History YMMV / ChargemanKen

** 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 dub]] 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]]

-->Infamous among anime fans in Japan, this 1974 series by Knack Productions is known for its nonsensical plots, absurdly incompetent animation, and brutal 10-year-old hero. See young Ken Izumi gun down wave after wave of ineffectual aliens, while dealing with misaligned animation cels, repetitive music, and a near total lack of sound effects. The best joke is that none of this was meant as a joke.

* FountainOfMemes: The entire damn series. The number of videos uploaded to Website/NicoNicoDouga and Website/YouTube (although most if not all of the YT videos are re-uploads of the fansubs for accessibility) and fanart devoted to the series just keeps increasing. For the more traditional meaning of meme, many lines have mutated in Japan. Here are some examples:
** How dare you sell such a schizo record!" (よくもあんなキチガイレコードを!)
** Europe is our TARGET!
** "Dr. Volga, forgive me!" (from the most popular episode, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsoaHMOp5uM "Dynamite in the Brain".]])
** 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.
** 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 dub]] 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]]
** [[https://youtu.be/W2zxWiGCHx4?t=1m8s WEIIII!!!]]

* MemeticMutation: The entire damn series. The number of videos uploaded to Website/NicoNicoDouga and Website/YouTube (although most if not all of the YT videos are re-uploads of the fansubs for accessibility) and fanart devoted to the series just keeps increasing. For the more traditional meaning of meme, many lines have mutated in Japan. Here are some examples:
** How dare you sell such a schizo record!" (よくもあんなキチガイレコードを!)
** Europe is our TARGET!
** "Dr. Volga, forgive me!" (from the most popular episode, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsoaHMOp5uM "Dynamite in the Brain".]])
** 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.
** 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 dub]] 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]]
** [[https://youtu.be/W2zxWiGCHx4?t=1m8s WEIIII!!!]]

* MemeticMutation: The number of videos uploaded to Website/NicoNicoDouga and Website/YouTube (although most if not all of the YT videos are re-uploads of the fansubs for accessibility) and fanart devoted to the series just keeps increasing. For the more traditional meaning of meme, many lines have mutated in Japan. Here are some examples:
** How dare you sell such a lunacy record!" (よくもあんなキチガイレコードを!)

* {{Padding}}: Prevalent throughout the series, with one of the most blatant examples being Episode 37 that begins with 36 seconds of a plane flying.

* WatchItForTheMeme: Most people have only heard of ''Chargeman Ken!'' from the infamous "Dr. Volga, forgive me!" scene.

* SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfFunny: A meta example: When Creator/DiscotekMedia licensed the show, they went all out in using its awfulness as a selling point, from pointing out all of the hilarious scenes and memes, even on the ''[=DVD=] box set'', to intentionally writing the episode descriptions in a way that lampshades just how awful everything is and pointing out their flaws.

* ValuesDissonance: The villain in Episode 23 commits suicide. This isn't so bad back then but is downright unthinkable to depict in a children's anime today, given Japan's notoriously high suicide rate.

* EarWorm: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNP2kGW1Ys4 theme song]], which is probably the best thing about the show.

* SoBadItsGood: The animation is godawful even by mid-70's standards. 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. Finally, the "hero" is a certified jackass. This show is terrible. And it's ''glorious''.

* Padding: Prevalent throughout the series, with one of the most blatant examples being Episode 37 that begins with 36 seconds of a plane flying.

* 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 paedophile.

* FountainOfMemes: The amount of videos uploaded to Website/NicoNicoDouga and Website/YouTube (although most if not all of the YT videos are re-uploads of the fansubs for accessibility) and fanart devoted to the series just keeps increasing. For the more traditional meaning of meme, many lines have mutated in Japan. Here are some examples:
** How dare you sell such a lunacy record!" (よくもあんなキチガイレコードを!)
** Europe is our TARGET!
** "Dr. Volga, forgive me!" (from the most popular episode, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsoaHMOp5uM "Dynamite in the Brain".]])
** 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.
** 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 dub]] 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]]
** [[https://youtu.be/W2zxWiGCHx4?t=1m8s WEIIII!!!]]

* OneEpisodeWonder: Hoshi and Dr. Volga are extremely popular among [=MAD=] makers, far more than the hero is. Both only appear in one episode.

* [[HeAlsoDid They Also Did]]: The show's production studio was Knack. Anyone who watched Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} in the late 1980s may remember them for ''Literature/TheLittlePrince'' anime, which was much better made.
** Despite Knack Productions being founded by some of the best animators of the era and having had notables in the anime industry working with them, quite a number of their productions (especially in the 70s-80s) are for some reason either very low quality (sometimes horrendously so) and/or [[TheMockbuster outright copycats of more-popular shows]].
* UnintentionallySympathetic: Despite being a cruel EvilOverlord, some fans actually find Maou to be a way more likeable character than Ken, if only because Ken is somewhat more one-dimensionally ruthless and thorough in his hatred of Juralians.

* ValuesDissonance: The villain in Episode 23 commits suicide. This isn't so bad back then, but is downright unthinkable to depict in a children's anime today, given Japan's notoriously high suicide rate.

* {{The Woobie}}: X-6, oh so much. [[VillainousBreakdown Suffers an emotional breakdown over a kid who saved her]]? Check. Berated and [[ATasteOfTheLash whipped]] into submission by Maou-sama and his cronies? Check. [[spoiler:Is killed for treason?]] Double check!

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUZ3KTUdf6g&t=2s Episode 47:]] [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Maou's speech to his fellow Jurals, and his talks about how Jurals are mightier than the humans.]]

* WhatAnIdiot: Maou is notorious for this. In Episode 47, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui-jNE5ZKCg&t=1m3s a Jural comes up to him,]] wanting to talk with Maou regarding Chargeman Ken.
** '''You'd Expect:''' Maou, noting that Ken is ''very'' good at killing Jurals, decides to listen to one of his loyal soldiers.
** '''Instead:''' "[[MemeticMutation Never mind!]]".
** '''Then:''' The Jural reasonably explains that Ken has killed lots of their brethren and prevented them from carrying out the invasion of Earth as Maou planned. Maou ''[[TooDumbToLive says that Chargeman Ken is insignificant and]] [[SuicidalOverconfidence says that the Jural should not be concerned about him,]]'' after which Maou sends out the X-Corps to attack an airport.
** '''The Result:''' Ken defeats the Juralian spaceships and slaughters (presumably) the entire X-Corps.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: It's targeted towards children, but has blood, violence towards children (including a sister almost stabbing her brother), animal death and more than one on-screen suicide, all handled in a very juvenile way.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Hoshi and Dr. Volga are extremely popular among [MAD] makers, far more than the hero is. Both only appear in one episode.

* ItWasHisSled: In the fandom, it is pretty much well-known that [[spoiler: [[{{Bishonen}} Hoshi]] and many, many other one-shot characters are Jurals.]]

* 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.]]

* {{The Woobie}}: X-6, oh so much. [[VillainousBreakdown Suffers an emotional breakdown over a kid who saved her]]? Check. Berated and [[ATasteOfTheLash whipped]] into submission by Maou-sama and his cronies? Check. [[spoiler: Is killed for treason?]] Double check!

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui-jNE5ZKCg Episode 47:]] [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Maou's speech to his fellow Jurals, and his talks about how Jurals are mightier than the humans.]]

** '''Then:''' The Jural reasonably explains that Ken has killed lots of their brethren and prevented them from carrying out the invasion of Earth as Maou planned. Maou ''[[TooDumbToLive says that Chargeman Ken is insignificant and says that the Jural should not be concerned about him,]]'' after which Maou sends out the X-Corps to attack an airport.

** 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 dub]] of the episode has Ken respond to this by saying "This isn't [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] knife-fight Friday", suggesting that having Caron attacking Ken with a knife [[NoodleIncident is a regular thing in their household]].[[/labelnote]]

** 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 dub]] of the episode has Ken respond to this by saying "This isn't [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] knife-fight Friday, suggesting that having Caron attacking Ken with a knife [[NoodleIncident is a regular thing in their household]].[[/labelnote]]

** 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 dub]] of the episode has Ken respond to this by saying "This isn't [PrecisionFStrike fucking]] knife-fight Friday, suggesting that having Caron attacking Ken with a knife [[NoodleIncident is a regular thing in their household]].[[/labelnote]]

* SelfFanservice: Fairly common in the fandom, and not just in RuleThirtyFour. Aged up versions of Caron and Yuuichi ([[{{Lolicon}} or even their usual selves]]) are especially prominent in this respect. And then there's [[HotForTeacher Ms. Nagisa...]] Though she and other characters like Hoshi, who were meant to look good but didn't due to OffModel animation, can be considered a subversion.

* 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 [[{{Lolicon}} Shotacon]].

* OneSceneWonder: Many, many characters, up to and including, but not limited to: [[http://i.imgur.com/eLrST.png the Chinese delivery man]] in [[http://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 [[http://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 [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTTl2GhupNE Episode 10]], and [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/chargeman-ken/images/b/b5/Matsumoto.png Mr. Matsumoto]], an agricultural complex worker from [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWQV092KYlo Episode 62.]]