Flint the Time Detective

Plot

The series follows Flint Hammerhead, a boy from prehistory resurrected from a fossil prison to work as a Time Detective for the Time Police, though his detective skills are questionable. Much of the reasoning is handled by his friends Sarah and Tony Goodman, who accompany him on missions. Flint fights with the aid of his father Rocky Hammerhead, who was partially resurrected as a sentient talking rock and fashioned into a stone axe. Rocky serves as both weapon and adviser.

Flint's job is to travel back in time and convince Time-Shifters—cute, collectible creatures—to ally with him to protect the timeline. He often battles Petra Fina and her cronies Dino and Mite, servants of the Dark Lord, who seeks to use the Time-Shifters' powers to invade the Land of Time. Time-Shifters can shape-shift into stronger forms: an evil Con form induced by the Petra Stamp or Dark Lord's magic, and a good Master form brought forth by Flint's team.

Characters

Flint Hammerhead is the main protagonist, a young caveboy fossilized by Petra Fina with his father upon discovering Getalong. He was freed by Dr. Bernard Goodman's technology and became a Time Police member. His weakness is hunger. In the original manga he was called Primitive Boy Genshi. Sarah Goodman is a girl from the 25th century, Dr. Goodman's niece and Tony's twin sister, who accompanies Flint.

Tony Goodman is her twin brother, also from the 25th century. Dr. Bernard Goodman, their uncle, restored Flint and Getalong; he has a crush on Jillian Gray and sends time shifters to aid Flint. In the manga he smokes; in the anime only during his teenage years. Rocky Hammerhead is Flint's father, fossilized alongside his son and later turned into a high-tech stone axe.

He can fossilize and de-fossilize anything except evil minds and can grow for his Hammerhead Rock attack. Pterry is a small robotic Pteranodon that accompanies Flint, using a Memory Beam Erase Mode to restore the timeline. In the Japanese version Pterry is female. Jillian Gray, exclusive to the anime, is chief of the Time Police who sends Flint on missions; in the manga her role is filled by an old man.

English adaptation

Saban Entertainment licensed and produced the English adaptation, which differs significantly from the original Japanese version. The original music score and sound effects were replaced with an American-made soundtrack and new effects. Character names and some places were altered; in episode 6 Flint explains they come from the USA instead of Japan. Pterry changed gender. Parts of each episode were cut, filler scenes added, and art edits were minor, with Dr. Bernard Goodman's lab receiving one of the few noticeable changes.

Manga

The original manga was released over three volumes and contains many prototype ideas not featured in the anime. A six-chapter manga was produced as a promotion for the anime, with a slightly different storyline. Chapter 1 depicts Petra attacking Old Timer under the Dark Lord's command; Wolfen is transformed into his kon form, and Petra fossilizes Flint, his father, and Getalong. Chapter 2 features Bubblegun's rescue.

Chapter 3 has Flint rescuing Jitterbug. Chapter 4 focuses on Talen as Petra rewrites Hans Christian Andersen stories. Chapter 5 introduces Time Detective Merlock encountering Coconuat; Merlock initially rejects Flint's friendship due to vampire persecution, but after Coconuat is defeated, Merlock acknowledges his new friends. Chapter 6 centers on Batterball and ends with pages about the upcoming anime, showing characters holding scripts.