Line #11 Anime/HeatGuyJ


1	[[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heatguyjposter.PNG]]
2
3	->''"Good luck...Heat Guy."''
4
5	The 2002 sci-fi anime series ''Heat Guy J''--created by Kazuki Akane of ''[[Anime/VisionOfEscaflowne Escaflowne]]'' fame--could be described as a crime-drama anime... in much the same way that ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'' could be described as a crime-drama anime.
6
7	Daisuke Aurora, a laid-back Special Services officer, solves crimes and tries to catch the most dangerous criminals that do their dirty deeds in the city of Judoh. Aiding Daisuke is his powerful android partner J, nicknamed "Heat Guy" because of the need to vent superheated air from his body after periods of action. The show's supporting cast includes Clair Leonelli, AxCrazy villain and boss ("Vampire") of the Leonelli crime family; Ken Edmundo, a perpetually irritated crime scene investigator; Kyoko Milchan; the accountant for the Special Services Division who briefs Daisuke on his cases, and Boma, a mysterious swordsman searching for someone called "Usagi".
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9	The 26-episode series, which was produced by Satelight, was licensed in the United States by Creator/{{Geneon}}, in the United Kingdom by Creator/MangaEntertainment, and in Australia and New Zealand by Creator/MadmanEntertainment. It remains infamous for how much Geneon paid to license it--just as much as Creator/FUNimation paid for ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003''--and the resulting low sales in the US.
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12
13	!! ''Heat Guy J'' includes the following tropes:
14
15	* AbusiveParents: Clair's father, the previous Vampire. [[DysfunctionJunction Many other characters come from broken homes/dysfunctional families, too.]]
16	%%* AdjectiveNounFred
17	* AfterTheEnd: A very subtle example, but the reason the world is divided into seven cities is because war (using the Celestials' technology) nearly drove humanity to extinction.
18	* AnachronismStew: In this high-tech world, Daisuke still has a TV with rabbit ears and knobs, and Clair has a rotary phone.
19	* AbnormalAmmo: Red Caps - exploding bullets. Also the bullets (effectively miniature cluster bombs) fired by Luka's illegal pistol, which are capable of [[spoiler:blasting J apart so that only his head remains intact]].
20	** Blue Caps essentially KO targets with electric shocks.
21	* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Judoh's sewer system is this. It's big enough that [[spoiler: there's a fairly large town inside it.]]
22	* ActionGirl:[[spoiler:When Kyoko takes it upon herself to rescue Daisuke from Clair.]]
23	* AIIsACrapshoot: Androids (except J, of course) are outlawed in Judoh, on the grounds that they can be used for evil purposes. Many people fear and/or dislike them.
24	* {{Alternate Calendar}}/{{Hit So Hard The Calendar Felt It}}: The year is JD 402. Given the AfterTheEnd setting, it's pretty safe to guess how the calendar was set.
25	* AmmunitionConservation: Daisuke's department regularly only supplies him with 4 bullets per mission, forcing him to be fastidious with ammunition. Luckily, Daisuke is an excellent shot.
26	%%* ArcWords: [[spoiler:''Where is my Usagi?'']] and [[spoiler:''You piss me off.'']]
27	%%* ArmchairMilitary: The other Mafia leaders.
28	* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: No, you ''cannot'' care for a comatose patient in a shabby, substandard, filthy apartment with nothing but a bare mattress, and moving him to a spare bedroom in somebody's house isn't going to help, either. Even if it's "only" an AngstComa. Somewhat justified in that it wasn't exactly like Giovanni could actually get Clair to a real hospital.
29	%%* AxCrazy: Clair Leonelli. ''"Fireworks!"''
30	%%* BadassAdorable: Daisuke, Kyoko, Clair, Boma...just, generally, a lot of the characters are badass and cute.
31	%%* BadassLongcoat: J, Ken Edmundo, and Mishia.
32	* BadassNormal: Daisuke can survive a fight with an android, [[TranquilFury singlehandedly beat up]] a gang of men exploiting women, and [[spoiler: even match Boma in a swordfight for a while]]. Clair Leonelli, though merely for the fact that he fears nothing - he lacks Daisuke's extraordinary physical prowess. Giobanni Gallo is this for [[spoiler:walking into the Vita headquarters and shooting Noriega in front of a room full of Leonelli Family mobsters. With one arm in a cast]].
33	** Hell, just about anyone who isn't an android or a {{Transhuman}} like Boma is this.
34	* BaldOfEvil: Luka.
35	* BareFistedMonk: J has no special weapons built into his body. His means of fighting is dead simple: punch the enemy's lights out. Given his awesome android strength, endurance, and precision, this actually suffices most of the time.
36	%%* BlackKnight: Boma.
37	%%* BornLucky: Boma [[spoiler:during Vita Company's game of RussianRoulette]].
38	%%* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler: Boma, though not under anyone's control. He gets crazier and crazier until Daisuke and J wake him up.]]
39	%%* BrattyHalfPint: Monica.
40	%%* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler: Daisuke & Shun]].
41	* ''CatchPhrase'', J has rather likes his 'A Man...' remarks, mostly ironic since J himself is a android.
42	** A Man should not show signs of pain in front of the enemy
43	** A Man's appearance is a very personal choice
44	** A Man must fight for his good and true friend
45	** A Man only exists to bring the future into being
46	** When a man looks up to the sky there is an expectation of hope
47	** If a man has good intentions, he should not expect thanks.
48	*** It's not really that ironic. This is how J ''learns'' civilized behavior. Each of these adages represents an aspect he's learned to emulate or otherwise respect.
49	* ChekhovsGun: Daisuke's silver-bullet pendant. [[spoiler: It turns out to be not only a memento of his late father, but a flash drive containing all sorts of dirt on Echigo.]]
50	* CloudCuckoolander: Several of the characters could fall into this category, though Boma is probably the most prominent.
51	* ContemplateOurNavels: Daisuke when he's lying around on the sofa pondering about what's ''really'' going on; Shogun (pretty much every single thing he says is this); Clair, [[spoiler: especially as Giovanni gets ready to assassinate Shun]] and don't even get started on Boma.
52	* CoolBike: Daisuke's motorbike not only ''looks'' awesome, but can transform into a jetski. It can also reconfigure so J can drive it, letting it run even faster then human reflexes allow.
53	%%* CoolOldGuy: Shogun.
54	* CoolShades: Daisuke's shades aren't just for show; they function as StatOVision as well.
55	* CursedWithAwesome: [[spoiler:In prison, Boma's real face was replaced with that of a wolf.]] Sure, it's a horrific punishment, but [[spoiler:''he has a goddamn wolf's head!'']]
56	* DayOfTheJackboot: [[spoiler:The Liberation Army's coup in the last few episodes, backed by Shun.]]
57	* DeathByChildbirth: This was the fate of Clair's mother, according to Lorenzo. Antonia also grew up without a mother, which suggests that this trope may have been involved, but we don't get enough information to say for sure.
58	%%* DebutQueue
59	%%* TheDeterminator: Giobanni Gallo, when [[spoiler:he is helping Clair to escape]].
60	* DysfunctionJunction: From what we see, Kyoko may be the only major character who actually has a healthy, functioning family.
61	* EasilyForgiven: At the end, [[spoiler: Shun is still working for the city. And after having the president shot, too! Clair is also free, but goes through some serious trauma like his only friends dying for him, so, it evens out? I guess? ]]
62	* EvilLaugh: Clair has one of these. Noriega gets to do this just before [[spoiler: he gets shot to pieces.]]
63	* {{Expy}}: It's easy to see J as one for K, the protagonist of ''Series/RobotDetective''.
64	** Clair looks very similar to Music/{{Miyavi}} from around the same time the series aired.
65	** Much of the staff came from ''Anime/VisionOfEscaflowne'' and they didn't get too creative coming up with new characters. Among the more obvious:
66	*** Daisuke, the height challenged hero, might as well be Van Fanel.
67	*** Shun is a dead ringer for bishonen Allen Schezar although he also shares many plot similarities with Folken.
68	*** AxCrazy Clair Leonelli ''is'' Dilandau. Complete with Dragonslayers.
69	*** Ken Edmundo, since it looks like Dryden lost his glasses.
70	* FakeMemories: [[spoiler:Boma never had a sister called Usagi. Usagi was his best friend's long-dead little sister, but Boma subconsciously altered his own memory of her when the Beast Master attempted to brainwash him in prison.]]
71	%%* {{Fangirl}}s: The three girls always hanging around Daisuke.
72	* FanDisservice: At one point in the series, [[spoiler:when Clair hides out in the slums, a couple of guys approach him and start stripping off his shirt (ostensibly because it's valuable, but [[InnocentInnuendo that's probably not the impression most fans got]]). It's more heartbreaking than anything else, considering Clair just sits there and ''takes'' it.]]
73	* FanService: Several relatively subtle examples exist: there's the generally {{Stripperific}} outfits certain characters wear, the outfit Kyoko wears when she goes to rescue Daisuke, which is much skimpier than her usual fare, the low necklines worn by well-night ''every single woman'' in the series even if their clothes are otherwise relatively modest, a shot of Antonia sunbathing--as well as at least a couple scenes of Daisuke without his shirt on (one scene shows that he sleeps in nothing but his boxer shorts), and pretty much everything about Boma.
74	* FateWorseThanDeath: Boma's city state has no death penalty. Criminals serving life sentences are instead genetically and surgically altered so they have the bodies of humans and the heads of animals. They are also subjected to brainwashing and other forms of torture. This is done with the logic that they will come to regret the things they did that caused this punishment.
75	* FauxActionGirl: [[spoiler: Phia]] is supposed to be Shogun's assassin yet is never shown actually fighting on screen.
76	* FightingFromTheInside: [[spoiler:J desperately resists when Shun uses the override code to force him to try to kill Giovanni and Daisuke.]]
77	* {{Filler}}: Filler episodes abound, mostly for character development; a lot of fans were turned off by the fact that the plot took so long to finally come together. Thankfully, however, the fillers are not too horrible to watch,they were just not very relevant to the central plot or central characters. And even more thankfully, the plot eventually does tie together, even using small details from the filler episodes.
78	* FingerInTheMail: [[spoiler: A CorruptPolitician kills [[EliteMook Ian]] when the latter was caught spying. The guy then cuts off Ian's hand and sends it to Ian's boss (and friend), who then declares war on the senator.]]
79	%%* GainaxEnding
80	%%* GenderBlenderName: Clair.
81	* GoodColoursEvilColours: Similar to the "good hat bad hat" dichotomy of Westerns, Daisuke (the good guy) wears white pants and has blond hair, while Clair (the bad guy) wears black pants and has black hair. [[spoiler: This only goes so far in the series, however.]]
82	* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Particularly in the manga, but even in the anime. Smoking has been illegalized in Judoh, so unsurprisingly, many (though not all) of the bad guys are seen to smoke. These include various {{Mooks}}, Clair's sexy scientist girlfriend Trinity in the manga, and even [[spoiler: Shun]] can be briefly seen a time or two with a cigarette.
83	* GondorCallsForAid: [[spoiler: During the battle of Kabuki Road, '''every major figure from the entire series''' shows up to bail out the mob.]]
84	* GoryDiscretionShot: [[spoiler: Ian is murdered and his severed hand with his Phi Beta Kappa ring on it is sent back to Clair. All we see is the look of horror on Clair and his bodyguards when they open the box.]]
85	%%* GossipyHens: Dice's frequent contacts Cynthia, Janis, and Vivian.
86	%%* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Clair Leonelli, Giobanni Gallo and Boma.]]
87	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Michal and Ian both give their lives so that Clair can escape from his own mob (which has been taken over by Noriega)]], leaving Clair with their personal trinkets.
88	* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: Clair has one of these when he temporarily loses control of Vita Company to Noriega.]] Subverted when Clair tries to force one on Daisuke with help from a drug. [[spoiler: Turns out Daisuke's personality doesn't tend toward angst, leaving him with not enough regrets to go catatonic. He recovers from the drug sooner than Clair expects.]]
89	* HyperspaceArsenal: Boma seems to draw his sword from {{Hammerspace}}, accompanied by some cool lightning effects. We never see him put it away after use.
90	* IMinoredInTropology:
91	-->'''Daisuke:''' (to Kyoko) I can't believe I'm taking advice from a ''literature'' major.
92	* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Shun]].
93	** Kia's abusive {{Jerkass}} of a father faces no punishment for the way he treated Kia or his mother, although [[FridgeBrilliance this may be the point]], as real-world celebrities rarely get held accountable for the things they do no matter how bad they are.
94	%%* KickTheDog: Clair does this. A lot. [[spoiler: Shin too, toward the end]]
95	%%* MadBomber: Clair. Also, another guy, who appears in one episode.
96	%%* TheMafia: Vita Company/The Leonelli Family.
97	* ManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Noriega was set up as the BigBad fairly early on, but is later revealed to be working for the Shop Echigo, who is ''then'' revealed to be Shun Aurora, the real Serge Echigo having been dead for years prior.]]
98	* MindRape: [[spoiler: Someone from the Magnagalia Prison comes after Boma to brainwash him and take him back.]]
99	* MoodWhiplash: Not as extreme as in some cases, but comes up every so often because of the contrast between the show's idealistic and hopeful outlook on life and its grim subject matter.
100	* OldMaster: Shogun is [[spoiler:an ex mob boss]] and [[spoiler:managed to vanish into thin air when Shun tried to shoot him]]. Mauro is this, being an expert marksman.
101	* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Teto. This cute robot kid is programmed to ask "Is this alright?" when following orders, but it sounds creepy. (Just ask Clair!) Teto's singing also causes flashbacks, and he [[spoiler: takes a security guard's ''face'' in a quest to destroy J!]]
102	* NuclearWeaponsTaboo: It's unknown what the Celestials' power source is, but it sounds an awful lot like nuclear power the way it's described.
103	%%* OneLetterName: J.
104	* OnTheNextEpisodeOfCatchphrase:
105	-->'''Daisuke:''' See ya later, J.
106	%%* PinPullingTeeth: Done habitually by Clair Leonelli.
107	* PosthumousCharacter: [[spoiler:Serge Echigo had been dead for years before the series began, having been replaced as the Shop Echigo by Shun Aurora.]]
108	* RedBaron: Vampire refers, here, not to undead bloodsucking creatures, but to the leader of the Mafia in Judoh.
109	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: the government head who reforms the SU
110	** Shun, as well. [[spoiler: He's the BigBad]]
111	* RedOniBlueOni: Daisuke (red), J (blue). Ken Edmundo is also the red to Daisuke's blue.
112	** There's also Red Oni Clair (determined, ambitious, and volatile to the point of being dangerously unhinged) and Blue Oni Daisuke (calm, easygoing, and laid back to the point of seeming lazy)
113	%%* RiseToTheChallenge
114	* RockBeatsLaser: At one point, Daisuke uses a flashlight to blind several goons wearing night-vision goggles.
115	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: [[spoiler:Shun is granted amnesty, despite trying to take over Judoh and all that. They said it was because of all the good things he did for the city-state.]]
116	* SewerGator: As Daisuke and J look for Daisuke's bullet pendant in the {{Absurdly Spacious Sewer}}s of [[CityOfEverywhere Judoh]] in the "Circulation" episode, an alligator briefly surfaces near the boat that they are travelling in.
117	* ShutUpHannibal: When Clair starts on a HumansAreBastards rant while holding a Celestial hostage, Daisuke {{lampshades}} Clair's real reason for his cynical views about the people of Judoh and the Celestials -- [[WellDoneSonGuy living in his late father's shadow within the Leonelli crime family]]. This earns Daisuke 3 gunshots. [[spoiler: Good thing [[CrazyPrepared he was wearing a bullet-proof vest!]]]]
118	* SinsOfOurFathers: The source of much of the bitterness between Daisuke and Clair. [[spoiler: Clair's father killed Daisuke's father on orders from Daisuke's evil uncle Echigo.]]
119	** Also a source of the bitterness between Kia and his half-brother Ray.
120	** In fact, this seems to be a recurring theme in the series...
121	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Very idealistic...
122	* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVsSeriousness: ...but also takes itself very seriously, with most comic relief being just that--relief from the more grim subjects it brings up
123	* SpaceAmish: The Siberbians, who live quite contentedly outside of Judoh in a self-sufficient community without any of Judoh's modern (or post-modern) conveniences.
124	** On the other hand, they can be seriously anti-social jerkasses that would make Ayn Rand roll her eyes. In Siberbia, self-sufficient ''means'' self-sufficient -- if you need a hand to carry a heavy load, or not fall off a cliff to your death, you're seen as weak. They have a FreudianExcuse[[note]]trauma from the Celestials shutting down the city their ancestors came from, and from having to deal with survivalist wannabes begging for help at all hours[[/note]], and they've developed IWasJustPassingThrough into an art form.
125	%%* {{Stripperiffic}}: Daisuke's fangirl trio.
126	%%* SuperiorSpecies: [[spoiler:The Celestials.]]
127	* SuperPrototype: [[spoiler: Averted. J is forced to fight an identical prototype of himself. He is, however, both stronger and equipped with a better AI.]]
128	%%* TheSyndicate: Shop Echigo. The Leonelli Family is this, too.
129	%%* TakeThat: "Typical government office response."
130	* TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler: Claire, in the final three episodes, after "waking up" from his [[AngstComa depressed stupor]].]]
131	* {{Tsundere}}: Cynthia, Janis, and Vivian (Daisuke's fangirls). But most prominently, Kyoko, especially in the manga, towards Daisuke and vice versa. After Kyoko tries to rescue Daisuke, the two [[DefrostingIceQueen start to defrost]] to the point they don't snip at each other, and in the end, Kyoko tells Daisuke [[spoiler:that he'd better come back if he's serious about her; she'll only wait so long.]]
132	* TraumaCongaLine: Happens to Clair midway through the series, where he has to deal with [[spoiler: being framed for an assassination attempt which he did not commit, having Ian ''die'' trying to clear his name, discovering that Mauro sold Company Vita to Noriega to protect him, having Mitchal sacrifice his life to save him, having to go into hiding in the slums where Giovanni used to live and be around people he'd been raised to believe were disposable garbage, and ''then'' we learn that people are after his left eye because his bank safe opens via a retina scanning device.]] No wonder the poor kid spends so many of the ensuing episodes in an AngstComa!
133	* UsedToBeASweetKid: Both Clair and [[spoiler: Shun]] are portrayed as way more innocent in flashbacks than they are in the series proper. [[spoiler: Shun is a special case, since he got the way he is in the series owing to trauma he suffered by protecting Daisuke from the explosion that killed their father.]]
134	* WireDilemma: Subverted in episode 3; Bomb. [[spoiler: Daisuke finds a bomb, opens the panel, and finds two wires. He cuts the red wire first, which cuts the timer down from 13 minutes, to one. He then cuts the other wire, which turns it to 13 seconds. J shows up and saves the day.]]
135	* AWizardDidIt: Every so often, strange folk called the Celestials [[spoiler:visit Judoh and magic away the pollution]].
136	* TheWorfBarrage: The Red Cap bullets. They're very impressive, but only significantly lead to the defeat of an enemy twice, and the second time is arguable.
137	%%* {{Yakuza}}: Shop Echigo.
138	* YoungerThanTheyLook: J.
139	** In part because J is a android and in part because Antonia Bellucci gave J the appearance of her deceased father.
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142	'''A real man has a duty to edit a trope list.'''

Context Anime / HeatGuyJ