Turning Mecard (TV series)

Turning Mecard (Korean: 터닝메카드, a transliteration), released in the United States as Mecard, is an anime-influenced South Korean animated television series which is a part of the toyline and media franchise of the same name developed for toy company Sonokong by Choirock (Sonokong's multimedia production arm). The series was produced for Choirock by Heewon Entertainment, and was animated by Paprika Entertainment and Production Reve.

For the toyline and media franchise which the series is a part of, see Turning Mecard.
Turning Mecard
Also known asMecard
Korean터닝메카드
Written byAtsushi Maekawa (head writer)
Directed byHong Heonpyo
ComposerKim Jungah (Music Director)
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes52
Production
Executive producersChoi Jongil
Kim Suntae
ProducersShim Hyewon
Lee Namhoon
Production companiesHeewon Entertainment
Choirock
Sonokong
Animations
Paprika Entertainment
Production Reve
DistributorChoirock (South Korea)
Lingdong (Mainland China)
Mattel (rest of the world)
Release
Original networkKBS2
Original releaseFebruary 3, 2015 (2015-02-03) –
February 5, 2016 (2016-02-05)
Chronology
Followed byTurning Mecard W
Related showsDino Mecard

The series was followed by Turning Mecard W, which was aired between May 2016 and September 2017 in South Korea, then followed by a soft reboot titled Turning Mecard R in September 2017 and a spin-off titled Dino Mecard (Korean: 공룡메카드) in November 2017.

Cast
Characters English[1] (Studiopolis)
Dabby Alex Cazares
Brandon Ben Diskin
Jason Brandon Winckler
Juliet Cassandra Lee Morris
Isabel Cherami Leigh
Dana Colleen Villard
Alta Keith Silverstein
Kevin Kyle McCarley
Ryan Nicolas Roye
Tero Vic Mignogna
Evan Xander Mobus

Release

South Korea

Turning Mecard premiered on 3 February 2015 on KBS2. Initially, it aired on Tuesdays until episode 30 (11 August 2015), but it moved to Fridays since episode 31 (21 August 2015). The show's finale aired on 5 February 2016.

English-speaking areas

There are two existing English dubs for Turning Mecard.

One English version of Turning Mecard was produced for Choirock and Sonokong by BTI Studios Hong Kong. This version, however, does not credit the voice actors, translator, voice director and the recording studio on screen.[2] The television channels that broadcast this version include Teletoon and Cartoon Network in Canada (premiering there on May 28 and June 4, 2017, respectively),[3] 9Go! in Australia (premiered on 12 June 2017),[4] Okto in Singapore (premiered on 5 May 2018),[5] TV3 in Malaysia (premiered on 5 June 2018)[6] and Cartoon Network in the Philippines (premiered on 15 December 2018).[7]

The other version, simply titled Mecard, was produced by Studiopolis for Mattel, which released it on their Mecard website and through the Mattel Action YouTube channel beginning on January 26, 2018.[8] It was also streamed on Toon Goggles.[9] In Mattel's web release, each full episode is split into two parts. A 22-minute version of this dub aired on the syndicated KidsClick programming block in the United States from June 16, 2018 to January 20, 2019.[10] This dub was cancelled after 26 half hour episodes.

Reception

Turning Mecard toys became a fad in its native South Korea, helping propel Sonokong's stock price from ₩2,980 to a peak of ₩8,750 in 2015.[11] The brand accounted for roughly 80% of the company's record-breaking ₩125 billion revenue that year.[12] However, by 2017 sales for Mecard toys had slowed significantly.[13]

Turning Mecard W: The Revival of Black Mirror ranked as the fifth highest-grossing film in South Korea in its weekend of release.[14] The movie eventually grossed a total of ₩3.1 billion.[15]

References
  1. "A Mysterious New Kid". Mecard. Episode 1. USA: Mattel Action. Event occurs at Closing credits, English Language Cast.
  2. Lydia Lee Tang. "Voice Over". Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  3. Dennison, Kara (May 23, 2017). "Robot Cars Get an Upgrade with "Turning Mecard" English Dub". Crunchyroll. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  4. "Mattel launches Turning Mecard in Canada and Australia". ToonBarn. June 18, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  5. "Turning Mecard finds new international broadcast partners". ToonBarn. May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  6. "[#WinWithXtra] Check Out These Awesome TV Shows and Win Cool Prizes". Xtra. 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  7. "Untitled". Cartoon Network City's Twitter. December 15, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  8. "Mattel debuts Mecard in the U.S., abroad". ToonBarn. January 28, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  9. Milligan, Mercedes (September 12, 2018). "Toon Goggles Teams Up with Mattel". Animation Magazine. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  10. "KidsClick picks up Mecard, The Legendaries". ToonBarn. June 4, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  11. Chung-un, Cho (January 7, 2016). "Korean toy market driven by animation success, parents' pride". The Korea Herald. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  12. Sang-soo, Park (April 22, 2016). "Transforming toy mesmerizes kids as well as local toy market". Yonhap News. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  13. "Mattel-backed Sonokong reports 3rd consecutive quarterly loss". The Investor. The Korea Herald. August 9, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  14. Kil, Sonia (January 23, 2017). "Korea Box Office: 'The King' Rules Weekend With Record Opening". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  15. "South Korea Box Office, February 3–5, 2017". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
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