてはダメよ! その秘密) |
June 18th, 1983 |
| 10 | Give it Up! It's Mine (あげられない! これだけは) |
June 25th, 1983 |
| 11 | Cheers! Teacher Bo-Chan (かんぱい! ぼっちゃん先生) |
July 2nd, 1983 |
| 12 | The Miraculous Rose of Ursailles (奇跡ウルサイユのバラ物語) |
July 9th, 1983 |
| 13 | The Academy's Munching Crunching Panic! (学園ガジガジパニック!) |
July 30th, 1983 |
| 14 | Mt. Ikkyū's Itadaki Quiz! (一休山のイタダキクイズ!) |
August 13th, 1983 |
| 15 | Beware the Beach Kisses! 浜辺のキッスにご用心!) |
August 27th, 1983 |
| 16 | Ryūko-Chan is a Girl Too, You Know (竜子ちゃんも女でありんす) |
September 3rd, 1983 |
| 17 | Beyond the Marvelous Mt. Tendon (幻の天ドン山を越えて) |
September 10th, 1983 |
| 18 | A Trap in a Beautiful Town! (きれいな町には罠がある!) |
September 17th, 1983 |
| 19 | Bushman vs. Tarzan (プッシュマンVSターサン) |
Unaired |
| 20 | Where Are You Going, Itadakiman? (イタダキマンよどこへ行く) |
September 24th, 1983 |
Manga Tie-Ins[]
- TV Anime Magazine: From March to October 1983. Written/Illustrated by Nonaka Minoru.
Trivia[]
- It was originally pitched under the title Chinyuki Oshakaman (チン遊記オシャカマン), but the staff believed the title could bring bad luck with its sound as it read similar to the word "oshakanarusu" ("become useless"). It still appeared with the Oshakaman title on early broadcast scripts, but was changed to "Itadakiman" to express the enthusiasm of "winning high ratings" . Unfortunately, this high hope for the series would backfire. In the process of revisions, the villain trio was changed from a group of women to the more recognizable arrangement of Yan Yan and her two men. The formula of three lady villains would, however, later be recycled for Artmic's Hissatsuman OVA.
- Takao Koyama, who was in charge of series composition in the previous work, only participated as a guest writer in this work, and Akiyoshi Sakai, who had been involved in the Time Bokan Series as a planner in the past, was put in charge of series composition. The reason Koyama was removed from the job of series composition was largely due to the wishes of Fuji TV producer Masashi Oka, who had requested that he only participate as a scriptwriter and not as a series composer because the series had become monotonous. There was also the fact that after writing one script (episode 7), Koyama stepped down for religious reasons as he was a strict Buddhist and protested the setting of Headmaster Ochaka being possessed by the Buddha's spirit. Koyama believes that he would not have been able to step down if he had remained in the role of series composer as before, and was happy for these circumstances in the end. In a passage later deleted from Koyama's official website Brother Noppo[1], the introduction page for the Time Bokan Series mentions in a section about Itadakiman that the reason he and Yamamoto were removed from their positions was due to friction with Oka, and that both he and Yamamoto applauded the series' cancellation. Due to these circumstances, Koyama himself does not consider the series to be part of the Time Bokan series (and this may have been why he originally pitched Kiramekiman with the title "Itadakiman").
- The series was originally planned to have at least 26 episodes over its two cours, as an extension seemed less likely due to its time slot. A hint is seen in what Headmaster Ochaka says in the first episode: "The puzzle may have 52 pieces, or it may have 26 pieces." Of course, ultimately things ended with 20 episodes in being cut so short.
References[]
[]
| Itadakiman | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oshaka Academy | Characters | Kusaku Magota · Headmaster Ochaka · Ms. Kanno · Oshakan Bird | ||
| Tatemae Trio | Houko Sanzo · Shago Jo · Yatsuo Inoou | |||
| Mecha | Kabutozemi · Wangaroo · Peliguin · Snail Mech · Relief Mech | |||
| Dirt Cheap Trio | Yan-Yan · Dasainen · Tonmentan · Ryuko | |||
| Anime | ||||
| Episodes | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 ·12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 | |||
| Music | Themes | Itadaki Mambo (OP) · Dobibiin Serenade (ED) | ||
| Inserts | Warera ga Itadakiman | |||