Crush Gear, known in Japan as Gekitou! Crush Gear Turbo (Japanese: 激闘!クラッシュギアTURBO, Hepburn: Gekitō! Kurasshugia Tābo), is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. It aired from October 2001 to January 2003, with 68 episodes. The series is about people throwing mechanical vehicles called "Gears" into a large ring to fight and "crush" one another. The story centers on Kouya Marino, a young boy who loves Crush Gear and dreams of becoming the world champion.
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A standalone sequel, titled Crush Gear Nitro, aired from February 2003 to January 2004.
Crush Gear is a fictional sport of battling machines that can be customized for maximum impact. Opponents meet at games where they Gear Fight, and the winner is determined when a fighter's Gear is able to push its opponent off the battlefield.
Gekitou! Crush Gear Turbo tells the story of Kouya Marino, an eleven-year-old boy who is a member of the Tobita Club, a Japanese Crush Gear team led by his late older brother, Yuhya Marino—the Asian Cup champion who was qualified for the World Cup finals—, who died in a tragic accident four years ago. Kouya's skills are nowhere near his brother's, and is nearly disqualified when he arrived late at the clubhouse for an elimination match. Yuhya's former teammate, Takeshi Manganji quits the team and forms a club of his own, forcing the rest of the members to join his new group, the Manganji Club. As the Tobita Club is facing the threat of extinction, Kouya refuses to give up and comes to inherit a Crush Gear from his late brother, the Garuda Eagle. Kouya must find a way to reinstate the Tobita Club back to its former glory. With the help of his new teammates, he eventually develops his techniques in Gear Fighting and comes to feel that Crush Gear is an important friend, leading him to victory. By recognizing the same feelings in his opponent, he becomes friends even with his rival.
Main characters
- Kouya Marino (真理野 コウヤ, Marino Kōya)
- Voiced by: Megumi Matsumoto
- The main protagonist of the series and the captain of the Tobita Club, Kouya is a young Gear Fighter who aims to be the number one in the Crush Gear world.
- Naotake Furusato, producer of Crush Gear Turbo, said that the creators "lost a lot of sleep over" trying to name the main character. Furusato credits director Shūji Iuchi with the final naming. The creators decided to use "Kouya" as the name "had a ring to it like brothers would have and that made it kind of realistic" and that the name literally means "wilderness" and "sounded right for a main character". Furusato added that the name "Kouya" made him want to see the character "grow up big and strong".[1]
- Jirou Oriza (織座 ジロウ, Oriza Jirō)
- Voiced by: Masato Amada (Michael Shitanda)
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Tobita Club, Jirou is a former baseball pitcher who likes to eat red-bean buns. He is Kouya's closest teammate and friend. Jirou has a crush on the team's deputy owner, Lilika.
- Kyousuke Jin (迅 キョウスケ, Jin Kyōsuke)
- Voiced by: Chika Sakamoto
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Tobita Club, Kyousuke is known as a genius Gear Master, a mechanic with superior skills in tuning, maintaining and customizing Crush Gears. He was Kuroudo's former teammate in Team Griffon.
- Kuroudo Marume (丸目 クロウド, Marume Kurōdo)
- Voiced by: Naomi Shindoh
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Tobita Club, Kuroudo is a kendo swordsman with an excellent sense of hearing. He was Kyousuke's former teammate in Team Griffon.
- Furusato said that Kuroudo's name originates from a samurai in the Edo period.[1]
- Kaoru Hanano (華野 カオル, Hanano Kaoru)
- Voiced by: Akemi Kanda
- Kouya's childhood friend and the young manager of the Tobita Club team, Kaoru often provides informations about various Gear Fighters to her teammates.
- Takeshi Manganji (万願寺 タケシ, Manganji Takeshi)
- Voiced by: Akira Sasanuma
- The leader of the Manganji Club and Kouya's rival, Manganji is a powerful Gear Fighter who comes from a wealthy family that runs their own business company.
- Furusato described the name "Manganji" as having "an image of wealth" – He added that "Japanese people are suckers for names that end in "ji"! (laughs)"[1]
- Lilika Tobita (飛田 リリカ, Tobita Ririka)
- Voiced by: Michiko Neya
- A key member of the Tobita Club serving as the team's deputy owner, Lilika is managing the group alongside Kaoru and watching over the members.
Recurring characters
- Yuhya Marino (真理野 ユウヤ, Marino Yūya)
- Voiced by: Kenji Nojima
- A genius Gear Fighter and Kouya's deceased older brother, Yuhya was the late former captain of the Tobita Club and the former champion of the Asia Cup tournament. Four years prior to the start of the series, he was killed in an unfortunate accident just before the final match of the World Cup tournament. Yuhya often appears in flashbacks.
- Furusato said that Yuhya's name was decided on early in the production.[1]
- Marimo Marino (真理野 マリモ, Marino Marimo)
- Voiced by: Chiharu Tezuka
- Kouya and Yuhya's mother, who owns a café called La Mére du Marino.
- Tateo Marino (真理野 タテオ, Marino Tateo)
- Voiced by: Ken Narita
- Kouya and Yuhya's father and Marimo's husband.
- Gou Manganji (万願寺豪, Manganji Gō)
- Voiced by: Hiroomi Sugino
- Manganji's father, who is the president of the Manganji Group corporation.
- Shinnosuke Gomano (胡麻野シンノスケ, Gomano Shin'nosuke)
- Voiced by: Kanako Tateno
- Manganji's loyal sidekick and a member of the Manganji Club.
- Daikichi Momita (揉田ダイキチ, Momita Daikichi)
- Voiced by: Mika Matsuoka
- Manganji's loyal sidekick and a member of the Manganji Club.
- Nobiru Koike (小池ノビル, Koike Nobiru)
- Voiced by: Minako Tsutsu
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Central Club, a team consisting of Gear Fighters from central Japan.
- Chota Aida (相田チョータ, Aida Chōta)
- Voiced by: Wasabi Mizuta
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Central Club team.
- Futoshi Harano (原野フトシ, Harano Futoshi)
- Voiced by: Yasuhiro Takato
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Central Club team.
- Fuuko Nagidori (凪鳥フウコ, Nagidori Fūko)
- Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi
- Shingo's younger sister and Kouya's classmate.
- Shingo Nagidori (凪鳥シンゴ, Nagidori Shingo)
- Voiced by: Tomohiro Tsuboi
- A Gear Fighter and former member of the Tobita Club during Yuhya's generation.
- Burning Octopus (バーニングオクトパス, Bāninguokutopasu)
- Voiced by: Sachi Matsumoto (as Tarou and Saburou), Reiko Takagi (as Jirou and Shirou)
- A team of mischievous Gear Fighters from the Kansai region, consisting of quadruplet brothers Tarou Takoyama (多古山太郎, Takoyama Tarō), Jirou Takoyama (多古山次郎, Takoyama Jirō), Saburou Takoyama (多古山三郎, Takoyama Saburō), and Shirou Takoyama (多古山四郎, Takoyama Shirō).
- Eddie Kobayashi (エディ小林, Edi Kobayashi)
- Voiced by: Kousuke Okano
- A snooker player and underground Gear Fighter who is a member of the Mighty Gears, a team by the Manganji Club consisting of Gear Fighters exceling in their own field in sports. Eddie is Kuroudo's rival.
- Taki Hiroomi (滝ヒロオミ, Hiroomi Taki)
- Voiced by: Yuu Asakawa
- A skateboarder and one of the Gear Fighters of the Mighty Gears team. Taki is Jirou's best friend and former baseball catcher.
- Kishin Ōkawa (大川キシン, Ōkawa Kishin)
- Voiced by: Makiko Ohmoto
- An intelligent shogi (chess) player and one of the Gear Fighters of the Mighty Gears team. Kishin is Kyousuke's arch-nemesis.
- Satoru Todoroki (轟サトル, Todoroki Satoru)
- Voiced by: Shigeru Shibuya
- A GPX kart racer and one of the Gear Fighters of the Mighty Gears team.
- Ichidou Takekura (武蔵一道, Takekura Ichidō)
- Voiced by: Minoru Inaba
- A kendo master from Hokkaido.
- Mitsuki Ohmori (大森 ミツキ, Ōmori Mitsuki)
- Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu
- A Gear Fighter and the captain of Team Griffon, who is a former teammate of Kuroudo and Kyousuke.
- Hiroshi Washida (鷲田ヒロシ, Washida Hiroshi)
- Voiced by: Kanako Tateno
- A Gear Fighter and member of Team Griffon.
- Kazuya Shishigawa (獅子川カズヤ, Shishigawa Kazuya)
- Voiced by: Mika Matsuoka
- A Gear Fighter and member of Team Griffon.
- Sougen Manganji (万願寺宗玄, Manganji Sōgen)
- Voiced by: Takkō Ishimori
- Manganji's grandfather, who is a renowned calligrapher.
- Kurosaki (黒崎, Kurosaki)
- Voiced by: Daisuke Ishikawa
- Manganji's trusted bodyguard.
- Wang Hu (王虎, Wan Fū)
- Voiced by: Sayaka Aida
- An outgoing, cheerful Gear Fighter and member of the Si Xing Hu Tuan, a team consisting of Chinese Gear Fighters. Wang Hu is Kouya's friend and rival.
- Lan Fang (蘭芳, Ranfang)
- Voiced by: Akiko Nakagawa
- A Gear Fighter and the only female member of the Si Xing Hu Tuan team, Lan Fang is Wang Hu's adoptive older sister. She is also Kyousuke's love interest.
- Ming Wu (明呉, Min Ū)
- Voiced by: Hidenari Ugaki
- The antagonistic coach of the Si Xing Hu Tuan team and Wang Hu's adoptive father, Ming Wu is ambitious, radical, and manipulative.
- Ma Liang (馬良, Māryan)
- Voiced by: Takehiro Murozono
- A Gear Fighter and the captain of the Si Xing Hu Tuan team.
- Li Chun (李春, Rīchun)
- Voiced by: Kanako Tateno
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Si Xing Hu Tuan team.
- Dan Midou (御堂 ダン, Midō Dan)
- Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Manganji Dreams, an elite team by the Manganji Club consisting of gifted Gear Fighters with special training from the Manganji Laboratory.
- Rai Shinomiya (篠宮 ライ, Shinomiya Rai)
- Voiced by: Takayuki Yamaguchi
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Manganji Dreams team, who is Rin's twin brother.
- Rin Shinomiya (篠宮 リン, Shinomiya Rin)
- Voiced by: Kanako Tateno
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Manganji Dreams team, who is Rai's twin sister.
- Alex Borg (アレックス・ボーグ, Arekkusu Bōgu)
- Voiced by: Hiroaki Ishikawa
- A Gear Fighter and former member of the Tobita Club during Yuhya's generation. Alex is a Gear Master who is Jirou's friend.
- Brad Fincher (ブラッド・フィンチャー, Buraddo Finchā)
- Voiced by: Takako Honda
- A young Hollywood movie star and the arrogant Gear Fighter of the Star Brad team.
- Gallen Connellheim (ガレン・コンネルヘイム, Garen Kon'neruheimu)
- Voiced by: Daisuke Hasegawa
- A Gear Fighter and the captain of the Euro Griffon team, Gallen is a strict coach whose training methods pushes the team members too hard.
- Gina Firestein (ジーナ・ファイアスティン, Jīna Faiasutein)
- Voiced by: Akiko Nakagawa
- The current chairwoman of the Gear Fight Association (GFA).
- Carlos Ferrein / "U-YA" (カルロス・フェラン, Karurosu Ferran)
- Voiced by: Omi Minami
- A mysterious Gear Fighter and member of Quo Vadis, a team consisting of Brazilian Gear Fighters.
- Takaya Tobita (飛田 タカヤ, Tobita Takaya)
- Voiced by: Hitoshi Bifu
- The founder and coach of Quo Vadis team and Lilika's father. He was originally the founder and former owner of the Tobita Club during Yuhya's generation.
- Shane Firestein (シェーン・ファイアスティン, Shēn Faiasutein)
- Voiced by: Tetsuya Iwanaga
- A 22-year-old Gear Master who befriended Kouya in San Francisco. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Shane is Gina Firestein's older brother and the legendary Gear God.
- Crusher Kane (クラッシャー・ケイン, Kurasshā Kein)
- Voiced by: Ayaka Yamashita
- A Gear Fighter who participated in Gear Pancratium, an illegal underground competition that focuses on the destruction of Crush Gears in battle.
- Heinrich Gang (ハインリッヒ・ガンク, Hainrihhi Ganku)
- Voiced by: Yōko Matsuoka
- A gifted Gear Fighter and former champion of the Europe Cup tournament, Heinrich was a former member of the Weiss Ritters, a team consisting of German Gear Fighters. Four years prior to the start of the series, he quit Gear Fighting after the untimely death of his rival, Yuhya Marino in the day of the World Cup finals match.
Other characters
- Ryouichi Ebata (江畑リョウイチ, Ebata Ryōichi)
- Voiced by: Hiroko Oyamada
- An arrogant member of the Manganji Club.
- Q (キュー, Kyū)
- A chimpanzee at the zoo where the father of Nagidori siblings works. Q knows how to play Gear Fighting.
- Kouji Hanano (花野コウジ, Hanano Kōji)
- Voiced by: Takeharu Onishi
- Kaoru's uncle, who lives in Hokkaido.
- God Voice (ゴッドボイス, Goddoboisu)
- Voiced by: Kazuya Ichijō
- The host of the Illusion Cup tournament.
- Taka Shibuya (渋谷タカ, Shibuya Taka)
- Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
- A Gear Fighter and member of Club 4649 (Yoroshiku).
- Momo Yamanoki (山野木モモ, Yamanoki Momo)
- Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami
- A Gear Fighter and the captain of Pink Lips, a team consisting of all-female members.
- Koume Aida (愛田コウメ, Aida Kōme)
- Voiced by: Kanako Tateno
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Pink Lips team.
- Crush Mary (クラッシュ・メェリー, Kurasshu Merī)
- Voiced by: Kanako Tateno
- A female Crush Gear sportscaster.
- GFA-kun (ジーファくん, Jīfa-kun)
- Voiced by: Mika Matsuoka
- The official mascot of the Gear Fight Association.
- Kim Yong-dae (金 龍大, Kimu Yonde)
- Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi
- A South Korean Gear Fighter and member of Team Kim, who is Yong-sun's younger brother.
- Kim Yong-sun (金 龍乗, Kimu Yonsun)
- Voiced by: Yasuyuki Kase
- The coach of Team Kim and Yong-dae's older brother. Four years prior to the start of the series, Yong-sun was the opponent of Yuhya Marino in the finals of the Asia Cup tournament for 23 rounds.
- Tomba Giriran (トンバ・ギリラン, Tonba Giriran)
- Voiced by: Takayuki Fujimoto
- A Singaporean Gear Fighter and member of Team Kemenangan.
- Lennard Firestein (レナード・ファイアステイン, Renādo Faiasutein)
- Voiced by: Hitoshi Bifu
- The founder and former chairman of the Gear Fight Association (GFA), who is Shane and Gina's father.
- Steve Douglas (スティーブ・ダグラス, Sutību Dagurasu)
- Voiced by: Kanako Tateno
- A member of the Star Brad team and Brad's friend.
- Crush Gordon (クラッシュ・ゴードン, Kurasshu Gōdon)
- Voiced by: Tomohiro Tsuboi
- The host of the Crush Gear World Cup tournament.
- Alberto Schweiger (アルベルト・シュバイガー, Aruberuto Shubaigā)
- Voiced by: Showtaro Morikubo
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Weiss Ritters team.
- Ralf Wenders (ラルフ・ヴェンダース, Rarufu Vendāsu)
- Voiced by: Susumu Chiba
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Weiss Ritters team.
- Rudolf Steiner (ルドルフ・シュタイナー, Rudorufu Shutainā)
- Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Weiss Ritters team, who is Michael's older brother.
- Michael Steiner (ミハエル・シュタイナー, Mihaeru Shutainā)
- Voiced by: Asami Sanada
- A Gear Fighter and member of the Weiss Ritters team, who is Rudolf's younger brother.
- Mohamed Ramzy (モハメド・ラムジー, Mohamedo Ramujī)
- Voiced by: Masahito Yabe
- An Egyptian Gear Fighter and member of the Heliopolis team.
- God Mama (ゴッドママ, Goddomama)
- Voiced by: Tetsu Inada
- The host of the illegal Gear Pancratium competition.
- Richard Firestein (リチャード・ファイアステイン, Richādo Faiasutein)
- Voiced by: Hiroshi Naka
- An old mechanic who lives in the woods of Black Forest with a pet dog called Zeus. Richard is Shane and Gina's grandfather.
- Nina Maier (ニナ・マイヤー, Nina Maiyā)
- Voiced by: Rio Natsuki
- Heinrich's personal maid.
Film-only characters
- Jake Groundstein (ジェイク・グランドシュタイン, Jeiku Gurandoshutain)
- Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
- Also known as the Gear Emperor (ギア・エンペラー, Gia Enperā), Jake is Manganji's old friend who is the son of the owner of the Groundstein Group, a rival company of the Manganji Group. He is responsible for stealing and using Kaiservern, the first Crush Gear created in the world.
- Gear God (ギアゴッド, Gia Goddo)
- Voiced by: Jūrōta Kosugi
- A mysterious man at the GFA headquarters who holds a golden front weapon, Goldblade.
Planning for Crush Gear Turbo began in March 2001, with intent to begin airing in October 2001. Naotake Furusato, producer of Crush Gear Turbo, received a toy car prototype that used two AA batteries and a motor. The toy car operated in circles instead of straight lines, and operators could cause them to collide with one another. Furusato used this concept to develop Crush Gear Turbo. According to Furusato the show was the first Sunrise production to "genuinely adopt the use of 3D graphics". Furusato added that the 3D rendering allowed the animators to "brilliantly express the stage presence of the Gear Fights" and incorporate effects not in real-life toy gears such as fireworks and smoke. According to Furusato 3D Production Chief Mitsuo Fukuda (福田 己津央, Fukuda Mitsuo) told Furusato that, because there are some elements that may only be expressed in 3D, the series ought to use 3D "to full effect". Furusato concluded that this caused the battle scenes to appear "a little bit unique". Furusato credited the customization and element attributes in each gear to Sunrise's "already well-established know-how". In addition the producer credited his own experience on Gear Fighter Dendoh and director Shūji Iuchi's experience on Mashin Hero Wataru in the formation of Crush Gear Turbo.[2]
Furusato intended for the creators of the series to "encourage children to think and place on value on things like friendship and trust in others" and for the series to express deepening human relationships. He added that the series "got kind of a Heisei Era [1989-2019] "Kyojin no Hoshi" and "Ashita no Joe" feeling to it" and that the current generation of children "are fundamentally a more cheerful lot and go in for a bit of a slapstick flavor".[2]
Anime
Gekitou! Crush Gear Turbo, directed by Shūji Iuchi and produced by Sunrise's internal "Studio 10" division alongside Tokyu Agency, premiered in Japan on October 7, 2001, and concluded on January 26, 2003, after 68 episodes on Nagoya TV and TV Asahi. Atsuo Tobe is the character designer for the anime series, with Shinji Aramaki, Susumu Imaishi and Mitsuru Owa as the mechanical art designers. The musical score is composed by Kenichi Sudo and Yogo Kono. The series features two pieces of theme music and one insert song, all performed by JAM Project: the opening theme is "Crush Gear Fight!!", and the ending theme is "Ai dayone!! -Gear wo Tsunagou-" (愛だよねっ!! ～ギアをつなごう～, lit. "It's Love!! ~Let's Connect Gears~"), while the insert theme is "Kaze no Eagle" (風のEAGLE, lit. "Wind Eagle") featuring Hironobu Kageyama. The Filipino dub of the series was premiered in the Philippines in April 2003, on ABS-CBN.
An English-dubbed version was aired in Australia in 2004, on Network 10 and Cartoon Network. This dub also aired in New Zealand on TV3, in the Philippines on Cartoon Network and in Singapore on Kids Central.
Film
Crush Gear Turbo the Movie: Kaiservern's Ultimate Challenge (激闘！クラッシュギアTURBO カイザバーンの挑戦, Gekitō! Kurasshugia Tābo Kaizabān no Chōsen) is a 20-minute short film that was released in Japan on July 20, 2002, as part of Toei Animation Summer 2002 Animation Fair.[3] In this movie, Kouya and Manganji team up against a Gear Emperor who is controlling the world's first gear, Kaiservern. JAM Project performed two pieces of theme music: the insert song is "Get Up Crush Fighter!", and the ending theme is "Alright now! (Movie Re-mix ver.)" featuring Rika Matsumoto.
Manga
The manga adaptation is illustrated by Hisashi Matsumoto. The manga version featured original elements and unique developments, and the Gear Fighting is slightly more realistic than in the anime. It was serialized in Kodansha's magazine, Comic BomBom from October 2001 to January 2003, and released in tankōbon (book) format in four volumes from February 2002 to March 2003. The manga also included three bonus chapters.
The English-language version was licensed in Singapore by Chuang Yi.
Volume list
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Video games
Two video games have been produced based on the series, both published by Bandai and released only in Japan. The PlayStation version of Gekitou! Crush Gear Turbo was first released on July 25, 2002. Gekitou! Crush Gear Turbo: Gear Champion League was released for WonderSwan Color on August 10, 2002.
DVD release
![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2022) |
In Australia, the English dub of Crush Gear Turbo was released by Magna Pacific. Volumes one and two of the series were released on July 1, 2004;[8][9] volumes three and four were released on September 8, 2004;[10][11] volume five was released on October 6, 2004;[12] volume six was released on November 10, 2004;[13] and volume seven was released on January 19, 2005.[14]
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