The First Season

Medabots is a Japanese animation (anime) television series. It is a kid oriented series with a premise analogous to the hit franchises Pokemon and Yu Gi Oh!. The series is set in a world where people battle each other (for fame and fun) using robots called Medabots. Medabots are special artificial life forms that combine a mechanical body with a medal. Medals are the life force and soul of the Medabot. The premise is similar to the other aforementioned shows. As for the quality, Medabots has its moments, but overall tends to come off as a generic kids show with little appeal.

In the show's opening, the main character and hero is introduced. He is Ikki Tenryo, a young kid in grade school with the ambition to become a world champion Medafighter. The catch is that he does not own a Medabot and he wants a top of the line model, but his parents won't buy him one. One day when some rock and roll (literally) bullies are picking on him and some school friends, he runs away to find help. As chance would have it, he finds a Medabot Medal and buys an outdated Medabot model KBT. When Ikki puts the medal in his Medabot, the result is Medabee. Medabee is a tough, egocentric Medabot that refuses to follow Ikki's orders. He is also a very powerful Medabot, as his medal is very rare. Ikki uses Medabee to save his friends from the hooligans.

In the aftermath the series' first episode, the show progresses with a several episodes focused on character development, as well as a few story arcs. The initial storylines focus on Ikki and Medabee getting along. Since Medabee's medal is very rare, he is hard to control. Ikki is cannot command him, and as such, they have an interesting relationship. Over time, the two have their ups and downs, which includes Medabee turning to the dark side and joining a gang after thinking Ikki abandoned him. There are also several episodes without much context to the bigger picture, like the gym teacher robattling with gangsters to build a park for poor children.

Throughout the season episodes there is a mystery and goofy bunch (think Pokemon's Team Rocket) known as the Rubberobo Gang. These bad guys enact ridiculous plots to take over the world and are always thwarted by good. Other plotlines include the mysterious Phantom Renegade, a Medafighter who collects rare medals, Rokusho, a Medabot with a hidden past and ties to the creator of Medabots, Ikki's friend Karen and her uncle Dr. Aki -- who owns and operates the Medabot Corporation, and the race to be the world champion.

What works for Medabots is very little. From my adult perspective (who has enjoyed the occasional Pokemon or Yu Gi Oh! episode), I did not care much for Medabots. My primary issue with the show was that very little seemed to happen. From episode to episode, the events and situations were so small and childish that there was little appeal. The storylines lack depth. Another mark against Medabots was the action, or rather lack of. The combat aspect is pretty hard to follow with little order to it.

However, if considering the series from the perspective of a kid, I can see the appeal. The show has a subtle, naive level of humor that may get a chuckle out of a kid. The characters are also very lively and while the ordeals they face are better suited for a younger audience. All in all, Medabots: The Complete First Season is a somewhat generic television series with appeal for a younger audience. While it is not a complete bore, there are several aspects to it that make the show hard to just enjoy.

Episode Guide

1. Stung By a Metabee: When Erika is threatened by Medabot bandits, Ikki buys an old KBT-Type Medabot named Metabee to Robattle the bad guys.
2. Return Of The Screws: Ikki and his Medabot Metabee are continually bickering, but when Metabee is kidnapped at a crucial moment, the two must overcome their differences.
3. Running Scared: Ikki and the Screws grow suspicious of their gym teacher after being forced into a brutal exercise program.
4. The Legendary Medafighter: Ikki and Erika meet Koji and Karen at nearby private school while looking for the Legendary Medafighter.
5. The Old Man and the Sea: Ikki and Metabee robattle a Shark-Type Medabot at the beach.
6. The Gimme Ghost: Ikki and Erika go in search of a ghost that has been stealing Medabot Medals.
7. Cyandog Bites Back: Spyke and Cyandog ask Metabee and Ikki for training help and they find out that Cyandog is terrible at battle because he has the wrong type of medal.
8. For Better For Worse (Pt. 1): Just before the citywide robattle tournament, Ikki and Metabee argue and part ways.
9. For Better For Worse (Pt. 2): After losing the Robattle tournament, Ikki must rescue Metabee's Medal from the Rubberobo Gang and battle Koji in a re-match.
10. Mystery Medabot: Ikki, Erika and Metabee are amazed by an unknown Medabot that appears from out of nowhere to save a drowning puppy. But strangely, this Medabot appears to act on his own, without a Medafighter!...
11. Phantom Renegade Unmasked: A tabloid reporter is after Phantom Renegade, but he's convinced his secret identity is Ikki!
12. Ban All Medabots: Concerned parents believe Medabots are a menace and have them all confiscated.
13. Meet Your Meda-Maker: Ikki and Metabee become apprentices of Doctor Aki, the head of the Medabot Corporation.
14. The Spy Who Robattled Me: Ikki and Metabee encounter a Rubberobo spy on a tour of the Medabot Corporation.
15. I Dream of Hushi: Rokusho discovers a mysterious tree that allows him to dream of his past.
16. Metabee vs. Rokusho: Rokusho vows revenge on Doctor Aki, and robattles against Metabee.
17. Use the Medaforce: Ikki and Metabee robattle the Rubberobo gang to rescue Rokusho.
18. Fifteen Minutes of Shame: The Japanese Robattle Rankings are announced, and Ikki and Metabee let the fame go to their heads.
19. Enter Rintaro: Metabee is blamed for a spree of violent robattles by a mysterious identical Medabot.
20. The Ace From Outer Space: Ikki must prove that he hasn't lost his love of Robattling when he and Metabee lose to Shrimpy Lipowitz, and drop a spot in the national Robattle standings.
21. Me And My Shadow Sword: Ikki's resolve is tested when Space Medafighter X teaches Koji the Shadow Sword technique, the only move capable of neutralizing the Medaforce.
22. Dude, Where's My Ma?: Ikki's mother is captured by the Rubberobo Gang, and Ikki and Metabee must robattle to rescue her.
23. X-treme Measures: Ikki and Metabee robattle Space Medafighter X in a last-ditch effort to make it to the World Robattle Tournament.
24. The Road To Ruins: Metabee is captured, and Ikki and Koji must infiltrate the Rubberobo headquarters to rescue him.
25. Beetle Mania: Ikki and his friends must stop the Rubberobo Gang from using Metabee to control Medabots worldwide.
26. The Mother Of All Robattles: Ikki and Metabee must stop a giant rampaging Medabot from destroying the world.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. As for the quality, I do not have a lot of experience with animated features on DVD and I am not sure what the norm is. In respect to this set, the picture looks pretty clean, although there is a noticeable grain in this picture.

Audio:
The audio is given in dubbed English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The sound quality is acceptable and meets the level of expectation I would have for a film. Spoken dialogue is easy to hear, as well as the sound effects and music. There is no support for subtitles or closed captioning.

NOTE: The original language is Japanese, which has not been included with this set.

Extras:
A bonus episode for the series Oban Star Racers is included. This full length episode is a selection from the upcoming Shout! Factory and Jetix DVD release, which will be available in two volumes.

Final Thoughts:
Medabots is a Japanese animation series that translated for release in the United States. This first season DVD release contains the show's entire first season (as presented in the United States) and features the initial trails of up and coming Metafighter Ikki and his Medabot Medabee. The first season offers a decent lineup of episodes that will be best suited for a young audience. Personally, I thought the show had its endearing qualities, but on the whole was not very impressive. There was little in story or action to keep me fully interested. On that note, it is a rental at best.