Tekkaman-Blade II DVD

Ten years have passed since the Radam War. Earth is rebuilding, the orbital ring is under reconstruction, and the Space Knights who survived the original conflict are older, scarred, and carrying the weight of everything they lost. D-Boy — Tekkaman Blade — is alive but damaged, his mind fractured by his connection to the Radam. Aki, the woman who fought beside him and loves him, has become the backbone of the new Space Knights. A second Radam invasion is coming — and this time the enemy has learned from the first. Yumi Francois is a young mechanic, not a soldier, with no combat experience and an obsessive admiration for the legend of Tekkaman Blade. When circumstances force her into the Tekkaman armor before she is remotely ready, she becomes the most unlikely addition to the new generation of Space Knights: David, fierce and impulsive; Natasha, cool and calculating; Dead End, a survivor with a history so dark it threatens the team from within. As the new generation fights to hold the line, D-Boy is drawn back toward the war he barely survived — and toward an enemy who may finally be strong enough to finish what the first invasion started.

Tekkaman Blade II is a six-episode OVA produced by Tatsunoko Production in 1994–1995, serving as the direct sequel to the 1992 TV series Space Knight Tekkaman Blade — known in North America as Teknoman (available for sale here) in its Saban-edited broadcast version. The OVA was originally conceived as a longer project or feature film before being reduced to six episodes due to budget constraints. It features updated character designs by Hirotoshi Sano, mechanical designs by Yashinori Sayama and Rei Nakamura, and notably improved production values over the TV series. The series aired on Starz Encore's Action Anime block in 1999 in North America. The English dub features Tara Strong as Yumi Francois in a role she has cited at conventions as the source of one of the strangest lines she ever recorded.

Originally released in North America on VHS by Urban Vision in 1998; the Complete Collection DVD released in 2001 collects all six episodes remastered in Dolby 5.1 surround sound with a Special Fan Art Gallery. Later reissued in an uncut version by Discotek Media in 2012. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Original Series Creator: Tatsuo Yoshida / Tatsunoko Production
Character Design: Hirotoshi Sano
Mechanical Design: Yashinori Sayama & Rei Nakamura
Studio: Tatsunoko Production

Japanese Cast:
• Toshiyuki Morikawa as D-Boy / Tekkaman Blade (Noir additional cast, Descendants of Darkness)
• Mami Koyama as Aki
• Megumi Hayashibara as Yumi Francois (Slayers, Evangelion, Gestalt, Tenchi in Love, Love Hina)
• Nobuyuki Hiyama as David
• Yuri Amano as Natasha (El-Hazard, Burn Up W, Magic User's Club, Moldiver, Sorcerer Hunters, Noir)

English Dub Cast (Urban Vision):
• Tara Strong as Yumi Francois (My Little Pony: FIM, Powerpuff Girls — cited role for strangest recorded line)
• Scott Menville as David (Teen Titans)
• Tasia Valenza as Natasha
• Kirk Thornton as additional cast (Kurogane Communication)

DVD Features (Urban Vision Complete Collection, 2001)

• All 6 Episodes — Complete OVA Series
• Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
• Special Fan Art Gallery
• Urban Vision Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: 宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレードII (Uchū no Kishi Tekkaman Burēdo Tsū)
Runtime: ~180 Minutes (Complete OVA Series, 6 Episodes)
Studio: Tatsunoko Production
DVD Release Year: 2001 (U.S. Complete Collection, Urban Vision); previously on VHS 1998
Original Release Date (Japan): July 21, 1994 – April 21, 1995
Publisher: Urban Vision Entertainment
Rating: 17+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Note: Known as Teknoman in the Saban-edited North American TV broadcast. This DVD release presents the original unedited Japanese OVA with English dub. Later reissued uncut by Discotek Media in 2012.
Genre: Mecha, Sci-Fi, Action
Themes: Second Radam Invasion, New Generation Tekkaman, Sequel to Teknoman, Tara Strong Pre-Fame Role, Ten Years Later

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.