Tenkai Knights

2013 Canadian Japanese anime series

Tenkai Knights

Cover for the show's first rental DVD volume featuring Guren Nash and Bravenwolf.

テンカイナイト
(Tenkai Naito)
Genre| Action, Mecha, Science Fantasy
Created by| Spin Master
Anime television series
Directed by| Mitsuru Hongo
Produced by| Ryō Sasaki (1)
Susumu Matsuyama (2-51)
Tomoya Negishi
Written by| Jin Kanada (1–26)
Hiroshi Ōnogi (27–51)
Music by| MONACA
Studio| Bones
Licensed by|

* NA: Spin Master Entertainment

Original network| Teletoon (Canada)
TV Tokyo (Japan)
English network|

* US: Cartoon Network

Original run|  August 24, 2013  –  December 6, 2014
Episodes| 51 + recap (List of episodes)
Manga
Written by| Ryo Takamisaki
Published by| Shogakukan
Imprint| Tentōmushi CoroCoro Comics
Magazine| CoroCoro Ichiban!
Demographic| Shōnen
Original run| April 21, 2014 – March 27, 2015
Volumes| 2
Video game
Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle
Developer| Namco Bandai Games
Publisher| Namco Bandai Games
Genre| Action
Platform| Nintendo 3DS
Released|

* NA: October 7, 2014
* JP: September 25, 2014
* EU: September 26, 2014

Tenkai Knights (Japanese: テンカイナイト, Hepburn: Tenkai Naito) is a 2013 Japanese-Canadian anime series based on a toy line by Spin Master, produced by Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Spin Master Entertainment[1] and TV Tokyo and animated by Bones.[2] It was directed by Mitsuru Hongo, with Jin Kanada and Hiroshi Ōnogi handling series scripts, Toshihiro Kawamoto and Shigeru Fujita designing the characters, Takayuki Yanase and Fujirō designing the 3DCG characters and MONACA composing the music. The series officially aired on Cartoon Network in the United States on August 24, 2013 and in Canada on Teletoon on September 28, 2013.[1] After a year, it premiered on TV Tokyo and its affiliate stations on April 5, 2014.[3][4]

In North America, the toys have been on sale since December 2013.

## Story

[edit]

Eons ago, a cube–like peaceful planet named Quarton is populated by the Tenkai, robots who could shape–shift into living bricks. Quarton was ravaged by a war between two opposite factions: the Corekai Soldiers, led by the valiant and fearless Commander Beagle ("Beag"); and the Corrupted Army, led by the ruthless Lord Vilius, who desired to obtain the source of Tenkai energy for his own purposes. However, the only ones who were strong enough to defeat him were the 4 Legendary Tenkai Knights of Quarton: Bravenwolf, Tributon, Valorn, and Lydendor. Facing defeat, Vilius unleashed the mighty Tenkai Dragon, who was later defeated by the 4 Knights where its fragments scattered across the planet. These heroes were never seen again. One year later, Lord Vilius and the infamous Corrupted Army have returned, more powerful than ever before.

Now on planet Earth in the year 2034 within Benham City, four young teenage boys, named Guren Nash, Ceylan Jones, Toxsa Dalton, and Chooki Mason, find an interdimensional portal to Quarton where they are chosen by Boreas of the Guardians to become the new generation of Tenkai Knights and prevent Lord Vilius and his Corrupted Army empire from taking control of both worlds.

During the course of the series, the 4 boys learn about teamwork, friendship, and many other life lessons as they face of against Vilius, his 2 henchmen Slyger and Granox, and soon, Dromus (AKA Gen) and Venetta (AKA Beni).

## Characters

[edit]

Main article: List of Tenkai Knights characters

## Media

[edit]

### Animation

[edit]

See also: List of Tenkai Knights episodes

The series first aired in the United States on the cable TV channel Cartoon Network on August 24, 2013, at 7:30 am, and in Canada on Teletoon on September 28, 2013.[5][6] The English dub is produced by Studiopolis. To coincide with the launch of the property, Spin Master and Kickstart Entertainment produced a 10-episode prequel web-series entitled Tenkai Knights Origins. The series features music by John Majkut and was released onto YouTube as well as the brand's official website between September and December 2013. They also aired as interstitals on Cartoon Network and Teletoon.[7]

In Japan, the television series was delayed until April, airing on the TV Tokyo network beginning April 5, 2014. However, the Saturday 9:00-9:30 slot was a local sales slot, so only TV Aichi and TV Osaka were simultaneously networked with the production station TV Tokyo, while the other three TV Tokyo affiliate stations broadcast it on Saturday mornings at 7:00 (one week later).

A second season of the series was announced to be in development but was cancelled prior to entering production.[8][9]

### Toys

[edit]

The Tenkai Knights toy line is produced by Spin Master under the Ionix brand of construction bricks, along with a new Pokémon line. Spin Master refers to Ionix as the next generation of construction, with "Bricks that shapeshift." Their line of products include bricks that look very similar to traditional construction bricks, but actually shapeshift and unfold into unique mini-figures. Spin Master distributes the toys in the United States and Canada while Happinet handles the distribution rights of the toys in Japan.

### Print

[edit]

A manga adaptation of the anime series by Ryo Takamisaki was serialized in CoroCoro Ichiban! beginning with its June 2014 issue, published April 21, 2014. The manga concluded with the March 2015 issue and was later compiled into two tankōbon by Shogakukan, the last of which, released on March 27, 2015, featured an additional 20 pages of material.[10] The series was not released in English, though a French edition was published by Kazé in a four-volume 48-page color comic book format.

Penguin Random House published four novelizations written by Brandon T. Snider, as well as two choose your own adventure books by Ray Santos in 2014 and 2015. iStoryTime released an interactive book on iOS in January 2014.

### Home video

[edit]

Phase 4 Films distributed a single home video release of the series in Canada and the United States, titled Tenkai Knights: Rise of the Knights. It presents the first several episodes of the show edited together into a movie and was released on DVD as well as digital platforms on February 4, 2014.[11] A manufacture on demand Blu-ray version followed on May 4, 2016.[12]

In Japan, Happinet and Victor Entertainment released the entire series over four DVD box sets between August 2, 2014, and May 2, 2015. The first 18 episodes were also released through six DVDs for the rental market.[13]

### Music

[edit]

Four pieces of theme music are used for the episodes: one opening theme and three closing themes. The opening theme is "Get the Glory" by Ayako Nakanomori. The first ending theme is "Shunkan Diamond" (瞬間Diamond, Shunkan Diamond, lit. "Diamond Moment") by Rurika Yokoyama, while the second ending is "Shōri no Hanataba o -gonna gonna be hot!-" (勝利の花束を-gonna gonna be hot!-, lit. "Victory Bouquet -gonna gonna be hot!-") by Cyntia. The third ending, "Densetsu no FLARE" (伝説のFLARE -, lit. "Legendary Flare"), is sung by Pile. For the English version, John Majkut composed its opening theme with an instrumental version of the same track used for the credits. The series' background score is composed by Majkut and MONACA of Star Driver fame.

Happinet released an 82-song soundtrack on CD on March 25, 2015, in Japan.[14]

### Video games

[edit]

See also: Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle

On January 30, 2014, Namco Bandai Games announced a video game entitled Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle (テンカイナイト ブレイブバトル, Tenkai Naito Bureibu Batoru) for Nintendo 3DS, released in Japan on September 25, 2014, and in North America on October 7, 2014.[15] It is one of the worst rated 3DS games, with a score of 26 on Metacritic,[16] with the 3rd lowest score for any 3DS game on Metacritic.[17]

On February 27, 2014, Spin Master and Game Pill launched the free-to-play Tenkai Knights: Battle for Quarton game for iOS devices.[18] The game was also available through web browsers via the Unity plug-in. Other browser titles include Bravenwolf's Run, Race to Redemption and Tenkai Boost.

### Broadcast

[edit]

Country | Title | Network | Release Date

|
|
|

United States | Tenkai Knights  | Cartoon Network | August 24, 2013
Canada | Teletoon | September 28, 2013
France | Canal J | February 8, 2014
Gulli | April 12, 2014
Japan | テンカイナイト  | TV Tokyo | April 5, 2014
Australia | Tenkai Knights  | GO! | April 14, 2014
Netherlands | Disney XD | June 14, 2014
Italy | K2 | June 18, 2014
Germany | ProSieben Maxx  | June 27, 2014
South Korea | 텐카이 나이트  | Animax | August 29, 2014
Turkey | Tenkai Knights  | MinikaGO  | September 1, 2014

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b ShoPro & Spin Master's Tenkai Knights to Run on Cartoon Network
2. ^ Anime Studio Bones' "Tenkai Knight" Project Listed
3. ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (February 20, 2014). "Crunchyroll - Bones' Kids Anime "Tenkai Knights" to Start Airing in Japan on April 5". Crunchyroll. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
4. ^ "制作はボンズ 「テンカイナイト」4月5日テレビ東京他放送開始、世界展開のキッズアニメ". アニメ！アニメ！. February 21, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
5. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (August 14, 2013). "Tenkai Knights' English-Dubbed Trailer Streamed". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
6. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (September 26, 2013). "Tenkai Knights to Debut on Canada's Teletoon on Saturday". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
7. ^ Majkut, John. "News". Retrieved September 10, 2018.
8. ^ @TenkaiKnights (July 3, 2014). "Second season is in development! More episodes still to come for Season 1!" (Tweet). Retrieved September 10, 2018 - via Twitter.
9. ^ "We hope you all enjoyed the season finale of Tenkai Knights! Plans for season 2 will be announced next year. Stay tuned!". Spin Master. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
10. ^ "本｜テンカイナイト オフィシャルサイト". Retrieved September 10, 2018.
11. ^ "Product Detail". Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
12. ^ "Tenkai Knights - Rise of the Knights [Blu-ray]". Amazon. May 4, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
13. ^ "アニメ「テンカイナイト」の音楽・DVD情報". Retrieved September 10, 2018.
14. ^ "アニメ「テンカイナイト」の音楽・DVD情報". Retrieved September 10, 2018.
15. ^ "Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle announced for 3DS". Nintendo Everything. January 30, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
16. ^ "Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle for 3DS Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. March 30, 2023.
17. ^ "All Nintendo 3DS Video Game Releases - Page 6 - Metacritic". Metacritic. April 4, 2023.
18. ^ "Spin Master launches Tenkai Knights gaming app for iOS". Toy World. February 28, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Official Japanese Website
* Official TV Tokyo website
* Tenkai Knights (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

* v
* t
* e

Works directed by Mitsuru Hongo

Animated series|

* Chimpui (1989–1991)
* Crayon Shin-chan (1992–1996)
* Outlaw Star (1998)
* The Candidate for Goddess (2000)
* Kyorochan (1999–2001)
* Kasumin (2001–2003)
* Immortal Grand Prix (2005–2006)
* Deltora Quest (2007–2008)
* Reideen (2007)
* Battle Spirits: Shounen Toppa Bashin (2008–2009)
* Mainichi Kaasan (2009–2012)
* Tenkai Knights (2013–2014)
* World Trigger (2014–2015)
* Monster Hunter Stories: Ride On (2016–2018)
* Ascendance of a Bookworm (2019–2022)
* Gunma-chan (2021)
* The Yuzuki Family's Four Sons (2023)

Animated films|

* Chinpui: Eri-sama Katsudō Daishashin (1990)
* Crayon Shin-chan: Action Mask vs. Leotard Devil (1993)
* Crayon Shin-chan: The Hidden Treasure of the Buri Buri Kingdom (1994)
* Crayon Shin-chan: Unkokusai's Ambition (1995)
* Crayon Shin-chan: Great Adventure in Henderland (1996)
* Sakura Wars: The Movie (2001)
* Crayon Shin-chan: Fierceness That Invites Storm! The Hero of Kinpoko (2008)

OVAs|

* Shiratori Reiko de Gozaimasu! (1990)
* Spirit of Wonder (1992)
* Shamanic Princess (1996–1997)

* v
* t
* e

Bones

Television series|

* Hiwou War Chronicles (2000–2001)
* Angelic Layer (2001)
* RahXephon (2002)
* Wolf's Rain (2003)
* Scrapped Princess (2003)
* Fullmetal Alchemist (2003–2004)
* Mars Daybreak (2004)
* Kurau Phantom Memory (2004)
* Eureka Seven (2005–2006)
* Ouran High School Host Club (2006)
* Jyu-Oh-Sei (2006)
* Ghost Slayers Ayashi (2006–2007)
* Darker than Black (2007)
* Skull Man (2007)
* Soul Eater (2008–2009)
* Nijū Mensō no Musume (2008)
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009–2010)
* Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (2009)
* Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor (2009)
* Heroman (2010)
* Star Driver (2010–2011)
* Gosick (2011)
* No. 6 (2011)
* Un-Go (2011)
* Eureka Seven: AO (2012)
* Blast of Tempest (2012–2013)
* Tenkai Knights (2013–2015)
* Space Dandy (2014)
* Noragami (2014–2015)
* Captain Earth (2014)
* Soul Eater Not! (2014)
* Chaika: The Coffin Princess (2014)
* Chaika - The Coffin Princess: Avenging Battle (2014)
* Blood Blockade Battlefront (2015)
* Show by Rock!! (2015)
* Snow White with the Red Hair (2015–2016)
* Concrete Revolutio (2015)
* Concrete Revolutio: The Last Song (2016)
* My Hero Academia (2016–present)
* Bungo Stray Dogs (2016–present)
* Show by Rock!! Short!! (2016)
* Mob Psycho 100 (2016–2022)
* Show by Rock!!♯ (2016)
* Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond (2017)
* Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan (2018)
* Carole & Tuesday (2019)
* SK8 the Infinity (2021–present)
* Bungo Stray Dogs Wan! (2021)
* Godzilla Singular Point (2021)
* The Case Study of Vanitas (2021–2022)
* Metallic Rouge (2024)
* The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies (2024)
* Gachiakuta (2025)

OVAs/ONAs|

* RahXephon Interlude: Her and Herself/Thatness and Thereness (2003)
* Wolf's Rain (2004)
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium Collection (2006)
* Ayashi Divine Comedy (2007)
* Darker than Black: Beneath the Fully Bloomed Cherry Blossoms (2008)
* Xam'd: Lost Memories (2008–2009)
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009–2010)
* Halo Legends (animated sequence) (2010)
* Darker than Black: Gaiden (2010)
* Chaika: The Coffin Princess (2015)
* Snow White with the Red Hair (2016)
* Blood Blockade Battlefront (2016)
* My Hero Academia (2017–2023)
* Bungo Stray Dogs (2017)
* A.I.C.O. -Incarnation- (2018)
* Mob Psycho 100: Reigen -The Miraculous Unknown Psychic- (2018)
* Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond (2018)
* Mob Psycho 100: The Spirits and Such Consultation Office's First Company Outing ~A Healing Trip that Warms the Heart~ (2019)
* Super Crooks (2021)
* Time Patrol Bon (2024)
* SK8 the Infinity (TBA)

Films|

* Escaflowne (2000)
* Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)
* RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio (2003)
* Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa (2005)
* Sword of the Stranger (2007)
* Eureka Seven: Pocketful of Rainbows (2009)
* Towa no Quon (film series) (2011)
* Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos (2011)
* Un-Go episode:0 Inga chapter (2011)
* Star Driver: The Movie (2013)
* Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution (film series) (2017–2021)
* Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple (2018)
* My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (2018)
* My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (2019)
* Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)
* My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission (2021)
* My Hero Academia: You're Next (2024)

Video games|

* Robot Alchemic Drive (2002)
* Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel (2003)
* Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir (2004)
* Fullmetal Alchemist 3: Kami o Tsugu Shōjo (2005)
* Code of Princess (2012)
* Liberation Maiden (2012)
* Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2012)
* Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies (2013)
* Persona 4: Dancing All Night (2015)

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