Marvel Anime: Iron Man (TV Series)

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Marvel Anime: Iron Man
Beginning date	October 1, 2010
End date	December 17, 2010
Number of Episodes	12
Writers	Toshiki Inoue
Original Channel	Animax (Japan) G4 (United States) Sci Fi Channel (Australia)
Previous Series	The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Next Series	Marvel Anime: Wolverine

Marvel Anime: Iron Man is a series that ran between October 1st and December 17th in 2010. It was part of the Madhouse series along with Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, and Marvel Anime: Blade.

It was the sixth series to prominently feature Iron Man after The Marvel Super Heroes, Iron Man, Iron Man: Armored Adventures, The Super Hero Squad Show, and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Story[]

Tony Stark decides to retire as Iron Man and travels to Japan to train a group of pilots to try out the Iron Man Dio Armor as his replacement, as well as supervising the new Arc Reactor that would give Japan free energy. Things begin to fall apart when the Dio Armor is stolen by the organization known as Zodiac. Tony is forced out of retirement to once again wear the Iron Man Armor to defend Japan from Zodiac. Along the way, he must also investigate AIM as well as facing off against his former friend Ho Yinsen. But when he learns that Dr. Chika Tanaka is a Zodiac agent, he discovers a conspiracy to use his technology to make Japan a major military power once again.

Background[]

The visuals in the opening theme song is based on the film Iron Man 2.

Cast[]

Animation[]

Animation was done by the Japanese company Madhouse. The animation is a combination of traditional animation with computer generated imagery.

Trailer[]

Episodes[]

See also Marvel Anime: Iron Man Episodes.

Like the other three Marvel Anime series, Iron Man only lasted twelve episodes.

Reception[]

R.L. Shaffer of IGN gave the series a 7 (Good) out of 10. He said that this series and Marvel Anime: X-Men weren't perfect and were flawed in structure and execution. He claimed that neither series succeeded in capturing the magic of the comic books. Though he did feel that Iron Man was more faithful than X-Men and featured less filler with having a better grasp on Tony Stark. The fewer characters left more room for character development and the action was engaging. He felt that while it was flawed the series was more emotional and action packed. He did say the English dub was strong. "The Iron Man Anime is much better than the X-Men Anime, but it's still not a perfect melding of the two mediums – comic books and anime. However, if you're an Iron Man lover, you should definitely consider checking this one out, if only to see how the adaptation came to life under a Japanese eye." [1]

James Harvey of Marvel Animation Age said that while he was not a fan of anime he enjoyed the series. He noted that the series was certainly not perfect but was enjoyable. He enjoyed the mature take on the character that not just focused on action but on the business and political ramifications of his actions. He felt this series was slightly weaker compared to X-Men as it took some obvious breaks with the narrative and gets sidetracked. He did enjoy the finale as it wrapped up the story. He complained that the series had a villain of the week format, though they did factor into the overall story. He did feel that the Wolverine cameo was useless serving no purpose. He did enjoy the voice acting, though felt that Pasdar was too stiff as Tony but fit into the role around the second half. He said the series stayed true to the comic book and had a good story giving fans something to enjoy. "Overall, Iron Man Anime is a worthwhile installment of the Marvel Anime line, despite the hiccups here and there. While the onslaught of somewhat repetitive enemies does get a bit tiresome, the characters and their respective personalities does save it. Toss in some solid animation and voice acting and it’s a fairly good product overall. It does have the tendency to drag or get off-track on occasion, but overall I found it pretty fun, mostly thanks to the enjoyable characters. The best part is...it feels like Iron Man. It brings the characters alive in a respectful manner that no fan should be able to pass up. [...] It’s not the best Marvel Anime product, but it is one that is easily accessible and quick to pick up." [2]

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External links[]

• Official Website (Japanese)
• Internet Movie Database
• Wikipedia
• Marvel Database