Mega Man is no stranger to the medium of animation, having starred in multiple cartoon and anime series throughout the decades. Now, fans of the Blue Bomber have uncovered documents that shine new light on the earliest days of Mega Man’s TV history.
Many longtime fans will be familiar with the 1990s Mega Man cartoon from Ruby-Spears Productions and Ashi Productions. Debuting in 1994, the Japanese/American collaboration was the first time Capcom’s super fighting robot appeared in his own TV series. It turns out, though, that it wasn’t the first one planned, according to newly-discovered development cels from an earlier anime project.
As shared by Rockman Corner, these illustrations show off Mega Man, Dr. Wily, and other series regulars while highlighting a more typical Japanese style. While it was originally assumed that these were from an early version of the Ruby-Spears cartoon, it was confirmed by animation director and character designer Nobuyoshi Habara that these are actually from a 1992 anime project by Ashi Productions that ended up being canceled early in development. What’s more, he added that he had personally drawn two of the cels.
Unfortunately, it looks like the cels are all that were ever produced for the project before its cancelation, so fans shouldn’t expect to see actual animation for it turn up someday. Still, it’s a neat glimpse at Mega Man’s past, not to mention another interesting footnote in the long history of cancelled Mega Man projects.
Looking to the future, there are no new Mega Man TV shows planned to come out, but given the amount of characters and lore to work with, there’s always potential for a new series of some sort to show up eventually.
Source: Rockman Corner