F•R•I•E•N•D•S: The Obscure Anime Origins of One of the Most Successful Sitcoms of All Time
The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine about the successful 90s sitcom, Friends (stylized as F•R•I•E•N•D•S). While my friend knew just about everything there was to know about the show, and admitted to being a longtime Ross and Rachel stan, I was surprised to learn they’d never heard of the series Friends was based on. During my research I learned that, in fact, most of the Internet doesn’t seem to be aware that Friends, the show everyone loves, and Netflix thinks is worth 100 million dollars a year, is actually based on a relatively obscure anime from the late 1970s. Titled 星の中の友達, or Hoshi No Naka No Tomodachi (Friends Among the Stars), the series was a melodramatic/comic space opera, localized in syndication in North America in 1983 as Fully Robotic Interceptors: Earth Nova Defense Squadron (F•R•I•E•N•D•S).
Honestly, the similarities are more or less 1:1. Hoshi No Naka No Tomodachi follows two space pilots in an intergalactic war for survival, Yosuke and Kansuke (Joey and Chandler). The two young men live together on their battleship, the UNS-1994 Neo Yokai, and dream about a life free from the struggle for survival against the invading armies of the evil space queen Reika (Rachel), long ago cast down from her throne. During their travels, Yosuke and Kansuke stumble upon the Garu Ark (Gall Ark in the English translation), and find a pair of sibling androids inside, Ryozo (Ross), and Masako (Monica). Phoebe does not appear in the anime, as she was an original character created by NBC.
While the first half of the anime had an oftentimes comedic tone, the later episodes frequently slipped into tragedy and melodrama, as the war between the UNS forces and Reika’s armies intensified. As a result, NBC executives insisted that the showrunners of the live action adaptation tone down most of the space opera elements, and instead pump up the comedy to increase “audience relatability.” Luckily, there were a lot of elements of the original series which ended up translating fairly easy. Yosuke and Kansuke living together, the UNS-1994 Neo Yokai became 1994 New York, Kentarousu (Space) Port became Central Perk, etc.
The first few arcs of the series were mostly space battles and typical monster of the week scenarios, not unlike the original Voltron. But as the series progressed, things became more serious, until we reached the final arc, which serious fans typically refer to as the “Reclamation Trilogy.” In episode 24, the crew of the Neo Yokai confront Reika directly, and in the ensuing struggle, Ryozo and Masako’s memories are unlocked. They learn that they are both thousands of years old and that they were once human, and lived happily alongside none other than Reika herself. It’s revealed that Reika has known this all along, and has been trying to obtain the Garu Ark, because with its power alongside her own, she will be able to annihilate humanity once and for all.
While Masako refuses to go along with Reika’s wishes, and escapes alongside Kansuke and Yosuke, Ryozo is captured by Reika, who reveals even more of the past to him. Ryozo and Reika were once happily married with a child, before the events of the mysterious “Cataclysm” destroyed their civilization, and left Reika, Ryozo, Masako and a mysterious fourth person trapped in immortal, unfeeling android bodies. Reika wants to destroy humanity, not out of spite, or vengeance, but because she has been living half a life for millennia, and believes destroying humanity is the only way she can truly die. As a result, Ryozo’s feelings for Reika return, and he pledges to stand by her side and help her turn the power of the Garu Ark on the humanity that betrayed her. Ryozo then contacts Masako, explaining Reika’s intentions, and asks Masako to join them. Masako refuses, having fallen in love with Kansuke.
In episode 25, together with Yosuke, Masako and Kansuke stage a raid on Reika’s fortress at the center of the galaxy, though Yosuke is wounded during the approach. After dropping Kansuke and Masako off, Yosuke decides to ram the Neo Yokai into Reika’s throne room in an attempt to kill her, once and for all (“OGENKIDESUKA!”). Unfortunately, Reika survives, and Masako and Kansuke, having fought their way through the remnants of Reika’s army engage her and Ryozo in a final battle. During this battle, Kansuke’s memories are restored as well, as he is revealed to be the final android, and remembers having been friends with Ryozo, Masako, and Reika before the Cataclysm. Reika and Ryozo are on the verge of overwhelming Masako and Kansuke and activating the Garu Ark, when Masako channels all her energy into an attack on her brother, but Reika sacrifices herself to block the attack, finally dying in Ryozo’s arms. In the series finale, episode 26, Ryozo, overcome by Reika’s sacrifice, and unable to live with what he’s become, destroys the Garu Ark before flying into a black hole carrying Reika’s body. “Watashitachiha wakareta… Reika.”
Masako and Kansuke collapse, alone and exhausted, unable to escape from Reika’s fortress. In the final line of the series, Kansuke turns to Masako, and asks “Watashi wa ningen ni naru koto ga dekimasu ka?” Now, true F•R•I•E•N•D•S fans have debated the meaning of this line for decades. See, the literal translation is generally accepted as “Can I… become a human?” but the translation team (it should be pointed out that the English version, Fully Robotic Interceptors: Earth Nova Defense Squadron, is generally considered the inferior show) chose to translate the line as “Could I BE any more human?” This struck many as an odd choice, although the line does seem deeply symbolic of the series’ larger themes of transhumanism, and the interrogation of what it truly means to be human. Regardless, the show ends shortly afterwards, so fans have been left debating its meaning ever since.
Anyway, when they decided to adapt the show for NBC’s Must See TV block in 1993, a lot of the narrative elements ended up getting jettisoned, alongside aspects of the setting. Most of the space opera stuff was axed due to budgetary and cultural reasons (although some of it would reappear in the season 3 premiere, “The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy”), and replaced with the conceit of 6 adult friends in New York City who all somehow live close enough to the same coffee shop, and have enough free time to constantly hang out every day. What they kept was most of the character elements. Like Yosuke and Kansuke, Joey and Chandler are roommates, one of whom is ladies’ man, while the other is nebbishy and sarcastic. Ryozo and Reika/Ross and Rachel ultimately get together, Ryozo and Masako/Ross and Monica are siblings, etc. The similarities are endless. Yosuke’s death in the finale was a bit of a hurdle, but was ultimately retconned into Joey moving to California to pursue an acting career, and the subsequent series, Joey, is largely based on the OVA Hoshi Ni Tewonbasu, Yosuke! (Reach for the Stars, Yosuke!) which imagines an alternate universe where Yosuke does not go with Masako and Kansuke on their final mission.
So, even though a lot of the show had to change to be adapted for network television in the 90s, I’m still glad they managed to get a version of it on the air. While a lot of people seem to have forgotten the history of Friends, it’s always helpful to look into the roots of the show. Ultimately, the show they set out to make is a very different beast from its inspiration, but it wouldn’t be what it is today without the anime sensation that started it all!
