Dennō Bōkenki Webdiver
Children dive into a cyber world threatened by a virus.
Dennō Bōkenki Webdiver is a Japanese mecha anime series produced by Nihon Ad Systems in conjunction with toy maker Takara and animated by Radix (later Radix Ace). Directed by Hiroshi Negishi and Kunitoshi Okajima and written by Mayori Sekijima, it aired on TV Tokyo from April 6, 2001, to March 29, 2002. The series is notable for its integration of toy functionality with the narrative, originating from Takara's Plug and Play Karaoke toy eKara.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Mecha, Cyberpunk
- Creator
- Radix, Takara
Facts from the source article.
Plot
In the year 2100, children upload their consciousness onto global computer networks as Web divers and play in a cyber park called the Magical Gate. A mysterious computer virus appears and begins destroying the Magical Gate. The Web Knights, programs created to protect the children, are turned against them by the virus. The only Web Knight to escape, Gladion, seeks help from fourth-grade Web diver Kento Yuki.
Characters
Kento Yūki is the main protagonist, a fourth-grade boy who escapes through the remaining gate before the virus controls it. He meets Gladion, a Web Knight who survived brainwashing, and pilots him. In real life Kento is not especially talented or smart and causes trouble at school, but inside the web he is a skilled pilot who cares for his friends and develops deep relationships with them. She is the only girl in the group and does not pilot a Web Knight, instead acting as operator and CIC at the Magical Station alongside Karon and Kaito. She escapes the Magical Gate with Kento and assists him after learning of his mission. Naoki Asaba is Kento's childhood friend and classmate, often sharing rivalry with Kento in sports and arguing with him, but they remain close. He was trapped and brainwashed initially, but Kento and Gladion defeat and save him with Draguon. Unlike other saved children who remember nothing, Naoki remembers what happened and joins the group as Draguon's pilot. Shō Kurachi is another senior and classmate of Jean, trapped and brainwashed while piloting the last set of Web Knights that Kento and Gladion must fight and save. After rescue he joins the group and pilots Daitarion, surprising his friends as Daitarion is a main Web Knight. Shō is wise and smart, making him reliable, and Daitarion previously did not trust anyone. Jean-Jacques Jacquard is a senior from France staying in Japan, another survivor who escaped the Magical Gate but was initially unaware of Kento's mission. After Garyun is recruited, he volunteers to help Kento and serves as Garyun's pilot, enjoying it due to his hobby of collecting galleon ship figurines, as his Web Knight is a galleon ship. Kaito Yūki is also mentioned.
Development and production
Dennō Bōkenki Webdiver was produced by Radix and Nihon Ad Systems in conjunction with toy maker Takara and SSD Company, Limited for the toys. For the anime's 20th anniversary, series director Hiroshi Negishi, general director Shin Matsuo, animator Hideyuki Kachi, and MODEROID development manager at Good Smile Company Yoshihiro Takagi shared their thoughts on the series' development. The concept originated from Takara's recently released Plug and Play Karaoke toy eKara. Negishi was inspired by the toy to create a different premise, stating that Takara sent him a proposal on how to play with toys via Aeon (later We've, now FuRyu). He wanted to release a product using a 'plug-it' function that connects to a TV, but felt it would be difficult to link TV and toys, as with Borgman. For Borgman, they played a high-pitched sound before the broadcast code to link with toys. Negishi found the idea interesting and was surprised the controller was a deformed robot toy. He noted they did not yet have a toy design for the main robot, only a general image of a robot as a game controller. Hideyuki Kachi learned that Takara was selling e-kara, a karaoke microphone that connects directly to a TV, and there was a trend of releasing toys applying that system. A robot toy project among them led to a request to make an animation using it. Kachi had been working on an anime project using the Internet as a theme, so the starting point was combining that with the toy. For the designs of Gladion and other Web Knights, Takara came up with the original design, and the anime side finalized it through back-and-forth. The number of Web Knights was not exactly 13 from the beginning but was roughly that.
Media
Dennō Bōkenki Webdiver aired on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from April 6, 2001, to March 29, 2002, totaling 52 episodes. The opening themes, "DIVER#2100" and "SO DIVE!", were both performed by R.A.M, a group made up of Hideaki Takatori, Akihiko Hirama, and Sister MAYO. KATSUMI handled the first ending theme "TOGETHER", while Hironobu Kageyama sang the second, "Fighters". Yuzo Hayashi composed the series' music. During the original run, Nippon Columbia put out the show on DVD and VHS. Later, Frontier Works issued a 20th Anniversary Blu-ray Box Set on December 22, 2021, featuring two discs with all 52 episodes, a limited Drama CD titled "The Return of the Web Knight", a special soundtrack CD, illustrations and concept art, plus exclusive weapon parts called "Holy Sword Granslayer" for the MODEROID Gladion model. The series joined Bandai Namco Entertainment's Super Robot Wars franchise in 2023, debuting as a limited event unit in Super Robot Wars DD. Takara produced toys of the mechas during the show's broadcast, each able to connect to a TV to mimic the anime's "Plug-it" feature; the Gladion toy could link with other Web Knight toys to power up and alter gameplay. For the 20th anniversary, Good Smile Company added several mechs to its MODEROID plastic model line, releasing Gladion and Dark Gladion in December 2021 and Wyverion in March 2023.
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