Synopsis

When Buguese finds the doorway to the Spirit Oracle's shrine, all that is left is to breach the energy shield. Mantid enlists Grasshop to distract the Spider Riders and buy Buguese and Aqune sufficient time to get the job done. After hearing that Grasshop and his forces are threatening to destroy a village, the Spider Riders arrive to find themselves challenged to a duel. Our heroes accept the challenge, only to be mystified by the Invectids' seeming unwillingness to take the offensive or engage on any level. Suddenly, Hunter finds himself and Shadow pinned, and for a moment, all seems lost until Magma appears, helping to defeat Grasshop's giant robot. With his army in defeat, Grasshop spills the beans. Not only is Buguese at the Oracle's door, but he's searching for her four keys, from which all her energy is derived. Are the Spider Riders too late, or will they be able to foil Mantid's fiendish plans?

Characters

Hunter Steele, Prince Lumen, Princess Sparkle, Corona, Shadow, Venus, Magma, Brutus, Ignus (Igneous), Hotarla, Ebony, Grasshop, Verein (Beerain), Baggus (Buguese), Mantid, Flame, Stags

Credits

Directing

Director: Koichi Mashimo

Writing

Writer: Yôsuke Kuroda
Based On The Novels By: Tedd Anasti, Patsy Cameron-Anasti, Stephen D. Sullivan

Voices

Voice: Motoko Kumai (Hunter Steele), Kumiko Higa (Prince Lumen), Kaori Shimizu (Princess Sparkle), Kenta Miyake (Stags), Kinya Kotani (Magma), Hiroshi Yanaka (Mantid), Takashi Kondo (Shadow), Saeko Chiba (Corona), Toshihiko Seki (Baggus), Yuu Asakawa (Verein), Takehito Koyasu (Ignus), Shigeru Chiba (Grasshop), Sanae Kobayashi (Venus)
Vocal Talent (English-Language): Julie Lemieux (Hunter Steele), Cameron Ansell (Prince Lumen), Melanie Tonello (Princess Sparkle), Sandy Fox (Corona), Lex Lang (Shadow), Colleen Clinkenbeard (Venus), Darren Frost (Magma, Brutus), Phil (Igneous), Grace Fulliton (Princess Sparkle, Hotarla), Stephen Apostolina (Ebony), Robert Tinkler (Grasshop), Stacey Depass (Beerain), Dan Goldman (Buguese, Mantid), Peter Capllan (Flame)

Music

Music: David W. Shaw

Sound

Sound Effects Editor: Timothy Muirhead
Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Richard Spence-Thomas

Production notes

While on a hiking trip with friends, 11-year-old Hunter Steele is sucked into the fantastic subterranean world of Arachnia. It is a land of eternal day where the sun is the earth's molten core and waterfalls flow towards the sky; a world where evolution has taken a different twist; where the insects have become the dominant species not only in number, but also in size. There, Hunter discovers a lost civilization, the Turandot, struggling to survive in this hostile "Inner World." They are locked in battle with the Invectids, giant humanoid insects determined to eradicate all human life. The Turandot are defended by a group of elite warriors who ride 10-foot-tall battle spiders... the Spider Riders.

This series followed the Cookie Jar Entertainment TV special of the same name.

An initial run of 52 episodes is planned.