is a 1998 Japanese anime television series produced by NAS and TV Tokyo, animated by Studio Comet and sponsored by Sega. The series was inspired by the 1994 SNES game Robotrek, developed by Quintet. It was immediately followed by a second season titled . In late 2000, Saban Entertainment licensed the series to air on Fox Kids in September 2001 but it did not air for unknown reasons.
Plot Hatsumei Boy Kanipan In the future, humans and robots coexist peacefully, now living on the technologically advanced artificial planet Planet Sharaku, built by an inventor named Professor Taishi 200 years ago. All inventors are required to have an inventor's license, which has certain levels (C-Level, B-Level, A-Level, and TAISHI-Level) depending on the evaluation of the inventor.
The story revolves around the life of Kanipan, a young boy who dreams of being a world-level inventor. He comes to Monshiro Town with his Interface Robot, Kid, in order to reach the coveted TAISHI-Level inventor's license. Starting as a fledgling C-Level inventor and initially failing quite a bit, he meets a variety of characters on Planet Sharaku on his quest to be the best.
Chō Hatsumei Boy Kanipan Five years have passed since the events of the first season, and the citizens' lives on Planet Sharaku have become even wealthier. Kanipan, now a teenager, is still aiming to reach TAISHI-Level status and is currently an A-Level inventor. During the 200th anniversary celebration of Planet Sharaku, a mysterious ship falls from the sky and crashes on a beach. Inside the ship is a girl named Angelica, who has lost her memory except for her name. It is up to Kanipan to help Angelica regain her memory, and in the process he accidentally discovers that his planet is in great danger.
Characters Hatsumei Boy Kanipan
(Japanese) A 10-year-old C-Level inventor. His distinctive feature is the goggles that he wears on his forehead. His dream is to become a world-level inventor and reach the TAISHI-Level inventor's license. The reason for this is because as a child, he had a broken toy repaired by a man who claimed to be an inventor, much to his amazement. He was once promoted to B-Level inventor, but due to his failures, his license was revoked, and he was instead demoted by compassionate measures. Afterwards, he was promoted to B-Level for making a satisfactory invention. In the final episode, Kanipan is recognized for pursuing his dreams and making inventions necessary for the future, and obtains an A-Level license. Despite being only 10 years old, he has incredible ideas and is free to come up with ideas that no one else would have thought of, such as electromagnets, static electricity, condensed water, and lava countermeasures due to oxygen consumption. His catchphrases are "I wonder if something like this could happen?" and "I have an idea!" In the second season, Kanipan is 15 years old, lives with Kid, and makes a living as an IT engineer by repairing and maintaining electrical appliances. During the 200th anniversary celebration of Planet Sharaku, he meets Angelica at the Taishi Festival, and becomes involved in a major incident that threatens the planet. He still has a fondness for robots, and has even been exploited by his enemies. Due to his insensitive personality, he is unaware of Milk's affections and is attracted to Angelica. In the first half of the anime, when Ravioli discovers that Kanipan is living with Ann, he says things like "I have become a man," showing his early adolescence. When he wakes up at her home, he wears a nightshirt for the first half, but in the final episode, he appears half-naked wearing only gray trunks. Although he is invited to Nuts and Kirsch's wedding, he is not told that it was also his own wedding. He finally understands this after being sworn in and kissed by Angelica. Thanks to his success in solving the case, Kanipan obtains his long-awaited TAISHI-Level license and departs the planet with Kid, but Ann, Milk, Igor and Ravioli stow away on his ship. The inspiration for the character's name (and the other characters being named after food and drinks) came when screenwriter Ryōta Yamaguchi was thinking of a name for the main character when he saw kanipan (かにぱん, lit. crab bread) at a convenience store.
(Japanese) Kanipan's Interface Robot. He does not have any special abilities, but can display various abilities with the tune-up parts made by Kanipan. He ends most of his sentences with "deshi" (デシ). In the second season, he lives with Kanipan and considers himself the inventor's caretaker. The pendant device that Angelica took with her when she escaped from the Planetary Management Committee allows him to transfer parts and transform in an instant, saving Kanipan many times.
(Japanese) A selfish 10-year-old rich girl, whose skill as an inventor is even worse than her lowest rank. She later forcibly applies for her inventor's license, but she is assigned to the newly-established "D-Level" (she insists that she is in the "Deluxe-Level"). In the second season, she is a famous superstar idol on Planet Sharaku. Though she is still selfish and her skills as an inventor are still sub-par, Milk is a more considerate character than in the first season. She actually likes Kanipan, and although he is forced to confess that he likes her, he is already attracted to Angelica. After going through the situation, she acts cheerful until the final episode. She does not seem to care about Ravioli, who has a crush on her. Toward the end, she kisses him herself, and tells him, "I'll continue when I come back."
(Japanese) Milk's Interface Robot and her personal butler. He is a hard worker due to always being at the mercy of Milk's selfishness. When Milk became an inventor, he became an Interface Robot and was forced to change his name to "Sebastian" (the name was also used in the credits for episode 27), but his name was apparently later changed back. In the second season, he works as Milk's manager when she performs as an idol, and has longer legs.
An inventor boy who lives in Inoshika Town. Ever since he met Kanipan when he visited the Robot Grand Prix, he has become Kanipan's rival. He falls in love with Milk at first sight and tries his best to attract her, but due to his inherent stupidity, his attempts are always in vain. Although his skill as an inventor is as good as that of Kanipan, he lacks an inventor's license. In the second season, Ravioli's personality and voice are completely different from the first season. He looks a little more mature and plays an active role in a position similar to Kid. Since he is officially participating in the Robot Grand Prix, Ravioli seems to have obtained an inventor's license. Even though he knows of Milk's fondness for Kanipan, he kindly watches over her.
Ravioli's Interface Robot. He has a huge physique and superhuman strength, and can only say, "Hunga." He does not appear in the second season. Instead, a robot named "BK Mark 2" appears.
(Japanese) A 20-year-old captain and leader of the Debug Squad, an organization that specializes in countering runaway robots. She has extremely reliable fighting powers, such as being able to stop a runaway robot with her bare hands. She is deeply trusted by her subordinates, and is also an inventor, holding an A-Level license. In the second season, Nuts, now 25 years old, is placed in a position to lead many of her subordinates and command the field in Monshiro Town. She rushes to Planet Sharaku's crisis and saves Kanipan. She marries Kirsch in the final episode, but there is no depiction of her as a romantic partner in the story, and Pochi only mentions that they became friends when Nuts rescued Kirsch, who was lost when the planet's core went out of control.
Nuts' dog-like Interface Robot. He speaks in a bitter Hiroshima dialect, and his way of speaking gives the impression of an outstanding outlook on life. He had been away from Nuts since the time she joined the Debug Squad, but when Nuts was in a pinch on a snowy mountain, he rushed to save her. He is excellent both as a robot and as a debugger, and often helps Kanipan and Nuts to solve cases. In the second season, Pochi is very wise and gives a lot of advice to Kanipan and his friends.
A duo of debuggers and members of the Debug Squad, who have a habit of recommending detonation. Two debuggers who appear to be the same people as the two characters also appear in episode 10 of the second season, but their names are never mentioned and they are credited as "Members" in the ending theme.
(Japanese) Kanipan's retired mentor, who lives with him on . In the second season, since Angelica accidentally came into possession of the "memory" that she had thrown away, she is targeted not only by Professor Taishi but also by the Planetary Management Committee. She sends an SOS to entrust the "memory" to Kanipan, but she doesn't make it in time, and flees to Planet Sharaku. After hiding the "memory", Shu is captured by the government.
(Japanese) A female inventor who lives on Mushimushi Island, a paradise for insect-like robots. Although her Interface Robot is beetle-shaped, it cries, "Tsuku-tsuku-hōshi!" There are many mysteries surrounding her actions, and to put it concretely, her actions are rather "weird".
(Japanese) A C-Level inventor. He has not been able to move up in rank for 35 years since he got his inventor's license. He does not make inventions that are useful to people, only making inventions that surprise them or benefit himself, and because he only causes trouble, he is banned from the Inventor Management Committee. He will stop at nothing to obtain a TAISHI-Level license. In a sense, he is a teacher for Kanipan.
(Japanese) Professor Pepperoni's Interface Robot, made of junk.
(Japanese) The vice president of Milk's father's company, Elec Company. Due to the trauma that he received from his childhood tutor robot, he has an extreme hatred of robots, and is the ringleader of the runaway robot incident that occurred in Monshiro Town. He tries to wipe out the robots' , but he commits the crime with conviction and has no awareness of his wrongdoing. In the second season, after escaping into space, he discovers the Professor Taishi robot by chance and uses it to execute the Sage's Program, and by abusing the program, he tries to create a human-only planet without robots. However, his plan fails when the new planet is destroyed by Kanipan. He eventually finds a way out in space and leaves Planet Sharaku behind. Hiroki Takahashi also narrates the story and the preview for the next episode, and after Namul appears, the previews are sometimes told from his perspective.
(Japanese) A female secretary working for Namul. At the beginning, she is a quiet person who does not really stand out, but from the middle of the story onward, she has a much higher presence. She is a cosplay enthusiast.
(Japanese) A B-Level inventor. Under someone's orders, he attaches a runaway chip to a robot and causes a commotion. He laments that his salary has not increased, and is arrested for causing an undersea tunnel work robot to go out of control.
(Japanese) The president of the major robot manufacturer Elec Company and Milk's father, who dotes on his daughter terribly.
(Japanese) A classmate of Kanipan and Milk. He makes a cameo appearance during the crowd evacuation in episode 15 of the second season.
(Japanese) A classmate of Kanipan and Milk. He is a boy who wears glasses, and his catchphrase is "According to my data..." He makes a cameo appearance during the crowd evacuation in episode 15 of the second season.
(Japanese) A classmate of Kanipan and Milk. She calls Kanipan and Kid by name. Her family runs a bakery and has a robot named Focaccia. She makes a cameo appearance during the crowd evacuation in episode 15 of the second season.
(Japanese)