Chargeman Ken



Chargeman Ken! is a notoriously bad 1974 Cult Classic anime, known as チャージマン研!, (“chāji man KEN!”)in Japan.

Our hero is Ken Izumi. Well, how heroic his actions are is debatable. He dons his special uniform and drives his Cool Car called the Sky Rod to fight against evil alien invaders. Ken is joined by his sister and his robot dog Balican.

The production was something of a reunion for those who worked on Astro Ganger. The fascinatingly dreadful series would have been completely forgotten had it not been for the 2007 DVD release being added to Nico Nico Douga. Memetic Mutation ensued.


 * Anti-Hero: Ken
 * Apologetic Attacker: Hilariously done in episode 35, with Ken's infamous "Dr. Volga, forgive me!" line as he launches him at the enemy as a human bomb.
 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Dinosaurs in "Dynamite in the Brain"
 * Bishonen: Hoshi
 * Brought to You By the Letter K
 * Excited Show Title!: Chargeman Ken! although you may be less excited to see the show.
 * Girl with Psycho Weapon: Caron becomes one in episode 45. Sadly, it doesn't last.
 * Immune to Bullets: The Jural, strangely enough, are not affected by bullets, but they are by Ken's laser gun.
 * Kansai Regional Accent: Happens a lot with the Jural villains in human form, but hilariously highlighted when an aspiring arsonist is told, "Everyday, from now on, you will burn down a house." (Kore kara mainichi iewa yakouze)
 * Light Is Good: It's used to power up Chargeman Ken, but good is debatable...
 * Moral Dissonance: A lot of what makes it funny is how incredibly cruel Ken is.
 * Off-Model: They say that a trope cannot be used throughout every second of a series. Chargeman Ken! proved them wrong.
 * Planet Looters: The evil aliens.
 * Ray Gun: Ken's weapon.
 * Robot Dog: Balican
 * Shouldn't We Be in School Right Now?: Caron is seven years old but is always fighting space escapades while she should be at school.
 * Stock Dinosaurs: All of the ones that attack the city.
 * They Also Did: The show's production studio was Knack. Anyone who watched Nickelodeon in the late 1980s may remember them for The Little Prince anime, which was much better made.
 * Viewers Are Goldfish: "Dynamite in the Brain" flashes back to a scene that occurred literally 30 seconds earlier.