Synopsis

After failing once again in a desperate attempt to retrieve the Oracle Key from the Spider Riders, Grasshop finds himself demoted and losing face in the eyes of his family and fellow Invectids. While he plots to regain his prominence, his fellow Big Four have other concerns. One hundred years of stripping all life from their land has left them helpless before an all-consuming darkness and the only thing holding it at bay is the power of Aqune's Oracle Key. But Arachna, with its sunlight and teeming life, is the answer. All they have to do is steal the Oracle's power, decimate the humans and invade Arachna once and for all!

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

Crew

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.