Montana Jones

Montana Jones
モンタナ・ジョーンズ (Montana Jōnzu)
Genre	Adventure, Comedy
TV anime
Directed by	Tetsuo Imazawa
Music by	The Alfee (themes)
Studio	Studio Junio
Network	NHK
Original run	April 2, 1994 – April 8, 1995
Episodes	52
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Montana Jones (モンタナ・ジョーンズ, Montana Jōnzu^?) is a comedy adventure anime television series which was broadcast in Japan on NHK from April 2, 1994 through April 8, 1995. Studio Junio (Japan) and REVER (Italy) created the 52 episode series as a joint production. Montana Jones has a similar atmosphere to Sherlock Hound, a joint of Rever and TMS Entertainment ten years earlier in 1984. The anthropomorphic characters in Montana Jones were big cats instead of the dogs used in Sherlock Hound. It was subsequently broadcast in over 30 other countries.

The series takes place in the 1930s and is about the adventures of Montana Jones, who goes treasure hunting with his cousin Alfred Jones and the beautiful reporter Melissa Sone. They visit real locations and cities like the Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal, Istanbul or Easter Island. Frequently they cross paths with Lord Zero - a rich, eccentric art lover and master thief. All characters in the series are humans with lion or tiger similar heads (Furry-Anime). The anime was obviously inspired by the Indiana Jones movies.

Synopsis

Boston, 1930: Montana Jones and his cousin professor Alfred Jones travel around the world to search lost treasures in order to bring them to museums. Alfred's mentor professor Gerrit helps them by sending gramophone records with information. On one trip they meet Melissa, a wealthy reporter, who speaks nearly all languages. She accompanies the two on their trips. Their opponent is Lord Zero, a rich, bizarre art lover and master thief. Lord Zero has two henchmen: Slim and Slam. There is also the inventor Dr. Nitro, who invents strange engines, which to help finding treasures.

Main characters

Montana Jones

Montana is always seeking the unknown and isn't afraid to do dangerous things. Together with his cousin Alfred he travels around the world finding treasures for Gerrit, Alfred's professor. The group's plans are often foiled by Lord Zero. Montana works in his aunt's restaurant to finance his airplane Kitty, a Supermarine GS waterplane constantly in need of repair. He lives somewhere on the coast in Boston. It is believed that Montana is infatuated with Melissa Sone.

Alfred Jones

Alfred likes to study old cultures, strange languages, and treasures. On the other hand, he hates danger, travelling, and can't swim, making him an opposite of his cousin Montana. Together, the two make a good team. Alfred loves his mother and eating spaghetti bolognese, which he often prepares for Melissa and Montana.

Melissa Sone

Melissa Sone often helps Montana and Alfred and is the daughter of a diplomat. Melissa is a journalist and enjoys shopping and adventures with the two. In the last episode her father is revealed to be Professor Gerrit, explaining why Melissa was always at the right time and place to help Montana and Alfred.

Lord Zero

Lord Zero is the antagonist of the story, constantly trying to get all the treasure for himself only to be thwarted by Montana and Alfred. Usually his plans are foiled because of a mistake from his minions Slim, Slam or Dr. Nitro. Lord Zero is notable for his walking staffs, which all have strange and diverse functionalities. Zero is constantly in a bad mood, and personally hates the excuse "I'm sorry, it wouldn't have happened if you gave me more time and money."

Slim & Slam

Slim and Slam are the bumbling minions of Lord Zero. The two know searching for the treasures themselves would be more successful but their loyalty is greater than their daring. They often do the difficult work for Lord Zero, and when things go wrong they usually take the blame. Ironically, Slim is the larger of the two.

Dr. Nitro

Doctor Nitro is a minion of Lord Zero and a genius. He is an creator of machines for Lord Zero that never seem to work the right way, and often gives the excuse "it wouldn't have happened if you gave me more time and money" to defend them. Unfortunately, Lord Zero hates that excuse.

Episodes and Locations

There are 52 episodes.

	#		Title of episode	Location
	1.		The secret of the goldmedal	Mexico
	2.		The giant squid	Caribbean
	3.		Treasure hunting in Istanbul	Turkey
	4.		The discovery of the jewel bible	Czech
	5.		The silk-carpet of the Taj Mahal	India
	6.		The horrible snowman	Tibet
	7.		The tomb from the Pharaoh	Egypt
	8.		King Arthur's knife	England
	9.		The secret code of the Inkas	Peru
	10.		Criminals in Chinatown	United States (San Francisco)
	11.		Adventuring with the Vikings	Sweden (Gotland)
	12.		The treasure in the desert	Iraq
	13.		The secrets of the dried fountain	Spain (Alhambra)
	14.		A secret entrance in the castle	Germany (Neuschwanstein Castle)
	15.		The subterranean waterfalls	Cambodia (Angkor Wat)
	16.		Kidnapped to castle Mauleon	Israel/France
	17.		A muddy fight for the future	Greece (Delphi)
	18.		The golden dragon from Hong Kong	Hong Kong
	19.		The hidden flymachine	Italy
	20.		The clock from Iwan the Terrible	Russia
	21.		Chased in the goldmine	Zimbabwe
	22.		The rescuing boomerang	Australia (Ayers Rock)
	23.		Attack of the sharks	Monaco
	24.		The flood's coming!	Jordan
	25.		Emergency! Landing on Easter Island	Chile (Easter Isle)
	26.		The sunken goldbell	Burma
	27.		The attack of the bandits in Mongolia	Mongolia
	28.		The haunted house in Scotland	Scotland
	29.		Searching through the labyrinth of King Minos	Greece (Creta)
	30.		The Colombian jungle	Colombia
	31.		Saved by the crocodiles	Egypt (Karnak)
	32.		The treasure of the caliph	Iraq
	33.		The secret pirateship	Portugal (Belém Tower)
	34.		Emergency! Landing on treasure island	Egypt
	35.		Adventure in China	China
	36.		Straight through Austria	Austria
	37.		The crown of the tsar	Russia
	38.		Marie Antoinette's Collier	Netherlands/Belgium
	39.		Lemuria: The hidden land	Indonesia
	40.		The secret of the Mont St. Michèl	France
	41.		The stone dragon	Germany
	42.		The Artemis Temple	Turkey (Ephesus)
	43.		Get to the Chaco-Canyon	United States
	44.		Travel through Transylvania	Romania (Transylvania)
	45.		Locked in Toscana	Italy (Cerveteri)
	46.		Ormeca	Mexico
	47.		Marco Polo's heir	Italy (Venice)
	48.		Desperately lost in the desert	Algeria
	49.		The baker and the knight room	Switzerland
	50.		Keanu, daughter of the chief	United States
	51.		The monk and the samurai	Japan
	52.		Lost in Africa	Africa

External links

• Montana Jones (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Official Homepage from NHK (Japanese)
• Fanpage in four different languages (including English)
• Information about production