Jetter Mars

Jetter Mars
Jetter Mars Encyclopedia cover, illustrated by Noboru Miyama, 1977
ジェッターマルス
Genre	Science fiction
Created by	Osamu Tezuka
Written by	Masuo Maruyama
Directed by	Rintaro
Music by	Nobuyoshi Koshibe
Country of origin	Japan
Original language	Japanese
No. of episodes	27
Production
Production companies	Fuji Television Toei Animation
Original release
Network	FNS (Fuji TV)
Release	February 3 (1977-02-03) – September 15, 1977 (1977-09-15)

Jetter Mars (ジェッターマルス, Jettā Marusu) is an anime series directed by Rintaro and conceptualized by Osamu Tezuka. It was produced by Toei Animation and debuted on Fuji TV on the 3rd of February, 1977. The story follows a robot boy named Jetter Mars who must learn the difference between right and wrong under the care of two conflicting parental figures: Director Yamanoue, who wishes to use Mars as a tool for war, and Professor Kawashimo, who believes Mars should be raised similarly to a human boy.

Jetter Mars was conceptualized as an animated television show, but supplemental manga were published alongside the show's run to promote the show. Primarily, Ikehara Shigeto's version of the manga published in TV Land magazine, which had some of its chapters reprinted and compiled into a paperback manga in 2019.

Development

Unlike the vast majority of Osamu Tezuka's characters, Jetter Mars was not first published in comic book form, written and illustrated by Tezuka, but the character does bear physical resemblance to the titular character of Tezuka's previous work, Tetsuwan Atom. Initially, Jetter Mars was planned as a sequel series to Tetsuwan Atom called Mighty Mars (マイティ・マルス Maiti Marusu)

In the original pitch written by Osamu Tezuka, Dr. Ochanomizu wished to rebuild Atom after the events of the final episode of the 1963 version of the Tetsuwan Atom anime. Dr. Ochanomizu seeks out Dr. Tenma, who has isolated himself on Mars. Ochanomizu begs Tenma to rebuild Atom, but refuses. Instead, Dr. Tenma shares blueprints for a new robot: "Mighty Mars", who Ochanomizu would name in honor of Tenma who isolated himself on Mars. Mighty Mars would have all of Astro Boy's abilities, but amplified. he'd also be more human than Atom was. His more human-like nature leads to trouble, as he can act selfish. He makes mistakes, causes trouble, and is tempted by others. The pitch script compares this aspect of Mars' character to Pinocchio.

In the end, the Astro Boy aspects were removed and Mars' backstory changed with it. Mars' name would be changed to Jetter Mars and the origin of his name would change to him being named after the roman god of war, Mars. Rather than having all of Atom's abilities, Jetter Mars' abilities would be stripped down to super strength, flying, searchlight eyes, and super hearing.

Some episodes of Jetter Mars closely mirror that of classic stories Tezuka wrote and drew in his Tetsuwan Atom manga, with The Artificial Sun being the most blatant, replacing the Sherlock Holmes parody with a James Bond parody and replacing the artificial sun with a cryogenic freezing device. The Artificial Sun withstanding, episodes mirroring Tetsuwan Atom stories mix in or introduce many new elements into the stories, significantly changing the story and creating something more original than might be expected, sharing only similar characters and/or moral lesson.

In the Tezuka tradition, the series showcased many of his characters from his various manga works in different roles.

In the same manner he wrote and illustrated his Tetsuwan Atom manga, Tezuka stayed away from graphic violence in Jetter Mars, although the typical traits of his works are also present in it, such as the importance of moral values, humanity.

The series was received by Japan's population with mixed feelings, as some wanted the original Tetsuwan Atom and some accepted Jetter Mars wholeheartedly as a different character, as it was intended to be. This made Tezuka to lose interest in the series and it finished with 27 episodes produced.

Plot

The story is set in the future, the year 2015. Two scientists, Professor Kawashimo and Director Yamanoue, have constructed a highly sophisticated robot. Professor Kawashimo created his highly advanced artificial intelligence, gifting him with the personality of a young boy, and the capacity to learn and grow. While Director Yamanoue designed the robot's body, which was constructed by the Ministry of science and endowed with astoundingly powerful abilities. Director Yamanoue names the robot Jetter Mars, taking him into the care of the Ministry of Science. Professor Kawashimo and Director Yamanoue are at odds with each other regarding the purpose of Mars' creation and how he should be raised. Director Yamanoue designed him to be a tool of war and insists on training him as such, while Professor Kawashimo programmed his AI to behave like a normal boy. Mars himself seems to struggle with these two sides of himself, enjoying acts of destruction and mischief and feeling bad when it ends up hurting people. With the help of Professor Kawashimo and his kindhearted robot daughter Miri, whom Mars has taken a liking to, Mars will learn kindness and beauty. From his father, Director Yamanoue, Mars will train for battle, and learn to use his destructive abilities. It's up to Mars which one he decides to indulge in.

Characters

The series featured many of Tezuka's most well-known characters, as well as some specifically-created ones.

As expected from Osamu Tezuka, he put his "character acting company", known as Star System, to use to define the cast of Jetter Mars. He created a few of the characters specifically for the series, such as Mars and Melchi, and the vast majority of the cast was classic and well-known characters from Tezuka's works, playing various roles. In the adjacent picture, it is possible to identify many of Tezuka's characters, from left to right: Daidalos, Shunsuke Ban aka Higeoyaji and Tezuka himself in the upper row; Inspector Tawashi, Rock Holmes and Marukubi Boon in the middle row; and Tamao, Shibugaki, Spider, Chief Nakamura, HamEgg, Acetylene Lamp, Ken'ichi and Hyōtan-tsugi in the lower row; among some others.

The following list describes the characters featured more prominently during the series:

Jetter Mars (ジェッターマルス, Jettā Marusu): The protagonist of the series. A powerful robot built in the image of a boy, he has a body that can be used for destruction of cataclysmic proportions, and a near-human artificial intelligence. Mars was designed as a machine for war, and thus named his creation after the Roman god of war. He finds himself often in the predicament of needing to find a balance between his boy heart and overwhelming strength.

Melchi (メルチ, Meruchi): Mars' younger brother, with the body of a baby. Endowed with tremendous physical strength, his only word is "Bakaruchi!" (バカルチ, Bakaruchi) (a word invented by Tezuka with no real meaning). He will also, however rare, speak a sentence.

Miri (美理, Miri): A robot made in the image of a young girl by Dr. Kawashimo. She possessed powers that enabled her to restore destroyed robots and machinery. She is the sister of Mars and Melchi, and daughter to Dr. Kawashimo.

Dr. Kawashimo (川下博士, Kawashimo Hakase): Creator of Jetter Mars' artificial intelligence and heart, and creator of Miri and Melchi. Opposing fellow scientist Dr. Yamanoue, he desired Mars to live a life of good purpose and peace.

Dr. Yamanoue (山之上博士, Yamanoue Hakase): A renowned roboticist responsible for designing Mars. Mars looked up to him as his father. He disappears after the testing of a new gravity weapon.

Dr. Tezuka (手塚博士, Tezuka Hakase): In many of his works, Tezuka drew himself as a character, immersed in the universe of his creations, and interacting with his characters. He was included in the Televiland manga adaptation as a famous roboticist Dr. Yamanoue sees as a rival.

Spider (スパイダー, Supaidā) and Hyōtan-tsugi (ひょうたんつぎ, Hyōtan-tsugi): Two cartoonish characters which briefly appear as comic relief. Hyōtan-tsugi usually appeared falling in front of a character at the most inappropriate of times, and getting kicked out angrily by them, and Spider usually appeared in moments of tension, uttering his trademark phrase, Omukae de gonsu! (おむかえでごんすﾞ, Omukae de gonsu), roughly "Here ta meet ya!". Additionally, Hyōtan-tsugi appeared in each episode during the end credits sequence. Spider appears only in the manga and the opening of the Jetter Mars anime.

HamEgg (ﾊﾑｴｯｸﾞ, Hamueggu): One of Tezuka's most recognizable characters in his Star System. As usual, he is up to no good in Jetter Mars, running a robotic circus. In the anime, he tricks Mars into performing for his circus, but in the manga, HamEgg tricks Mars' little brother, Melchi, into joining the circus instead. Both of them end up sapped of their energy due to HamEgg being upset at them.

Episode list

The series had 27 episodes, each lasting approximately 24 minutes. It was broadcast by Fuji TV, on Thursday nights. As with all Tezuka's works, the series made use of his Star System cast, featuring many of his characters from previous works (manga or animated) performing various roles. The following list includes the episode title, and airing date.

Episode#	Original title (English) Original title (Japanese)	Original air date (Japan)
1	"Mars is Born, Year 2015" Transliteration: "2015 nen Marusu tanjō" (Japanese: 2015年マルス誕生)	February 3, 1977 (1977-02-03)
A robot named Jetter Mars is created by renowned scientists Dr. Yamanoue and Dr. Kawashimo, but after Mars' creation, they begin to argue. Dr. Yamanoue, Mars' father, made Mars to fight while Dr. Kawashimo finds this extremely inhumane. Later on, Dr. Kawashimo and his daughter Miri come to check in on Mars, and Dr. Yamanoue sends Mars to keep them away. Mars gets carried away though, and starts to jump on the car, and spinning it in circles. It becomes apparent that Mars can't tell what the difference between good and bad. When Miri starts crying because she's afraid Mars will hurt her father, he becomes confused. He doesn't know why she cares about her dad since his own is very harsh on him. Then a storm picks and causes an energy crash. Mars and Miri are sent to fix it and stop the island from sinking into the ocean. Miri is revealed to be a robot like Mars. Mars and Miri are able to stop the island from sinking, but Mars ends up having to fight a practice battle robot. He easily defeats it.
2	"Robot Trafficking Ring" Transliteration: "Robotto mitsuyudan" (Japanese: ロボット密輸団)	February 10, 1977 (1977-02-10)
Jetter Mars goes to study, but soon becomes fed up with it and while having to assemble a TV for his father he comes across a News show. It reports that a boy has run away from home, but Mars doesn't get to see the rest of it as Dr. Yamanoue turns it off. Mars decides to run off and see Miri. He comes through their ceiling and while getting scolded, he sees the end of the News report. The boy is hugging his mother and saying that she'll never upset him again. Mars gets the idea that if he runs away, then his dad will apologize and hug him too. Mars takes off and flies over the sea. He ends up discovering a boat owned by a group of pirates who make money by trafficking robots. Mars boards the boat, and is tricked into being held captive. At first, they try to make Mars study to become a robot that helps commit crime. Meanwhile, Dr. Kawashimo and Miri decide to look for Mars. Miri follows Mars' signal to the ship. When Mars learns that they are going to make him study, he causes chaos and attempts an escape. But he is stopped by the ship's electromagnetic barriers, which paralyze him. The Robot Trafficking Ring decide that they're better off selling Mars as scrap. Luckily, Miri saves him just in time. The two escape into the sea. Mars learns from Miri that as he was about to be scrapped, he felt fear. Mars redirects missiles that were shot at them into the boat. The coast guard then arrives and take them home.
3	"Why is Mars Crying?" Transliteration: "Marusu naze naku" (Japanese: マルスなぜ泣く)	February 17, 1977 (1977-02-17)
Jetter Mars is set to fight a robot named Mad Mask in order to prove Mars' worth to president Nonohara. When Mad Mask is unsatisfied with the results of this bout, he kidnaps Miri's pet bird, Kuru, and challenges Mars to another battle. The battle is interrupted when an inactive volcano erupts, and Mad Mask sacrifices himself to save Mars.
4	"Goodbye, Little Brother!" Transliteration: "Sayōnara, otōto!" (Japanese: さようならオトウト！)	February 24, 1977 (1977-02-24)
Mars finds a puppy and insists on adopting him as his little Brother. Yamanoue reluctantly obliges. After trying to study the dog, the dog attacks him. Yamanoue insists Mars gets rid of the dog and Mars runs away, taking the dog with him. When Kawashimo, Miri, and Yamanoue examine some photos taken of the dog, they discover it's a disguised bomb. At that moment, a pair of villains make themselves known, demanding the dog back or they'll detonate the bomb. Miri and Kawashimo go out to look for Mars, finding him at the lighthouse. They insist they'll take the bomb out of the dog and just as Mars is about to come down, the villains interrupt. Mars flies down and handily defeats them all. A small ship lands nearby and a voice from it demands MArs put the dog in the ship or it'll explode, taking Miri and Kawashimo out, too. Mars obliges, before suddenly turning around and bolting into the ship to join his dog. He goes to the pilot chair to confront the villain, but it's a dummy with a speaker. The speaker tells Mars he's going to blow Mars up with the ship. Mars falls back and hugs his dog, content to die with him. But the dog acts up and starts attacking Mars, pushing him out of the ship before exploding. When Mars wakes up, he doesn't remember a thing. Director Yamanoue erased his memory. Kawashimo recognizes this as probably being for the best.
5	"Talent, the Greatest Robot in History" Transliteration: "Shijō saikō no robotto Tarento" (Japanese: 史上最高のロボットタレント)	March 3, 1977 (1977-03-03)
Mars and Miri are picked up by a talent agency run by HamEgg and HamSalad. HamEgg saps Miri's energy when she becomes suspicious and tells Mars she's sick, putting her into a bed. Mars signs a contract and Mars is set to fight a robot named Powerful in the robot circus. Meanwhile, Miri uses what remaining energy she has to crawl to a telephone to call Professor Kawashimo. At the robot circus, Mars meets a robot named Pierro backstage who tells Mars that he's a broken down robot who was scrapped by HamEgg because he faltered one time, and that he chooses to endure because it's his destiny. Mars chooses to endure his battle with Powerful instead of fight, and HamEgg grows angry. HamEgg and HamSalag have Powerful whip Mars with an Energy whip. Mars endures. Pierro comes crawling from backstage and begs them to spare Mars, telling them he put the idea in Mars' head. HamSalad orders Powerful to whip Pierro to death. Mars tries to endure this as well before flying in to save Pierro. He's low on energy, however, and is unable to put up a good fight. Mars manages to endure, defeating Powerful. HamEgg is just about to hurt Mars when Miri saves Mars, accompanied by Professor Kawashimo and Director Yamanoue.
6	"The Girl from the Planet of Dreams" Transliteration: "Yume no hoshi kara kita shōjo" (Japanese: 夢の星から来た少女)	March 10, 1977 (1977-03-10)
Mars makes friends with a girl from space named Dory. She only stays awake for a month before returning to space in a deep sleep. Dr. Flame, who has dedicated his research to Dory's race, wants to study Dory and is trying to take her. The problem is that if a human sees her wings, she will effectively die. Mars fights for her, but has to be saved from an oncoming missile by Dory. Mars defeats the villains but Dory's save took all of her energy and she has to return to space in her deep sleep. Mars has a dream about Dory that night.
7	"Missing Miri" Transliteration: "Kieta Miri" (Japanese: 消えた美理)	March 17, 1977 (1977-03-17)
Miri is kidnapped by a gang. While Mars is looking for her, he's assaulted by a robot named Bruiser. After Bruiser flees, Mars gives up and is confronted by a fellow named Skunk, who says he knows where Miri is. Mars follows Skunk to a warehouse and discovers Miri unconscous on the couch. Mars is elated and about to go wake her when Skunk stops him, telling Mars that Miri needs to sleep. Mars agrees, and turns to leave, bumping into Bruiser who is just heading in. Skunk reprimands Bruiser for fighting Mars. Skunk tells Mars they need help with something and Mars agrees to help, going through an underground tunnel where Mars is to unknowingly break into a bank. Bruiser stops Mars before he does and Mars goes back to save Miri. After saving Miri, Mars returns to stop Skunk, but only finds a broken down Bruiser. Bruiser explains his story to Mars before dying. Mars goes out and finds Skunk fleeing in a truck. Mars handily stops Skunk and has him and his gang arrested.
8	"Where Did Dad Go?" Transliteration: "Otōsan doko okonatta no?" (Japanese: お父さんどこ行ったの？)	March 24, 1977 (1977-03-24)
9	"Lamp, the Space Trader" Transliteration: "Uchū no shimatsujin Ranpu" (Japanese: 宇宙の始末人ランプ)	March 31, 1977 (1977-03-31)
10	"My Little Brother's Name is Melchi" Transliteration: "Otōto no na wa Meruchi" (Japanese: 弟の名はメルチ)	April 7, 1977 (1977-04-07)
11	"Freshman Mars" Transliteration: "Shin'nyūsei Marusu" (Japanese: 新入生マルス)	April 14, 1977 (1977-04-14)
12	"Jam Bond, Secret Agent" Transliteration: "Himitsu chōhōin Jamu Bondo" (Japanese: ヒミツ諜報員ジャムボンド)	April 21, 1977 (1977-04-21)
13	"Honey, Robot Exchange-Student" Transliteration: "Robotto Tenkōsei Hanī" (Japanese: ロボット転校生ハニー)	April 28, 1977 (1977-04-28)
14	"The Vampire from Outer Space" Transliteration: "Uchū kara no Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: 宇宙からの吸血鬼)	May 5, 1977 (1977-05-05)
15	"Melchi Likes Mooster" Transliteration: "Meruchi no sukina Mousutā" (Japanese: メルチのすきなモウスター)	May 12, 1977 (1977-05-12)
16	"Zaza, the Wandering Planet" Transliteration: "Samayoeru wakusei Zaza" (Japanese: さまよえる惑星ザザ)	May 19, 1977 (1977-05-19)
17	"The Samurai Robot From 1837" Transliteration: "Tenpō shichi-nen Samurai robotto" (Japanese: 天保七年サムライロボット)	June 2, 1977 (1977-06-02)
18	"Resurrect, Ancient Robot" Transliteration: "Yomigaeru kodai robotto" (Japanese: よみがえる古代ロボット)	June 16, 1977 (1977-06-16)
19	"Mars' First Love" Transliteration: "Marusu no hatsukoi" (Japanese: マルスの初恋)	June 23, 1977 (1977-06-23)
20	"Mars Becomes a Young Boss" Transliteration: "Marusu waka oyabun ni naru" (Japanese: マルス若親分になる)	June 30, 1977 (1977-06-30)
21	"Mighty Robot Joe" Transliteration: "Tetsuwan Robotto Jō" (Japanese: 鉄腕ロボット・ジョー)	July 7, 1977 (1977-07-07)
22	"An Android's Lullaby" Transliteration: "Andoroido no komoriuta" (Japanese: アンドロイドの子守唄)	July 21, 1977 (1977-07-21)
23	"The Wandering Robot" Transliteration: "Sasurai no robotto" (Japanese: さすらいのロボット)	July 28, 1977 (1977-07-28)
24	"Another Miri" Transliteration: "Mou hitori no Miri" (Japanese: もう一人の美理)	August 18, 1977 (1977-08-18)
25	"The Wolf-Boy From Space" Transliteration: "Uchū no ōkami shōnen" (Japanese: 宇宙の狼少年)	September 1, 1977 (1977-09-01)
26	"Adios returns" Transliteration: "Kaettekita Adiosu" (Japanese: 帰ってきたアディオス)	September 8, 1977 (1977-09-08)
27	"The Flight Beyond Tomorrow!" Transliteration: "Ashita ni mukatte habatake!" (Japanese: 明日に向かって羽ばたけ！)	September 15, 1977 (1977-09-15)

Manga adaptation

The anime series also was adapted into a few manga issues published as one-shot stories, based on the storylines shown in the anime. They weren't written or illustrated by Osamu Tezuka, but by various licensed artists. The issues are listed as follows:

• Televiland Comics issue

Stories illustrated by Shigeto Ikehara, published monthly in Televiland Magazine throughout the show's run.

• Bōken-ō Manga magazine issue

Illustrated by Rentarō Iwata for the defunct Bōken-ō manga magazine.

• Televi-Magazine issue

Illustrated by Kai Nanase and published in 1977.

• Chū'ichi Jidai magazine story

Illustrated by Saisuke Hiraga, published from April to August 1979. It is a short story divided in five chapters.

DVD release

Jetter Mars was released by Avex on March 27, 2009, as a five-disc DVD box set which contains the complete series.

Merchandise

Several records containing the musical score of Jetter Mars were released during the series run. These are listed as follows:

1. Mars LP Record (マルスのLPレコード, Marusu no LP recōdo)

Jetter Mars' only LP record, it contained several songs along a mini-drama. The songs included in the record:

• Mars, year 2015 (マルス2015年, Marusu 2015 nen)
• Mars' dream (マルスの夢, Marusu no yume)
• Melchi, Let's Bakaruchi (メルチバカルチガンバルチ, Meruchi Bakaruchi Ganbaruchi)
• Goodnight, Mars (おやすみマルス, Oyasumi Marusu)
• Fighting Mars (戦いのマルス, Tatakai no Marusu)
• Boy Mars (少年マルス, Shōnen Marusu)
• Hate! Love! (キライ!スキ!, Kirai! Suki!)
• Wandering robot (さすらいのロボット, Sasurai no robotto)
• The March of Mars (マルスのマーチ, Marusu no Māchi)
• Space Scat (宇宙のスキャット, Uchū no Sukyatto)

2. Single releases

Several records containing single songs were released. These are listed as follows:

• Mars Single Record 1, included the songs:

• Mars, year 2015 (マルス2015年, Marusu 2015 nen)
• Boy Mars (少年マルス, Shōnen Marusu)

• Mars Single Record 2, included the songs:

• Goodnight, Mars (おやすみマルス, Oyasumi Marusu)
• The March of Mars (マルスのマーチ, Marusu no Māchi)

• Mars Single Record 3, a re-release of the first single record, it also included a track containing the sound effects of the anime:

• Mars, year 2015 (マルス2015年, Marusu 2015 nen)
• Boy Mars (少年マルス, Shōnen Marusu)

• Mars Single Record 4, with the same content of single records 1 and 3, except it did not include the sound effects track. It also contained a Drama track, with the voices and sound effects of the first episode of the anime:

• Mars, year 2015 (マルス2015年, Marusu 2015 nen)
• Boy Mars (少年マルス, Shōnen Marusu)
• Drama track: Mars is born, year 2015 (2015年マルス誕生, 2015 nen Marusu tanjō)

• Mars Single Record 5, its contents were practically the same as Single Record 4, only with some editing variations.

• Mars, year 2015 (マルス2015年, Marusu 2015 nen)
• Boy Mars (少年マルス, Shōnen Marusu)
• Drama track: Mars is born (マルス誕生, Marusu tanjō)

• Mars Single Record 6, included the opening and ending songs of the Jetter Mars anime, along the theme song for the anime adaptation of Yumiko Igarashi and Kyoko Mizuki's classic shōjo manga Candy Candy:

• Mars, year 2015 (マルス2015年, Marusu 2015 nen)
• Boy Mars (少年マルス, Shōnen Marusu)
• Candy Candy (キャンディ・キャンディ, Kyandi・Kyandi)
• I love tomorrow (あしたがすき, Ashita ga suki)

Staff

Involved in the production of the series:

Original concept, creator: Osamu Tezuka (手塚治虫)
Planning: Kōji Bessho (Fuji TV), Takeshi Tamiya
In charge of production: Kiyoshi Ono (first season), Kichirō Sugahara (final season)
Music: Nobuyoshi Koshibe
Series composer: Masao Maruyama
Script: Masaki Tsuji, Shunichi Yukimuro, Yoshitaka Suzuki, Masaru Yamamoto, Hiroyuki Hoshiyama
Chief director: Rintarō (りん・たろう)
Producers: Sumiko Chiba, Noboru Ishiguro, Wataru Mizusawa, Masami Hatano, Katsutoshi Sasaki, Yugo Serizawa, Jihiro Taizumi, Rintarō
Character design supervisor: Akio Sugino
Animation supervisors: Akio Sugino, Toshio Mori, Satoshi Jingu, Wataru Mibu, Tsuneo Kashima, Toyō Ashida
Graphic designer: Liang Wei Huang
Art: Shohei Kawamoto, Liang Wei Huang, Tadao Kubota
Photography: Masaaki Sugaya
Editing: Masaaki Hanai
Audio director: Ryōsuke Koide (Arts Pro)
Recording: Hideyuki Tanaka
Production co-operation: Madhouse
Production: Fuji TV, Toei Animation

See also

• List of Osamu Tezuka manga
• List of Osamu Tezuka anime
• Osamu Tezuka's Star System
• Tezuka Award
• Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize