The History of the TMNT in Japan (a research essay)

*DrSpengler* · 03-14-2010, 11:35 PM

"The (confusing) History of the TMNT in Japan"

This is a research essay (and opinion piece) that I'd been working on for a while. Thought I'd combine my love of the TMNT and my knowledge of the Japanese language and see if I couldn't make sense of the obscenely confusing releases of the various TMNT media in Japan.

Some of this may be old hat to a few of you, but maybe you'll learn something, too.

I had fun researching the thing; reading Japanese fan sites, manga, magazine scans and watching the various dubs (though, admittedly, I could not find any clips of that pesky NHK2 dub outside of the theme song and had to go by second hand info).

And thanks to folks like Adam Winters for making so much of his extensive TMNT manga and magazine collection available online. Definately VERY helpful.

Mutated Turtle · 03-14-2010, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

"The (confusing) History of the TMNT in Japan"

This is a research essay (and opinion piece) that I'd been working on for a while. Thought I'd combine my love of the TMNT and my knowledge of the Japanese language and see if I couldn't make sense of the obscenely confusing releases of the various TMNT media in Japan.

Some of this may be old hat to a few of you, but maybe you'll learn something, too.

I had fun researching the thing; reading Japanese fan sites, manga, magazine scans and watching the various dubs (though, admittedly, I could not find any clips of that pesky NHK2 dub outside of the theme song and had to go by second hand info).

And thanks to folks like Adam Winters for making so much of his extensive TMNT manga and magazine collection available online. Definately VERY helpful.

very nice!I bet researching that,ETC, was very confusing.

*Kendamu* · 03-15-2010, 12:13 AM

As someone who has always had an interest in Japanese TMNT and loves those manga scans... sweeeeeet. I'm part of the way through the article right now and it's a very fun read.

*Powder* · 03-15-2010, 12:21 AM

That was great to read. I've got the super mutants dvd & love the crap out of it. I wish I could get my hands on other japanese tmnt stuff. Its all so vastly different from that which I'm familiar with. I prefer it to a few of the american variations.

*Kendamu* · 03-15-2010, 12:24 AM

Oh, hey. I see a pic of the Japanese TMNT 3 movie poster, but I only see descriptions for movies 1, 2, and 4.

*Luzmagica* · 03-15-2010, 08:30 AM

Very interesting post!! ..I was curious and I like to know about Japanish versions!!! Thanks a lot for share!!!

*oldmanwinters* · 03-15-2010, 08:35 AM

Dude, this is one of your most impressive entries yet! It had been a while since your last update, so I figured you were working on something big! This is the definitive Japanese TMNT write-up that had been sorely lacking!

EDIT: I know it would probably be impossible to list every TMNT publication in Japan, but I don't think I caught a reference to the 9 book series that Shogakukan put out adapting OT episodes and the Super Turtles in #9 (you used a couple of cover scans in the article).

*DrSpengler* · 03-15-2010, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goongasnootch

Oh, hey. I see a pic of the Japanese TMNT 3 movie poster, but I only see descriptions for movies 1, 2, and 4.

TMNT 2 and TMNT 3 share the same paragraph since there wasn't really a whole lot to say about either that warranted two separate ones. TMNT 2 used the same cast as the theatrical dub of TMNT 1, but TMNT 3 used a hodgepodge of the TV Tokyo cast and other talent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

EDIT: I know it would probably be impossible to list every TMNT publication in Japan, but I don't think I caught a reference to the 9 book series that Shogakukan put out adapting OT episodes and the Super Turtles in #9 (you used a couple of cover scans in the article).

Hm, did I mix up? The 15 volume Dengeki series of episode adaptations has its own write up in there alongside the aforementioned image scans.

*oldmanwinters* · 03-15-2010, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

Hm, did I mix up? The 15 volume Dengeki series of episode adaptations has its own write up in there alongside the aforementioned image scans.

Interesting... I don't know the relationship between Dengeki and Shogakukan, but there were 9 additional books featuring full color illustrations (about with story text totaling about 15 pages a piece). I have #5 and #8 and here is a pic of #2 of that series:
http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp...282#enlargeimg

TMNTerminator has issues #5-9.

EDIT: Cover gallery for the 15 issue Dengeki series:
http://www.k3.dion.ne.jp/~h-kazu/dyn...in/turtles.htm

*DrSpengler* · 03-15-2010, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

Interesting... I don't know the relationship between Dengeki and Shogakukan, but there were 9 additional books featuring full color illustrations (about with story text totaling about 15 pages a piece). I have #5 and #8 and here is a pic of #2 of that series:
http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp...282#enlargeimg

TMNTerminator has issues #5-9.

EDIT: Cover gallery for the 15 issue Dengeki series:
http://www.k3.dion.ne.jp/~h-kazu/dyn...in/turtles.htm

Interesting. I didn't see anything about them in the Japanese write-ups for the various manga I looked at.

Do you have any interior scans on your flickr account you could point me toward? I have a hunch that the stories inside are reprints of the Dengeki stuff with some bonus material, but I'm not sure (one look at the art would give me a fair clue).

*oldmanwinters* · 03-15-2010, 10:09 AM

Sure, thing, Spengs, I shot you an email!

the fixer · 03-15-2010, 12:50 PM

Very interesting article, Dr. Spengler!
Two thumbs up for all the effort you clearly put into this!

Thanks for sharing!

*discordiatookie* · 03-15-2010, 01:17 PM

Heh, I read it on my phone when I was at work, bored. Great read, I had no idea of half of it. Cheers!

*DrSpengler* · 03-15-2010, 11:33 PM

dam just brought to my attention a whole ton of miscellaneous "odds and ends" manga, some I didn't even know about.

Too many to list, so I added a paragraph to the end of the "Manga" section of the article, briefly describing some of them off.

The show really was quite the hit, over there.

*oldmanwinters* · 03-16-2010, 07:11 PM

Hey, Spengs, one thing that always puzzled me about the Yoshioka pages from the Comic Bom-Bom magazines is why Splinter put on the Samurai armor (it does look like he actually mutates) and April transformed into a cat woman. I know it would be asking too much to try to translate that whole thing but can you piece together anything about the plot from those particular panels? Were they affected by the Muta-stones as well?

I do know that in the Dengeki Super Turtles #3, Splinter breaks out that same armor again (his feet look more normal though). It really does seem to come out of nowhere.

*oldmanwinters* · 08-27-2011, 09:14 PM

These wacky scans from a particular TMNT manga comic were once featured on the official NinjaTurtles.com website.

In all my collecting of Japanese TMNT material, I've never come across these:

If I were to guess their origin, I'd assume they appeared in something like Comic Bom Bom.

Can anyone provide some info on these images?

*Powder* · 08-27-2011, 09:55 PM

I can't provide any info, but I just wanna say...

Neato! Thanks for sharing. Are those "actual size" or do you have anything larger?

**Jester** · 08-27-2011, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Powder

I can't provide any info, but I just wanna say...

Neato! Thanks for sharing. Are those "actual size" or do you have anything larger?

Indeed, if we could find bigger copies good ol' Doc could translate 'em.

*oldmanwinters* · 08-27-2011, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Powder

I can't provide any info, but I just wanna say...

Neato! Thanks for sharing. Are those "actual size" or do you have anything larger?

Nope, I just saved the files from the old website. They were contributed by a fan named "Marius Vaga."

*DrSpengler* · 08-28-2011, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jester

Indeed, if we could find bigger copies good ol' Doc could translate 'em.

I can translate em right now, honestly. It's almost all hiragana, so I don't have to squint to read any microscopic furigana accompanying the kanji.

But just looking over them, they're... really stupid, but clearly aimmed at preschoolers. Narratively, I think Dan or whoever originally posted those cut out some panels, so those aren't the complete comic strips, anyway.

I have no clue where they came from, either. Dan (or whoever) on the official site said they got them in an e-mail and never described what magazine they were printed in. Likely a kid's book like Comic Bom Bom as Oldmanwinters suggested, but no real way to know for sure.

03-14-2010, 11:35 PM	#1
DrSpengler Foot Elite Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 4,842	The History of the TMNT in Japan (a research essay) "The (confusing) History of the TMNT in Japan" This is a research essay (and opinion piece) that I'd been working on for a while. Thought I'd combine my love of the TMNT and my knowledge of the Japanese language and see if I couldn't make sense of the obscenely confusing releases of the various TMNT media in Japan. Some of this may be old hat to a few of you, but maybe you'll learn something, too. I had fun researching the thing; reading Japanese fan sites, manga, magazine scans and watching the various dubs (though, admittedly, I could not find any clips of that pesky NHK2 dub outside of the theme song and had to go by second hand info). And thanks to folks like Adam Winters for making so much of his extensive TMNT manga and magazine collection available online. Definately VERY helpful.

03-15-2010, 08:30 AM	#6
Luzmagica A Magic Light Dudette! Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Spain. Posts: 3,878	Very interesting post!! ..I was curious and I like to know about Japanish versions!!! Thanks a lot for share!!! __________________

03-15-2010, 08:35 AM	#7
oldmanwinters Overlord Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Between yesterday and tomorrow! Posts: 15,439	Dude, this is one of your most impressive entries yet! It had been a while since your last update, so I figured you were working on something big! This is the definitive Japanese TMNT write-up that had been sorely lacking! EDIT: I know it would probably be impossible to list every TMNT publication in Japan, but I don't think I caught a reference to the 9 book series that Shogakukan put out adapting OT episodes and the Super Turtles in #9 (you used a couple of cover scans in the article). __________________ Experience the TMNT Fan Commentaries! Check out my TMNT fan comic, "Nothing to Fear"! View my sketch work! I'm selling some of my hard-to-find TMNT items! Last edited by oldmanwinters; 03-15-2010 at 08:43 AM.

03-15-2010, 10:09 AM	#11
oldmanwinters Overlord Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Between yesterday and tomorrow! Posts: 15,439	Sure, thing, Spengs, I shot you an email! __________________ Experience the TMNT Fan Commentaries! Check out my TMNT fan comic, "Nothing to Fear"! View my sketch work! I'm selling some of my hard-to-find TMNT items!

03-15-2010, 01:17 PM	#13
discordiatookie facehugger Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Posts: 2,817	Heh, I read it on my phone when I was at work, bored. Great read, I had no idea of half of it. Cheers! __________________ Oh Discordia! Charyou Tree! Come, Reap! Don't tell us to grow up and out of it I got my cloak and dagger in a bar room brawl You actually trying to read this tiny text? Damn, you're dedicated! This is all just for effect you know... original TMNT art collection

03-15-2010, 12:13 AM	#3
Kendamu Sewerhead Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 2,890	As someone who has always had an interest in Japanese TMNT and loves those manga scans... sweeeeeet. I'm part of the way through the article right now and it's a very fun read.

03-15-2010, 12:21 AM	#4
Powder 40 Years of TMNT Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shell-Ri-La Posts: 26,945	That was great to read. I've got the super mutants dvd & love the crap out of it. I wish I could get my hands on other japanese tmnt stuff. Its all so vastly different from that which I'm familiar with. I prefer it to a few of the american variations.

03-15-2010, 12:24 AM	#5
Kendamu Sewerhead Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 2,890	Oh, hey. I see a pic of the Japanese TMNT 3 movie poster, but I only see descriptions for movies 1, 2, and 4.

03-15-2010, 12:50 PM	#12
the fixer Hench Mutant Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: BELGIUM Posts: 395	Very interesting article, Dr. Spengler! Two thumbs up for all the effort you clearly put into this! Thanks for sharing!

03-15-2010, 11:33 PM	#14
DrSpengler Foot Elite Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 4,842	dam just brought to my attention a whole ton of miscellaneous "odds and ends" manga, some I didn't even know about. Too many to list, so I added a paragraph to the end of the "Manga" section of the article, briefly describing some of them off. The show really was quite the hit, over there.

03-16-2010, 07:11 PM	#15
oldmanwinters Overlord Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Between yesterday and tomorrow! Posts: 15,439	Hey, Spengs, one thing that always puzzled me about the Yoshioka pages from the Comic Bom-Bom magazines is why Splinter put on the Samurai armor (it does look like he actually mutates) and April transformed into a cat woman. I know it would be asking too much to try to translate that whole thing but can you piece together anything about the plot from those particular panels? Were they affected by the Muta-stones as well? I do know that in the Dengeki Super Turtles #3, Splinter breaks out that same armor again (his feet look more normal though). It really does seem to come out of nowhere. __________________ Experience the TMNT Fan Commentaries! Check out my TMNT fan comic, "Nothing to Fear"! View my sketch work! I'm selling some of my hard-to-find TMNT items! Last edited by oldmanwinters; 03-16-2010 at 09:14 PM.

08-27-2011, 09:14 PM	#16
oldmanwinters Overlord Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Between yesterday and tomorrow! Posts: 15,439	These wacky scans from a particular TMNT manga comic were once featured on the official NinjaTurtles.com website. In all my collecting of Japanese TMNT material, I've never come across these: If I were to guess their origin, I'd assume they appeared in something like Comic Bom Bom. Can anyone provide some info on these images? __________________ Experience the TMNT Fan Commentaries! Check out my TMNT fan comic, "Nothing to Fear"! View my sketch work! I'm selling some of my hard-to-find TMNT items!

08-27-2011, 09:55 PM	#17
Powder 40 Years of TMNT Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shell-Ri-La Posts: 26,945	I can't provide any info, but I just wanna say... Neato! Thanks for sharing. Are those "actual size" or do you have anything larger?