Tai Chi Chasers
Tai Chi Chasers (, "Taegeuk Cheonjamun"; , "Tai Chi Senjimon", "Taichi Chasers" lit. "1000 Characters of Tai Chi" in Asian territories; also known as "Taegeuk Kids" on KBS World) is an animated action-adventure television series produced by JM Animation and Toei Animation. The series draws influence from East Asian mythology and revolves around the protagonist, Rai, a child who gains supernatural abilities and who becomes involved in a long-running armed conflict between two ethnic groups, the Tigeroids and the Dragonoids. "Tai Chi Chasers" originally aired on KBS 1TV on 29 April 2007 to 20 January 2008. A  Cantonese-language localisation of the series aired on TVB Jade in Hong Kong from 13 August 2009 to 1 January 2010. An English-language localisation was distributed through 4Kids Entertainment in the United States, airing on Toonzai from 17 September 2011 until 2 June 2012. The English-language localisation was further adapted into Hebrew in Israel, where it was aired by Arutz HaYeladim. The Korean version was adapted by Thailand in 2008. Premise and plot. "Tai Chi Chasers" is set in a fantasy world that draws influence from East Asian mythology. Within this fantasy world, two ethnic groups, the protagonistic  Tigeroids () and the antagonistic Dragonoids () have been engaged in a long-running armed conflict over the primary issue of the Tai Chi cards, a group of 500 magical artifacts which both groups seek to recover for their own purposes. The plot of the series revolves around the protagonist Rai, a child, who discovers that he is descended from the Tigeroids after his community is attacked. He is therefore in possession of various magical abilities that all other Tigeroid individuals innately possess. Rai then becomes a combatant in the Tigeroid armed forces. In the process of taking part in the hostilities , Rai develops his magical abilities, using them in combat against the Dragonoids. He also becomes a member of an elite group of combatants, known as the Tai Chi Chasers. "Tai Chi Chasers" utilizes Korean hanja to represent the various magical abilities and artifacts present throughout the series. In the English language version, distributed by 4Kids Entertainment, the hanja characters are referred to both by their Korean pronunciations and their English language translations. Production. "Tai Chi Chasers" was produced by KBS in association with Toei TV. The series was distributed and localized by 4Kids Entertainment in the United States, airing on  Toonzai from September 17, 2011, to June 2, 2012. The series has a total 39 episodes broadcast across three seasons, with 13 episodes in each season. The third season of the English-language localisation of "Tai Chi Chasers" was cancelled in 2012 due to the bankruptcy of 4Kids Entertainment and its subsidiary, 4Kids Productions in that year. This led to the sale of 4Kids Entertainment's assets in June 2012. "Tai Chi Chasers" was also adapted into Hebrew in Israel, where it aired on Arutz HaYeladim under the name .