Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic

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Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic
Tenko and the GOTM logo.jpg
Also known asSaban's Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic
Developed by Roger Slifer
Voices of Cree Summer
Webster King
Thomas Lee
Robbie Matthews
Michele Alberts
Sofia Coleman
Derek Patrick
Gloria Bell
Michael Sorich
Pearl Sutton
Theme music composer Shuki Levy
ComposerMichel Dax
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producersJoel Andryc
Eric S. Rollman
ProducerBeth Gunn
Production company Saban Entertainment
Original release
Network Syndication
ReleaseSeptember 11, 1995 (1995-09-11) 
1996 (1996)

Saban's Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic is an American animated television series that was produced by Saban Entertainment. It centers on the fictional adventures of Japanese real-life magician Princess Tenko, Mariko Itakura. [1] After each episode, she would appear in a live-action segment to perform an illusion or do her "Teach-A-Trick," a segment that teaches the audience a simple magic trick they could perform at home. The show failed to attract an audience and production was cancelled after a single season. [2]

Contents

Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide, which also includes Saban Entertainment. [3] [4] [5]

Plot

A young female magician, already an experienced performer, is chosen by an old man named Tenko to come to his school for magicians and learn real magic. At the school, the young magician befriends a number of other magicians already attending the school and learning magic from Tenko. The new magician begins her training and quickly becomes the best magician at the school.

Impressed by her abilities, the master names the young magician "Princess Tenko" in recognition as his successor as the next Tenko and the Master Guardian of the Tenko Box, a magical wardrobe that contains many magic gems known as the Starfire Gems. Two of the most senior students, the twins Jana and Jason watch on. Jana become jealous of the newcomer when she is chosen to become Tenko's successor and conspires for rebellion. Jason tries to talk some sense stating that unlike Jana who had slacked off during training, Mariko is more responsible and therefore Tenko could trust her. She convinces him to help her and succeed at stealing two of the Starfire Gems for their own use.

When Jana and Jason are discovered, Master Tenko is overcome by their magic. In the scuffle, the Tenko Box is damaged, and the remaining Starfire gems are scattered all over the world and some through time. The twins escape as the new Tenko arrives in an attempt to stop them. Pleased with the young magician's abilities, Master Tenko entrusts Princess Tenko and his remaining students with Starfire Gems he had hidden away and the duty of recovering and protecting the other Starfire Gems from the forces of evil.

Characters

The main protagonists of the series from left to right: Bolt, Steel, Tenko, and Hawk. Tenkogaurdians.jpg
The main protagonists of the series from left to right: Bolt, Steel, Tenko, and Hawk.

Starfire gems and abilities

Note: Jason and Jana can transform into a two-headed dragon by touching their Starfire Gems together.

Episodes

No.TitleWritten byOriginal air date
1"Let The Magic Begin!" Roger Slifer 11 September 1995 (1995-09-11)
Tenko saves a child from a burning building and for her bravery is selected by Hikita Tenko to become one of the Guardians of the Magic and his successor. Angered that she wasn't chosen, Jana coerces Jason into helping her steal the Starfire Gems, which Hikita hurls through time to keep them safe.
2"Through the City Darkly" Marv Wolfman 18 September 1995 (1995-09-18)
A thug has found a Starfire Gem, but his bag gets mixed up with Ali's, and Jana and Jason come after her to get it. The twins and the Guardians both appeal to Ali to let them help her, and she realizes the Guardians are the ones who really want to help. Ali becomes Tenko's apprentice.
3"Diamond in the Rough" Rich Fogel & Mark Seidenberg25 September 1995 (1995-09-25)
A big game hunter finds a Starfire Gem, and in exchange for it Jana promises to give him the chance to hunt a snow leopard; in particular, Tenko's snow leopard, Ninjara. The Guardians travel to Africa to try to bargain for the gem, and Bolt and Hawk get stuck at customs for the entire show. The hunter's son tells Tenko and Steel what's going on, and after a battle with Jana and Jason the hunter realizes that his son matters more to him than hunting, and gives the gem to Tenko. With the help of the diamond Gem, Ninjara breaks out of her captivity and saves Jason from a raging fire, and the Gem is put into the box for safekeeping.
4"Strong Medicine, Strong Magic"Sean Catherine Derek2 October 1995 (1995-10-02)
Jana poisons Tenko's horse, Pearl-Rider, with a poisoned apple, and seeking a cure Hawk takes her to his tribe's reservation in search of his grandfather the medicine man. Jana and Jason have captured him, but Tenko and Hawk save him and teleport back to the mansion in time to save Pearl-Rider.
5"The Stone of Destiny" George Arthur Bloom 9 October 1995 (1995-10-09)
Professor Doole, a teacher of Steel's, is buried in rock when excavating the tomb of King Hepsut, a pharaoh who owned the Star of Destiny (the dialogue calls it the Star, not Stone), which allowed him to see across time and space. Figuring it's another Starfire Gem, the Guardians and Jana and Jason descend on the tomb. Surviving traps and undead mummy guards, the Guardians get the Star of Destiny, but Jason kidnaps Ali, and Tenko is forced to trade them the gem for Ali's safety. The twins use it to the see what the future holds, and see Tenko's wedding. Jana snatches it away before Jason can see who the groom is, but he has a long brown ponytail, like Jason....
6"Trust and Betrayal" Douglas Booth 16 October 1995 (1995-10-16)
Jana and Jason find another Starfire Gem, but its energy is unstable and Jason is placed in a coma when he touches it. Jana goes to the Guardians for help saving her brother, and he's put inside the Tenko Box to be healed. Jana then reveals her other face and locks up the Guardians, but Ninjara and Kiddles the monkey manage to get the keys and free the Guardians. Tenko enters the box and brings out Jason who almost reforms, but Jana forces him to join her again and the twins are fought off.
7"Night of the Dolphin"Sean Catherine Derek23 October 1995 (1995-10-23)
Tenko is performing at an aquatic theme park, and meets two of the occupants, a dolphin named Delphy and a young orca named Kaylu who's been kidnapped from his pod. Jana and Jason conspire with the greedy owner of the park to ambush Tenko. During the attack most of the park's occupants are freed into the ocean, ruining the corrupt owner, and Tenko with them. Delphy leads her to a grotto where she finds the sapphire Starfire Gem and learns that Delphy is the dolphin it controls.
8"The Big Story"Rich Fogel & Mark Seidenberg6 November 1995 (1995-11-06)
Bolt falls for Stacy Roberts, a reporter for a show called The Big Story, but Jason hypnotizes her into leading Bolt into a trap so they can steal his Starfire Gem. They also steal the Tenko Box and use it to summon a chimera, but the Guardians manage to drive it away, and Stacy's news camera breaks, so she doesn't get an exclusive of the battle.
9"Troubled Waters"Stewart St. John13 September 1995 (1995-09-13)
Tad Donovan, an old friend of Bolt's, is working with a scientist in a plan to bomb a California fault line to prevent The Big One. Tenko senses another Starfire Gem in the vicinity so the Guardians find it while Jana and Jason try to take advantage of the bombs, because in truth they'll cause a devastating earthquake rather than prevent them. Tenko keeps the bombs from going off just in time.
10"Will the Real Tenko Please Stand Up?"TBATBA
A prince sends his advisors to hire Tenko to perform for him, and he promises to give her a Starfire Gem he owns. Hearing this, Jana pretends to be Tenko and the prince decides to have them compete against each other. When Jana destroys things and Tenko saves the spectators, the prince realizes she really deserves the gem and gives it to the real Tenko.
11"The Forest Emerald"TBATBA
Tenko has a dream about being chased into a cave by a villain, and Hikita's spirit tells her to find a purple pouch. After discovering a secret passage in the mansion, they find the purple pouch, which has a map to the resting place of the emerald Starfire Gem. While Bolt, Steel and Ali lead Jana and Jason on a wild goose chase, Tenko and Hawk travel to a rain forest to look for the emerald. The map is stolen by an evil developer named Vell, and he finds the emerald first. Tenko manages to shatter it, but Vell steals half of the part which gives it its magic and escapes.
12"The Magic Skates"TBATBA
Ali is tired of training as Tenko's apprentice and not being considered responsible enough to do advanced magic. She returns home and meets with an old friend who convinces her to buy a pair of skates. Little does Ali know, now that she has left Tenko's protection, Jana and Jason will do anything to get her skates, which each have half of the morganite Starfire gem. After proving herself to be responsible and capable of using the magic she has learned, Tenko presents Ali with the morganite gem and deems her worthy of becoming a Guardian.
13"Cry Havoc"Brooks WachtelTBA
Vell joins forces with Jana to steal Tenko's piece of the emerald Starfire Gem, and takes it from her after trapping her in a volcano. Tenko follows them to the ruins of Atlantis, where Vell betrays Jana and uses her life-energy and the emerald to try to free an ancient demon. Jana combines her power with Tenko's to seal the demon away, but doesn't know when to stop and tries to take the emerald even when the cave starts to collapse, burying her. As Jason arrives at the mouth of the cave, an eerie green glow is seen coming from within.

Home media

The first six episodes are available on 3 DVDs in the United Kingdom, released by Boulevard Entertainment.[ citation needed ]

Toy line tie-in

A line of Tenko toys was produced by Mattel. The dolls were slightly altered designs from the cancelled Wonder Woman and the Star Riders toy line in development during 1992–1993. Some character designs for the Tenko cartoon were based on the Star Riders character designs.

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