Tenkai Knights

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 2014 Japanese-Canadian mecha anime series based on a toy line bySpin Master,produced byShogakukan-Shueisha Productions,Spin Master Entertainment^[1]andTV Tokyoand animated byBones.^[2]It was directed byMitsuru Hongo,with Jin Kanada andHiroshi Ōnogihandling series scripts,Toshihiro Kawamotoand Shigeru Fujita designing the characters, Takayuki Yanase and Fujirō designing the 3DCG characters and MONACA composing the music. The series officially aired onCartoon Networkin the United States on August 24, 2013 and in Canada onTeletoonon September 28, 2013.^[1]After a year, it premiered onTV Tokyoand its affiliate stations on April 5, 2014.^[3]^[4]

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

Story

Eons ago, a cube–like peacefulplanetnamed 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

Media

Animation

The series first aired in the United States on thecable TVchannelCartoon Networkon August 24, 2013, at 7:30 am, and in Canada onTeletoonon September 28, 2013.^[5]^[6]The English dub is produced byStudiopolis.To coincide with the launch of the property, Spin Master and Kickstart Entertainment produced a 10-episode prequel web-series entitledTenkai Knights Origins.The series features music by John Majkut and was released ontoYouTubeas well as the brand's official website between September and December 2013. They also aired asinterstitalson Cartoon Network and Teletoon.^[7]

In Japan, the television series was delayed until April, airing on theTV Tokyonetwork beginning April 5, 2014. However, the Saturday 9:00-9:30 slot was a local sales slot, so onlyTV AichiandTV Osakawere simultaneously networked with the production station TV Tokyo, while the other threeTV Tokyo affiliate stationsbroadcast 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

The Tenkai Knights toy line is produced by Spin Master under theIonixbrand of construction bricks, along with a newPokémonline. 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 whileHappinethandles the distribution rights of the toys in Japan.

Print

Amangaadaptation of the anime series byRyo Takamisakiwas serialized inCoroCoro Ichiban!beginning with its June 2014 issue, published April 21, 2014. The manga concluded with the March 2015 issue and was later compiled into twotankōbonbyShogakukan,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 byKazéin a four-volume 48-page color comic book format.

Penguin Random Housepublished fournovelizationswritten byBrandon T. Snider,as well as twochoose your own adventure booksby Ray Santos in 2014 and 2015. iStoryTime released an interactive book oniOSin January 2014.

Home video

Phase 4 Filmsdistributed a single home video release of the series in Canada and the United States, titledTenkai Knights: Rise of the Knights.It presents the first several episodes of the show edited together into a movie and was released onDVDas well as digital platforms on February 4, 2014.^[11]Amanufacture on demand Blu-rayversion followed on May 4, 2016.^[12]

In Japan, Happinet andVictor Entertainmentreleased 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

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"(Nháy mắt Diamond,Shunkan Diamond,lit. "Diamond Moment" )byRurika Yokoyama,while the second ending is "Shōri no Hanataba o -gonna gonna be hot!-"(Thắng lợi の bó hoa を-gonna gonna be hot!-,lit. "Victory Bouquet -gonna gonna be hot!-")byCyntia.The third ending, "Densetsu no FLARE"(Vân nói の FLARE -,lit. "Legendary Flare"),is sung byPile.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 andMONACAofStar Driverfame.

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

Video games

On January 30, 2014,Namco Bandai Gamesannounced a video game entitledTenkai Knights: Brave Battle(テンカイナイトブレイブバトル,Tenkai Naito Bureibu Batoru)forNintendo 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 onMetacritic,^[16]with the 3rd lowest score for any 3DS game on Metacritic.^[17]

On February 27, 2014, Spin Master and Game Pill launched thefree-to-playTenkai Knights: Battle for Quartongame foriOSdevices.^[18]The game was also available throughweb browsersvia theUnityplug-in. Other browser titles includeBravenwolf's Run,Race to RedemptionandTenkai Boost.

Broadcast

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
France		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