Mega Man is the star, and unlike the later American counterpart, is rendered with zero muscles, the height of a bar stool and without any catchphrases to blurt out inappropriately whatsoever. This makes him much more game-accurate. To me, that feels wrong. He's your typical tranquility-lovin' robot hero who doesn't like fighting, but does it anyway for everlasting peace. Despite being made by a Japanese company, he knows jack about the country, so it's a gosh darn good thing Yuuta and family are there to help him out!

Mega Man's sister Roll, being in a Japanese kids production, has no GIRL POWER attitude, nor makes any attempt to actually help in any other way aside from moral support and being a damsel in distress, which is very progressive of the female stereotype. She gets a power suit in one episode for all of thirty seconds before it's lost in a warp, so she doesn't get to fight while still maintaining the stay-in-the-kitchen role, such as the American version's toaster cannon and lethal vacuum. Not sure if either is an improvement or not.

Dr. Light (Jim Byrnes), despite being the creator of Mega Man, doesn't show up until the second episode, where he makes a time machine only to have it stolen by the nefarious Dr. Wily. That doesn't let him down, as he keeps up a positive demeanour, making a time warp boogie board, space-venturing equipment for Rush, and some kind of metal paper fan that eliminates typhoons. He's also kind of a midget, but who isn't in the Mega Man series?

Mysterious brother to Mega Man, Proto Man was the first robot Dr. Light made, but he left before he could be finished and is one of those lone wolf kinda guys. That doesn't stop him from rushing to Mega Man's aid whenever he can, though, so it means the only thing they miss out on is the idle conversation. Nor does it prevent him from always been seen with the animal buddies. So his character cliché is kind of rendered rather craply.

Rush is Mega Man's faithful pooch, and can morph into a spring, a jet, a submarine and more, but the jet is the most used of the modes. He can talk in the first episode, but becomes silent after that, and is therefore safe from sounding like Scooby Doo.

Eddie's red, just like the games, and shows up to provide health, weaponry and other such bonuses to his lord and master. He likes to ramble, and since nobody has the right voice to shout angrily in this show, it's not like he can properly shut up.

Beat doesn't show up in the American show, and his existence isn't explained at all in this one, but what's new. He hangs out with Proto Man the few times he's seen, but doesn't really do much. He sounds hilarious, though.

I'm Yuuta Kobayashi, and I want to tell you about Japan! Japan is a very big place! Tokyo is the biggest place in Japan! People have to ride trains to and from their work and school in Japan! We also drive on the other side of the road from you other people, and we have after hours in school where students can study more without having to leave the building! We don't have ninjas in Japan, contrary to popular belief! That Wily is a silly person!

Yuuta's kind of unlikeable.

And I'm Akane Kobayashi! I'm Yuuta's younger sister, and I don't like video games, but I get along A-OK with useless girl Roll, because we share the same roles! I'm there to provide the voice of reason when everyone is too busy sounding like they've got colds, but even then I'm really just there to give the little girls in the audience someone to relate to! I can wear a kimono!

Akane's pretty wretched too.

Mrs. Kobayashi is pretty inoffensive, though; mainly because she doesn't really do anything. She seems to treat the video game world colliding with the real one in stride.

Mr. Kobayashi is about the only good new character. Half the time he takes the whole video game thing pretty well, and then the other half he's doing wild recoils and spit takes in reaction to anything mildly unusual.

Dr. Wily (Scott McNeil) is a pretty lousy mad scientist, for he hasn't really done a whole lot villainous aside from the occasional bumbling robot attack. Plus, thanks to his robots being mute, he's left with no smarmy underling to criticise his plans or point out every flaw in today's mad scheme. He doesn't like going through the Earth's atmosphere much, but he seemed less annoyed with dressing up as Santa Claus.

Guts Man isn't voiced by Garry Chalk, nor is he as thick as a plank. In fact, he only shows up in one episode, and it's only to be part of a crowd to scare away Mega Dweeb. Why he even shows up at all is beyond me, what with the whole show essentially being an advertisement for Mega Man 5, which doesn't even have Guts Man in it. Huh.

Elec Man suffers the same fate. He shows up just a little more than his fellow first instalment enemy, but doesn't achieve an awful lot aside from his mere existence giving me a little more to write about.

Gravity Man has a badass voice in the American show, but you can't have that here. He gets to beat the stuffing out of Mega Man in the intro, but doesn't do anything afterwards.

Wave Man's kinda dull. He gets a scene in the intro where he's being punched out of a waterfall.

Stone Man doesn't do jack. He's just there to advance towards Mega Man en masse, with no firing of weapons or anything, and then to get shot back until he falls down.

Gyro Man! Gyro Man! Gyro Man! Gyro Man? Gyro Man!

Gyro Man.

Star Man's kind of like the DC Comics Aqua Man of the Mega Man world. He's just one of those guys with a shield weapon, and he's easy to kill. Not that he does anything of worth here, though.

Charge Man's also one of those bosses that just seems to exist. He's something different, being a vehicle rather than element based, but he's one of those guys I can't imagine anyone having as their favourite character.

Napalm Man should rock the house, but he doesn't. He gets bog-all to do. And he only shows up in the intro of the American series. Wasted potential.

Crystal Man shoots crystal orbs. He doesn't turn whatever he touches into brittle jewellery or anything cool like that, he just shoots bouncing orbs. What a world.

Dark Man's actually vaguely interesting! See, he framed Proto Man in the game for kidnapping Dr. Light.