They say nothing is stronger than family… and for many people this concept rings true. But for some of us family is not so much an ideal of coming home, more like an endless suffering. Yet we all in the end want to have that feeling of coming home to parents and siblings and having a nice meal around the table feeling comfortable. Be it reality or animated, there are places to return… to feel the warmth of being welcome to stay. In terms of 80s cartoons there is a great example of this, that also functions as an awesome superhero show. Do you remember Bionic Six?
What if you mixed the premise of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman with The Incredibles? Or maybe the senate fighting of Gatchaman with warmth of My Neighbor Totoro? That’s how I see Bionic Six, a show I have not seriously watched since it was first on syndicated broadcast back in 1987. Oh sure I caught an episode from time to time, but as far as fandom all I know was that I really remembered this show as a favorite of mine way back then. Yet ironically I did not follow up much after that. I forgot a lot of the plot line, the premise, etc. All I remembered were a couple of the characters names, the title of the show and it was for an 80s cartoon, animated extremely well. Sadly, most of the video footage I find of Bionic Six is in poor shape.
Have you seen the intro for Bionic Six? Perhaps one of the best examples of short animation from the 1980s? To no surprise the name of TMS, or Tokyo Movie Shinsha, is credited as a co-producer of the show. I have numerous times gushed my love for this studio and for one of it’s star directors who happens to appear in the credits, Osamu Dezaki. Every episode is A-Grade beautiful, no cheapening out for visual budget. Bionic Six may not officially be anime, but like Galaxy Rangers (which was also animated by TMS), this was the closest thing we got here in the West that could pass in many ways as anime with the look and feel. A half-anime, or distant cousin could be the categorization.
Remember I mentioned this is a family show as well as a superhero title? The family in question that are the heroes of Bionic Six are the Bennetts. A mixed family including dad, Jack; mom, Helen; and kids Eric, Meg, J.D. and Bunji (the last two being adopted), they are via the help of Professor Sharp and the “miracle of modern science” the ultimate sentai squad, the Bionic Six. BIONICS ON! With the help of cybernetic technology the family becomes Bionic-1, Mother-1, Sport-1, Rock-1, IQ and Karate-1 respectively. After all isn’t stopping bad guys the ultimate family bonding experience?
Their main nemesis are the followers of one Dr. Scarab, including the corrupt Doctor himself… “HAIL SCARAB!” They are an oddball collection with names like Glove, Mechanic, Klunk, Chopper and the elusive Madame-O, they are fun in terms of being “the bad guys”, but they are way too monster-like in a cartoonish way. I often wonder if this ‘evil’ group was recycled later into shows like Captain Planet and the Planeteers? Many toy related shows of the era were very similar in terms of plot and tone, basic good guys vs. bad guys, but I think the inclusion of a family dynamic makes Bionic Six stand out. It was perfect for television and if production was was tweaked slightly, this could have been great for primetime as after all… bad cartoons only appeal to blind consumption of products and great cartoons can often times tell a visual story better than anything live action… just my opinion.
There is one thing that does scare me about the overall legacy of Bionic Six. It has nothing to do with the show, but more about the idea that science and technology can make us humans ‘better’. As a fantasy adventure Bionic Six is brilliant, but the promise of superpowers, or being connected to, or blindly trusting technology to solve issues can become a dangerous addiction. Apparent convenience is great, so long as it works as promised… and promises can be easily broken. Science and technology and even governments and institutions cannot cure everything and often times create more trouble than it deserves. Humanity and each human being, flaws and all, is in the end perfect. There is no need to be ‘better’, just be you.
“You see, the reason you want to be better is the reason why you’re not.”
– Alan Watts
Starcom represented one of the best toy ideas from the 1980s, regardless of gender stereotyping. While it did not have the big budget punch of say The Transformers, Cabbage Patch Kids, or LEGO, Starcom did have a certain niche that makes it still today a cult favorite. Space exploration, day to day general working equipment and also military combat all wrapped up in an almost Star Trek like future, or maybe more like Legend of the Galactic Heroes? Such a great toy line, one that I often held to what the future could become, and one that I did not have… which is ok. Motorized in strategic places and including magnets in others (including the figures’ feet!), Starcom had a lot of play value… plus no need for batteries!?!. Amazing. The only time I remember playing with these toys was at a house that belonged to a related cousin of my dad. I got along well with the two sons and on the floor was a ton of Starcom. The image is a little fuzzy, but that memory I vaguely remember was a good one.
Now then this is not a site about toys, what about the cartoon? As a show Starcom: The US Space Force is an interesting bird. 13 episodes in total it was a great installment for the Saturday morning lineup of the time and stood out in many ways. A large cast of characters, a broad outlook for space travel and exploration and an exciting atmosphere for what could be our future (I am still waiting!), Starcom has so much to offer. That and this is one of the best looking shows of the era and to no surprise it was animated in Japan. By TMS (Tokyo Movie Shinsha) no less, can you see the great line work, color, lighting and events fluid movement in various camera angles? A gorgeous show… that in some ways is kind of limiting as well.
Now this is a personal opinion, but I think Starcom didn’t live up to it’s full potential as a cartoon. True there were only 13 episodes made, and we can take that into account, but I feel so much more could have been flushed out. The two factions of Starcom and the Shadow Force of Emperor Dark (nice hair man) never get into any real political struggles. True this was a toy show and the point was to show off all those awesome spacecrafts flying around, but really no stories depicting the a large scale drama of the two sides. The majority of the show highlights the ‘Big 3’ of Colonel’s Derringer, Griffin and Corbin (Dash, Slim and Crowbar), the three commanders of the three branches of Starcom, with only minor appearances from other Starcom members. Hey guys, share the spotlight a little… please? And then there’s the background music, which is awesome, but some of it sounds familiar to another DiC produced show. Is it me, or did DiC borrow some of the soundtrack from Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors? It was good once, so why not recycle it? I mean who would know? … besides hard corps Jayce nerds (LIKE ME!)
Please don’t think I am trashing Starcom as a show. Despite these flaws that are more personal than anything, this show is really top notch. Visually, as I said before, it’s one of the best looking shows of the era. The writing is clever, with comedic puns that never grow old (I have a bad feeling about this!) and on the other end of the spectrum a touch of sophisticated nuance. This is classic hard sci-fi, more in line with original Gundam, with plot lines that seemed a little more mature than the usual stop the bad guys narrative. Nantucket Sleighride, Caverns of Mars and Hot Enough For You? are three great episodes that really showed the bigger potential of the Starcom universe. I still wonder when we will have the chance to live and work in space just like in Starcom? As an idealist I still believe it can happen in my lifetime!
Sunbow, the once fabled production studio has created many propaganda toy shows that at their hearts were to promote mainly the products of Hasbro. Yet somehow with Sunbow, the shows are in my opinion more superior than the toys. They take on a life of their own as a whole world is created around each toy line and supersedes the predominantly plastic creations with an organic mythology. Am I interested in collecting vintage Hasbro lines? No, I prefer to watch The Transformers, G.I. Joe, Jem and the Holograms and the little brother from 1987, Visionaries. An action figure line that also included holographic elements… magical light!
Truth be told I did have two of the holographic chest plated figures as a child, Leoric and Arzon. Those two have since left my existence, but the show where both of these gentlemen originated is still a part of my viewing rotation. The plot is a simple one of two factions, the Spectral Knights and the Darkling Lords, who either uphold justice, or raise trouble on the planet Prismos. Yet there is also a third wheel as well, a neutral maverick, the wizard Merklin, who gave each Knight and Lord their specific magic. He is almost like a dungeon master from the veins of Dungeons and Dragons who sets the mood and pace periodically and is perhaps the most valuable character to the whole plot.
What makes Visionaries so great is that for only a 13 episode run you get some of the most bang for your buck in terms of an 80s cartoon. Every episode has it’s merit! Why is this so? Mythology and interesting characters, simple. The world of Visionaries is much like more Earth based sci-fi like Vampire Hunter D, or Fist of the North Star. Mix this with a strong medieval themes and you get something a little different from the era. Almost like Aura Battler Dunbine without the robot mecha… though Visionaries does have a couple vehicles that can qualify as a type of mecha. … or maybe if one mixed LEGO’s Classic Space and Castle themes together?… Each character has their own personality archetype which adds to the plot line and is reminiscent of the first initial seasons of say The Transformers, or G.I. Joe when everything was small and simple.
Then there is the presentation which is very polished. Visually we have to thank a Japanese studio for the grunt work of creating the ocular quality that is present in Visionaries. Take a guess which studio got the job? It’s a personal favorite of mine… TMS, Tokyo Movie Shinsha. Yet again we have another cartoon which got to use the talents of this studio and trust me it will not be the last time we hear from them again. TMS after all was contracted from time to time well into the 1990s. Could Sunbow have used TMS for The Transformers, or G.I. Joe, or Jem instead of relying on Toei and AKOM? Maybe, but no need to argue over what has passed.
The Classic Anime Museum 
You must be logged in to post a comment.