Ask John: What is Steel Angel Kurumi?

Question:
Can you tell me more about Steel Angel Kurumi? How may episodes does it have? Do you like it?

Answer:
Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi is a very fun little show in the vein of Saber Marionette J. The first Steel Angel Kurumi TV series consisted of 24 fifteen-minute long episodes broadcast as part of Anime Complex II in 1999-2000 and 4 more home video exclusive episodes (25-28) originally released as DVD singles. The main story ended in episode 24. The remaining 4 special episodes were epilogue fillers. Without giving away too many spoilers or secrets, the story is set in the late 1800s Japan and revolves around a helpless young boy named Nakahito who accidentally becomes the master of a super-powered but very simple-minded robot maid/battle android named Kurumi. In a slight departure from the Saber Marionette formula, the second steel angel, Saki, joins the household because she’s in love with Kurumi rather than Nakahito, and the third steel angel, Karinka, joins the pair late in the series of her own free will as Kurumi’s rival for Nakahito’s affection. The series is entirely digital animation but manages to emulate the look of traditional hand painted cel animation exceptionally well, allowing for unusually high quality animation, art and character design for a TV series, and the show does a great job of mixing slapstick, romantic comedy, sci-fi and action and a healthy dose of “fan service.” Steel Angel Kurumi is the type of show that’s almost guaranteed to appeal to fans of Cat Girl Nuku-Nuku, Tenchi Muyo, Saber Marionette and Love Hina.

A second Steel Angel Kurumi TV series titled Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi 2 Shiki premiered in Japan on April 7th, 2001. The second TV series is not a sequel to the original but an entirely new remake of the original series that transposes the action from the 1890s to the mid 21st century and replaces Nakahito with a girl protagonist.

Around the same time, the 3 episode long Steel Angel Kurumi Zero OAV series was released. “Zero” is a self-contained, alternate continuity romantic drama set sometime in the distant future. The Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi Zero OAV series is also the only series that features the fourth angel Exceria.

On April 2nd, 2002, Steel Angel Kurumi evolved again with the premier of the live action drama Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi Pure, a re-telling of the first TV series.

While none of the Steel Angel Kurumi series have their own individual Japanese websites, all of them (except the first series) can be found on the Japanese homepage of production company M.O.E. (Master of Entertainment).