Babel II
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is a Japanese 1971
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series by
Mitsuteru Yokoyama was a Japanese manga artist born in Suma Ward of Kobe City in Hyōgo Prefecture. His personal name was originally spelled , with the same pronunciation. His works include ''Tetsujin 28-go'', ''Giant Robo'', '' Akakage'', ''Babel II'', '' Sal ...
. It was translated into an animated format in 1973 as a television series, in 1992 as an
original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
series and in 2001 as a thirteen-episode television series. Yokoyama's sequel to the series, set in a parallel universe, is entitled .


Plot

The series follows Koichi, a
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese schoolboy, who learns that he is the
reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
of the alien entity, Babel. As such, Koichi is entrusted with Babel's powers and joined by three protectors: Rodem, a shape-shifting black panther; Ropross, a
pterodactyl Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to 6 ...
-like flying creature; and Poseidon, a giant robot that always rises from the depth of the ocean when summoned. The boy hero commands his newfound powers and companions in order to defend the Earth.


Babel II (manga)


Characters

;Babel II :The main character's real name is Koichi Yamano. (His family name differs by version, including ''Furumi'', ''Yamano'', and ''Kamiya''.) Koichi lives an ordinary
junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...
er's life, until one day when the computer of
the Tower of Babel The Tower of Babel ( he, , ''Mīgdal Bāḇel'') narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and mi ...
authorizes him as a master of the tower. Koichi is actually a distant descendant of the space alien Babel, who was cast ashore on Earth 5000 years ago and who tricked the people of Earth into building the legendary tower to signal to his friends where he had landed, only for one of the tower's computers to malfunction and explode, destroying the entire structure. Koichi inherits Babel's superhuman intellect, physical strength and other various
supernatural powers Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multi ...
. He leaves the Tower of Babel with three servants following him; with their help, he confronts Yomi for disturbing the world's peace. ;Yomi :Yomi is a vicious
monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
who conspires to rule over the world. He is a distant descendant of Babel and has supernatural power equivalent to that of Babel II. He owns secret bases across the world and is accompanied by miscellaneous subordinates, including scientists, engineers, psychics, and cyborg agents. Because Yomi sends remodeled men to each country as
VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...
s in the government, he can manipulate many nations at will. He produces various robot weapons to counter Babel II's three servants and challenges him to a fight. He had been invited to the Tower of Babel as a candidate for heir-apparent of the tower before. However, since the computer judged that he did not suit as successor, this memory was erased from him. Yomi is known to command combat robots called Baran that use iron ball-and-chain maces as weapons. ;Yumiko Furumi :Yumiko is a daughter of Dr. Furumi and a classmate in Koichi's junior high school. In the anime version (1973), she is Koichi's cousin, and since Koichi lost his parents when he was young, Dr. Furumi took him in. ;Igarashi :Igarashi is a head of the National Security Bureau and a supporter of Babel II. ;Igano :Igano is a skilled investigator for the National Security Bureau.


Three servants

;Lodem :Lodem is an intelligent living being of indeterminate form. It can transform itself into various forms, but prefers a black panther's figure. It also often chooses a female figure. ;Ropross :Ropross is a huge robot in the form of a pterodactyl. It can fly in the sky at supersonic speed and has a rocket launcher and the Supersonic Wave Generator in its mouth. ;Poseidon :Poseidon is a giant humanoid robot. It has a
laser gun A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers. After decades of R&D, directed-energy weapons including lasers are still at the experimental stage and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-perfo ...
in one finger and a
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
launcher in its abdomen. Poseidon shows its abilities most in the sea, but it can be active and powerful on the land as well.


''Sono Na wa'' 101 (Manga)


Plot

There is a boy called registration number "''101''" (one-zero-one) in a secret laboratory which is administered by the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
. The boy is Koichi Yamano, who was once called Babel II and saved the world. Koichi discovers that his blood has the ability to save lives, and he provides the laboratory with his blood after fighting with Yomi. However, he notices that the laboratory transfused his blood into subjects and produced supermen like him artificially. He escapes from the lab and decides to exterminate the supermen produced by his blood that are scattered all over the world. As a result, the enemy sends espers to fight him one after another. Unfortunately, the three servants of Babel II, Lodem, Ropross, and Poseidon are confined in an underground
nuclear test site Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
by the CIA, so Koichi is forced to fight alone.


Anime television (1973)


Cast


Original video animation (1992)

Helen McCarthy Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is the British author of such anime reference books as ''500 Manga Heroes and Villains'', ''Anime!'', ''The Anime Movie Guide'' and ''Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation''. She is the co-author of ...
in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' stated that "this compressed version leaves some holes in the story, but the original concept is strong, and the animation is crisp".
Streamline Pictures Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English-dubbed Japanese animation. History Founding Founded in Los Angeles, California, in late 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first No ...
released this OVA on dubbed VHS in the 90s.
Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...
put this version of the anime on DVD in 2001.
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
announced the acquisition of the title in 2017.


Cast


Beyond Infinity (2001)

Media Blasters Media Blasters, sometimes abbreviated as MB, is an American entertainment corporation that was founded by John Sirabella in 1997 and is based in New York City. It is in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American ...
released this show on DVD.


Cast


Legacy

Japanese
manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...
Hirohiko Araki is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his long-running series ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', which began publication in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' in 1987 and has over 120 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling ...
said that he paid homage to ''Babel II'' by letting
Jotaro Kujo is a fictional character in the Japanese manga series ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. The main protagonist of the series' third story arc, '' Stardust Crusaders'', Jotaro is depicted as a rough delinque ...
wear a
Japanese school uniform The Japanese school uniform is modeled in appearance similar to that of the European-style naval uniforms. It was first used in Japan in the late 19th century, replacing the traditional kimono. Today, school uniforms are common in many of the J ...
in ''
Part 3 Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer *Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer *Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor *Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) an ...
'' (19891992) of the ''
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly ''seinen'' manga ...
''
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series. Video game developer
Yu Suzuki is a Japanese game designer, producer, programmer, and engineer, who headed Sega's AM2 team for 18 years. Considered one of the first auteurs of video games, he has been responsible for a number of Sega's arcade hits, including three-dimensional ...
of
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
says ''Babel II'' was his main inspiration in the creation of the arcade
fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
'' Psy-Phi''. The
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for the
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
and
Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
song "
Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...
" (1995) features clips from ''Babel II''.


References


External links

* {{J.C.Staff OVAs 1971 manga 1973 anime television series debuts 1977 manga 1992 anime OVAs 2001 anime television series debuts Akita Shoten manga Discotek Media J.C.Staff Mitsuteru Yokoyama Shōnen manga Toei Animation television TV Asahi original programming TV Tokyo original programming Toei Animation films