Dinozaurs

Did You Know?

• Dino Stego had a girlfriend named Daisy, part of whose fossil is in the possession of Dr. Gale.
• Only toy versions of Dino Tyranno's regular form and Dino Tricera's regular form were made.

Production

Dinozone was developed by Bandai in cooperation with anime studio Sunrise. The toys depicted clear dinosaurlike robots that transform into a robot mode called Progress Mode, featuring clear colored plastic and die cast metal parts to resemble reconstructed fossilized dinosaurs. Each toy included an individual weapon, and certain toys could serve as equipment for others. The OVA series was released as a pack-in with the toys, with four episodes on VHS and a fifth exclusive to Televi Magazine and Comic BomBom subscribers. In 2000, Bandai partnered with Saban Entertainment to bring the series to America as Dinozaurs, and Sunrise produced a new animated series with character designs not present in the original toyline.

Characters

When the Dragozaurs first attack Earth, the planet converts select prehistoric animals into the Dino Knights to fight them. The Dino Knights normally exist as fossils but assume a metallic form when re-animated. The command to power them up with the Dino Daggers is "Dino Power, Energize!" Their fossil forms reside in the Dinotarium. The Dino Knights include Dino Tyranno, the leader who wields the Silver Sword (Grand Slasher) and has a rivalry with Gigano Dragon since prehistoric times; he becomes an Ultimate Dino Knight when revitalized by Dino Rhamph's energy boost, gaining the Mega Blade Broad Sword and the "Fire Flame Strike" attack. Dino Brachio is the second-in-command, advisor, and the largest and wisest Knight, wielding the Axe of Valor (Grand Axe). Dino Tricera wields the Tricera Spears of Jade (Bone Daggers) and becomes an Ultimate Dino Knight with the Triple-Threat Halberd and "Lightning Bolt Strike" attack. Dino Stego is the tough guy who enjoys fighting, using the Stego Skeletal Revolution (Spinal Bone) to spin enemies. Dino Sabre is one of the youngest Knights, wielding the Saber Wailing Whip (Tiger Whip). Dino Ptera is a female Knight serving as aerial recon, attacking with the Ptera Bristle Boomerang (Wing Boomerang). Dino Mammoth is also a member.

Episodes

In "Dino Knights Revived," the Dragozaurs come to Earth to feed on its life force, and teenager Kaito discovers that museum fossils are the Dino Knights, who come to life to battle the Dragozaurs. In "The Dino Daggers of Friendship," Gigano Dragon challenges Dino Tyranno, and Kaito reveals the Dino Knights to his friend Rena; fossilized daggers found in the Dinotarium are the Knights' power source, and the Dragozaurs seek to control them. In "Everything's Relative," Dino Sabre and Dino Tricera travel to Africa with Kaito and Rena to find relatives, but the Dragozaurs drain water springs there. In "Save Dino Ptera," Drago Wing plants a device to drain Earth's life force, draining Dino Ptera, and the Knights must recharge her. In "The Battle of the Aurora," Rena spots an aurora, and Dino Mammoth goes to the Arctic to find its source; both he and Dino Brachio are shrunk by Drago Wing, and the Knights must locate the shrinking device and destroy the life-force extractor. In "A New Friend," Dino Tyranno, Kaito, and Rena go to New Mexico to find other Knights, discovering fossils of Toro and Centro, the Cerazaur Brothers, whose Dino Dagger is held by a boy named Rick. In "The Master Swordsman Triblades," Drago Wing tries to destroy Toro and Centro before they find their third brother Styraco, who can combine with them into Triblades. In "Battle of the Drago Clones," Diamond Ryugu creates evil Drago Clones of the Dino Knights, who defeat several Knights and use a fear-inducing ray on others.

Media

The original toyline spawned a five-episode OVA series, with the first four released on VHS alongside the toys and the fifth given only to subscribers of Televi Magazine and Comic BomBom. The OVA was directed and written by Tetsurō Amino. An anime series based on the American version, titled Dinozaurs: The Series, was produced by Sunrise, OLM Digital, and Saban Entertainment. It aired on Fox Kids in the US and YTV in Canada from July 28 to November 30, 2000, directed by Kiyoshi Fukumoto and written by Yasuko Kobayashi, with music by Shirō Hamaguchi, Akifumi Tada, Ron Kenan, Shuki Levy, and Kusa March. The English dub by Saban Entertainment replaced all musical score and sound effects with American-made ones. Rights to the English-dubbed version were formerly licensed by Saban Entertainment and are now owned by Disney Enterprises, with no plans for a Region 1 DVD release.