Viewtiful Joe

The Viewtiful Joe anime was produced by Group TAC and loosely adapts the first two video games, Viewtiful Joe and Viewtiful Joe 2, while introducing original characters and scenarios.

Video game producer Atsushi Inaba and his team provided Group TAC with the character designs from the video games as well as original designs created specifically for the animated series.

Bob Papenbrook voiced Captain Blue (under the pseudonym John Smallberries) for the first twenty-one English dubbed episodes; he died on March 17, 2006 from complications of a chronic lung condition, making Viewtiful Joe his final work before being replaced by Paul St. Peter.

In the English dub, Joe's flying machine 'Six Machine' was renamed 'Machine Six,' with speculation that this was done because the original name sounded too close to the phrase 'sex machine.'

Several censoring edits were made for the English dub, including removing Joe's middle finger from his transformation sequence and permanently zipping up Sprocket's jumpsuit, which eliminated one of her signature moves and reduced her screen time compared to the original Japanese version; the show aired completely uncut in Brazil and Spain.

Silvia's superhero alter ego, called 'Sexy Silvia' in the games and Japanese version, was renamed 'Go-Go Silvia' for the English dub.

Reviewers praised the anime's faithfulness to the video games and its visual style, but frequently criticized its low animation frame rate and the English dub's heavy use of slang, with Anime News Network giving the first English DVD volume an overall grade of 'F' and the second a 'D'.

According to Geneon's early 2006 press release, the anime ranked as the top show in its timeslot among the ages 2–11 Nielsen ratings demographic.