Out of the iconic '90s came a number of memorable kids' anime, some of which continue to exist and even remain favorites to this day. Some of the more obvious powerhouses include Sailor Moon, Digimon and Pokemon. However, one series from the era that didn't get the same acclaim and massive fan base was Flint the Time Detective.
The quirky series centered around a cast of characters, including the titular cave boy Flint, working together to protect the timeline from the history-disrupting Dark Lord. The series has similar aspects to some of the aforementioned anime that dominated during the era, yet Flint the Time Detective failed to outlast its original run.
Flint the Time Detective, originally known as Space-Time Detective Genshi, is based on a manga by Hideki Sonoda and Akira Yamauchi published by Bros. Comics. The series originally aired in Japan from 1998 to 1999 before coming to the U.S. in 2000. In the American dub, the series takes place in the 25th century and follows a ragtag team of time detectives as they try to protect the timeline. The team consists of Flint and his father Rocky, two cave people who were turned into fossils and then recovered by Tony and Sara in the 25th century. With the help of Tony and Sara's uncle Dr. Goodman, Flint is freed from his fossil form, but his father Rocky remains a block of stone. Rocky is then fashioned into a high-tech stone ax that Flint uses in battle as they all travel through history to locate time-shifters -- mechanical creatures capable of disrupting the timeline scattered throughout by the Dark Lord.
It's not clear why exactly Flint the Time Detective never saw the same love that other kids' anime of the era did. While the American dub was significantly different from its Japanese counterpart, it wasn't the only series to undergo heavy changes in translation. The anime ran on the Fox Family Channel -- now Freeform -- with reruns airing on Fox Kids, the latter of which didn't historically have much anime in its lineup until the last couple of years that the block existed. The series only ran for 39 episodes, and its original manga never had any spin-offs or sequels, not counting the special one-volume manga that acted as a promotion for the anime. All of these could be factors in why the series didn't leave a huge imprint in the minds of anime fans.
Did Flint the Time Detective Arrive Too Late?
The short lifespan of the series in Japan could also be why it never grew as popular in America since there simply wasn't as much to consume when compared to an existing franchise like Digimon or Pokémon. These franchises, in both the U.S. and Japan, already had a head-start at growing dedicated fan bases around their anime, manga, video games and more. Traveling around to battle different creatures capable of powerful evolutions might be a thread that all three series have in common, but it's likely that Flint the Time Detective couldn't measure up with two already huge competitors.
Even with the large changes in the dub, Flint the Time Detective was a light and fun mystery-comedy that certainly fits in among the other kids' anime of the era. It's a series filled with hijinks and the power of friendship, giving it an all-ages appeal. Perhaps owing to the forgotten nature of the series is the fact that it hasn't been re-released in any new formats in about two decades; nor is it available to stream. While access to watch is no guarantee that the anime would skyrocket to the levels of popularity as its kindred series, it would surely give fans the chance to relive yet another aspect of the '90s anime era.