Genji Tsūshin Agedama

is a Japanese anime series created by Sukehiro Tomita and Akira Sakuma, produced by NAS and TV Tokyo. The series was broadcast on TV Tokyo every Friday evening from October 4, 1991 to September 25, 1992. It centers around a kid hero who comes down to Earth in a city in Japan and often battles the city's resident rich girl and supervillainess. The anime contains many of references and parodies from other anime series as well as live-action shows and movies that were popular at the time, e.g., ''Kiki's Delivery Service'', '' Kamen Rider X'', '' A Taxing Woman'', and ''Sailor Moon'' (which had started airing a few months afterward, and Usagi Tsukino would be played by the same voice actress as the love interest of this show).

Aside from the anime, two manga series and a PC Engine side-scrolling video game by NEC Home Electronics were made as tie-ins, all of which were also released in 1991. The first manga was written by Kazuhiko Shimamoto and was serialized in ''Deluxe BomBom'', released a few months before the anime. This version followed an early draft that featured different scenarios and character designs to the ones shown in the anime and served as the basis for the video game. The second manga was written by Eiichi Saitō, which was published in ''Comic BomBom'' and followed the anime closely.

Plot

Agedama Genji is a 4th-grade student from Planet Hero who landed in Morisoba City with his robotic computer friend Wapro for some training during his summer vacation, at his father's request. After their arrival, he joins East-Morisoba Elementary School, where he meets his shy but studious love interest, Ibuki Heike, and his archenemy, Rei Kuki, an enormously wealthy heiress who arbitrarily rules the city, shares her grandfather Raizo's ambition to conquer the world, and, as a first step, attacks the city with a variety of monsters that she and her grandfather create with the , which the rich old man invented. When they plot to attack the city, Rei transforms into "Onyomiko", the town's local supervillain. Agedama then retaliates by using Wapro to transform into "Agedaman", the young and mysterious superhero. Thus begins the endless battle between Agedaman and Onyomiko.

Characters

Protagonists

Agedama Genji

*
: The main character of the show, born on Planet Hero on October 26th. He's a kid superhero-in-training who came to Earth during his summer vacation. Though the cheerful youngster doesn't seem too special on the surface, he's a natural-born daredevil who has a strong sense of justice and could care less about any problem he gets into. He uses silly, shortened versions of expressions (e.g., 'thanky!' for 'thank you'), and wears a wristwatch-shaped corded phone handset that enables him to communicate with his best friend Wapro when he's away. Wapro is also able to receive phone calls and route them to the handset. Agedama also has a huge crush on Ibuki Heike, a female student in his class who he fell in love with at first sight. When Onyomiko enters the scene with the synthetic beast of the day and tries to attack Morisoba City, Agedama uses Wapro to transform into the mysterious savior known as Agedaman, but he can't let anyone know of his secret. When he transforms into Agedaman, he displays superhuman physical abilities and fights mainly using the Agedaman Punch, Agedaman Kick, and the thick Frisbees attached to both his hips (often used together as the "Double Frisbee"). When he's in a jam, he often pumps himself up to produce "Spirit Cards" from his headgear by concentrating his spirit energy. The Spirit Card is a data card that resembles the PC-Engine's HuCards and Wapro uses them to analyze the information of the synthetic beast and calculate its weaknesses, allowing Agedaman to gain the upperhand.

: His family name comes from ''The Tale of Genji'', a classic Japanese literature, his given name means agedama (also called tenkasu, something he's made fun of for at one point). The name of the show comes from his name in the Japanese naming order, Genji Agedama, and the Tsūshin in the middle of it literally means communication, particularly telecommunication here on account of his connection to Wapro. In episode 49, Ebiten offers Agedama his old battle suit when Wapro is temporarily put out of commission. This outfit was a part of Agedama's initial design used in the first manga and the video game, which also gave him brown hair instead of dark blue. This same outfit even appears towards the end of the first opening.

Wapro

*
: A word processor robot who came to Earth with Agedama. His base body type is usually that of a ball with retractable feet and a pair of antennas, but he's able to change into several other forms, including an armadillo, a school bag, a pocketbike, a Jet, and a Submarine. He is Agedama's best friend, and although they have occasional spats with each other, their friendship is always proven to be unbreakable. Once the city is in danger, he fuses with Agedama allowing him to become Agedaman, all while analyzing the enemy's data and finding the most appropriate way to attack. As a word processor robot, this little guy can't help but pronounce every text character when he speaks, even punctuation marks and symbols.

: His name comes from the Japanese abbreviation of "word processor". His initial design had a pure shade of white with a green and orange color scheme, a more animal-like muzzle, and his antennas could also form a helicopter-like propeller.

Ibuki Heike

*
: The series' cute ponytailed heroine and token love interest, born on July 15th. She's a fourth grader at East-Morisoba Elementary School and is the first friend Agedama makes on Earth. Though her true feelings towards Agedama are up in the air, she is clearly in love with Agedaman. Ibuki is an honest, kind, and good girl with many skills under her belt and a sense of justice equal to Agedama's. While she starts off as shy and timid, Agedama's motivation and earning title of class president gave her more confidence. She eventually becomes a lot more assertive and resilient to the point to where she's able to stand up to Rei, who uses her power to do whatever she pleases. However, her words and actions can be a bit unrestrained at times and she giggles a lot. Towards the end of the series, she becomes the super heroine, Super Ibuki (initially known as Wonder Ibuki). This results in several blatant references to ''Sailor Moon'', which had started airing around the same time. She shares a voice actress with Usagi Tsukino and the scriptwriter, Sukehiro Tomita, was in charge of the early scripts of ''Sailor Moon''.

: Her family is named after ''The Tale of Heike'' (a classic novel published centuries ago). As for her hairstyle, she was originally designed with a twin-tailed hairstyle that was pink in early promotional material, including the video game and the ‘’Deluxe BomBom’’ manga. This design is shown in its current brown hair color in the first opening.

Villains

Rei Kuki

*
: The series' central antagonist' predictions.

The Butler Trio

: The three henchmen of Raizo and Rei who often appear in black suits and sunglasses. Even though they're given the title of "butlers", they also work as the Kuki's bodyguards, caretakers, chauffeurs, valets, cooks, dining musicians, pilots, soldiers, and pretty much anything else Raizo or Rei wants them to do. They're often used as the main vessel of the synthetic beasts. They may look tough, but they aren't evil and are just conscientious men who are just doing their job. They even show sympathy for many of their victims affected by the Kuki's operations. They have been butlers for 13 years but have been working together for much longer. They work from 7am to midnight for a low monthly salary, and Raizo and Rei abuse them every day. Although they're promised a salary of two million yen per month, it's gradually cut down when the henchmen make a blunder or make their bosses mad, so they end up getting paid just 50,000 yen (approx. 405 US dollars), or at worse nothing at all every month. Their surnames are also the top three most common in Japan.
* Satō (voiced by Tomoyuki Morikawa)
** The one at medium height, lives in a small apartment with his wife (called Nabeko) and their baby, from Tokushima prefecture and is enthusiastic about Awa dance—a local dance of his hometown. Holds the honor as the first person in the series to become a synthetic beast.

* Tanaka (voiced by Wataru Takagi)
** The tallest of the three. He owns a house and lives with his wife and daughter. He's so honest and clean that he doesn't hesitate to sacrifice himself thinking about his family, sometimes volunteering to become a synthetic beast out of desperation. He's good at housework can even sew handmade dolls. He's also under a lot of mental pressure from his mother-in-law, who often asks when he'll become the president of Kuki Conglomerate, to such an extent that he even has nightmares about it.

* Suzuki (voiced by Tetsuya Iwanaga)
** The shortest of the three, whose full name is Yasutaro Suzuki and is the only bachelor of the trio. He lives in a small, noisy apartment near a railroad track. In his childhood, he had a crush on a girl in his hometown named Shiratori, and ever since then he's had an obsession with knee-high socks and, when seeing a young girl wearing a pair, can't help but roll it down to the ankle (he calls that movement 'kutsushita kururun', sock roll), which makes him come across as a lolicon fan. He also has a 3rd dan in calligraphy, a 2nd dan in abacus, and a 4th dan in judo.

PC-ro

*
:A personal computer robot who first appears in the last half of episode 31, made by the Monster-Cooker from some computer parts and Rei's stuffed panda Pantaro that had been Rei's favorite doll since she'd been a toddler. He was created after an unsuccessful attempt to kidnap and brainwash Wapro. He speaks with a very fluent Kansai accent, always has a cigarette in his mouth, and is known for being sneaky, sly, and lecherous. He gives Rei the ability to merge with him to become a Hyper Onyomiko and is more than thrilled to see Rei naked when they merge. He also enjoys teasing Sato, Tanaka, and Suzuki at every opportunity. His name is a play on words PC (Japanese pronunciation: pee-shee, which was also a header given to the series number of NEC's PC series devices) and Shiro (a given name for Japanese males or for pets.)

Modam

*
: A nonentity from Planet Hero. He and his sister, E-Hub, were supposed to be banished to a planet with no civilization because of their evil hearts, and according to the rules of Planet Hero, their memories and their clothes were stripped and they were supposed to become the literal Adam and Eve of that planet, but on the way there they crash-landed on Earth, specifically Morisoba City. At first, they had no memories whatsoever, but like Adam and Eve, they regained them by eating a forbidden apple (a synthetic beast created by Raizo). Adam hid the fact that he had regained his memory and served Raizo, but gradually revealed his evil nature. He's a legitimate villain who plans to take over the world, superior to the Kukis in both fighting ability and brains. Even his synthetic beasts are more powerful than those created by them.

: His name is a play on the words modem and Adam, and is modeled after ''Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam'' antagonist Paptimus Schirocco, who was played by the same voice actor.

E-Hub

*
: A nonentity from Planet Hero, and Modam's younger sister. She's so high-handed and ruthless that she makes Rei look friendly and is strong and intimidating enough to make her tremble. Like her brother, she's a legitimate villain compared to the Kukis, but she has a more lighthearted side than Modam, like when she takes Raizo's interpretation of the prophecy book seriously, or when she gets in a heated rock-paper-scissors duel with Wonder Ibuki. Her name is a play on the words Ethernet hub and Eve.

Supporting Cast

Ebiten

*
: A small, fairy-like old man who serves as one of Agedama's guardians during his time on Earth. Though he looks like a silly old man in a rice bowl, he was once an active hero in his day, eventually passing down his old battle suit to Agedama. The name is a portmanteau of Ebisu (a member of Seven Lucky Gods) and ebi-tempura (shrimp tempura). He was one of the earliest characters created for the series, but he wasn't heavily redesigned like the protagonists were during the anime's production.

Okame

*
: Ebiten's wife, an old fairy-like woman who has the body of a small jar and makes food for Agedama. She's usually very gentle, but when she gets angry, she becomes so scary that even Ebiten won't go near her. She can change her costume whenever she likes, and has appeared in race queen and swimsuit outfits.

: Modeled directly after Okame ( Noh mask: that of an ugly chubby woman used as a comedy relief between serious performances; its name origin is a Japanese word, kame (jar), since each of its plump cheek looks like a round shape a clay jar; nowadays it's known as the mascot of a natto brand called Okame Natto more than as the traditional mask.) One of the earliest characters created for the series, and while she had a similar shape, she was presented in artwork as human-sized with legs.

Uroncha

*
: A suspicious-looking person named after oolong tea and wears Chinese clothing. Though he claims to be a 4th grader in Agedama's class, he looks like a middle-aged man. Despite being a frequent money-grubber, he's the only person at the school who remains neutral during the ongoing conflicts between Agedama/Ibuki and Rei. However, it's later revealed that he's also a native of Hero Planet and is a member of the Solar System branch of the Space Patrol, an object of admiration for all the children on that planet. Other members of the team include Habucha (herbal tea) and Jasmincha (jasmine tea), and all of them have the exact same face and voice. One of the earliest characters created for the series, but wasn't completely redesigned like the protagonists during the anime's production.

Kensaku Morikawa

*
:The teacher in charge of Agedama's class. He always presents himself in a kendo uniform and appears to have the traditional Japanese spirit. When he was a student, he was the captain of a sumo club in school, weighed 100kg (220lbs). Nowadays, although he has a somewhat timid personality, he is very honest and shows more passion for teaching and education than anyone else. Even though he can't completely resist Rei's power, even he has standards and won't let her walk over him or anyone else. He also has strong feelings for his colleague and fellow teacher Hitomi Kirara. His character is modeled after Kensaku Morita.

Katsuo Harada

*
: The captain of Rei's bodyguards in Agedama's class, a fat kid who is often called "Tsuripan" (for his suspender shorts). Although he is still an elementary school student, he is the managing director of the Harada Real Estate Agency, a family-owned company run by his father. While he shows genuine professionalism during his work hours, at school he uses his power and connection to Rei to behave in an overbearing and unpleasant manner toward his classmates and other students throughout the school. He's only subservient to Rei because his family's business is connected to the Kuki Conglomerate, and in reality hates her as much as everyone else does. However, he's not a bad person and stays by Rei's side when the Kuki Conglomerate goes bankrupt and the other bodyguards bail on her.

Hitomi Kirara

*
:A beautiful female teacher in East-Morisoba Elementary who Kensaku's got a huge crush on. Though the feelings are somewhat mutual, she prefers machismo, and Kensaku's timidity doesn't carry that weight. In the meantime, she's just nursing her emotions and waiting for the old-fashioned, straightforward teacher to toughen up and become wild. Ironically enough, she also seems to be dissatisfied with the weak position that women carry in society.

Kodama Heike

* (voiced by Satomi Kōrogi (in episode 6) → Ikue Ōtani (from episode 13 to the final))
: Ibuki's younger brother who's a big fan of Agedaman. Although he's a young child who still takes baths with his older sister, he shares her inner strength. This is shown when he pretends to be a hero, known as "Agedaman No. 2", and attempts to take on the synthetic beast Batmanjuu. His foot size is 12.5 cm (5 inches), which he uses for the 12.5cm kick, a parody of the 16-Mon Kick, the nickname for Giant Baba's signature technique.

Hikari Yumenokōji

*
:A handsome, preppy boy from another school, known for his excellent grades and matching athletic skills. He becomes Agedama's rival once he captures Ibuki's attention during his track and field run. Though they don't really like each other, they are eventually shown to be a pretty good comedy duo during Morisoba City's comedy competition. He's based on an early antagonist concept that was used in the first manga and video game, Bifū Kunreikan, whose sister was Onyomiko. He and Rei were not only redesigned for the anime but they also aren't related, with only minimal interaction between the two, including the two coming close to being betrothed and then Hikari later getting kidnapped by her crew and being turned into a synthetic beast called "Brahamman".

Other Characters

;Yuri Shiratori: (voiced by Yuri Shiratori)
:A childhood friend of Suzuki who he was in love with at one point. She is based on Taeko Okajima of the Studio Ghibli movie '' Only Yesterday'' and even has a scene that parodies the "climbing to the sunset sky" scene. She is also named after her voice actress.
;The Principal: (voiced by Junichi Sugawara)
:The useless principal of East-Morisoba Elementary School who regularly brown-noses school board chairman Raizo and his granddaughter Rei.
;Vice Principal: (voiced by Katsumi Suzuki)
:The vice principal of East-Morisoba Elementary School, who is an obsequious eduacator who keeps a low profile.
; Hotaru Heike: (voiced by Masako Miura)
:Ibuki's mother, who is as quick to laugh and giggle at even the worst of comedy as her daughter. Her name comes from " Japanese firefly" (heike-botaru).
; Kanio Heike: (voiced by Junichi Sugawara)
:Ibuki's father, an unremarkable businessman who lives in a small apartment with his family and dreams of owning a house. His name is from ' Samurai crab (heikegani)'
; Yamabuki Heike: (voiced by Sumi Shimamoto)
:A distant relative of Ibuki's family who resembles Raizo's late wife Kiku when she was young. Tsuripan's father offered him an arranged marriage, and when he saw a photo of her in a kimono, Raizo fell in love with her at first sight.
; Kiku Kuki: (voiced by Sumi Shimamoto)
:Raizo's late wife who Rei never knew because she died before she was born. Just after World War II, when a thief snatched a sack of rice that the young woman bought in a black market, Raizo caught the quick thief, knocked him out, and brought it back Kiku, which is how they met and eventually got married. Her name is an anagram of Kuki and means chrysanthemum.
; Yoshio Harada: (voiced by Yu Shimaka)
:Tsuripan's equally overweight father and the president of the Harada Real Estate Agency. He's very loyal to Raizo as his agency is affiliated with Raizo's conglomerate. This fat man is also one of few people chosen to be an ingredient of a synthetic beast ingredient aside from the butlers.
;The Owner of Ganko-Tei: (voiced by Masahiro Anzai)
:A middle-aged man who runs the eponymous ramen shop, which Kensaku has visited since he was a student. The chef uses a special martial arts technique that he calls the "Noodle Bound", which he invented himself after some hard training in the Hida Mountains. The fighting maneuver consists of casting noodles against an opponent and binding the body, so the more the victim tries to get out of the knot the tighter they tangle.
;Masumasu Yamanoki: (voiced by Katsumi Suzuki)
:A middle-aged man in glasses who is also a so-called "professional food connoisseur". Agedama and his friends happen to see him every so often as another diner in Ganko-Tei. He is modeled after food and rakugo critic Masuhiro Yamamoto.
;Mika: (voiced by Chisa Yokoyama (in episode 6) → Kumiko Watanabe)
:A young adult woman who's sometimes around when Agedaman and Onyomiko are duking it out in the city. She's dating a man named Katchi who she's deeply in love with, but is also very opinionated, which almost led to them breaking up. She is a parody of Rika Akana from '' Tokyo Love Story'', a popular seinen romance manga at that time that had just been adapted into a TV drama.
;Katchi: (voiced by Bin Shimada)
:Mika's boyfriend, who's always with Rika. When the couple wants to hug, kiss, or show genuine intimacy around each other, the fighting lad Agedama and the evil lass Onyomiko somehow find a way to exchange blows around them and ruin their sweet moments. He is a spoof of Kanji Nagao, the main character of '' Tokyo Love Story''.

Episode list

Music

Theme songs

*"Opening Theme 1: Jinsei Madamada Agedaman" (from episode 1 to 26)
** Lyrics by: Yūko Ōtomo
** Composed by: Toshihiko Sahashi
** Arranged by: Toshihiko Sahashi
** Sung by：Kaori Honma (later known as Kaori Futenma)
:Not officially translated, means 'You've got a long way to go, Agedaman.' The lyrics has nothing to do with the anime's stories.
* "Opening theme 2: Jishin Manman Agedaman" (from episode 27 to the final)
** Lyrics by: Mitsuko Shiramine
** Composed by: Toshihiko Sahashi
** Arranged by: Toshihiko Sahashi
** Sung by: Nozomu Sasaki
:Means 'Gutsy Agedaman.' Agedaman's theme song, the voice actor sings himself in a lower key.
* "Closing Theme 1: Sekai wa Watashi no Tameni" (from episode 1 to 26)
** Lyrics by: Yūko Ōtomo
** Composed by: Toshihiko Sahashi
** Arranged by: Toshihiko Sahashi
** Sung by: Kaori Honma (later known as Kaori Futenma)
:Means 'The World Is Dedicated to Me.' One of Rei's theme songs, a teenage pop singer who just debuted that year, Kaori Honma (later changed her stage name to the real one, Kaori Futenma) sings the villainess' ambition, to conquer the world. In the animation, Rei is taking a bubble bath.
* "Closing Theme 2: Kanzenmuketsu no Jōō-sama" (from episode 27 to the final)
** Lyrics by: Mitsuko Shiramine
** Composed by: Toshihiko Sahashi
** Arranged by: Toshihiko Sahashi
** Sung by：Sakiko Tamagawa with Tomoyuki Morikawa, Wataru Takagi and Tetsuya Iwanaga (chatter)
:Means 'Absolute Queen.' Another theme song for Rei, the voice actress sings herself going out of mind. The butlers grumble after she brag about herself. At the end of the song, Rei laughs crazily and Tanaka butts in and tells her "An ambulance has come!"

Featured song

* "Chikyū wo Todokeyō" (from episode 49 to the final)
** Lyrics by: Mitsuko Shiramine
** Composed by: Toshihiko Sahashi
** Arranged by: Toshihiko Sahashi
** Sung by：Nozomu Sasaki
:Means 'Send from Earth.' Used in the showdown with Modam and E-Hub, friends and other people on earth sing this song to send energies to Agedaman in a pinch. Kotono Mitsuishi, who plays Ibuki, sings this song, too, her version was just meant for use in Ibuki's fight scene in episode 49, thus, is not a full-length song.

Staff

*Pre-production Writers: Sukehiro Tomita, Akira Sakuma
*Draft Scenario Writer: Oji Hiroi
*Draft Character Designer: Kennosuke Mizutani
*Executive Producer: Yoshibumi Sugisawa
*Director: Masato Namiki
*Character Designer, Animation Director: Hatsuki Tsuji
*Animation Supervisor: Tadashi Kudo
*Cinematographers: Hiroaki Edamitsu→ Katsuya Kozutsumi
*Music Composer: Toshihiko Sahashi
*Director of Audiography: Kazuo Harada
*Producers: Shinsuke Kuramochi (TV Tokyo