Heroman
| Heroman | |
|---|---|
. | |
| Original Manga | Stan Lee(concept), Tamon Ota(manga) |
| Director | Hitoshi Nanba |
| Format | Anime (TV) |
| Made By | BONES |
| Episode Length | 25 min. |
| # of Episodes | 26 |
Contents
Genre
Sum it up in a Sentence:
A boy's toy gets struck by lightning, which turns it into a giant robot, and action and adventure ensues.
Main Description
Joey Jones is a young man from California and a pre-teen with a capital SUCKS. He's a skinny, effeminate pushover who gets picked on by the richer, bigger kids at school; his parents are dead and his grandmother's a bit... off, so he has to make ends meet by busboying a cafe; he admires a girl in school who's totally out of his league; and spends what little free time he has hanging with his best friend and dreaming of a life he cannot have. All of this changes when he witnesses a new mechanized toy being broken and thrown away by his daily tormentors, and, knowing an opportunity when he sees one, nabs it and dubs it Heroman. Of course, being no inventor, he is unable to make it work as it did, and then he accidently leaves it by an open window during a sudden thunderstorm...
Heroman is the result of a collaboration between BONES and famous American comics creator Stan Lee, and has been described by some as what would happen if Giant Robo were crossed with Spiderman and sprinkled a bit with Digimon and set in Superhero America. It is AMERICA as fuck and SUPERHERO as fuck and ANIME as fuck as well, and is laden with conventions from superhero comics and mecha series, as well as several shout-outs to many Sci-Fi stories and Marvel Comics characters. An interesting series to watch to see how it both plays with and subverts expectations for the genre.
Characters
Joey Jones
Poor orphan from California, and winner of the Superhero Lottery for this show. Orphaned at an early age, he greatly admires his father, whom he never knew, and secretly wishes he were more like him. Unfortunately, genetics being a traitorous whore with no respect for narrative and a wicked sense of humor, he favors his mother instead. As in, looks exactly like her. This has not helped his standing in school. A sweet tempered, shy young man, he's pretty much resigned himself to his lot in life as a have-not, until a freak accident grants him a giant robot who follows his every command.
Heroman
The aformentioned giant robot. Decked out with the American Flag colors and a somewhat judgemental stare, he is gifted with great strength and size. Having been created through lightning, he also has powers including (but not limited to) electric blasts, magnetism, and wall crawling. Absolutely devoted to the protection of Joey, and not much else.
Simon "Psy" Kaina
Joey's best friend and partner in heroism. An older brother figure, provides advice and support to Joey, and is eager to help him in his endeavors. An accident removed his ability to walk unassisted, but that does not preclude him from... well, anything, seemingly.
Lina Davis
Joey's classmate and secret crush, who secretly has noticed and likes him right back. A cheerleader from a well to do family, Lina is quite popular in school, and Joey, being a poor, awkward geek, isn't quite sure how to approach her. Fortunately, she gets into trouble, and Joey's first act of heroism with his robot is rescuing her, which pretty much takes care of that problem.
William "Will" Davis
Quarterback of the football team, Lina's older brother, and Joey's worst nightmare. He never lets Joey forget that he's a poor, skinny nerd, calling him worthless every opportunity he gets, and takes GREAT UMBRAGE at Joey's having a crush on, walking with, speaking to or indeed being in the same hemisphere as his beloved sister. Is rarely seen without his clique of rich, obnoxious bullies, one of which (Nick de Carlo) was the previous owner of Heroman.
Professor Matthew Denton
The science teacher at Joey's school, and frequent mentor to Joey. Is actually quite brilliant, but will probably never rise higher on the science totem pole due to his... eccentricities. His attemps to contact extra-terrestrial life is what brings about the events which create Heroman.
