Mega Man: Fully Charged Explained

Based On:	Mega Man
Developer:	Man of Action Dentsu Entertainment USA
Director:	Gino Nichele Clint Butler
Theme Music Composer:	Steffan Andrews
Composer:	Steffan Andrews
Language:	English
Num Seasons:	1
Num Episodes:	52
Runtime:	11 minutes

Mega Man: Fully Charged is an animated television series based on the Japanese video game series of the same name published by Capcom. The series was developed by Man of Action Studios and produced by Dentsu Entertainment USA and DHX Studios Vancouver for Cartoon Network and Family Chrgd. It is the fourth television series based on the franchise, and the second to draw inspiration from the "Classic" series after the 1994 cartoon. It premiered in the United States on August 5, 2018, after the first ten episodes were first released on-demand on August 3.^[1]

Synopsis

The series follows Aki Light, an advanced robot who looks like and lives the routine of a human schoolboy. He was built by scientist Dr. Light as his son and lives with his biologically human sister Suna Light. They live in Silicon City, a town co-inhabited by robots and humans rather peacefully, though is currently seeing new attacks from rogue robots (the Robot Masters of the franchise). Aki responds by transforming into "Mega Man" and battles to neutralize the threat and protect the civilians from harm. Allies to Mega Man include Mega Mini,^[2] a wise-cracking miniature robot who operates within his forehead, his pet Rush the robot dog, and Suna Light.^[3] Other characters include Sgt. Night, a war veteran who gives anti-robot speeches (though works with the rogue robots to reignite a human-robot war) and Bert Wily, a classmate and friend to Aki Light.

Characters

Main

• Mega Man (voiced by Vincent Tong^[4]) – The protagonist and hero of Silicon City. Aki Light is a robot boy who looks like a regular human, and with the ability to transform into his superhero identity of Mega Man. He can fire energy blasts from his arm cannon and has the ability to replicate the schematics of other robots in order to copy their abilities while having the personalities of some of them as a side-effect. While he can act cocky at times, he cares deeply for his family and friends and will risk his life to protect them to the best of his ability. He is considered highly advanced due to his power set.
• Mega Mini (voiced by Ryan Beil) – Aki's mechanic and sidekick of sorts who powers his armor and gives him his abilities. He occasionally pops out of his head to speak and loves to make wisecracks. What started off as animosity for Blasto Woman after getting kidnapped by her, has turned into a full on crush that seems to be reciprocated.
• Suna Light (voiced by Caitlyn Bairstow) – Aki's human sister and ally. She is one of the few who knows about Aki's double identity. She is intelligent and has numerous gadgets at her disposal to aid her "ro-bro".
• Dr. Thomas Light (voiced by Garry Chalk) – Aki's father and a supporter of human/robot relations. In "Panic in the Lighthouse," it is revealed that he has always known of his son's double identity which he makes Aki know of after using the Mega Key to heal Chaotique.
• Rush – The Light family's robot dog. He eventually gets his own armor and becomes Mega Man's sidekick.

Supporting

• Bert Wily (voiced by Cole Howard) is Aki's friend and ally. He is an enthusiastic up-and-coming inventor who is a huge fan of Mega Man, but does not realize he and Aki are the same person. The episodes "Drilling Deep" and "A Split End" hint at his connection to Dr. Wily when he accidentally gets a similar hairstyle. The Boom comic mini-series reveals that Dr. Wily is Bert's grandfather, whom he looks up to.
• Peter Punkowski (voiced by Cole Howard) is a nerdy know-it-all student at Silicon Central School.
• Ashley Adderley (voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent) is an intellectual and sarcastic girl who Aki secretly has a crush on, which she reciprocates.
• Jacques is a small toaster-themed robot at Silicon Central.
• Principal 100100 (voiced by Brian Drummond) is a former battle robot the size of a building who is refashioned as the principal of Silicon Central School. During the Hard Age, he was a close ally and fellow soldier of Wood Man.
• The Good Guild are a police squadron in charge of protecting Silicon City. Since they are not trained to handle the rogue Robot Masters, they call upon Mega Man to help defeat them.

Villains

• Sgt. Breaker Night/Lord Obsidian (voiced by Michael Adamthwaite) is the main antagonist of the series. He is a human who believes that humans and robots can not be together and wants to destroy human/robot relations by holding anti-robot rallies and persuading some robots to attack humans. In the past, he fought in a long-forgotten conflict called the Hard Wars, which was fought between humans and robots. When he becomes Lord Obsidian, he is a powerful robot hellbent on turning into Mega Man into the perfect weapon for his own agenda. In the season 1 finale, he is defeated and his identity as Lord Obsidian is exposed. When being questioned about his hypocrisy of preaching human supremacy yet organizing a robot revolution, he reveals he seeks the "Mega Key" to turn all robots into slaves. He also states that humans are technically superior since they initially created robots as tools, but Dr. Light attempting to establish unity with them made humans feel weak. He is then arrested by the Good Guild along with most of his Robot Masters, as Light informs him robots and humans will know peace someday, which Breaker will have plenty of time to consider in prison.
• Namagem (voiced by Vincent Tong) is Sgt. Night's robot lieutenant, who was created to be superior to Mega Man. He wants to prove himself superior to his heroic counterpart by any means necessary. Unlike Mega Man, he can copy up to five schematics at a time. A running gag throughout the first season had Aki failing to learn his name, and when he finally does, he admits it sounds lame. In "The Gauntlet" Pt. II, it is revealed he is Aki's long-lost twin brother, who Sgt. Night stole during the end of the Hard Age. His true form is revealed when Sgt. Night is defeated, and he leaves while vowing revenge. In the Boom comic series, he takes on the name "Daini" and receives upgrades from Dr. Wily. He fights Aki one more time before they and Suna team up to fight Dr. Wily.
• The Hoover Gang are a trio of criminals that consist of two humans and one robot. They once worked as custodians before turning to a life of crime.
  • Wayne (voiced by Ryan Beil) is a member of the Hoover Gang.
  • Duane (voiced by Michael Adamthwaite) is a member of the Hoover Gang.
  • Vacuhead is a robot who is a member of the Hoover Gang. He has a tank on his back and a window scrubber for a left hand.
• Chaotique (voiced by Rhona Rees) is a robot with skates that allow her to move at super-speed. She claims to know Mega Man's true identity in the episode "Old School", but she mistakenly believed Peter Punkowski to be Mega Man's secret identity, and is ultimately proven wrong as she tries to recreate "The Big Fade Away" prank.

Robot Masters

The following Robot Masters in this series are listed in order of appearance:

• Fire Man (voiced by Ian Hanlin) is a former welding bot who turned against humanity after he was fired and is now loyal to Lord Obsidian.
• Drill Man (voiced by Andrew McNee) is a construction robot frustrated with being forced into the family business after it was bought by Skyraisers Inc, as he wanted to be a musician.
• Hypno Woman (voiced by Kathleen Barr) is a former school counselor robot at Silicon Central with mind control powers. She left her job after being overwhelmed with solving the students' problems. She has a human disguise named Mari and wishes to become more domesticated.
• Wave Man (voiced by Samuel Vincent) is a former sewer sanitation robot who floods the city while searching his missing alligator friend.
• Ice Man (voiced by Travis Turner) is a robot with ice-based abilities who wants to be a hero like Mega Man. However, due to a bug in his system he takes everything literally. Unlike other incarnations of the character, he wears a normal jacket and a small winter hat instead of a parka, leaving his snow-white hair visible.
• Blasto Woman (voiced by Kathleen Barr) is a jet aircraft-themed robot and former cargo delivery robot. who seeks money and will take up any contract. She later takes a liking to Mega Mini. In "The Gauntlet" Pt. 2, Mega Mini persuades her to turn against Lord Obsidian.
• Air Man (voiced by Ian Hanlin) is a vain fan-powered robot who considers himself to be the best. He resembles Wind Man, since he has fans on poles connected to his back instead of a fan-shaped torso. The fans on his shoulders help him fly and the fan for his right hand can create tornadoes. In "The Bluster Bunch," it is revealed that his arrogance hides his insecurity caused by his siblings boasting about their successful accomplishments and belittling him.
• Chemistry Man (voiced by Peter New) is a robot who was formerly known as Mr. NRT. He was a chemistry teacher at Silicon Central who was fired by Principal 100100 since his boring lectures put his students to sleep. Sgt. Breaker Night persuaded him to go rogue and gave him the name of Chemistry Man. He can emit bubbles that can affect the systems of humans and robots and is adept at making chemical compounds. His name is a pun on "inert."
• Guts Man (voiced by Peter New in a Russian accent) is a garbage-disposal robot with super strength. He can create shock waves by slamming his hands on his robotic stomach and can also grow larger and more powerful upon eating garbage. In later episodes, it is revealed he can eat both organic and inorganic matter to power up.
• Elec Man (voiced by Andrew McNee) is a hyperactive electrical robot who can move at super speed and absorb and blast electricity from his giant plug for a left hand. Similar to the version seen in MegaMan: NT Warrior, he has surge arresters on his back.
• Wood Man (voiced by Mark Oliver) is a robot who was a soldier in the Hard Age and a close ally and fellow soldier of Principal 100100. He eventually comes to grips with the fact the war is over, and after being persuaded to stop attacking by Mega Man, he leaves for the forest and becomes a historian for tourists.
• Junk Man is a remote-controlled robot created by Aki and Suna to act as a practice robot for Rush to fight. Dr. Light later upgrades him to help guard his laboratory.
• Cut Man (voiced by Colin Murdock) – A gardener robot with a bowl cut-shaped head. He is a perfectionist with a short temper, and gets agitated if his work is messed up due to his faulty programming. He can fire small blades from his hands that can cut anything. His real name, Chauncey, is a reference to the protagonist from the movie Being There.

Other

• Man Man (voiced by Ian Hanlin) is an average man with a poorly constructed outfit who wants to be a hero like Mega Man. His costume is based on the "Bad Box Art Mega Man" from the North American cover of the original game.
• The Bluster Bunch are a trio of air-themed robots that are the siblings of Air Man. They are similar in design, ability, and personality.
  • Mary Flair (voiced by Michael Adamthwaite) is Air Man's sister, who works as an "award-winning special effects artist/director/writer extraordinaire" for weather disaster films. Her fans are a different shape than Air Man's.
  • Volt Aire (voiced by Ian Hanlin) is Air Man's brother, who is an inventor and engineer. Unlike him, he does not have fans. His name is a pun on the French philosopher Voltaire.
  • Captain Dare (voiced by Ian Hanlin) is Air Man's brother, who is a stunt pilot and has a single rocket thruster instead of fans.
• Mrs. CHO (voiced by Lauren Jackson) is a heavyset chemical-themed robot, who is the replacement chemistry teacher at Silicon Central School and is widely loved there.
• Hal (voiced by Brian Drummond) is an elderly robot who invented the Excitron 2000. In his youth, he pulled off the biggest prank at Silicon Central School, called "The Big Fade Away."
• Drill Man Sr. (voiced by Andrew McNee) is the father of Drill Man, who dragged him into the family business.
• Jenny & Max (voiced by Mavis Green and Cole Howard) are identical twins in Silicon City.

Production and development

On June 2, 2015, Capcom partnered with Dentsu Entertainment USA to create a 26-episode animated television series of the company's flagship Mega Man video game franchise after 20 years since the 1994 animated series of the same name had its final run. Under terms of the deal, Dentsu Entertainment holds worldwide broadcast and licensing rights for all aspects of the new Mega Man TV series and handpicks American writing team Man of Action (Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle), the creators of Ben 10 and Generator Rex, to create, write and executive produce the show.

At the Long Beach Comic Con 2015, Duncan Rouleau gave out more details regarding the show's combination of game-based and new material such as the backstories of some characters being different with "a few surprises," creating both new major and minor villains other than Dr. Wily and the Robot Masters and including Easter eggs for fans, while still focusing the show for a new audience. Man of Action also noted they've been working closely with Dentsu Entertainment and Capcom, trying to write stories that will appeal more to western audiences. They also confirmed that the art-style would be much closer to how the characters appear in the games and Capcom's official art rather than the more superhero-like designs of the 1994 cartoon, as noted by Rouleau regarding the visual appearance of Mega Man himself "The Mega Man that you knew and fell in love with is still going to be the same Mega Man. He's going to be the younger version of him, because there are so many variations of who he could be, but we're going with the total, squat, awesome, big-boot, big-gun Mega Man".^[5]

On May 26, 2016, DHX Media announced that they would be co-producing the series with Dentsu, as well as handling distribution and licensing for it outside of Asia.^[6] An image of the first iteration of the show's design for Mega Man was released alongside the announcement. Later that year, Nerdist conducted an interview with the Man of Action creative crew, where it was said that Mega Man would be "optimistic" in this series, with the show's visual aesthetic drawn by Rouleau in conjunction with Capcom with inspiration by older anime shows like Gigantor and Speed Racer.^[7] The outlet initially reported that the series would air on Disney XD,^{[8] [9]} but that was later retracted with Dentsu stating a broadcast on the channel was never confirmed.^[10] In late January 2017, footage from an incarnation of the series with the same design leaked through a demo reel posted by animation studio Film Roman.^[11] This was later removed, with a representative from Dentsu Entertainment describing it as an internal animation test not reflective of the show's current look.

On April 3, 2017, Dentsu and DHX announced that the series was delayed to 2018 and would premiere on Cartoon Network in the United States (making it the third series based on the franchise to air on the network, after MegaMan NT Warrior and Mega Man Star Force) and Family Chrgd in Canada. It was then revealed that the series would be animated by DHX Studios Vancouver, utilizing computer generated imagery with a heavily revised design.^{[12] [13]} The next month, Jakks Pacific signed on to produce toys based on the series.^[14]

At the 2018 Licensing Expo, DHX Media's promotion for the series listed the series under the new title Mega Man: Fully Charged.^[15] The show held its premiere at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con on July 20.^[16] The series officially debuted on television in the United States on August 5, 2018, with the first 10 episodes available through on-demand platforms on August 3. Reruns began airing on Boomerang in the United States on August 12.^[17] The series was removed from both channels' schedules after 10 weeks, though it eventually returned the following January.^{[18] [19] [20]} The Canadian Family Chrgd broadcast began on September 8, 2018.^{[21] [22]} It premiered on Pop in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2018.^[23] In Southeast Asia, the series debuted on Disney XD on June 3, 2019.^[24] An Australian premiere on 9Go! followed on July 15.^[25]

Comic book miniseries

On May 19, 2020, it was announced that the series would be continued as a six-issue comic book miniseries written by creators A. J. Marchisello and Marcus Rinehart, drawn by Stefano Simeone, and published by Boom! Studios.^{[26] [27]}

Notes and References

1. News: Cartoon Network picks up new Mega Man animated series. Gerardi. Matt. The A.V. Club. April 3, 2017. July 21, 2018.
2. Web site: New Mega Man Animated Series to Air on Cartoon Network in 2018 or Later. Anime News Network. April 3, 2017. May 21, 2017.
3. Web site: 'Mega Man: Fully Charged' to Premiere on Cartoon Network This August. Collider. Trumbore. Dave. July 18, 2018. July 18, 2018.
4. Web site: Mega Man: Fully Charged animated series debuts first trailer. Andrew. Wheeler. Syfy Wire. NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group. July 21, 2018. July 21, 2018. June 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613110332/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/mega-man-fully-charged-animated-series-debuts-first-trailer. dead.
5. Web site: Man of Action Entertainment's Duncan Rouleau Talks Mega Man. September 28, 2015 . The Mega Man Network.
6. Web site: DHX Media Boards 'Mega Man' Animated TV Series Based On Classic Video Game. Ross. Lincoln. May 26, 2016. July 9, 2018. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
7. Web site: The New MEGA MAN Animated Series Will Have a More Optimistic Blue Bomber. Dan. Casey. August 18, 2016. July 9, 2018. Nerdist. Legendary Digital Networks. August 20, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160820192201/https://nerdist.com/the-new-mega-man-animated-series-will-have-a-more-optimistic-blue-bomber/. dead.
8. Web site: The New MEGA MAN Animated Series Will Have a More Optimistic Blue Bomber. https://web.archive.org/web/20160820192201/https://nerdist.com/the-new-mega-man-animated-series-will-have-a-more-optimistic-blue-bomber/. Dan. Casey. August 18, 2016. July 9, 2018. August 20, 2016. Nerdist. Legendary Digital Networks. Created in 1987, Mega Man is standing on the precipice of his thirtieth anniversary, and Capcom is celebrating by partnering with Disney XD and Man of Action Entertainment for a brand new animated series launching in 2017..
9. Web site: New Mega Man Cartoon to Air on Disney XD; Stars an "Optimistic Blue Bomber". Rockman Corner. August 19, 2016. July 9, 2018.
10. Web site: A Couple Updates About the New Mega Man Cartoon. Rockman Corner. January 23, 2017. July 9, 2018.
11. Web site: Hayes. Matthew. Mega Man Cartoon Sports a Controversial New Look. WWG. January 4, 2018. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180212112514/http://wwg.com/2017/01/22/mega-man-cartoon-sports-a-controversial-new-look/. February 12, 2018.
12. Web site: The Latest on Mega Man of Action. April 3, 2017. April 3, 2017.
13. Web site: DHX Media and Dentsu Entertainment Land Mega Man on Cartoon Network U.S.. Yahoo!. April 3, 2017.
14. Web site: JAKKS Named Master Toy Licensee for New Mega Man Series. TVKids. Worldscreen. May 24, 2017. May 24, 2017.
15. News: The Mega Man Animated Series Will Be Called Mega Man: Fully Charged. Vogel. Mitch. May 12, 2018. Nintendo Life. May 12, 2018. en-GB.
16. Web site: Mega Man: Fully Charged Animated Series Debuting At San Diego Comic-Con. Robert. Workman. July 8, 2018. July 9, 2018. ComicBook.com.
17. Web site: TV Listings. https://archive.today/20180806045401/http://affiliate.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCSGrid.do?sgt=list&fromTimeInMillis=1383541200000&stnNum=21883. August 6, 2018. August 6, 2018. Zap2it. Tribune Digital Ventures. live.
18. Web site: Mega Man Fully Charged Removed From Cartoon Network's Schedule. October 13, 2018. October 30, 2018. Rockman Corner.
19. Web site: Cartoon Network Toasts 2019 with 1 Hour 'Steven Universe' Special. December 18, 2018. December 19, 2018. Animation Magazine. Mercedes. Milligan.
20. Web site: TV Schedule for Boomerang. https://web.archive.org/web/20190112105053/https://www.tvpassport.com/tv-listings/stations/boomerang/2268/2019-01-12. January 12, 2019. January 12, 2019. TV Passport.
21. Web site: Mega Man: Fully Charged Heads to Canada on September 8th. Rockman Corner. August 26, 2018. August 28, 2018.
22. DHX TELEVISION'S NEW PROGRAMMING LINEUP PUTS THE 'ALL' INTO FALL. August 28, 2018. August 28, 2018. DHX Media.
23. Web site: DHX's Mega Man Series Lands on Sony's Pop. Joanna. Tong. October 10, 2018. October 10, 2018. Worldscreen.
24. Web site: Mega Man: Fully Charged heads to South East Asia. ToonBarn. June 5, 2019. October 12, 2019.
25. Web site: Australia's 9Go! adds new Bakugan, Mega Man. ToonBarn. July 13, 2019. October 12, 2019.
26. Web site: BOOM! Studios' Mega Man: Fully Charged Comic Book Will Arrive In August. SuperHeroHype. May 19, 2020.
27. Web site: New Mega Man Comic Announced. Comicbook.com. May 19, 2020.