Infini-T Force
Infini-T Force (インフィニティーフォース, Infinitī Fōsu) is a Japanese 3DCG anime series featuring a crossover between characters from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Casshan, Hurricane Polymar and Tekkaman: The Space Knight, all series produced by Tatsunoko Production in the 1970s. The new series is a co-production between Tatsunoko and Digital Frontier and aired from October 3 to December 26, 2017.
| Infini-T Force | |
| インフィニティーフォース (Infinitī Fōsu) | |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Infini-T Force: Arc to the Future | |
| Written by | Ukyō Kodachi |
| Illustrated by | Tatsuma Ejiri |
| Published by | Hero's Inc. |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Monthly Hero's |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | October 31, 2015 – December 25, 2020 |
| Volumes | 10 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Kiyotaka Suzuki |
| Written by | Toshiya Ono |
| Music by | Yutaka Yamada |
| Studio | Tatsunoko Production Digital Frontier |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | ytv, Nippon TV, FBS, STV, HTV, MMT, SDT, Chūkyo TV |
| English network | |
| Original run | October 3, 2017 – December 26, 2017 |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Anime film | |
| Gekijōban Infini-T Force: Gatchaman Saraba Tomo yo | |
| Directed by | Jun Matsumoto |
| Written by | Jun Kumagai |
| Music by | Yutaka Yamada |
| Studio | Tatsunoko Production Digital Frontier |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | February 24, 2018 |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
Plot
editEmi is a seventeen-year-old girl living in Shibuya, Tokyo. Her father is always away with work and she's grown listless. Suddenly, a twist of fate involving a certain magical item changes everything. A mysterious pencil, of all things, is linked to the appearance of heroes from another world! Could this be the start to the excitement she's so desperately craving, or is there something more?
Characters
edit- Emi Kaidou (界堂笑)
- Voiced by: Ai Kayano[2] (Japanese); Cassandra Morris (English)
- The main protagonist. Emi is an aloof 17-year-old girl who lives alone in her house since her father has left for unexplained reasons. When meeting the four heroes, she comes across an artifact known as "Case", that has the power of making wishes come true. In her hands, the Case takes the form of a large pencil, reflecting her desire to draw. She is later revealed to be Z's daughter.
- Ken Washio (鷲尾健, Washio Ken)
- Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki[3] (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
- 24-year-old Ken is the oldest of the four heroes and acts as their leader. He usually reprimands Emi when she misbehaves and is determined to save her, while restoring the worlds Z destroyed. He has the power of transforming into Gatchaman G-01. During his first encounter with Z, he manages to make him drop the Case, which ends up in Emi's hands.
- Jouji Minami (南城二)
- Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai[4] (Japanese); Kyle McCarley (English)
- 22-year-old Jouji is an astronaut looking for a new planet for his people to settle in his original world. He fights as Tekkaman using the "Tekset" armor armed with a double-bladed lance.
- Takeshi Yoroi (鎧武士)
- Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura[4] (Japanese); Nicolas Roye (English)
- 20-year-old Takeshi is a former agent with the ability to transform himself into Hurricane Polymar using a special polymer that gives him special powers. After his world is destroyed by Z, he lives for one year as a detective in Shibuya until he meets Emi and the other heroes.
- Tetsuya Azuma (東鉄也)
- Voiced by: Sōma Saitō[4] (Japanese); Landon McDonald[5] (English)
- 17-year-old Tetsuya is the youngest of the four heroes. In his world, Tetsuya was transformed into an android called "Casshan" by his father to fight other androids who threaten human race, after his world is destroyed, he meets the other heroes and Emi, joining them with his pet companion, the robotic dog Friender (フレンダー, Furendā).
- Z (ゼット)
- Voiced by: Atsushi Ono[2] (Japanese); Keith Silverstein (English)
- Emi's father and the main antagonist, Kazumichi Kaido is a man who takes possession of the Case and under the alias of Z, destroys other worlds to fulfill his wish of protecting Emi. His research leads him to discover that in all parallel worlds, Emi is destined to have a tragic death in front of his eyes, so he sealed her in a closed world to protect her. In his hands, the Case takes the form of a small sun, reflecting a memory of his past when he watched the sunset with his daughter.
- Damian Grey (ダミアン・グレイ)
- Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa[2] (Japanese); Xander Mobus (English)
- Damian Grey is a mysterious, flamboyant man who approaches Takeshi and hires his services to track down the Case. He then reveals himself to be a dangerous monster who intends to take the Case for himself in order to become the perfect evil.
- Belle Lynn (ベル・リン)
- Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa[2] (Japanese); Julie Ann Taylor (English)
- A woman from a dying race of inhumans who seeks strong genes to revive her people. She joins forces with Z, intending to take his genes, until she discovers that he is not human anymore, and attacks Emi instead.
- Raja Kaan (ラジャ・カーン)
- Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto[2]
Media
editAnime
editThe anime was announced on March 26, 2016. It was inspired by the manga of the same name, but follows an original story.[6] Kiyotaka Suzuki directed the series, while Toshiya Ono supervised scripts. Oh! great designed the original character concepts, Koji Nakakita handled the suit and mechanical designs, and Keiichi Sato designed the original hero concepts.[3] The anime aired as part of NTV's AnichU one-hour programming block.[4] The opening theme is "To be continued ... " performed by Flumpool and the ending theme is "Tick-Tock" performed by Edda.[7] Viz Media announced during Anime Weekend Atlanta that they have licensed both the anime series and the film.[8] It is being streamed on Tubi TV.[9]
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Isolated Flower" | October 3, 2017 |
| 2 | "Immediate Family" | October 10, 2017 |
| 3 | "Intelligent Fury" | October 17, 2017 |
| 4 | "Imaginary Friend" | October 24, 2017 |
| 5 | "Invincible Future" | October 31, 2017 |
| 6 | "Infini-T Force" | November 7, 2017 |
| 7 | "Insane Father" | November 14, 2017 |
| 8 | "Inner Frustration" | November 21, 2017 |
| 9 | "In Flux" | November 28, 2017 |
| 10 | "Ignition Flame" | December 5, 2017 |
| 11 | "Independent Flower" | December 19, 2017 |
| 12 | "I'll Find" | December 26, 2017 |
Manga
editThe manga was serialized in Hero's Inc.'s Monthly Hero's magazine from October 31, 2015 to December 25, 2020.[6] It was written by Ukyō Kodachi and illustrated by Tatsuma Ejiri. Udon Entertainment announced during their Anime Expo 2017 panel that they have licensed the manga.[10] At Anime NYC 2024, Mad Cave Studios announced that they licensed the manga for publication under their Nakama Press imprint.[11]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 5, 2016 | 978-4-86468-454-5 | September 26, 2017 | 978-1-77-294050-3 |
| 2 | October 5, 2016 | 978-4-86468-475-0 | March 13, 2018 | 978-17-7294051-0 |
| 3 | April 5, 2017 | 978-4-86468-496-5 | October 30, 2018 | 978-1-77-294063-3 |
| 4 | October 5, 2017 | 978-4-86468-520-7 | December 25, 2018 | 978-1-77-294087-9 |
| 5 | February 5, 2018 | 978-4-86468-540-5 | — | — |
| 6 | October 5, 2018 | 978-4-86468-592-4 | — | — |
| 7 | April 5, 2019 | 978-4-86468-634-1 | — | — |
| 8 | November 5, 2019 | 978-4-86468-676-1 | — | — |
| 9 | May 15, 2020 | 978-4-86468-720-1 | — | — |
| 10 | February 5, 2021 | 978-4-86468-766-9 | — | — |
Film
editA theatrical film, Infini-T Force the Movie: Gatchaman - Farewell My Friend (劇場版 Infini-T Force/ガッチャマン さらば友よ, Infini-T Force Movie: Gatchaman - Saraba Tomo yo), was released on February 24, 2018. It is distributed by Shochiku and Square Enix. The cast of the TV series reprises their roles, with the addition of Kazuma Suzuki as Joe Asakura / Gatchaman G-02 of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman.[2][12] Viz Media released the film on Blu-ray in the U.S. on January 5, 2021.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Infini-T Force - Trailer". YouTube. 15 July 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Infini-T Force Anime Gets Movie in February 2018". Anime News Network. August 24, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ a b "Tatsunoko's Infini-T Force Anime Reveals 1st Cast Member, Main Staff". Anime News Network. March 1, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Tatsunoko's Infini-T Force Anime Reveals Main Cast". Anime News Network. March 26, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ @McMovieMan (September 12, 2019). "I'm so proud to play Casshan in the epic crossover series #InfiniTForce, now available on Blu-ray! Thank you Ryan J…" (Tweet). Retrieved September 12, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Infini-T Force Manga Gets 'Full 3DCG' Anime". Anime News Network. December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ "Infini-T Force Hero Anime's Promo Video Reveals flumpool Theme Song". Anime News Network. September 6, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ "Viz Media Licenses Infini-T Force TV Anime, Film". Anime News Network. September 6, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ "Tubi TV to Simulcast Infini-T Force Anime". Anime News Network. October 3, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ "Udon Licenses Infini-T Force Manga With Limited Pre-Launch at Anime Expo". Anime News Network. June 21, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (August 25, 2024). "Nakama Press to Publish Ukyō Kodachi, Tatsuma Ejiri's Infini-T Force: Arc to the Future Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ "『劇場版Infini-T Force／ガッチャマン さらば友よ』 2月24日（土）公開決定!!". アニメ『Infini-T Force（インフィニティ フォース）』(公式) 最新情報. Archived from the original on December 21, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ @VIZMedia (28 October 2020). "Cover reveal! 💥Infini-T Force The Movie: Farewell releases January 5, 2021 on Blu-ray" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
edit- Tatsunoko Production page
- Official anime and film website Archived 2017-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
- Infini-T Force (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia