Line #10 YMMV/ChargemanKen


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2	%% TheWoobie entry has been cut for re-evaluation. If anyone wants this back, please use the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15391212720A38366900&page=1 Woobie Cleanup Thread]].
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4	* AccidentalInnuendo: Ken refuses Hoshi's request to see his "Charging Go" because Ken considers it unacceptable even among friends, but Hoshi tells him that it doesn't matter because he took him to where no one can see. It results in an Accidental Innuendo-induced HoYay because most Japanese audience mishear "Charging Go", "''tomodachi'' (friend)", and "''Boku zettai shaberanai yo'' (I won't talk about it to anybody)" as "''Charging Bō'' (Charging Stick)", "''homodachi'' (homosexuals)", and "''Boku zettai shaburanai yo'' (I won't suck it)" respectively.
5	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The OpeningTheme, [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=of9DiKKlBWA "Chargeman Ken"]], is a powerful song that encapsulates the heroism of the titular character.
6	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Chinese deliveryman from the 29th episode, mostly due to the fact that he literally only appears in one scene, where he shows up to deliver a CatScare to Ken and the titular model, and then question what's happening before never appearing for the rest of the episode.
7	* CanonDefilement: PlayedForLaughs[[note]] (and therefore tolerated most of the time)[[/note]]. Many fanworks make Ken a bigger bastard than he is in the actual series. Others make Hoshi go from having some HoYay with Ken to being a full-out pedophile.
8	* CrossesTheLineTwice:
9	** An unintentional example, but the portrayal of mentally ill people in the 23rd episode "Mental Hospital Terror", is so shallow, dated, and all round offensive that it loops around to being hilarious, due to first three inmates seen on screen being a man with an air-headed smile on his face laughing, a happy-looking man curled up against a wall with his arms wrapped around his legs, and an [[BreadEggsMilkSquick extremely muscular old man wearing nothing but a wrestling singlet and a bra who roars animalistically]], as well as Ken's attempt at impersonating a mentally ill person literally just being him acting and speaking sluggishly being another hilariously offensive thing as well.
10	** The Chinese delivery man from the 29th episode ''Eliminate the Fashion Model'', due to his overly stereotypical eastern Asian features, from his slanted eyes and Fu Manchu mustache, as well as his outdated outfit and broken grammar.
11	* DesignatedHero: Ken, which is part of why the show is so hilarious. He basically goes around doing horrendous and needlessly cruel things, and he gets no reprimand or punishment because it's all supposed to be in the name of justice and defending Earth from the Juralians. It's almost like he does stuff like that so often that no one is surprised by it anymore.
12	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Hoshi and Dr. Volga are extremely popular among [=MAD=] makers, far more than the hero is. Both only appear in one episode.
13	* FanNickname: The muscular man in a wrestling singlet who wears a bra from "Horror! Mental Hospital!" is named マッチョブラ (Macho Bra) by the Japanese Fandom, and he even has his own page on [[https://dic.pixiv.net/a/マッチョブラ Pixiv]]'s dictionary that refers to him as this.
14	* FridgeHorror: [[Fridge/ChargemanKen Seen here]].
15	* FriendlyFandoms:
16	** Crossovers with ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' are so common that they have their own tag on Website/NicoNicoDouga, 東方充電男[[note]](Touhou Juuden Otoko, including a BlindIdiotTranslation of Chargeman into "Electric Charge Boy")[[/note]], with nearly 600 videos.
17	** Many modern fans of ''Chargeman Ken!'' also like ''Anime/{{Astroganger}}'', which also has a reputation of SoBadItsGood because of the floppy animation and was also made by Creator/KnackProductions. Though, it is universally agreed that ''Astroganger'' has a much higher production value, and much better writing. It helps that in some parts of the world (like Syria) it's unironically enjoyed.
18	* HilariousInHindsight: The series title in that Creator/{{Capcom}} would eventually create characters named [[VideoGame/MegaMan5 Charge Man]] and [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ken]].
19	* HoYay: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2zxWiGCHx4 In the fourth episode]] Hoshi drives Ken to a secluded place, and the closest he gets to explaining why before they get there is saying that "You have admirers, Chargeman Ken"[[note]]Although the Discotek Media subtitles would later render the line as "I've always wanted to see Chargeman Ken"[[/note]]. Then he immediately starts begging a disinterested Ken to show him his "Charging Go" technique once they are alone. By the point Ken gets fed up with this and decides to leave, [[spoiler:Hoshi reveals himself to be a Jural and attacks him]]. While Hoshi is trying to find out how Ken's techniques work, the scene can easily be interpreted as Hoshi having a romantic interest in Ken and [[NotGoodWithRejection not liking the fact he got rejected]].
20	* ItWasHisSled: In the fandom, it is well-known that [[spoiler:[[{{Bishonen}} Hoshi]] and many, many other one-shot characters are Jurals.]]
21	* LostInMediasRes: The very first episode gives no explanation whatsoever for what the Juralians are, why they want to conquer the world, or where Ken got his powers.
22	* MemeticMutation: The entire damn series. The number of videos uploaded to Website/NicoNicoDouga and Website/YouTube [[note]]with [=YouTube=] uploads both covering re-uploads from Nico Nico Douga and fansubs published for accessibility[[/note]] and fan art devoted to the series just keeps increasing. For the more traditional meaning of meme, many lines have mutated in Japan. Here are some examples:
23	** How dare you sell such a schizo record?! (よくもあんなキチガイレコードを!)
24	** Europe is our TARGET!
25	** "Dr. Volga, forgive me!" (from the most popular episode, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsoaHMOp5uM "Dynamite in the Brain".]])
26	** A single phrase from Maou, "Never mind!" (気にするな) turned [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui-jNE5ZKCg Episode 47]] into the one episode Chargeman Ken fans normally think out when they hear about him.
27	** Knife Fight Friday! [[labelnote:Explanation]]Episode 45 involves a plot in which a Jural posing as Caron's piano teacher hypnotizes her into killing Ken. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3SMJ9KpjIk gag sub]] of the episode has Ken respond to this by saying "This isn't [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] knife-fight Friday", suggesting that Caron attacking Ken with a knife [[NoodleIncident is a regular thing in their household]].[[/labelnote]]
28	** [[https://youtu.be/W2zxWiGCHx4?t=1m8s WEIIII!!!]][[labelnote:Explanation]]Hoshi makes some strange noises twice in episode 4 while playing rugby; once when jumping high and once when effortlessly throwing another player aside. Both of these sounds are very commonly used in [=YTPMVs=] and Nico Nico Douga videos.[[/labelnote]]
29	** The hair. [[labelnote:Explanation]]Every so often, a hair that was caught on some of the animation cels and not cleaned off before filming will appear in some shots. This isn't exactly unheard of in cheaply-made animation in general, but it happens so frequently in this show that it became a meme. When a live action stage play was made of the show in the [=2000s=], they put a hair on the poster [[AscendedMeme as a nod to this meme]].[[/labelnote]]
30	* MemeticPsychopath: Ken himself is often exaggerated in memes and fanworks to be a much worse person than he is in the show. This is largely due to how Ken constantly guns down the Juralians in the name of justice, with nobody ever questioning if he really needs to be that brutal.
31	* NightmareFuel: Among all the NoBudget induced hilarity, every time Ken's transformation sequence is played without the ThemeMusicPowerUp is actually quite eerie with only the wind sound effects being audible (and being largely the only sound effect in the sequence).
32	* OrphanedReference: The main reason Ken is so bloodthirsty towards the Juralians is because he's an {{expy}} of Knack Production's prior protagonist, Kantaro of ''Anime/{{Astroganger}}''. Kantaro hated the Blaster alien race for killing his mother as well as repeatedly attacking earth, and swore to kill them all as revenge. His father Dr. Hoshi often told him to calm down and assured him there were good Blasters amongst the bad ones. But Ken has no such motive, not helped by the episodes being too short (5-10 minutes runtime) to explore his backstory.
33	* OneSceneWonder: Many, many characters, up to and including, but not limited to: [[http://i.imgur.com/eLrST.png the Chinese delivery man]] in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHaKbrl18Vc Episode 29]], [[http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsk9mg20a01qkhirao1_500.png the mentally disturbed, muscular man in a bra]] from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S5Xh8b7V74 Episode 23]], [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/chargeman-ken/images/6/67/Hitomi2.png Hitomi]], a girl [[spoiler:and Maou-sama's disguise]] who appears in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ymfPYM1TE Episode 10]], and [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/chargeman-ken/images/b/b5/Matsumoto.png Mr. Matsumoto]], an agricultural complex worker from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWQV092KYlo Episode 62.]]
34	* {{Padding}}: Prevalent throughout the series, with one of the most blatant examples being Episode 37 that begins with 36 seconds of a plane flying. Even more baffling due to each episodes’ 5-minute runtime and the plots needing all the time they can get.
35	* RootingForTheEmpire: Many fans root for the Juralians because Ken is such a DesignatedHero.
36	* SelfFanservice: Fairly common in the fandom, and not just in RuleThirtyFour. Aged up versions of Caron and Yuuichi ([[NoYay or even their usual selves]]) are especially prominent in this respect. Meanwhile, characters that were supposed to look good but fell short due to OffModel animation (like [[HotForTeacher Ms. Nagisa...]] and Hoshi) tend to be drawn as even more beautiful than intended.
37	* SignatureScene: Ken dropping Dr. Volga as a human bomb to destroy a Juralian spaceship.
38	* SoBadItsGood: The art and animation are godawful, even by mid-70's standards (the animators couldn't even draw a ''net'' properly, and that's just a bunch of lines!). Recording quality is bathroom level; 95% of sound effects are missing (Ken's laser gun is often the only exception). The pacing is horrendous; episodes can and do switch from too-quick to sluggish on a dime. The episodes are only five minutes long and typically fail to tell an engaging story within that amount of time, so the plots of each episode are utterly nonsensical. Finally, the [[DesignatedHero "hero"]] is a certified jackass. This show is terrible. And it's ''glorious''.
39	* UglyCute:
40	** Barican was certainly intended to be a cute character but the art and animation are so bad this is the best way to describe him.
41	** The Juralians, as there is something oddly charming about their design, and due to how unintentionally psychopathic Ken comes across, and how not all of them are shown to be evil can make them quite sympathetic. [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/chargeman-ken/images/c/ce/Oinfiodfn.png There's also a downright endearing shot of one with the killer butterflies perched all over its body]].
42	* UnintentionalUncannyValley: Close-ups of the characters' faces (especially Ken and Caron's faces) are often drawn in a very realistic style that ends up looking more creepy than anything. It's particularly noticeable with their eyes and lips.
43	* UnintentionallySympathetic:
44	** Despite being a cruel EvilOverlord, some fans actually find Maou to be a way more likable character than Ken, if only because Ken is somewhat more one-dimensionally ruthless and thorough in his hatred of Juralians.
45	** Miyuki, from Episode 20. A nice girl who actually shows concern when Ken ditches Barican to take her to the place she was going to. [[spoiler:Upon being revealed as a Jural, Miyuki simply flees. Ken chases her down and coldly shoots her in the spine.]]
46	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Ken himself. Despite being the hero of the series, his brutality and sheer ruthlessness makes it hard to cheer for him, especially considering that he'll kill Juralians who are perfectly harmless. [[spoiler:Like Miyuki as an example, who tries to run away from him instead of trying to fight him off.]]
47	* ValuesDissonance:
48	** The villain in Episode 23 commits suicide. This wasn't so bad back then, but would be downright unthinkable to depict in a children's anime today, given Japan's notoriously high suicide rate.
49	** The show's occasional and outright use of the word ''kichigai'' ("crazy", "lunatic", "loony", "crackpot") can be quite shocking for a modern Japanese audience, because the word is considered a discriminatory slur against people with intellectual disabilities. [[UsefulNotes/{{Kotobagari}} Modern networks in Japan forbid the use of this word for almost any reason]], let alone in shows aimed at children.
50	* WatchItForTheMeme: Most people have only heard of ''Chargeman Ken!'' from the infamous "Dr. Volga, forgive me!" scene. And safe to say, the entire fanbase is basically there to meme relentlessly on the series.
51	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: It's targeted towards children, but has blood, violence towards children (including a [[CainAndAbel sister almost stabbing her brother]]), animal death and more than one on-screen suicide, all handled in a very juvenile way.

Context YMMV / ChargemanKen