Anime Review: Time Patrol Bon (aka T.P. Bon)
Bon Namihira is a fairly normal (his name would translate to something like “Joe Average” in English) middle schooler. His grades are in the middle of the pack, he’s not particularly athletic but no wimp, he’s not particularly popular but does have friends. But when time starts acting weird in his neighborhood, including his best friend dying accidentally and then suddenly just being alive again, Bon is the only one to notice. He meets Ream Stream, an agent of the Time Patrol, and becomes aware that time travel is real.
The existence of time travel is supposed to be a secret in the early 21st Century, so it may be necessary to erase Bon from the timestream to protect the work of the Time Patrol. Fortunately for our protagonist, it turns out that Bon is historically significant, so can’t safely be removed from the timeline. Backup plan! He’s made a trainee Time Patrol agent so he’s invested in the preservation of their secrets.
Ream is a slightly older middle school student from America about thirty years from “now.” We get basically no information about what is going on in her time. She and Bon are joined on their missions by a “hyperdimensional creature” named Buyoyon that looks kind of like a yellow gumdrop and is capable of time travel on its own. It’s taken a liking to Ream and eventually Bon and helps out when it feels like. (We get basically no information on what Buyoyon is or its background, though it’s implied to be one of a kind.)
Ream and Bon are in the Time Patrol’s Rescue division, saving people who would otherwise have died. The big catch is that they can’t save anyone whose death is historically significant. (No, you’re not allowed to keep Marie Antoinette from the guillotine, or conversely just kill Adolf Hitler to save everyone the grief he caused.) This is a frequent cause of heartache and friction, as several of their missions are to save only one person from a battle or disaster that killed hundreds or thousands of people.
Bon’s a bit lazy and makes some rookie mistakes; Ream’s wiser but is still a teenager so makes some goofs of her own. This adds a little comedy or drama to their missions.
Halfway through the series, Ream is transferred to the Anomaly Research division (there’s also a Time Police division that deals with time-traveling criminals) and Bon becomes a full-fledged agent. He promptly botches a mission and has to recruit his classmate Yumiko Yasukawa as a new trainee.
This anime series is an adaptation of a manga by Fujiko Fujio (best known for Doraemon) that ran from 1978-1986. It’s been slightly updated for the 21st Century. In the “current day” sequences there’s modern technology, but it’s never relevant to the plot, unlike the still SFnal Time Patrol gadgets. Also, despite Ream and Yumiko’s very short skirts, there are never any panty shots as there would have been in the original manga, though the anime doesn’t otherwise shy away from culturally appropriate nudity. Some new historical information may have been added where new knowledge has been discovered.
Mainly, this series is a way to teach middle schoolers history factoids in an entertaining way. Because of where it was written, there’s more of a focus on Japanese history than if it were an American series, but a wide range of subjects is covered, from Ancient Egyptian pyramids to Wild West shootouts. It doesn’t shy away from heavy subjects like World War Two (though the “elderly neighbor who remembers the War” element is just barely possible now) or antisemitism.
The stories vary in quality: some lean too heavily on Bon being a goofball, but others are very affecting. I teared up a couple of times. The art and character designs are “cartoony” and somewhat old-fashioned; they work fine once you’re used to them.
Content note: A lot of violence and death, often gory. This includes the death of children and animals. War, murder and suicide. Culturally appropriate nudity (no genitals.) Racism, sexism, ethnic prejudice. Slavery. The supernatural is default assumed not to exist, but the Time Patrol agents often pretend to be gods or spirits as part of their rescue plans. While the series is aimed at middle schoolers, sensitive viewers may struggle, and some conservative parents might want to screen episodes.
Currently, this series is only available on Netflix in North America. (There’s an English dub!) Recommended to fans of edutainment and history buffs.
