Flint the Time Detective

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Flint the Time Detective
時空探偵ゲンシクン
(Jikū Tantei Genshi-kun)
Genre Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
TV anime
Director Hiroshi Fukutomi
Studio Group TAC
Network TV Tokyo
Original run 1 October 1998 – 24 June 1999
Episodes 43
Manga: Jikū Tantei Genshi-kun
Author Hideki Sonoda, Akira Yamauchi
Publisher Flag of Japan Kodansha
Flag of the United States TOKYOPOP (coming in 2008)
Serialized in Comic Bom Bom

Flint the Time Detective, known as Space-Time Detective Genshi-kun (時空探偵ゲンシクン Jikū Tantei Genshi-kun?) in Japan, was an animated Japanese television series directed by Hiroshi Fukutomi.

Space-Time Detective Genshi-kun aired from 1998 to 1999 in Japan and ran for 43 episodes.

Enoki Films USA holds the license to Flint the Time Detective.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The show is centred around the adventures of Flint Hammerhead, the "Time Detective", a boy from the prehistoric era who was resurrected from a fossil and became a Time Detective, although his competency as a detective is dubious. Much like Inspector Gadget, much of the heavy thinking is done by Flint's accomplices, Sarah and Tony Goodman who accompany him on his adventures. Flint, however, pulled his weight in battle, when he would fight with the aid of his father Rocky Hammerhead, who had also been partially resurrected from a fossil (however, his resurrection was not completely successful, leaving him as a sentient rock with a face; all he could do was talk. He was fashioned into a hammer for Flint, who, in addition to being a sturdy weapon, could give him sage advice in and out of combat.) Flint's job as a Time Detective was to go back in time and convince a race of time-shifters to ally with him to protect the timeline.

Usually he fought against Petra Fina and her cronies Dino and Mite (very reminiscent of Marjo, Grocky, and Walther from Time Bokan) who were in employed by a masked being called the Dark Lord to retrieve the time-shifters for his own purposes - invade the Land of Time (where he scattered the Time Shifters from). The creatures were similar to Pokémon or Digimon in that, in addition to their collectivity, they originate as small, cute creatures, who can evolve into much stronger forms (usually they had two evolutions, an evil one induced by Dark Lord's magic in the form of the Petra Stamp/Uglinator's mark, and a good one later induced by Flint and company) before reverting back again.

[edit] Characters

  • Genshi (ゲンシ) / Flint Hammerhead - The main protagonist of the story. Flint is a young, strong caveboy who was fossilized by Petra Fina with his father upon discovery of Getalong. He was freed by Dr. Bernard Goodman's technology and became a member of the Time Police. His weakness is when his stomach runs on empty, apparently the same weakness taken from Kid Goku in Dragon Ball.
  • Sora Yamato (大和ソラ Yamato Sora) / Sarah Goodman - Niece of Dr. Goodman, she is the twin sister of Tony Goodman who accompanies Flint on his missions.
  • Tokio Yamato (大和トキオ Yamato Tokio) / Tony Goodman - Nephew of Dr. Goodman, he is the twin brother to Sarah Goodman who accompanies Flint on his missions.
  • Professor Yamato (大和博士 Yamato-Hakase) / Dr. Bernard Goodman - A scientist who is the uncle of Sarah and Tony Goodman. He has a crush on Jillian Gray and sends Time Shifters to aid Flint.
  • Rei Jinguji (神宮寺レイ Jingūji Rei) / Jillian Gray - Chief of the Time Police. She sends Flint on his missions in time to retrieve the Time Shifters.
  • Dad-tan / Rocky Hammerhead - Flint's father who was fossilized alongside his son. When his son was de-fossilized, he ended up as a flat, stone rectangle. Dr. Goodman made him into a high-tech stone ax for Flint to use as a weapon. In this form, Rocky has a beam that can fossilize and de-fossilize anything and can grow for his Hammerhead Rock attack.
  • Puu / Pterry - A small robotic Pterodactyl that accompanies Flint on his missions. He is responsible for his Memory Beam Erase Mode which erases the events of anyone who meets Flint and his friends.
  • Kyoichiro Narugami (鳴神京一郎 Narugami Kyōichirō) / Merlock Holmes - A dhampir who is a member of the Time Police and has a crush on Sarah. He is accompanied on his missions by Bindi. His English name is an obvious play on Sherlock Holmes.
  • Time-G (ときG Toki-G) / Old Timer - A Father Time-esque man who handles the Land of Time and watches Flint's adventure while riding a floating pig.
  • Akira Aino (愛野 瞳 Aino Akira), also known as Time Pilfer Lady or T.P. Lady (TPレディ) / Petra Fina Dagmar/Ms. Iknow - Petra Fina is an enemy of the Time Police, wanted for stealing and messing up time and space. She allied herself with the DarkLord, out of having a "school-girl" infatuation with him, though she eventually realized too late she was a pawn. When not on missions given to her, she takes the form of Ms. Iknow, a strict teacher of Flint, Sarah, and Tony's class. By the finale, she had a temporary truce with the heroes that only lasted until the DarkLord was defeated.
  • Mr. Dino / Dino - An experimental eel who was freed from the lab he was in and made humanoid by Petra Fina. He serves as one of her lackies. When not on missions, he takes the form of a teacher named Mr. Dino.
  • Principal Mite / Mite - An experimental frog who was freed from the lab he was in, and made humanoid by Petra Fina. He serves as one of her lackies. When not on missions, he takes the form of Principal Mite.
  • Masked Man (仮面の方 Kamen no Kata) / Dark Lord - Petra Fina's boss and the main bad guy of this show. He is a blue-haired, white-skinned man who wears a mask that made him powerful and faster. He was the one responsible for scattering the Time Shifters across time. He also turned four flowers into his Great Four. In the end, it turned out the Dark Lord was actually a young boy.
  • Great Four - Dark Lord's four strongest minions, created from flowers. Only the last three displayed abilities of Time Shifters (like morphing into evil forms). In the finale, the four decided to revert back to original selves on their own.
    • Deva / Super Ninja - An Oriental-themed warrior who fights with a staff. He fought Flint on different occasions. He takes the form of a pin that Dark Lord sent to Petra Fina. He was eventually sent back to his master.
    • Deathdas / Uglinator - A skull-type imp who first appeared in the form of Petra Fina's Petra-Stamp, which enabled her turn any Time Shifter into a slave. His presence was soon revealed when he was awaken to replace Super Ninja and take over Petra Fina's group. He can headbutt Time Shifters for Petra Fina to control. Can possess people and assume a giant demonic "Con" form.
    • Nascal - A bird-like creature capable of teleportation. Flint had to fight Nascal in his triple-headed "Con" form in order to get into Dark Lord's castle.
    • Gerra / Ominito - A mushroom-type creature who uses video game-based attacks to prevent Flint, Dino, and Mite from reaching Petra Fina. In battle, he attacks with mushrooms where one of them had mushrooms that became evil versions of Flint's friends.

[edit] Time Shifters (Time Fairies)

Time Shifters are creatures that help the Old Timer to run the Land of Time until the Dark Lord came and scattered most of them across time and space. Each one has its own special powers and can transform into their Master ("super") or Con (evil) forms (also known as Time Monsters) depending if they are controlled by good or evil. The Time Shifters are:

  • Love-Love / Get-A-Long: Time Shifter who has a love beam that makes people "Get Along". Found in the stone age where she first met Flint Hammerhead.
  • Honey-Honey / Jitterbug: Dogu-type Time Shifter who can make people dance. Found in early Japan. His super form is a bigger, more humanoid version of himself.
  • Eldora: Feathered serpent-type Time Shifter who can turn anything to gold. Found in Latin America when the Spanish invaded. She gained a humanoid form as Eldora-master and can fire gold-colored blinding beams.
  • Ti-Ruun / Talen: Fox Time Shifter that can enter any story books. She was found in Edo-era Japan. Her super form looks like a cross between a fox and a human.
  • Mosu-Bee / Mosbee: Time Shifter that can freeze anything (whatever form he was in). He was found in Russia when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the country. His evil form is depicted as a woolly mammoth, but his super form looked more humanoid.
  • Colon / Coconaut: Time-Shifter that can tell if people are right or wrong and control weather. Found by Christopher Columbus. He uses weather-based attacks whatever his form was.
  • Tannegun / Bubblegum: Time Shifter that can shoot bubbles. Founded in Edo-Era Japan. He turned into a robotic, more humanoid version of himself as a super/master form.
  • Sphin / Lynx : Sphinx-type Time Shifter who's good at riddles. He was found in Ancient Egypt. His evil form can split in half, but his super form is depicted as a gigantic winged lion with the helmet of a pharaoh.
  • Horurun / Artie: Bird Time Shifter that can bring drawings to life. Found by a young Auguste Rodin. His evil form has a long, sharp beak that can drill into almost anything, but his super form can really fly.
  • Gutty / Batterball: Time Shifter who's good at baseball, helping Babe Ruth when he was a kid. He can turn anything into a baseball and can hit fast balls at his opponents, no matter what his form was.
  • Ammon / Bindi: Ammonite-like Time Shifter that give or take life force, she became Merlock's partner. She has feelings for him. Found in Transylvania by Vlad III Dracula. Her evil form was depicted as a "monster" version of her normal form. Her "super" form is an angel-like fairy.
  • Toyman / Elfin: Time Shifter who can turn anything into a toy. Found somewhere in 17th century France. His evil form is shown to have summoned large, beast-like toys. He also gains a super form.
  • Redmen / The Cardians: Card-themed quartet made up of Blademan the Swordsman, Thud the All-Powerful, Arrowman the Archer, and Snapper the Camera Whiz. The four can merge together while transforming into their powered forms. Found in the year 2000. The super form of the Cardians is depicted as a archetypal armored knight.
  • Monolise / Plumella: Squirrel-like Time Shifter that can trap anyone in their self-portraits. She was found in the time of Leonardo da Vinci. She is revealed to have an evil form which can shoot colored goo from her hands.
  • Hi-Wing / Wing: Time Shifter that can put wings on anyone. He was found in the care of the young Wright Brothers. Under Petra's control, he attacks with flying propellers and darts. In his super form, he becomes bigger, flying at great speeds and can be ridden by anyone.
  • Mo-Ai-Wah / Moah: Moai-type Time Shifter and the biggest of them all. He was found in the Pacific on what is now Easter Island. His evil form is depicted as a floating creature with a Moai statue for a head, and his super form is a giant humanoid golem who can communicate with the giant stone "Moai" to prevent a tidal wave using a seawall.
  • Elecky / Elekin: Time Shifter with power over electricity. He was found in Edo-era Japan with Hiraga Gennai, helping him repair robots. His evil form is shown to have attacked people with electric shocks. He too has a super form which is a homage to Voltes V and Daimos.
  • Muscles: A Time Shifter that can make anyone strong by simply touching them. He was found in Ancient Greece, in the year 5 AD. He looks like a dumbbell in his normal form. His evil form is shown to have the ability to attack people (especially Flint) with heavy, metallic balls and can tie people up with ropes. He also gains a super form as well.
  • Unita: Time Shifter that looks like a winged unicorn. Old Timer's aid, he travels through time and space without any mechanical assistance. He was found in the Grand Canyon in an unknown period. He is always shown in his Master form (which is a white unicorn), but his evil form is a fiery black unicorn that can breathe fire.
  • Raldo: Time Shifter that can trap anyone in his shell. He was found in the time of Petra Fina's childhood. An evil version of him is revealed to have used crystal spikes in his shell and can turn into a large rolling ball of crystal spikes. Raldo can also transform into a super form which can freeze any enemy.
  • Leafy: Time Shifter that has power over plants. Founded in the time of young King Arthur. Her evil form depicted a European dragon that can breathe fire. She also gained a super form which looks like a pink flower and attacks with pollen.
  • Bowsan / Monk: Time Shifter that collects weapons and is an expert samurai. He helped Saito Musashibo Benkei. He relies too much on weapons which is one of his weaknesses.
  • Zoo-zoo / Nightcap: Tapir-type Time Shifter that helps people sleep, he was found by the famous author Hans Christian Andersen who used him to sleep.
  • Muscy / Musey: Time Shifter that can recognize beautiful music and can use it to overpower any person's emotions.. Found in the time of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and young Ludwig van Beethoven. His super form can wrap enemies in sheet music.
  • Co-Zenny / Change: Time Shifter that looks like a walking purse and can hypnotize people using the persuasion of wealth. It can make money, which is not counterfeit. His evil form (a giant version of himself) can shoot gold bullions.
  • Morphy / Bugsy: Insect Time Shifter that can turn anyone into an insect by looking at them through his magnifying glass. Found in the period of a young Jean Henri Fabre. His evil form attacks with his sickle-like arms and a morphing ray.
  • Java / Dipper: Elephant-type Time Shifter and brother of Mosbee. He can locate water. Founded by Marco Polo. His can shoot fire from his trunk whatever his form was.
  • Knucloo / Knuckle: Time Shifter who's an expert of martial arts and makes a great master. One of the most powerful of this group. Found somewhere in the early 1970s by a young Bruce Lee. His evil form is depicted as a Chinese dragon, this can be a reference to the film Enter the Dragon.
  • Drone / Doron: Time Shifter that looks like a pumpkin-headed ghost. He can scare people by spitting out illuminous spooks. Founded in the time of Thomas Edison. His evil form is a gigantic version of himself and attacks with throwing axes.
  • Shadow Ninja / Shadow: Time Shifter who can make shadow clones of anyone. Founded by a cowardly Miyamoto Musashi. When he is under Petra's control, he attacks with shurikens and creates evil shadow doubles.
  • Orbit: Star-type Time Shifter who has the power of encouragement, the only missing Time Shifter not to be found in any period.

[edit] English Adaptation

Saban Entertainment did the English adaptation for Flint.

All the original Japanese music score and all the sound effects are changed.

All the dialogue is completely changed and rewritten to be a lot different from that of the original Japanese dialogue, in which puns, jokes, and humor are added.

Even though the character names are changed to more Americanized full names, the setting of the country is still kept as in Japan, and much of the Japanese culture are kept as well as much of the Japanese text, left out untouched and untranslated.

Traditional Japanese cultural music is heard in the American dub, but because of the great changing in the music and sound effects, it sounds a lot different in the dub than in the original Japanese version.

[edit] English cast

[edit] Japanese cast

[edit] Other companies' involvements in producing

  • The Japanese company Sanrio helped producing this series and is the only shōnen title they produced.

[edit] External links

[edit] Video