Monster Rancher (TV series)

Monster Rancher, known in Japan as Monster Farm (モンスターファーム, Monsutā Fāmu), is an anime television series based on Tecmo's Monster Rancher video game franchise.[1]

Monster Rancher
モンスターファーム
(Monsutā Fāmu)
Anime television series
Directed byHiroyuki Yano
Written byShōji Yonemura
Music bySeiji Suzuki, BMF
StudioTMS Entertainment
Licensed by
Original networkTBS
English network
Original run 17 April 1999 – 30 September 2001
Episodes73

It originally aired on Japanese television on TBS from April 17, 1999, to September 30, 2001. An English-language version by Bohbot Entertainment and ADV Films aired in North America on the Sci-Fi Channel and Fox Kids.[2]

In Japan, the program existed as two separate series; The Secret of the Stone Disk (円盤石の秘密, Enbanseki no Himitsu) for episodes 1-48 and The Legendary Path (伝説への道, Densetsu e no Michi) for episodes 49-73.

Story
See also: List of Monster Rancher characters

The story follows a boy named Genki Sakura, who is a key player of the Monster Rancher video games. After winning a tournament hosted by the game's creators, Genki wins a special CD that he can use to unlock a special monster in his game at home. However, upon using this disk in his game console, he finds himself transported to a world of monsters that, much like Genki's game, are given life by scanning special stone disks within temples. There, he meets a girl named Holly and her monster friend Suezo, who are seeking a stone disk containing a legendary Phoenix that will save the land from the tyranny of an evil ruler named Moo. Upon attempting to use the disk Genki had won to try and release the monster, they bring forth a different monster, which Genki names Mocchi. Wanting to free the land from Moo's rule, Genki, Holly, Mocchi, and Suezo set off to find the Phoenix, using Holly's Magic Stone to guide them in the direction of the Phoenix. The Magic Stone leads them to Golem, Tiger, and Hare, each of which have their motivations to join the group on their journey to find the Phoenix.

It is revealed that Moo is actually Holly's missing father, who merged with an evil spirit after being banished from his village. Determined to separate Moo's evil spirit from Holly's father, the group continues their search for the Phoenix, defeating Moo's strongest minions, the Big Bad Four- Pixie, Gali, Grey Wolf, and Naga. In their travels, the gang befriends and aids many monsters as they continue searching, unlocking as many Mystery Disks as possible in the hopes of finding the Phoenix. One of these unlocked monsters, Monol, tells the group of a previous war between Moo and the Phoenix (as part of a larger war between humans and monsters, who exploited monsters as workers and companions in a futuristic society) that destroyed much of the world and weakened the two entities into their dormant states, separating their body and souls.

In the end of the second season, Moo's body is found and merges with Holly's father. Shortly after, the Phoenix's body is found, and it is revealed that the five monsters- Mocchi, Suezo, Golem, Tiger, and Hare- are pieces of the Phoenix's soul. Understanding what must be done, they say goodbye to Genki and merge with the Phoenix's body, and begin to fight Moo. As the two beings fight, Moo realizes that good and evil are inherently inseparable, and that the two are doomed to repeat a perpetually repeating fight as representatives of the two forces. The two monsters seemingly die, and Genki is knocked back into the real world in the resulting explosion, comforted by visions of his friends as he goes home.

The third season consists of Genki returning to the Monster World to revive and reunite his friends, who were turned into disks and separated after the fight with Moo. The gang must compete in a series of tournaments against General Durahan's army in their pursuit to find Holly's father.

Release

ADV Films licensed the home video rights to the first 12 episodes, which the company released on DVD. ADV also released the entire first season of Monster Rancher on VHS. The series was brought to the US by BKN and dubbed by Ocean Studios. Significant portions of the show were censored in the US version, with many instances of violence, death, and cruder humor edited out.[3] After Monster Rancher went off the air in the US, ADV halted its release of the series on home video and DVD. In 2005, BKN International A.G. licensed the DVD rights for 73 episodes of the Monster Rancher anime series to Digiview Productions LLC for US and Canadian mass retail market distribution. Digiview only released one DVD containing episodes 1 through 5 at select Wal-Marts and other select places that sell $1 DVDs in February 2006. Eventually, this DVD was reissued to include up to episode 8. The Digiview releases were canceled after this release. The series was later made available to watch on Hulu.[4] Discotek Media released the series in three English-dubbed DVD box sets in 2014, and a single box set with the original Japanese audio subtitled and uncut on July 10, 2015.[5][6][7] An SD on BD set was released by Discotek Media on May 29, 2018. In 2020 Monster Rancher became available on Amazon Prime's video streaming service in Canada.

Music

Opening song

Ending song

Sources
  • BKN International A.G. (September 1, 2005). "BKN News". September 5 Newsletter[8]
  • CCN Matthews News Distribution Network (July 21, 2005). "BKN Announces New USA Deal". Press Release[9]

References
  1. "In a far away land where Monsters rule...Opens a new chapter of adventure and fun..." www.tms-e.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2009. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 563–564. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. Monster Rancher, retrieved 2021-01-08
  4. "Watch Monster Rancher Online - Free at Hulu". Hulu.com. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  5. "Discotek Media Adds Monster Rancher TV Anime Series - News". Animenewsnetwork.com. 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  6. "Discotek Media - Timeline Photos". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  7. "Discotek Media - Timeline Photos". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-02-14. Retrieved 2005-10-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "BKN Announces New USA Deal". Ccnmatthews.com. 2005-07-21. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
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