Future Police Urashiman

Future Police Urashiman
未来警察ウラシマン (Mirai Keisatsu Urashiman)
Genre	Science fiction/Cop Drama
TV anime
Studio	Tatsunoko Productions
Network	Fuji TV
Original run	January 9, 1983 – December 24, 1983
Episodes	50

Future Police Urashiman (未来警察ウラシマン, Mirai Keisatsu Urashiman) is a science fiction anime series by Tatsunoko Productions, created in 1983. It ran from January 9 to December 24, 1983, on Fuji TV. It was later released in Germany as Rock'n Cop, in France as Super Durand (roughly, "Super Jones" or "Super Smith"), and in Italy as Ryo, un ragazzo contro un impero ("Ryo, a boy against an empire").

Saban Entertainment planned to release the series in the United States as "Rockin' Cops" but did not do so. It was eventually given an English translation by fan subbing group Anime Classics. A film version was in the works, but was also abandoned.

Premise

The story tells of a young man and his cat who are being pursued by the police during a particularly stormy night in a city in 1983. The young man suddenly drives his car right into the middle of a cyclone and is caught in a space/time anomaly. As a result they end up in the year 2050.

Suffering from complete memory loss, the young man has no idea who he is or where he comes from. But he soon finds that he is being pursued by the army-like forces of Necrime, a top criminal organization led by Ludovich who answers to the enigmatic Führer. Taking the name Ryuu Urashima, the young man joins the police force and fights back against Necrime, using a high-tech mobile HQ and body-armour, though he himself insists on using a modified Volkswagen Beetle (with four wheels), that he builds himself, in contrast to the flying cars of the time. He also chooses to use a modified Smith and Wesson gun/revolver.

He is joined in the fight by Sophia, a happy-go-lucky ex-nun, and Claude, a fellow officer with whom — after a rocky start — he learns to get along. The unit is run by Inspector Gondo Toru.

The basis of the show is the typical story of an out of his own time period and feeling strange and adjusting to his new circumstance. As linked above, his name, Ryuu Urashima, calls on an old legend of Japan about a man who returns 300 years to the world he once knew (sort of like Rip Van Winkle). He gets home sick, so the four wheeled "Magna Beetle" and the Smith and Wesson-based "Magna Blaster" give him a stable anchor. He is also joined by his cat, Myaa, whom made the time journey with him and is one of the few links to his past that he remembers.

Characters

Police Division 38 (Magna Police Force)

• Urashiman Ryuu (ウラシマ・リュウ)/Rico Urashiman: Voiced by: Michitaka Kobayashi.
• Claude Mizusawa (クロード（蔵人）・水沢): Voiced by: Akira Kamiya.
• Sophia Nina Rose (ソフィア・ニーナ・ローズ): Voiced by: Keiko Yokozawa.
• Miyah (ミャー ): Voiced by: Masako Katsuki
• Inspector Gondo Toru (権藤 透): Voiced by: Tōru Ōhira.

Necrime

• Adolf von Ludovich (アドルフ・フォン・ルードヴィッヒ): Voiced by: Kaneto Shiozawa.
• Marlene Saberiewa (ミレーヌ・サベリーエワ): Voiced by: Haruko Kitahama.
• Jitanda Funda (ジタンダ・フンダ)/Yetander: Voiced by: Mayumi Tanaka.
• Stinger Wolf (スティンガー・ウルフ): Voiced by: Tesshō Genda.
• Stinger Cat (スティンガー・キャット): Voiced by: Yuri Nashiwa.
• Stinger Hawk (スティンガー・ホーク): Voiced by: Shinya Ōtaki.
• Stinger Shark (スティンガー・シャーク): Voiced by: Issei Futamata.
• Stinger Bear (スティンガー・ベアー): Voiced by: Yū Shimaka.
• Fuhrer (総統フューラー): Voiced by: Eiji Maruyama, Kazuyuki Sogabe (young)
• Josephine Cattsburg (ジョセフィーヌ・キャッツバーグ): Voiced by: Yoshiko Sakakibara.

Notes of Interest

Tatsunoko Studios is also famous for other series, such as Speed Racer (Mach Go Go Go), Tekkaman, Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets), the Time Bokan series and many more.

Future Police Urashiman was a big hit for Tatsunoko Studios when it was released, which it desperately needed, since the studio was in a slump. This series pulled the studio out from bankruptcy and was a big hit at the time in Japan.

External links

• Future Police Urashiman (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia