Anime Rebirth

Review - Time Bokan

Review by Roriconfan

Prologue
This is the oldest anime comedy I have seen. It was very funny back in those years where Road Runner and Tom & Jerry were the only antagonists. But today, it is capable to just break a smile in my face.

Story: 4
Think of it as the grandfather of the Back To The Future movies and animated series.

A scientist experimenting on a time machine is accidentally lost in time and his granddaughter and aids have to search in time in order to find him. In the same time, a band of silly villains plan to destroy the time machine and get the professor for themselves, so they can be the only time travelers left and spread evil deeds throughout history.

On every episode, the team searches a different time period (prehistoric age, wild west, etc.) and fights the villains and/or local bad guys of that time. Story continuity is almost non-existent.

Nothing much can be found in the scenario. It is just an excuse for time traveling and comedy to occur on every episode.

Characters: 5
The good guys in the series are a bunch of dorky kids and funny robots. Completely boring and uninteresting.

The bad guys on the other hand are a far funnier version of Team Rocket from Pokemon. They are so hilariously stupid and selfish to the point of overshadowing the good guys.

There is no character development or unique personality in the characters. None of them is worth remembering. The jokes are a different story.

Animation & Sound: 3
Oh, it’s terrible to look AND listen to Time Bokan. Everything is childishly presented, in low-budgeted and superficial ways. No point in further explaining this department; trust me.

Enjoyment: 6
The jokes were mostly mediocre slapstick and are hardly funny if you have seen recent comedies, like Excel Saga and Fumoffu.

The mecha battles (yes, there are mecha battles between the time machines) are usually interesting to look at for some time.

In general, it is more silly than funny. Only seasoned otakus will appreciate such old-fashioned and innocent type of humor.

Value: 4
Japanese people have this series of high regard. The several remakes of it are the proof. For me, I will stick to the “Delorian struck by a thunder” version of the story.