Japan already did Ape Escape 3, Million Monkeys, Piposaru Racer and Saru Saru big Mission in their anime, they added Kohta and Natalie and Jake’s love relationship to make it more interesting! If Nick is going to do the same thing as what XEBEC did for Ape Escape, they are going to need to put as much effort as the Japanese, and make the.
Ape Escape -On Air- | |
サルゲッチュ 〜オンエアー〜 (Saru Getchu -On Eā-) | |
---|---|
Genre | Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Nobuyoshi Habara |
Written by | Naruhisa Arakawa |
Music by | Youichi Sakai |
Studio | XEBEC |
Original network | TV Tokyo, QTV 11 |
Original run | April 8, 2006 – October 1, 2006 |
Episodes | 26 |
Anime television series | |
Ape Escape -On Air- 2nd | |
Directed by | Jun Kamiya |
Written by | Naruhisa Arakawa |
Music by | Youichi Sakai |
Studio | XEBEC |
Original network | TV Tokyo, QTV 11 |
Original run | October 7, 2006 – September 29, 2007 |
Episodes | 51 |
Ape Escape -On Air- (サルゲッチュ 〜オンエアー〜Saru Getchu -On Eā-) is a CGIanime television series produced by Xebec (now Sunrise Beyond) based on Sony's Ape Escape video game franchise. The series aired on TV Tokyo between April 8, 2006 and September 29, 2007 and loosely adapts storylines from Million Monkeys, Ape Escape 3 and SaruSaru Big Mission.
Storyline[edit]
When Specter gets hold of a Pipo Helmet, he becomes intelligent and starts using monkeys to spread chaos around the world. Using their teleporter and gadgets, Kakeru, Hiroki, Natsumi and the Professor work to capture the monkeys and stop Specter's plans, later joined by virtual girl Charu and mech genius Haruka. It is revealed that Specter's true identity is Natsumi's pet monkey, Kuuta, who was transformed into Specter by a group called the Pipotrons. They host a game in virtual space, challenging Kakeru and his friends for Specter's freedom, but Specter escapes before they get there. The Pipotrons then challenge Kakeru and co to a tournament. Specter eventually learned about the kind things humans have done for monkeys, protects Kakeru and returns to being Kuuta.
Cast[edit]
- Shizuka Ishikawa as Kakeru
- Chika Sakamoto as Specter/Kuuta
- Hideyuki Umezu as Hakase
- Junko Minagawa as Hiroki
- Tomoko Kawakami as Natsumi
- Tomoe Hanba as Haruka
- Rina Satou as Charu
- Junko Takeuchi as Satoru
- Ai Nonaka as Sayaka
- Sayaka Ohara as Akie
External links[edit]
- Saru Get You -On Air- (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Saru Get You -On Air- 2nd (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/ApeEscape
Go To
Spike/Kakeru
The hero of the original Ape Escape and a few of the spin-offs.
- Anime Hair: Super spikey and bright red with a yellow tuft up front.
- Badass Adorable: Apparently he's only in the fourth grade.
- Badass Normal: His proficiency with his tools was all he needed to take down Specter the first time. And as of Pumped and Primed and Million Monkeys, he's gotten really good with that Stun Club.
- Improbable Weapon User: Technically anything that isn't the Stun Club falls into this, though the RC Car takes the cake.
- Meaningful Name: Spike has spiky hair.
- Multicolored Hair: Red with a yellow tuft up front.
- Secret Character: Beating Ape Escape 2 100% allows you to restart the game and play through it again as Spike.
- Utility Belt: In the first game, he has a wide array of tools that he uses in all kinds of inventive ways. Would fall into Fighting Clown if all the uses of his tools weren't 100% intentional.
Jake/Buzz/Hiroki
The rival and friend of Spike who has a bad habit of being brainwashed by Specter.
- All Love Is Unrequited: He has a crush on Natalie in the anime.
- Demoted to Extra: Only appears in concept art and a comic strip in Ape Escape 2 (with his original name, Hiroki, to boot).
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Specter captured him and brainwashes him to serve him and fight Spike on TWO different occasions. The second time gets worse when the game's real BigBad transforms him into Dark Jake.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes turn red whenever Specter brainwashes him.
- The Rival: He and Spike are often very competitive with each other, but getting brainwashed by Specter will turn their friendly competitiveness and make it much less so.
Natalie/Natsumi
The daughter of the Professor, Natalie is a Tomboy who follows in her father's footsteps. In the anime, she actually goes out and assists Spike in capturing monkeys, moreso then any other character. Otherwise, she acts like she did in the games.
- Action Girl: In the anime, she's out there helping Spike catch monkeys. In Pumped and Primed, she's a very much able contestant in the tournaments.
- Bare Your Midriff: In Pumped & Primed, Million Monkey (reprising appearance in 1st anime series and 2nd anime series (Episode 1-25)) and the Frederator cartoon.
- Expy: The US dub of Ape Escape 2 gives her the voice of Misty from Pokemon, while Jimmy was voiced by Ash.
- Improbable Weapon User: She uses a Simple Staff in Pumped & Primed, but when it comes to projectile battle, she uses a lacrosse stick.
- Only Sane Man: In the games. Subverted midway into the anime's second season, where she is somewhat distraught over the abduction of her father. Averted in the Fredorator cartoon, where she's just as zany as the rest of the cast.
- Lethal Chef: Possibly; she likes cooking and she is the only person to like how they taste. The only reason her Sweet Azuki bean porridge turned out well is because a Monkey changed the spice shaker caps. But upon trying it she notes it doesn't taste like how she usually makes it.
- Simple Staff: This is her melee weapon of choice in Pumped & Primed.
- Tsundere: Towards Jake in the anime. She also shows this towards Jimmy/Hikaru in 2, where she's quick (and justified) to scold him but frequently and truly cares for him.
The Professor/Hakase
The creator of the pipo helmet that gives the apes their intelligence. He appears in the anime with more or less the same role. He is a bit more zany.
- Drop the Hammer: His melee weapon of choice in Pumped & Primed is a mechanical hammer.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He's the one that makes all the gadgets for the hero to use.
- Inventor of the Mundane: Sometimes his inventions come across as this. There's the slingback shooter, which is really just a slingshot, and the R.C. car, which is Exactly What It Says on the Tin. However, there's often a twist to these seemingly mundane items to make them incredibly useful. For example, a hula hoop that makes you run faster, or a net that teleports whatever it catches away to another location.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: He created the Pipo Helmet (Peak Point Helmet in the US release) to increase the intelligence of monkeys, although his prototype helmet was unstable and needed to be finished. He left the prototype at the circus where it was ultimately found by Specter, thus beginning the series.
- It doesn't help that his colleagues also did similar experiments and most of them actually ended up worse for wear. One ( Tomoki) has a helmet permanently grafted to his head, and another (Helga's father) created the Pipotrons, who eventually kidnapped him years later.
- No Mouth: It's obscured by his mustache.
- No Name Given: Subverted, as his name in the first game is written on the doors of the training rooms, Dr. Ozel. It's hard to read, though, and he has not once been called that.
- Only Sane Man: He tends to take things rather seriously, but not as much as his daughter. Subverted in the cartoon and anime, where he's goofier.
Jimmy/Hikaru
The protagonist of Ape Escape 2, Jimmy is a friend and cousin of Spike.
- Ascended Extra: Has almost no presence in the series outside of Ape Escape 2, but serves as the main character of both of the western animated cartoons, the japanese shorts and movie, as well as the manga.
- Expy: The US dub decided to give him the exact same voice as Ash Ketchum. In a game where you Gotta Catch Them All. There's no way that was a coincidence.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: It's his fault the monkeys are going ape in the second game in the first place.
- Pointless Band-Aid: He's always wearing a band-aid on his nose.
- Put on a Bus: Outside of a cameo appearance in Ape Escape 3 alongside Spike and the Professor, and a minor role in Saru Saru Big Mission, Jimmy hasn't appeared in any subsequent games in the series. He didn't even appear in the anime. However, he was the main character of two short-lived Ape Escape cartoons that aired on Nicktoons (a CGI one made around 2004 by the makers of the games themselves, and a flash cartoon helmed by Doug TenNapel in 2010.)
Pipotchi
A small, baby monkey that accompanies Jimmy on his adventures. He wears a pipo helmet that works as it was originally intended, making him smarter but not evil or out of control. He also has suspenders with wings attached, that allow him to fly.
- The Cameo: Makes a very small appearance on a wall mural alongside dozens of other monkeys in Ape Escape 3. You have to look hard to see him. The mechs used in the game also bare his likeness.
- Expy: By virtue of being alongside Expies of Ash and Misty, Pipotchi distinctly comes off as a Pikachu clone.
- Last Chance Hit Point: Once per extra life, Pipotchi can give Jimmy a Health Cookie when he drops to zero health (played out in a special cutscene). Just remember that healing back up to full does NOT reset this.
- Pokémon Speak: He only ever says 'Pipo'.
- Put on a Bus: He's only ever appeared in Ape Escape 2, and hasn't showed up in anything since, even the minuscule amount of material where Jimmy is present. However, the mechs that can be piloted in Ape Escape 3 are modeled after him.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Bizarrely looks nothing like the cartoony normal monkeys and is instead a small, adorable creature.
Kei & Yumi/Satoru & Sayaka
The protagonists of Ape Escape 3, the player chooses which one of them to play as for the remainder of their game. They made recurring appearances in the anime, with Yumi being a major character in three episodes (two involving the Pipotrons kidnapping her, and the third involving a drawing contest between her and Pink Monkey.)
- Anime Hair: Kei continues the legacy set by Spike by having spiky blue hair.
- Brains and Brawn: Kei is the more athletic of the two but is a bit of a dimwit, causing Yumi to take on a clear leadership role.
- Butt-Monkey: Kei has a bad habit of tripping and getting hit in the face during cutscenes.
- Demoted to Extra: Kei appears less than Yumi in the anime.
- Expy: Yumi briefly becomes one of Chun-Li in an episode of the anime. Her Kung-Fu Wizard costume is basically a copy of this after all.
- Famed In-Story: Yumi is already a famous pop star at the beginning of the game. It actually benefits her in gameplay, as some of the monkeys are even fans of hers, causing them to not put up any resistance to getting caught due to being starstruck.
- Henshin Hero: Their watches allow them to transform and gain powers.
- Magic Knight: The first transformation given to them, although Yumi's outfit resembles a wizard more, and Kei is more of a Knight.
- Cowboy: Their second transformation allows Kei to become a cowboy and Yumi a cowgirl, with rapid-fire pistols (Kei goes Guns Akimbo, Yumi just has one).
- Ninja: Allows them to run on walls and walk across tightropes.
- Belly Dancer: Well, the outfits match that description, but they use maracas. They use said maracas to control a dancing genie, who can dance to distract enemies and go through lamps to reach spaces otherwise unreachable.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Gives them a fiery and fast set of combo attacks and the ability to hit special buttons.
- Toku or Magical Girl: A powerful form that allows them to fire lasers and glide short distances. Kei takes the former (in the vein of, say Kamen Rider or Super Sentai), Yumi the latter (In the vein of, say, Pretty Cure or Sailor Moon).
- Dressing as the Enemy: The final form is a big monkey suit, that allows them to walk amongst monkeys without being noticed, and find secret rooms by following a banana scent, which are filled with more monkeys to capture. They also access these rooms using a secret knock. Unlike other forms, it grants no extra combat prowess, but in exchange lasts MUCH longer than other forms.
- Girlish Pigtails: Yumi sports a pair.
- Informed Ability: Kei is apparently a star baseball player at his school, but we at no point see him show any skill at baseball.
- Lightning Bruiser: Kei is faster and a better jumper than Yumi while maintaining the same amount of physical strength, but lacks her star power that allows her to effortlessly catch certain monkeys.
- Idol Singer: Yumi is one in both the games and anime. This attracts the wrong attention in both, a rivalry with Pink Monkey in the games and being kidnapped twice by the Pipotron Brothers (as part of an attempt to become famous by performing with her) in the anime.
- Because of this, picking her makes Ape Escape 3 slightly easier, as a handful of the monkeys are part of her fan club. Instead of running away or attacking her, these ones simply fall to the ground and stare at her with hearts in their eyes.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Yumi has red hair and a pink vest while Kei has blue hair and shorts. Both also have distinct white parts to their outfits.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: In cutscenes, Yumi comes off as more hot tempered and vocal than the laid-back and quiet Kei.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Kei.
Aki
Kei and Yumi's aunt. She acts as a replacement for Natalie and the Professor, giving you instructions as well as new gadgets.
- Anime Hair: Like a stack of bubbles.
- Old Friend: Of the Professor. She, the Professor, and Dr. Tomoki used to be lab partners.
Casey/Casi/Charu
An AI created by the Professor.
- Ascended Extra: Casi plays a bigger role overall in the anime. She is given an android body in order to save Spike and his friends from shapeshifting monkeys. She later plays a key role in breaking Specter's control over Kohta towards the end of the first season, and is ultimately the one who stops Specter in the season two mid-finale.
- Demoted to Extra: Casi never really did much to begin with, but outside of Pumped and Primed and Million Monkeys, she never appeared outside of the first game. Interestingly, concept art and even an in-game photo of her and Natalie appear in the second game, despite Casi herself not being in it.
- Dub Name Change: She is called Casey in the original game, then is given her Japanese name in Ape Escape 2 artwork, then called Casi in Pumped and Primed. Most English fans usually refer to her P&P name.
- Inconsistent Dub/Spell My Name with an 'S': The original game's ending credits refer to her as 'Casey', but the booklet that comes with the game refers to her as Casi. Who even knows what the official strategy guide might have called her...
- Evil Knockoff: Million Monkeys had Virus Casis, which were Evil Twins that were murderous, used machine guns, and could multiply and overwrite Casi herself.
- Leitmotif: Oddly enough, a rather Indian sounding tune with drums and chanting.
- Minor Major Character: In the first game, Casi mostly appeared on-screen showing you how many monkeys the player had to catch. The only time she plays an important role in the game is when Spike returns to the present time finding it overrun with monkeys causing havoc. She informs Spike of what happened to the Professor and Natalie and gives him the penultimate gadget, the RC Car.
- Ms. Fanservice: Casi is this in the anime, almost always wearing a maid outfit from the second season onwards. There's even a scene in one episode where it appears that she's stripping.
- Ninja Maid: Sometimes becomes this in the anime, namely when taking on Red and Pink.
- Robot Girl: Becomes this in Million Monkeys and shortly after her debut in the anime.
- Super Powered Robot Meter Maid: Quite possibly the strongest character in the anime, even stronger then Ukki Red! She spends the majority of the anime on the sidelines though.
- You Don't Look Like You: She gets a ponytail in Pumped and Primed onwards, and later has giant 'ear bolts' sticking out of her head in Million Monkeys and the anime.
Playstation Move Hero (No Name Given, seriously)
There's really not much to say about this guy.
- Flat Character: Possibly one of the flattest in video game history.
- Heroic Mime: He doesn't say a single thing during gameplay.
- The Faceless: Other then a brief glance at his mouth, you never the front of his face.
- The Voiceless: Taken Up to Eleven in the cutscenes. There are moments where he says something, but it is always in text, despite everyone else actually having VAs.
Tohko & Tsukushi
Tohko and Tsukushi are sisters who aid the protagonist in the Playstation Move game.
- Expy: They appear to be that of Natalie. Tohko in terms of personality, Tsukushi is terms of appearance.
- Moe: Tsukushi appears to be one.
- Tsundere: Tohko comes off as this.
Grandma Haru
The grandmother of Tohko and Tsukushi in the Playstation Move reboot. She went missing after trying to build a machine to find her pet monkey Specter.
- Distaff Counterpart: Of the Professor from the original series.
- I Was Quite a Looker: She was a cute scientist who was responsible for raising Specter.
Specter
Specter was a famous circus monkey loved and adored by thousands. One day he found the prototype Peak Point Helmet and put it on, increasing his intelligence but also twisting his mind. He quickly escapes the amusement park, after giving all of the other monkeys in the zoo peak point helmets of their own, and leads them to try and take over the world.
He is the only character returning for the new storyline of the Playstation Move reboot. Here he is a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds who was forcibly separated from his owner Haru and shot up into space, in a constant stare of discomfort and fear due to his dislike of cold.
Specter's portrayal in the anime is a little different. In this version of the story, he is actually a sentient Pipo Helmet that controls whatever unfortunate monkey wears it. Otherwise, he's basically the same as he is in the games.
- Anti-Villain: His backstory in the PlayStation Move reboot makes him much a more sympathetic character.
- The Assimilator: Specter does this quite often in the anime. The first time, the helmet transforms the baby monkey Kohta's body into Specter's form. During the first season finale Kohta's emotions overwhelm the helmet and frees him from it's control. During the second season, he does it again to Pipo Angel, only this time he uses a machine to slowly morph it into a host body that the helmet itself has permanent control over. Lastly, Specter's Evil Plan in the first half of the second season involved turning every human on Earth into monkeys. He almost succeeds.
- Ax-Crazy: Increasingly so in the anime. By the end he was willing to blow up the entire Earth after being fed up with just about everyone.
- Badass Adorable: Subverted, as he is not usually both badass and adorable at the same time. With the helmet, he's a threatening figure, oftentimes with a deep voice in the english dubs. Without the helmet, however, he's just a cute little white monkey.
- Badass Cape: His default appearance has him wearing a red one.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Doubles with He Cleans Up Nicely, as he looks pretty swag in his tuxedo. He also fights you in it in 3. After that, he switches between this and his cape whenever the mood strikes him.
- Big Bad: For most of the series, excluding Pumped and Primed, where the story is hijacked by a Giant Computer Core From Nowhere, and Million Monkeys, where he is playable and fights against that game's Big Bad. Subverted in the Playstation Move game.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In the first season of the anime, Kohta was the host for Specter.
- Butt-Monkey: In the Fredorator cartoon, usually due to the stupidity of the monkeys themselves.
- Dumb Is Good: Specter's very pleasant when he's just got the mind of a monkey. It's only when he's got the peak point helmet on that he becomes an intelligent villain.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Implied in the first game. Before his battle with Spike, he asks how the man who raised him is doing, that being the trainer at the amusement park. He quickly goes back to being villainous after Spike points out that he might be thinking about going back to the amusement park and that all they need from him is an apology.
- Evil Plan: Specter pulls a huge one in the second season of the anime. As nothing more then a mere helmet, he had a mutated monkey called Pipo Angel trick the Pipotrons by promising them a wish should they grab five feathers from it. After they do so, Specter gave them a car and had them enter a race, which regardless of who would win (ultimately it was a normal monkey), helped him assimilate the body of Pipo Angel into that of his own. Afterwards, he made the Pipotron Brothers his Terrible Trios with hundreds of monkeys at their disposal and had them do odd tasks. Regardless of whether or not Spike and his friends stopped them, the monkeys' activities powered up a machine that was capable of turning every human on Earth into monkeys. He left Earth to make sure that the Pipotron Brothers (who pulled a Heel–Face Turn) couldn't lead Spike to him, and when the Professor made a device to repel the monkey conversion, Specter was able to hack it anyway, making it futile. When Spike finally got up to Specter's base, he proved to be too powerful for Spike to attack, and was only defeated because Casi hijacked his space station and tossed him out into deep space.
- And after that, he STILL had a backup plan, which resulted in creating the Freaky Monkey Five, partially disabling Casi and destroying the teleporter Spike and his friends had been using, freeing all of the monkeys they captured, disabled the Monkey Net, making it useless in capturing them again, and kidnapping the Professor and Kohta. His winning streak more or less stopped there, especially after the Professor was rescued.
- Final Boss: Sans Pumped and Primped, Million Monkeys and the Playstation Move game, Specter usually plays this role.
- True Final Boss: And he usually comes back for round two after 100% Completion.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Before the original game, Specter was just a popular monkey at the zoo. Once he found the Peak Point helmet, his intelligence went through the roof and he masterminded an invasion of time to replace humans with monkeys as the dominant species, and he almost succeeds.
- Grand Theft Me: Did this to Kohta at first (as a form of Brainwashed and Crazy), then Pipo Angel (by permanently assimilating it) in the anime.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Averted quite nicely in the games. While absolutely a funny character, it doesn't make Specter any less cunning and dangerous.
- Played straight in Pumped and Primed however, partly due to the plot being negligible, partly due to a more pressing threat at the time.
- When it isn't a season finale, Specter in the anime is very much this trope. When it isn't a season finale. When it is a season finale, it's a blunt reminder to the cast why he's the Big Bad.
- I Surrender, Suckers: When Kei and Yumi go to fight him a second time, they fall for this trope and get trapped in electrified cages.
- Kick the Dog: When Specter finds out that Dr. Tomoki has a Pipo Helmet permanently grafted to his head, his response is to have a laughing fit. Kei and Yumi are both appalled by this.
- Large Ham: Specter's UK actor in the first game hammed it up big time.
- It got taken Up to Eleven in the Fredorator cartoon.
- Made of Iron: The punishment he can take in each successive game gets more and more absurd.
- Only Sane Man: Ironically, Specter is this in the Fredorator cartoon. He's the only character in it who isn't a Cloud Cuckoo Lander.
- Plot Hole: It's almost never explained how Specter keeps coming back after he is caught by the heroes. Only Ape Escape 2 and the anime give explanations to his return.
- Space Is Cold: In the Playstation Move reboot, Specter is shown to greatly dislike the cold. It doesn't help that he's up in space for most of the game, and it's hinted that this was a partial reason for his Face–Heel Turn decades earlier.
- The Other Darrin: Specter's voice actor changes with every game. The only time the same actor has played his part twice was for 2 and Pumped and Primed.
- Took a Level in Badass: In each successive game of the main series.
- In the first Ape Escape, Specter's Psychic Powers are limited to basic shields and energy blasts, though said energy blasts have enough AOE to cover the whole arena, and he has a lot more health than previous bosses by far. He can also teleport, but this is actually a built-in function of his hoverchair rather an ability of his own.
- Ape Escape 2 turns Specter into a beast. In addition to the above he now has a Fantastic Nuke, a salvo of energy rings, telekinesis, mental projections of himself and energy-powered ramming. He doesn't always have his shield up now, but it's indestructible to make up for that. This is all on top of being faster and more durable.
- Ape Escape 3 cranks it up even further. The mental projections can now attack on their own, he can concentrate his psychic power into a laserthat lasts for a freaking while, and his telekinesis has evolved to the point where he can lift a massive robot head with his mind and drop it on you. He spams the Fantastic Nuke with wild abandonnote and is even more durable then in the last game. His hoverchair has also been upgraded with a seemingly endless supply of missiles to bombard you with.
- Villainous Breakdown: In the original game. After noticing Spike's power and strength, he becomes hellbent on bringing him over to his side, eventually resorting to brainwash and torture when his many persuasions fail. When Spike resists and overpowers him, Specter panics and tries to outright destroy him before finally being driven into exile.
- Villain Protagonist: In Million Monkeys. After Specter discovers that most of his monkey army is under the command of an imposter of him (actually a shift-shaping monkey mutant who is actually working for a human dictator), he and what little remains of his monkeys decide to take action against them. He doesn't team up with Spike and his friends however, and even fights them at one point.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: In Ape Escape 3, Specter's 'Double Paradise Plan'. He planned to use a giant machine to chop the Earth in half, with Specter and his monkeys ruling one half and the humans owning the other. However, either Specter forgot that the Earth would be destroyed if he did it or he was Ax-Crazy at the moment. Regardless, even Kei and Yumi think this plan is crazy.
- He also acts as this in the western made cartoon shorts, being the main character of a number of episodes.
- Worthy Opponent: In both the games and the anime, he sees Spike as this.
- Your Size May Vary: When he's a normal monkey, he's apparently small enough to be held in the arms of a human. But when he wears the peak point helmet, he looks to be around the same height as Spike or Jake. Granted, they're ten and not very tall, but there's still a pretty significant difference in size that's never acknowledged.
Pipo Apes/Monkeys/Pipo Saru
The mascots of the series itself, the Pipo Apes are Specter's minions that cause havoc.
The cartoons and anime discarded the multicolored pants in favor of more uniquely dressed monkeys.
- Banana Peel: No matter what kind of monkey you're dealing with, you can expect them to throw down banana peels as you chase them.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Yes, they're a bunch of monkeys that tend to do typical monkey things, but remember that these guys can be potentially armed with rocket firing backpacks, lasers and machine guns. They act goofy, but are capable of pulling an invasion of Earth off, and in the Playstation Move continuity, they even go so far as to kidnap Specter, who had a Heel–Face Turn at the end.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The shorts that the monkeys wear lets you know what kind of monkey you're dealing with.
- Yellow: Your average, run of the mill monkey. Nothing special about these guys, though they may tend to throw down more banana peels than the others, since they have nothing else going for them.
- Red: These monkeys are short-tempered powerhouses. They'll punch and scratch you a lot more than other monkeys. Later installments give them boxing gloves.
- Dark Blue: These monkeys run really fast, sometimes to the point of needing a gadget like the dash hoop to keep up with them.
- Light Blue: Sad, cowardly monkeys that just really don't want to be caught. They're rather docile, and won't attack the player. They tend to stand still and panic if they're ever cornered.
- Green: These monkeys wear special goggles that allow them to see you coming more easily. Often carry homing rocket-firing backpacks.
- White: Depending on the game, they're either the most alert monkeys around, or they have poor eyesight and won't see you coming as well as other monkeys, but make up for it by lobbing bombs around.
- Black: These monkeys sport Sinister Shades and tote machine guns. Think the monkeys wearing red pants are bad? These guys are much worse.
- Harmless Villain: The monkeys' actions seem to mostly harmless for the most part, consisting of dancing, goofing about, etc. If it weren't for Specter commanding them, most of these monkeys might not be a threat at all.
- They become Not So Harmless Villains in Million Monkeys. Due to being ordered around by a human dictator and his four mutated monkeys, the monkeys dress up in military garb and act rather seriously and use hi-tech gear, realistic mechs. Only the six or so monkeys remaining under Specter's command still act this way, although since they are playable, it can become a case of Beware the Silly Ones.
- The Cameo: The monkeys are so popular in Japan that they frequently appear in other games. Sadly, most of their cameos are removed from the U.S. versions:
- Monster Rancher 4 would let you unlock three Pipo Apes if the player inserted the original Ape Escape, Ape Escape 2, and the first Splinter Cell.
- Hot Shots Golf 4 had the Pipo Ape as an caddy (Europe and Japan only).
- Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal and Ratchet: Deadlocked had a Pipo Ape as a unlockable skin (Japan only).
- Metal Gear Solid 3 had a AE-styled minigame called 'Snake vs. Monkey', involving Snake catching the Pipo Monkeys.
- A Pipo Ape costume can be bought for a Sackboy in LittleBigPlanet.
- Fingerless Hands: Very weirdly flip-flopped between games. They were portrayed this way in the first game, though that was likely just due to graphical limitations of the time, as they had fingers on the box art. The second game gave them actual fingers and toes, but the trope was played straight on that game's box art. Then, from the third game onward, they're shown with no fingers or toes, only flesh colored mitten hands with only a thumb.
- The Hat Makes the Man: The apes were granted super-intelligence by the Peak Point/Pipo helmets.
- This appears to be averted in the PlayStation Move reboot, where the helmets seem to be purely cosmetic. Specter himself isn't even under the influence of one.
- Tareme Eyes: The ones with light blue pants have them.
- Tsurime Eyes: The ones with red pants have them.
- The Unintelligible: They make typical monkey screeching noises throughout the majority of the games. In Pumped and Primed's Pipo Ape/Team Monkey cutscenes, Ape Escape 3 (in Mesal Gear Solid and Monkey Theater only), and all three animated adaptations, they 'Ukki'.
The Freaky Monkey five are Specter's Quirky Miniboss Squad from the second games onward. They are monkeys mutated by Vita-Z Bananas and are usually fought in between levels.
- Dub Name Change: A odd case in that all the members had their names changed three times in the US. In Ape Escape 2, they were referred to as their color first, then 'Monkey' last, in Ape Escape 3, this was swapped around, and in Ape Escape Academy they were referred to by their Japanese names (example: Blue Monkey in 2, Monkey Blue in 3, and Ukki Blue in Academy).
Monkey Blue/Blue Monkey/Ukki Blue
The tall, aloof, and cool member of the group. He often uses a unicycle to get around, and can go at incredibly fast speeds on it.
- All Love Is Unrequited: In Ape Escape 3, Blue is shown to have a crush on Pink Monkey, and swears that after he defeats either Yumi or Kei that he will go on a date with her.Monkey Blue: 'Then I'll....I'll ask Pink out for a date! And then....(sinister laughter)
- Badass Biker: More like a Badass Unicycler, but still.
- Gratuitous English: In the anime, he often says a few short lines in English. To be fair, what he says actually fits in context, and some of his lines are done quite well.
- King Mook: He is basically a boss version of the monkeys that wear blue shorts, as both are faster then the other types.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: In the anime, his clothes and actions are a Shout-Out to Indiana Jones.
- Second Love: To Aki in SaruSaru Big Mission.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: As much as he can be in a kids game, at least.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Before his fight against Jimmy, Blue Monkey states he holds nothing against him and claims to be doing it for a good cause:Blue Monkey: 'Don't take this personally. I'm doing this for all the little monkeys out there!'
Monkey Yellow/Yellow Monkey/Ukki Yellow
The fat, goofy and ambiguously gay member of the group. He often utilizes sumo techniques in battle.
- Acrofatic: He moves surprisingly fast, especially in 3 where he's not just a sumo, but a ninja sumo.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: His fur is actually yellow.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The second battle with him in 2.
- British Teeth: The second battle with him as a giant involves knocking out his rotten looking teeth one by one. Granted, he isn't normally British, but if you're playing the UK version of the game where everyone has a British accent, then it's played straight.
- Camp Gay: He's extremely effeminate, and clearly makes Jimmy and Kei feel uncomfortable. This is to the point where he actually blows a kiss to Kei.
- Crossdresser: His sumo outfit includes fishnet stockings, feminine looking sandals and a geisha wig. Not even real female sumos would wear that.
- Exposed Animal Bellybutton: He has a prominent, spherical bellybutton that jiggles even more than his stomach does.
- Jiggle Physics: His stomach wobbles like crazy, and so do his breasts and bellybutton.
- King Mook: In his own odd way towards the default monkeys in yellow shorts. Their only defining feature is throwing down more banana peels than monkeys of other colors, and Monkey Yellow is fat and banana obsessed, to the point of becoming a giant after overdosing on Vita-Z Bananas in 2.
- Sissy Villain: He's extremely effeminate and acts like a Camp Gay.
- Stout Strength: He's basically a sumo wrestler, after all.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Knock him out in the story mission, and he'll just run away before you can catch him in the net. This doesn't happen in Time Attack Mode, so keep that net equipped.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: He's got yellow fur, but his hair is green.
Monkey Pink/Pink Monkey/Ukki Pink
Ape Escape Sarusaru Big Mission Iso
Although her pop idol status remains the same throughout the series, her clothes change like the rest of the group. She resembles a typical pop singer in 2, a princess in 3, and a schoolgirl in Saru Saru Big Mission and the anime.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Her fur is actually pink.
- Cry Cute: Defeating her after she Turns Red causes her to collapse onto the floor and begin weeping.
- Evil Diva: Possibly the crowning example.
- Idol Singer: Pink desires to be a famous singer, and even sings an Ear Worm in two of the games. Averted in the anime, ironically.
- King Mook: Averted in her case. There are no monkeys with pink shorts, except in the Playstation Move game that has none of the previous cast except for Specter, and even then, they don't have anything in common with Monkey Pink.
- Turns Red: How her battles play out. She'll begin the fight appearing very innocent and singing a cute song, and after she gets hit a couple of times, she essentially goes Super Saiyan and begins attacking the player much more aggressively.
- Yandere: The song Banana Heartbreak implies this, especially the last few lines:Don't you see I love you, don't you see I love youI can't spend the rest of my life, I can't spend the rest of my life CRYINGSo I'll spend the rest of my life, so I'll spend my entire life chasing you! HERE I COME!
- Unstoppable Rage: Happens inevitably during her boss battles.
Monkey White/White Monkey/Ukki White
Video Saru Saru
The oldest and most intelligent of the group, he uses robots to fight against the heroes.
- Evil Genius: His battles always involve one of his own creations.
- Evil Old Folks: He's quit clearly the oldest of the Freaky Monkey Five, and he's no less evil than the rest of them.
- Exposed Animal Bellybutton: He has one like Monkey Yellow, but it's not as prominent, and only visible in Ape Escape 3.
- Flying Saucer: He has one in the anime.
- Humongous Mecha: He pilots a giant robotic dragon in his boss battle in Ape Escape 3.
- King Mook: Although there are white shorted monkeys in the series, he's actually closer to the green shorts monkeys, as both have goggles and use machinery to attack.
- Robot Me: He uses one of Jimmy in Ape Escape 2 for his boss battle.
- Time Master: He has a ray gun that can control time in the anime.
Monkey Red/Red Monkey/Ukki Red
The leader of the Freaky Monkey Five (aside from Specter, that is). He's very muscular and uses a combination of wrestling, kung-fu and flatulence in his attacks.
- Flanderization: Between the second and third games. In 2, his flatulence was referenced in just one rarely-used attack. Come the next game, it's a much more prominent part of his character.
- Gasshole: One of his attacks in Ape Escape 2 was a fart-based counter-attack. This is taken Up to Eleven in Ape Escape 3, where he uses an entire fart based martial art.
- King Mook: The monkeys in red shorts attack the player more aggressively, and Red is the powerhouse of the Freaky Monkey Five.
- Playing with Fire: He also uses two flaming torches in Ape Escape 3.
- Real Men Wear Pink: He's forced into this situation in the anime. Due to his multiple losses at the hands of the female protagonists (Casi, Helga, and Natalie), Specter makes Red wear a dress and act as girly as possible. He warms up to it and even knits a quilt with Hegla and Natalie, but afterwards he reverts back to his old self.
- Wrestler in All of Us: He can suplex a T-Rex onto you in Ape Escape 2.
Dr. Tomoki
- Because You Were Nice to Me: His Heel–Face Turn is prompted after Kei and Yumi refuse to laugh at him after learning of his Start of Darkness, and Kei sticks up for him in front of Specter.Kei: It's not a good laugh if someone's feelings are hurt!
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With Specter until The Reveal.
- Distracted by My Own Sexy: Doesn't listen to a word Specter says during one of their conversations, and instead chooses to admire himself in a mirror.
- Funny Afro: It's fake, though.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He stays behind on Specter's space station in Ape Escape 3 to activate the self-destruct sequence. He somehow survives.
- Tragic Villain: He only became a villain because he thought all of society would shun him because of the monkey helmet grafted onto his head.
Mysterious Man/Nazo no Otoko/Nazo/Grid Core
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Not him, but a separate Grid Core that he created that serves as a boss in Million Monkeys.
- Bad Boss: Treats his own creations like garbage, especially when they fail at their job. Just ask Meta, Krack and G.
- Big Bad: Of Pumped and Primed and Million Monkeys.At first.
- Big-Bad Ensemble: With the aliens.
- Evil Laugh: Does this a lot during Pumped and Primed, especially after getting Helga's father's disk.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Strangled and electrocuted to death by Pipotron J.
- Final Boss: As Grid Core in Pumped and Primed.
- Gory Discretion Shot: After J starts to strangle and electrocute him, the scene quickly cuts to their shadows as Nazo screams in pain while the screen is covered by smoke.
- Karmic Death: He's killed by Pipotron J, one of the Pipotrons he created after he killed his own creations and after he tried to kill his own creations.
- Knight of Cerebus: Things gets dark whenever he or his creations are involved. Hell, the whole reason why Million Monkeys is so dark compared to the rest of the series is because of him.
- Load-Bearing Boss: Played straight at first, but quickly averted. After his defeat in Pumped and Primed, the virtual world starts to fall apart due to the damage inflicted at the core during the final battle. However Casi uses her skills to bring the virtual world back to normal and warping everyone out.
- The Man Behind the Man: The scientist behind the Pipotrons.
- No Name Given: His true name is never mentioned during Million Monkeys, and even the official guidebook only refers to him as Nazo no Otoko, which literally translates to 'Mysterious Man' or 'Man of Mystery'. Because of this, many fans refers to him as Nazo.
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: Whenever Specter tries to take over the world, his monkeys are usually goofing around and doing whatever they please. Nazo on the other hand wastes no time turning them into competent soldiers armed with guns, tanks, stun clubs and even robots.
- Sinister Shades: Wears one in Million Monkeys.
- Take Over the World: Tries to take over the virtual world in Pumped and Primed. He fails.
- This is his main goal in Million Monkeys.
- The Voice: His physical appearance is never shown during 'Pumped and Primed' outside of the Pipotrons' Intermission. It wasn't until Million Monkeys that he finally shows himself.
- Time for Plan B: After Spike and Specter stops his plans of conquering the world with the monkeys, he deploys the aliens as a backup plan in order to continue with his objective.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: In a quirky series filled with cartoony monkeys, silly villains and lighthearted protagonists, he really stands out.
- Would Hurt a Child: He has no problems trying to kill a 9 year old boy and his friends.
The new Pipotrons
After his plan of conquering the virtual world ended in failure, Nazo decided to strike again and captured four primates, turning them into his new Pipotrons to aid in his plan of conquering the world.
They appear in the anime as the main antagonists of the first season, hijacking the plot from Specter and capturing him for their own purposes.
- Adaptation Expansion: The anime expands their role greatly.
- Big-Bad Ensemble: Of the anime's first season.
- Decoy Leader: Meta acts as this to the monkeys while posing as Specter in Million Monkeys.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Meta and Krack are liquified into a slime-like substance by Nazo.
- Evil Genius: Krack, as he's the one responsible for creating Virus Casi.
- Heroic Sacrifice: After Nazo detaches one of the rooms from his battleship, G sacrifices himself in order to save Natalie and Casi from the falling debris.
- Killer Gorilla: Pipotron G.
- Neck Lift: J does this to Nazo after he kills Krack.
- Never Found the Body: It's unknown whether J survived or not being electrocuted or after Nazo's battleship crashed into the ocean.
- The Unfought: J and Krack are the only Pipotrons that aren't fought in Million Monkeys.
- The Unintelligible: Krack in Million Monkeys has a distorted voice, just like the original Pipotrons.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Meta can shapeshift into anything, including Specter.
- Verbal Tic: Meta ends his sentences with 'gari' in the anime.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: After the boss fight with Meta, all four of them are quickly killed and shoved aside alongside Nazo.
- You Have Failed Me: Nazo kills Meta after he fails to kill Specter. Krack also gets killed by him after Spike/Specter destroys the Virus Casi and Grid Core.
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The Pipotrons/Apetrons/Pipotron Brothers
Saru Saru Banget
Three experimental monkeys made for unknown purposes that escaped the lab in which they were created. The trio includes Red, the calm but strong leader, Blue, the talkative speedster, and Yellow, the unintelligible marksman.
The anime portrays them as goofy klutzes with the goal of becoming 'big'. They started out as the Big Bads of season two, demoted to the Quirky Mini Boss Squad once Specter hijacks the plot
- Attention Whore: In the anime. All of their schemes are wacky attempts to become famous (or 'big', as they frequently put it).
- Badass Beard: Red's fur under his chin resembles one, and it further solidifies his status as leader of the trio.
- Big Bads: In the first eight episodes of season two and in Ape Quest.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Big time, although it's still downplayed due to their near Animalistic Abomination appearances and abilities.
- Even Yellow is treated as such: in their second intermission when encountering the dog guard robot, he's first running around like a scared kid trying to find cover. Next scene has him handstand kicking a missile right into the ceiling.
- Depending on the Writer: The Pipotrons in the anime are very different to the ones in the games; in the anime, they're completely goofy. In Pumped and Primed, they were mysterious, threatening, and also really creepy.
- Goldfish Poop Gang: In the anime.
- Heel–Face Turn: In Pumped and Primed.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Twice in the anime. The first time they had to detach a piece of a rocket in order to get Spike to Specter's base, and later in the series finale where Specter tries to shoot the heroes' Humongous Mecha only for the Pipotrons' mecha to take it instead. Both are Disney Deaths.
- Humongous Mecha: The Pipotrons use a mecha the size of Earth itself in the finale of the anime. It's crudely made in comparison to the equally huge mechas the heroes and villains are using though.
- No Mouth: Yellow, or so it seems.
- Scary Teeth: Blue has these, although Red gets them too during their intermissions in Pumped & Prime or in the anime, when he gets mad.
- Throw Down the Bomblet: Red's reaction to being cornered in a room with a menacing guard robot? Take two (already lit) cartoon bombs out of his pockets and shows them off before throwing them, transitioning to a shit-eating grin on his face.
- The Unintelligible: In Pumped and Primed, they speak odd sounding gibberish with distorted voices. Red speaks in a deep murmer, Blue speaks with a higher pitched voiced of mostly vowels, and Yellow speaks only in beep noises. In Ape Escape 3, they sound much like any other monkey. Subverted in Academy and the anime, where Pipotron Red and Blue can speak perfect English or Japanese (still distorted in the games), whereas Pipotron Yellow talks in beeps in the games and Pokémon Speak in the anime.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Happens to them in both Pumped and Primed and the anime.
Helga/Haruka
A young girl around Spike's age. She first appeared in Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed, where she was the previous champion of the tournament that Spike and company enter. Her father mysteriously went missing, and she's determined to find him.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Her home was broken into and her father was taken away in the process.
- Designated Love Interest: To Spike, which is implied in the ending of Pumped & Primed, and is taken to the next level in the anime.
- Disappeared Dad: He was kidnapped and she's still searching for him. The culprits were the Pipotrons.
- Leitmotif: A depressing piano tune that lets you know about her dark and troubled past.