RPG turned anime and manga series Medabots (or Medarot as it’s known in Japan) is getting a first-ever English dub Blu-Ray release courtesy of Discotek Media. Containing the first season of the 1999-2000 series, the Blu-Ray covers the first 26 episodes of Ikki and Metabee’s adventures in the world of Robattles. 

Medabots/Medarot is a 1999 shounen anime series, season one is produced by Bee Train. The series is currently licensed by Discotek Media in English and Japanese languages with plans to release both versions throughout the remainder of 2020. Season one is currently available on Blu-Ray in English with a Japanese audio release to follow at a later date.

Editor’s Note: Near complete to complete spoilers for Medabots season one may be present in this review. 

Back when I was a kid anime was just starting to reach its prominence in America (and really most of the West at the time) and there were very few series aimed at adults with quite a lot edited and toned down for family audiences. One such series was Medabots about a young kid named Ikki who strives to be a World Robattle Champion. Eventually Ikki is matched with his Medabot; Metabee and the duo climb the ranks in Robattles.

THE GOOD: What fans of the Medabots series may not know is that it actually adapts the story for the second game (Medarot 2) in the video game series that spawned the franchise. Ikki Tenryou gets interested in Robattles and wants to purchase a titular Medabot which is used for fighting in tournaments. He purchases a Medabot model known as “Metabee” and upon booting it up Ikki believes that the unit is malfunctioning. Prior to this he found a medal in the river which is required to boot Metabots. This turned out to be a rare medal which eventually grants Metabee access to the Medaforce. Which is a risky last resort finishing attack with a ton of power, though this isn’t realized until much later in the series. Metabots contain some form of sentience and they are meant to obey their users’ commands. However, Metabee is disobedient and arrogant to Ikki leading to the earlier belief of his medal being defective. He often uses sarcasm to get his point across to Ikki (or just to insult him). 

Eventually Ikki and Metabee slowly bond as they grow from their robattle victories and losses. As the series goes on the main plot point is unveiled that Metabee is actually a second-hand Medabot that belonged to Henry; the story clerk who originally sold Metabee to Ikki. Henry and Metabee had entered a World Robattle Tournament and nearly won, but an event linked to Metabee’s original medal caused all Medabots to lose control and it nearly caused worldwide destruction. Henry was forced to destroy Metabee’s medal and erase his memories to save the world. Now a group known as the Rubberobo Gang plans to use Metabee to once again take control of the world. They release a giant Medabot which Ikki and Metabee work together with their friends to stop. Medabots has some cool action sequences and solid character development, but if you didn’t grow up with the series there may not be much offered otherwise.

THE BAD: Unfortunately this release is a bit barren when it comes to resolution with there seemingly being very little upscaling for the Blu-Ray format. It should also be noted that this contains the censorship from the original Western TV broadcasts and home media releases. I honestly can’t help but feel that releasing this set uncut would at least have given it an extra edge. However this could be due to the West never obtaining a master copy of said footage as the series was aimed completely at children at the time and Medabots did have some considerably dark scenes. Discotek has revealed that the Japanese release will be in its initial uncut format. Do keep in mind that this is an anime series aimed at children in the 90s, so don’t expect riveting storytelling in this one.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Medabots’ first season on Blu-Ray may not be in HD or uncut, but it gets the job done for a classic to modern format release. And these days the nostalgia trip doesn’t ask for too much more than that. Otaku Dome Gives Medabots Season 1 on Blu-Ray a 75 out of 100.