Line #13 WesternAnimation/SandokanTheTigerOfMalaysia


1	[[quoteright:307:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sandokanmondo.jpg]]
2	''Sandokan - The Tiger of Malaysia'' (''Sandokan - La Tigre della Malesia'') is a 1998 animated series produced by Italian companies Creator/{{RAI}} and Creator/MondoTV. It is based on the eponymous ''Literature/{{Sandokan}}'' novel series penned by Emilio Salgari.
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4	Sandokan is a young man living on an island of Singapur along with his mentor Macassar, who has taken care of him since he was a baby. But after the death of the old man, Sandokan receives shocking news: he is the son of the rajah of the lost kingdom of Kiltar, which was killed in an invasion by Dayak warriors. Seeking for the truth and the key to his origins, Sandokan travels to Labuan and meets the British governor James Brooke, who soon proves to know more than he says...
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6	This is the beginning of Sandokan’s adventures as a pirate leader in the search of bringing Brooke to justice and getting back his kingdom. He will be aided in this perilous task by the Portuguese adventurer Yañez (and his lizard pet Paco!), the Indian shaman Tremal-Naik, the street urchin Kammamuri and of course Brooke’s own niece Marianna, Sandokan’s love interest.
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8	The series, originally of 26 episodes, was followed in 2001 by a second season, ''Sandokan - The Tiger Roars Again'' (''Sandokan II - La tigre ruggisce ancora''), and yet a third one in 2008, ''Sandokan, The Two Tigers'' (''Sandokan III - Le due tigri'').
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10	The first season was fairly popular in Spain, even if it clashes in collective memory with another Sandokan cartoon produced by Spanish company BRB International some years before (though they are pretty easy to tell apart, as the Spanish series was a more kid-friendly cartoon whose characters were [[AnthropomorphicAnimals anthropomorphic animals]]). Both cartoons' identical opening themes are well remembered, not only for being catchy, but also for being performed by the De Angelis brothers, who reprised their theme from the 1976 TV series starring Kabir Bedi as the eponymous hero.
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12	All the episodes can be watched in English on [=YouTube=], while the series with the animals is available on Tubi.
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15	!!Tropes:
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17	* ActionGirl: Marianna is a crackshot with guns and is never shy about using them.
18	* ActionHoggingOpening: The show does have a lot of action, but some battles featured in the opening either don't happen (like the bit with Suyodhana summoning a living Kali statue) or happen differently (the sequencce where they jump on the buffalos, which in the series is done without Sandokan).
19	* {{Animesque}}: The realistic drawing style owes a lot to Japanese animation, even although the rest of the action is more clearly based on the western adventure film genre.
20	* BadassCrew: Sandokan's crew, down to their smallest member, Kammamuri.
21	* BadBoss: Brooke generally doesn't have much consideration towards his underlings, particularly Guillonk.
22	* BarefootPoverty: Sandokan starts the story wearing no footwear due to being poor.
23	* BattleCouple: Sandokan and Marianna, as well as Yáñez and Surama.
24	* BigBad: James Brooke, later with priest Suyodhana.
25	* BlowGun: Kammamuri's signature weapon is a blow gun.
26	* BoundAndGagged: Marianna in the first series' "Prisoner of the Pirates." Also, [[TheDarkChick Nimari]] and Ada in ''The Tiger Roars Again.''
27	* TheBrute: Mati for Brooke in the second season.
28	* CainAndAbel: Hindi brothers Nasumbata and Hyrundo; the former betrayed the latter to get his throne.
29	* CanonForeigner: While Reginald Guillonk's surname is taken from the character James Guillonk from the original books, the character is so different that it can be considered one completely different.
30	** Morugen, one of the main characters of ''The Two Tigers'' is not from any of the books.
31	* CompositeCharacter: As usual in ''Sandokan'' adaptations, James Brooke is Marianna's uncle in the place of lord James Guillonk.
32	* ChefOfIron: Sambigliong, who is not only a excellent cook and a wise man, but also a great fighter.
33	* CoolMask: Suyodhana is introduced wearing a golden mask, and later Brooke himself dons a sinister porcelain mask as the White Rajah.
34	* DefectingForLove: Marianna, as in every incarnation of the story.
35	* DisneyVillainDeath: Shockingly averted with Nasumbata – he falls down from a high balcony, but we are presented with a clear, rather graphic sequence of his body crashing and going limp.
36	* EverybodyWasKungFuFighting: The series's fighting scenes feature martial arts moves surprisingly well researched for this kind of cartoon, including kicks from Southeast Asian fighting styles and throws from UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} for good measure. Both good and bad guys are skilled fighters, specially Sandokan, who is implied to be a practitioner of the Malaysian art of UsefulNotes/{{Silat}} (although in a pretty acrobatic variation, of course).
37	* FacialMarkings: Tremal-Naik and the Dayaks wear facepaint.
38	* FieryRedhead: Yañez is a male example.
39	* {{Guyliner}}: WordOfGod says Sandokan wears kajal makeup. A bit of an InformedAttribute given the art style.
40	* HardHead: Mati's main trait, aside from his raw strength.
41	* HeelFaceTurn: Guillonk later in the series.
42	* HeroesPreferSwords: In Sandokan's case, a parang sword.
43	* ImprobableAimingSkills: Every character who is good with weapons demonstrates this in some occasion.
44	* LevitatingLotusPosition: The brahman they contact in Calcutta is found floating in lotus position. As it could not be otherwise, he falls down when Dharma bites him and breaks his focus. He claims to have trained for two lives so to be able to fly some day.
45	* LoyalAnimalCompanion: Yañez has Paco, a lizard, while Kammamuri has Dharma, a tigress.
46	* MagicalBarefooter: Ada remains barefoot in her ritual dress throughout the first season, although she gets shoes for the rest.
47	* MrFanservice: Pretty much every male character is well muscled and spends a lot of time (if not all the time, as with Tremal-Naik) barechested.
48	* OrphansPlotTrinket: Sandokan's lion medalion, which was given to him by Macassar.
49	* PrisonersLastMeal: In one episode, Sandokan and crew have been arrested by a local noble who sentences them to death, but nonetheless has his personal cook prepare a sumptuous last meal for them, including a huge cake. Sandokan's still-free ally visits the cook, and once the latter's back is turned, [[JailBake discreetly inserts a pair of files and a message in the cake]].
50	* TheQuietOne: Kien Koa, who unlike his partner Mati can speak but chooses not to most of the time.
51	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Lady Carradine. It's only thanks to her aid that Sandokan and company manage to take Brooke out his seat.
52	* ReligionOfEvil: The thugs.
53	* ShortTeensTallAdults: Hard to pin down due to Kammamuri's VagueAge, but it's implied he is around 13 years old around the third season, yet he is still much shorter than most adult characters.
54	* SpiritAdvisor: Macassar appears later as such.
55	* StreetUrchin: Kammamuri grew up as one before finding Tremal-Naik.
56	* TheVoiceless: Mati, who had his tongue cut out as part of his background.

Context WesternAnimation / SandokanTheTigerOfMalaysia