Bon, a regular high school student, who unexpectedly gets entangled in a time-travel dilemma, is eventually thrust into the role of a time patrol agent alongside Ream, a young girl from the future and Buyoyon, a highly intelligent jelly-like hyperspace creature.

T•Pぼん (TIME PATROL BON) is one of my favorite manga series created by legendary manga writing duo Fujiko Fujio (藤子不二雄), first published in August 1978. A 94-minute animated television special directed by Kunihiko Yuyama (湯山邦彦) was broadcast on Nippon TV in October 1989.

The story essentially follows Bon Namihira (並平凡), a Japanese teenager, who joins a team of time agents consisting of Ream Stream (リーム・ストリーム), a female agent from the year 2056, and Buyoyon (ブヨヨン), a talkative, highly intelligent jelly-like hyperspace creature. They are part of a secret organization from the future, tasked with saving innocent people’s lives during major historical events across different times and locations around the world, without interfering with the real historical events.

消されてたまるか

I Won’t Be Erased!

Bon finds the Time Boat parked near a giant cedar stump next to the forest. He climbs on, and it accidentally propels him to the Kamakura period, summer of 1280. Bon almost gets killed, but Ream arrives just in time to save his life with Time Lock.

During Ream’s earlier mission, she forgot to activate the Forgetter, a device that erases memories of Time Patrol missions from nearby people. This means Bon remembers everything. The Headquarters initially orders his erasure by traveling back in time to prevent his parents’ marriage, but upon discovering Bon’s future importance, they decide to recruit him as a new agent.

見ならい T • P

T・P Apprentice

Bon becomes a T • P apprentice, working alongside Ream on a mission to save the life of Granny Yamada, who insists on waiting through a rainstorm and flooding for her son returning from war.

ピラミッドの秘密

The Secret of the Pyramid

Bon and Ream are tasked with saving the life of Thoth, a pyramid builder in 2592 B.C. Egypt, carrying on his father Sneferu’s legacy at Inebu-hedj, from being doomed to be buried alive by Chancellor Imhotep’s orders to protect the secrets of King Djoser’s tomb.

古代人太平洋を行く

An Ancient Man Crosses the Pacific

Equipped with the Timeceiver for communication across time periods, a Time Patrol agent suit, and his own Time Boat, Bon and Ream are tasked with assisting Toge, a man attempting a perilous voyage from Mindanao Island to Japan in 800 B.C.

魔女狩り

Witch Hunt

Bon and Ream’s mission takes them to 1644 Southern France, where they must save Céline from being burned alive as a witch. Upon arrival, disaster strikes! Mistaken for wild animals by Fernand, a local poacher, they’re shot with arrows.

Luckily, Céline, who possesses deep knowledge of medicine learned from her late grandfather, rescues them from the forest. Fernand, however, desires Céline’s hand in marriage. When his advances are rejected (Céline is already engaged to Jean), jealousy consumes him. In a cruel twist, Fernand spreads vicious rumors, branding Céline a witch.

白竜のほえる山

The Mountain of the Roaring White Dragon

Bon and Ream’s mission takes them 1,400 years back in time to save the life of Chamuku, a young boy who set out to travel across the Tian Shan Mountains with Xuanzang (玄奘), a great monk from the Tang Dynasty on his legendary pilgrimage. This historical journey later served as inspiration for one of the greatest classic Chinese novels, Journey to the West (西遊記), published in the 16th century.

暗黒の大迷宮

The Dark Labyrinth

Bon and Ream travel back to 1500 B.C. to save a man and woman from being sacrificed to the Minotaur on the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea. However, a malfunction in Ream’s Time Boat transports them to the ruins of Knossos in the 20th century, where they meet a Japanese tourist, Fujiko Fujio.

戦場の美少女

The Beautiful Girl on the Battlefield

Bon and Ream’s mission is to save Navy Ensign Sakuragi, a kamikaze pilot who perished during World War II’s Operation Kikusui VII in 1945, Okinawa, Japan.

バカンスは恐竜に乗って

Riding a Dinosaur on Vacation

Once a year, Time Patrol agents get a chance to use their Time Boats for leisure. They can travel to any location or time period. This year, Ream takes Bon on a trip to the Late Jurassic Period in North America, 150 million years ago. However, Buyoyon, who had a traumatic experience on a similar trip with Ream last year, immediately departs, leaving them to explore on their own.

T•Pぼん (TIME PATROL BON) was released on 2 May 2024 on Netflix.