The History of The 90's Mega Man Cartoon

[@sebisman]

My introduction to Megaman was actually the Ruby Spears series. It was until later that I discovered it was based on a game.

[@GenericUser379]

5:24 Fun Fact: Ian Corlett (The voice actor of Ruby Spears Mega Man) also did the voice of Goku in the Ocean dub. Despite his other roles he has played in other shows sounding differently, I wonder why Ruby Spears Mega Man and Ocean Dub Goku sound similar… (Besides the fact that they have the same voice actor)

[@BigBoy257]

To clarify, he was only Goku for some of it. He would eventually be replaced by Peter Kalamis, who would be replaced later on by Kirby Morrow

[@retropixel1272]

I'm going to make paper dolls out of you!! -Cutman

[@Drm3221]

That sure is something you can do with scissors 🤣

[@BigBoy257]

Proceeds to get beaten easily

[@pinkhavoc0299]

I read that in his voice 😂😂

[@edwardgaines6561]

Thanks for this retrospective! I always thought the Ruby-Spears cartoon featured EVERY robot master. But no, 4 are missing! 5:06

[@rogersstinson4019]

Don’t forget Splashwoman.

[@SamtheBravesFan]

Yeah, I noticed that too, bought them on DVD and watched it last month. Noticed several weren't featured, but that's okay. Found out I had watched the show just a little more than I remembered.

[@RokuroCarisu]

​@rogersstinson4019 The show was made at the same time as Mega Man 6, so it could only feature characters from up to Mega Man 5.

[@edwardgaines6561]

@@RokuroCarisu Season 2 should've have been a tournament arc with the MM6 Robot Masters. Would've been epic!

[@MatthewTheWolf2029]

Excellent review of this show, dude. Honestly, despite its numerous issues, the Ruby Spears Megaman cartoon is a show that has a great deal of nostalgic value for me. Its not a perfect show. But I still hold it in high regard despite my mixed feelings for it. To the show's credit, it had some great material, and I like how they explored the material. But I feel that this show had wasted potential. Especially since it only lasted 27 episodes in total.

[@Duvmasta]

I’m working on reviving the series

[@Eternatus00]

​@@Duvmastahow?

[@Duvmasta]

@@Eternatus00 I’ve come up with ideas for episodes on deviantart.

[@austinreed7343]

Other notes: * Other characters from the games at the time of production not to appear include Mikhail and Kalinka Cossack, Enker, Quint, Punk, Beat, and the Yellow Devil. The Stardroids, Genesis Unit, and Ballade would come around during the show’s production and would also not appear.

[@brigadeleaderharuhisuzumiy8589]

This show is so nostalgic too me. I don't regret getting into MegaMan at an early age. I first started with the MegaMan Legends games. Than moved onto the MegaMan NT Warrior Saturday mornings Kids WB Anime series. Once I found out about the Classic Mega Man games and shows I got so addicted to them. Espically the Ruby Spears MegaMan TV show. I regret nothing. One of the best childhoods anyone can have is with the Mega Man/Rockman shows and vide games. One of the best parts of my childhood. And I'll never forget it.

[@CLSharpman5000]

I had that Mega Man bow toy 👀 I remember beggin' my mom to get it for me in a general store in my hometown. You've awakened some kind of forgotten, core memory deep in my consciousness. Wild.

[@cyberalpaca]

I binge watched Ruby Spears Megaman with a friend. It was such a fun time to see how they sometimes ruin our favourite robotmasters or just happen to make them amazing (Top Man, Snake Man, Pharaoh Man and Quick Man were our favourites).

[@THEOxxx197]

Hitoshi Ariga also made a manga series about mega man! There are three different series’, mega man mastermix,mega mix,and gigamix. I only own book one of mastermix and the entirety of gigamix but I hope to get more soon!! It’s an awesome series and I love the characters. Mega man has been a huge part of my childhood and I love visiting it whenever I can.

[@joegreen3802]

Oh I loved Megamix and Gigamix. I only wish it was longer

[@THEOxxx197]

@@joegreen3802 same here :’)

[@justinscott7546]

My favorite version of the MM universe. Love to see more.

[@THEOxxx197]

@@justinscott7546 same here ! :)

[@THEOxxx197]

anyway life update I got book 2 of mastermix. It’s very good :)

[@ColeFam]

This was a really interesting history! It's cool to see so many little details

[@greygremlin1248]

I know a lot of people rip this show up, but since it aired in 94, I'm letting something slide. But these were the best reasons why I like this show 1) accurate to the video game 2) simple plot 3) character design 4) toys 5) I got Bomb Man

[@stellaviewer9849]

9:19 That's not a gun. That's a drill. Obviously Wily uses it to create robots, or in Megaman 1 & 6, reprogram robots (he would probably use it to unscrew some hatch that's on the robot, then start reprogramming).

[@ahorseofcourse7283]

Nope, that's totally a gun. Wily was tired of Protoman's shit and decided he was going to shoot Dr. Light in the face himself.

[@marcusbullock630]

You're both wrong. It's a handheld soldering iron, a basic tool for anyone into robotics.

[@DigitalKaizerTTV]

So I was like, 5 years old when this show was new. There were times when I was sick as a kid and my aunt bought these cans of, I think it was pediasure? It was like chocolate milk in small metal can. I used to imagine myself being Megaman drinking his plasma power recharge thing when I cracked one of those open.

[@Andres33AU]

Thanks for the great video! I remember renting the show on VHS in the mid-90s, after playing the first three games, and really enjoyed it, though I don't remember it airing on TV here in Australia. I never did see the toys though, otherwise I would have definitely asked some for my birthday or Christmas, haha.

[@FoamBot]

Late to this party I know but I just to say I was having a crap day until I stumbled upon this video brought back alot of great memories ❤ thank you

[@Potpie_king]

3 was also my first Megaman game :)

[@MagillanicaLouM]

As much as its memed on, it exudes good ol 90's action charm and seems pretty nice for how toon adaptations of games at the time tended to go.

[@SamtheBravesFan]

Agreed.

[@nangbaby]

It was way better than Street Fighter or that AWFUL Darkstalkers cartoon.

[@unknown5000X]

Ruby Spears Mega man happens to be a good cartoon based on a hit video game series and I wish they continue with the series back in the 90s but they only gave us the total of 27 episodes of 2 seasons, the best episode was he team up with Mega Man X and the worst episode was the Cruse of the Lion men

[@AidanFeemster]

This Show is unironically better than mega man fully charged. I know we can all agree on that.

[@imspoilerina9228]

I’m late but I 10000% agree with you😭

[@FarelForever]

This was my childhood. I played Megaman 1, 2 and 5 on my NES bootleg, and watched the RubySpears cartoon on German TV. It was a blast.

[@gjergjaurelius9798]

Plenty of fun on my peagus in yuogoslavia. I had bootleg MegaMan 1-6 on one cart. Played them in between wars.😂

[@FarelForever]

@@gjergjaurelius9798 Wow, wee, all in one?! That sounds so rad!!!!

[@SnappleRyRy89]

Surprisingly this RS Mega Man show got me into Dragon Ball back when it was airing on TV. Because Mega Man's VA, Ian James Corlett, also voiced Goku during their dubbing of DBZ and hearing the same music was used, it introduced me to DBZ while channel surfing sat morning cartoons as a kid back in the day.

[@alissonaxl]

Poor Roll, uses a vacuum cleaner and gets scolded by Mega Man.

[@uraccountcrashed8845]

Loved this show. Hate that its history is contentious, though, since we'll probably never have another like it. Fully Charged was okay, but you could tell it leaned a bit too heavily into the "for kids" part of things, which I understand but can't get over, since it was almost Sonic Boom-levels of good at times...

[@jesserivera2043]

Okay, your personalized sprite with the afro was enough for me to subscribe. It is glorious ❤

[@VIRGOLEGACY]

Great use of “magnet man” theme

[@raziyatheseeker]

Can I say that the workaround for Mega Man changing colors with new weapons was actually kinda cool? It was like he'd just downloaded the weapon's schematics straight into his robot brain. And hey, I had that DVD box set! ADV put it out, right? They also covered a few other old English anime dubs, including Sailor Moon, given the opening ads. For some reason I thought the 27th episode was only shown on that box set first, but appears I was wrong! Good to know.

[@ahmadalnubani01]

Great review. I enjoyed watching that a lot. Also liked the mega man 3 soundtracks in the background

[@faristhewanderer6571]

Amazing video! pro quality work! me and my niece watch the classic ruby spears one all the time!

[@Murasame]

Okay but why don't you have more subs, great quick docu on this.

[@bluberrydee6205]

5:49 i always saw gemini man as the leader of the group tbh, with him not being defeated (or in gyro man's case, having his attack being stopped), and him just talking the most out of the 3 7:05 wait why is Pharaoh Man there hes not even in any episode other than episode 2!

[@nehehehgraylois]

you know why

[@robertlupa8273]

'Cause he's awesome.

[@bestaround3323]

He would easily stop megaman

[@steakdriven]

Canceling TV shows because of poor merchandise sales should be illegal

[@neilallen529]

Great video. This cartoon is one of my favorites. It's good to see it get appreciated!

[@gamingboi1158]

0:28 yellow devil came to finish you off💀💀

[@DevinPlayzYT2007]

Bumo

[@kennetheyancey]

What an origin story KZbinr! I love that intro to Megaman life story you’ve got. Megaman4life✌🏾❤️😎

[@ahorseofcourse7283]

I loved that cartoon so much as a kid, and I still love it. I can pretend that I like it ironically, but the truth is that as cheesy and goofy as it is, it's still a fun cartoon that did a good job of bringing a cult classic franchise to a Western audience.

[@Benkman1984]

Great video! Love Mega man, my first mega man game was also 3. That snake man sound track damn!

[@HyperDefective]

I had the 20,000 Leaks Under the Sea VHS lol, as well as most of the figures with the removable limbs and working Busters. Wish I took better care of em. I also had the Air Raider, shit was dope

[@ragingrat7670]

Thank you. I always wondered why the show was canceled. I also always wondered why this series was so divisive. I always liked it and really wanted them to do Mega Man X. Even though I didn't really like his design in the show it was my most favorite episode.

[@Latoshajsinspiration]

Now I've got your power

[@Quetzen]

That voiced action figure sounds like it's from a sitcom, it sounds like it says "I lost my pants! *laugh track* "

[@pacmancdi]

The Battle for the future boxset was the first DVD I ever owned. Still have it

[@Protoman85]

I don't like the show apart from laughing at it, but the first episode and the X episode weren't bad, unlike stinkers like the dinosaur park one. But even though it doesn't look like Megaman should, it still looks a lot better than Fully Charged.

[@azariahspence8551]

Nice review, dude!

[@mcyeet]

Loved the video, and I need to add to the history with some facts about the german dub, since I grew up with it. First of all, the german dub has a completely different intro song, that goes absolutely hard. Also episode 27 was never dubbed in german. The german dub also has some unscripted lines here and there, and a ton of robot related puns (even more than the original american version I think) Last thing is that, even though 26 episodes were dubbed, ProSieben (the TV network in charge of airing the show) only released 8 episodes on VHS ( 4 volumes, containing 2 episodes each). You can find all 26 episodes of the german dub uploaded here on youtube, probably preserving the german dub for future generations. :)

[@uraccountcrashed8845]

Thank you for this information...

[@raziyatheseeker]

Wait, the German theme song goes even harder than the English one? I've gotta find that one... :o

[@mcyeet]

@@raziyatheseeker here's the link to the German intro: kzbin.info/www/bejne/opDGY6SQoryhY7s

[@deadmeme7030]

I swear the alternate German themes always go hard for no reason.

[@eduardojoshua8535]

Nice video, partner

[@Crylhound]

This intro song is so different from what we were used to in germany.

[@Davethe3rd]

I want a series of Mega Man toys so bad! And third seasons of the Mega Man and Street Fighter cartoons.

[@borntoclimb7116]

Nice Video, very interesting.

[@seekertosecrets7618]

Here's what I actually realized after watching this video. 4 shows of this franchise came and went but none actually survived after season 2 or even made to season 2. The Ruby-Spears version was pulled due to toy sales. NT Warrior made it into Axcess, but it was just a continuation of the first season and it didn't have a second season after the Life Virus battle. AOL-Time Warner just took it off the air for another cartoon. Starforce was a continuation of NT Warrior since they are canonically connected and that didn't last after the first season. It was axed after 25 episodes. Finally, the aforementioned Fully Charged didn't even make it to season and suffered the same fate as NT Warrior. What I think that failed these series are two factors. The first one is linked to toy sales. It's all about looks. If the character design isn't appealing enough on 2d or, in the terms of 3d and CGI, creation through binary code, it's not going to be flying off the shelves. The second reason is the story. Universally, a lot of people like the classic story progression of the Blue Bomber. However, when you really think about it, the canonical time time goes in this order: Classic, X series (Maverick Wars/Elf wars), Zero Series, ZX series, and last but not least, Legend series. There's no transition from one series to the next one outside of the retcon of between the Maverick Wars and the Zero series from X6. In my opinion, I think that, given the right team for animation, Capcom can actually solidify a cohesive storyline from beginning to end. However, the downside is that this leads to a sense of finality where limit of making money on the character will have a cap. In business terms, this path will be a double edge sword.

[@susanfit47]

I knew Mega Man was syndicated, but I did know UPN or Fox also aired it in my areas of Texas and South Carolina.

[@andrewhunt1328]

Dude, my first MegaMan was the 3rd one... At 3. My brother 🥲

[@Irvington81]

Like the Mario and Sonic cartoon I would think Mega Man would be produced by DIC animation studio Nothing wrong with Ruby Spears It was all apart of my childhood

[@Rgoid]

Did you see Captain N?

[@NovaAnimations365]

I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!

[@pikachuhutch234]

9:22 LOL That’s a Either a Screw Driver or a Nail Driver not a gun.

[@jeahavvalentin980]

They need to do a live action Mega Man Movie and have the same comedic tone as the first Iron Man Movie from 2008

[@Dogasupreme]

You might wanna check out the German Version of the Intro. Makes it feel more.. Speedy, I guess. Eurobeat-Esque.

[@orinanime]

Cool video! Great bit of nostalgia. Say, do you have a PO Box for fanmail?

[@paulmann8570]

This cartoon was immortalized thanks to Gutsman’s Ass.

[@RonaldJamesCaiyod]

I'm redrawing every Ruby Spears Megaman into a Modern Style Animé/Cartoon.

[@nils920]

This cartoon is no masterpiece by no stretch of the imagination. But as a Mega Man fan myself, I find it enjoyable. And it certainly treated the source material a lot better than Captain N by far! Even though there are some questionable episodes like Curse of the Lion Men and Mega X(I can never get past they made X borderline psycho), there's also many really good episodes like The Strange Island of Dr. Wily, Terror of the Seven Seas and Bro Bots. So yeah, I would've loved to see the show grow to include Robot Masters from Mega Man 6 and 7, and have Proto Man defect from Dr. Wily and be replaced with Bass. I really would have loved to see Knight Man, Yamato Man, Turbo Man and Freeze Man appear in the show. Even if they would have weird design choices and/or have weird/unfitting voices, I would have loved to see them. And in case you're wondering, I never saw this show as a kid. It never aired in my country(I'm Swedish) so I discovered it in my late teens. Also, I don't know about the rest of you, but whenever Mega Man, Proto Man, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily speaks in a Mega Man game without voice acting, I always imagine them having their voices from this show!

[@thesmilingman7576]

4:56 guess the show was supposed to be the gap between 5 and 6

[@ARMRStudios]

Megaman's voice actor was one of Goku's original's VAs Protoman's voice actor went on to be Rattrap in Transformers Beast Wars

[@nameless646]

The Protoman VA did some work with one of the Gundam series as well.

[@Mirmu.]

God I had all those figures…no idea what happened to them lost them somewhere from moving all over the place thanks to my parents divorcing

[@VaughnJogVlog]

I have no recollection of this show and would have been right in the target demo.

[@Saint-su2se]

I liked it enough as a kid. It’s not the worst video game to animated series adaptation.

[@sammisabbie]

...we don't talk about Captain N.

[@SaltyBoiJohns]

Great video but I think the music in the background is a little distracting, even as a fan of all of it. Make more Mega Man content please

[@gameingretro881]

wow thats docter that give you a nes sounds nice

[@dobmaster4412]

Wait the cartoon air on what date

[@marcusbullock630]

the world's first Animu

[@eviljigglypuff2254]

You had the best doctor in the world. Was his name Dr. Light?

[@bluetarantulaproductions6179]

There should be a Megaman X series, other than "Day of Sigma" animated short movie.

[@GODCONVOYPRIME]

They really dropped the ball by aging him up.

[@blossom6309]

This is perfect show for boomeraction on old boomerang instead crap modern boomerang

[@chris1229sonic]

Godly doctor

[@GODCONVOYPRIME]

The toys didn't sell well did they?

[@FallenSnowWolf]

People today like to make fun of the series today cause of the memes, but the show was popular and well received by fans, kids and critics. The biggest issues was it never fou d a solid timeslot until landing early morning Sundays when most kids were asleep. And the realy killer was toy sales, the limited production of the toys and they were also limited in stores. If things were handle better the would have had a full third season with a fourth and possibly a fifth. Plus the talks of creating an older kids animated X series. Because of poor executive management the show that was as popular as Ghostbusters has now ben redused to memes. People call the show cheesy, but every cartoon in those days were cheesy. MAny kids shows for a decade ago are cheesy, but people still love them

[@DevinPlayzYT2007]

7:27 7:43

[@thesmilingman7576]

2:38 oh

[@thesmilingman7576]

If you ask me the made it work in the sales pitch video

[@Davethe3rd]

You're laid up in the hospital and the doctor brings you Mega Man 3? That's fucked up, LOL! "Hey kid, I know you're sick... Here's a HARD AS SHIT MEGA MAN GAME for you to play while you recover! GIT GUD!!"

[@ZhyBeth]

Ruby spears mega man > mega man fully charged

[@Cedrclovesutube]

Mega man 3 is the truth

[@MrVariant]

3:52 Germany opening does it better with 1 bar. Congrats on your doctor light introducing this seroes in the beginning.

[@buggy946]

#KnoxKnerdz

[@micahlee6006]

How is this anime mega man cute I mean I respect mega man

[@tyrelcollins1649]

Nah this cartoon was a complete mess I wish the cartoon was more like how megaman 8 anime cutscene was

[@TransformersFan1991]

Not to mention that the intro was very misleading due to it being more violent and action packed than the actual series

[@SamtheBravesFan]

@@TransformersFan1991 Come on, that was standard at the time, a holdover from the 80s.

[@Duvmasta]

I’m actually working on reviving the show

[@matrioshkabrainn]

WORST DECISION EVER IN THE HISTORY OF CARTOONS 2:28

[@maskedmonocle1991]

false

[@matrioshkabrainn]

@@maskedmonocle1991 show being cancelled says otherwise 😆

[@GODCONVOYPRIME]

I never liked the MegaMan cartoon for the music and the art style.

[@aminsaleh7686]

The characters are a little… too muscular for my taste.

[@sidnew2739]

They totally ruined the style of him and the robot-masters. This is not Mega Man.

[@blazingsonic]

This show got me into Mega Man X because Spear's Mega Man look just like that to me.