Gaiking was one of the first generation of super robots.
Its notability derives from two main factors: It's one of the first transforming/combining robots with a transformation that is based on physical reality, and it's terrifying.
Seriously, he just straight up uses that giant mouth in his stomach to bite things and those horns on his head to impale things. When I first realized that, I was pretty amazed that something quite that freaky was part of the old guard. (Granted, it's a slightly tame freaky, since, you know, robot-on-robot bloodless violence, but still.)
It actually got dubbed and put in that old standby of super robot lineups that very few people in the US other than hardcore super robot fans remember, Force Five. (It was also a part of Shogun Warriors, although it didn't appear in the Marvel comic.)
Since I don't hear anything about this dub, I'm going to assume it was pretty forgettable (instead of rampantly bad like the Grendizer dub).
I might not even bring Gaiking up at all, except...
...yeah, it had a popular remake/not truly a sequel. And having watched, oh, six or seven episodes or so of its official Hulu subtitled release, I can verify that it's pretty awesome.
For one, they take many super robot ideas and many "real robot" (i.e. what an English speaker would call a "Japanese mecha" series) ideas and blend them together in seamless and logical fashion. Sure, the robot's a super-awesome gigantic thing powered by its pilot's magic fire-generating abilities, but it also needs to have its forearms replaced after it launches off its rocket punches.
Another thing is that the protagonist, Daiya, is perhaps the best iteration of the overused and often poorly utilized "kid pilot" trope found in this kind of series I've ever seen. Seriously, he's just an awesome kid. He's believably a child, yet he's also surprisingly mature, serious, and tough. And willing to take on giant monsters armed only with a probably homemade harpoon.
The series is 39 episodes, and I'm looking forward to all the ones I haven't watched.
Oh, yeah, and there's apparently going to be a movie?
(A little note on Gaiking: Go Nagai has taken credit for creating Gaiking, but he waited to do so publicly until after the popular recent series. I find this just a bit suspicious, especially since Go Nagai seems to kind of just let people assume he created Getter Robo when he really only gave the actual creator a suggestion to go on. Not to call him on it or anything, it's just a bit peculiar that he'd wait until it was clear the property was viable.)
-Signing off.
Showing posts with label super robot profiles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label super robot profiles. Show all posts
Monday, August 8, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Super Robot/Anime Profiles: Gun X Sword
Gun X Sword is an anime you don't hear much about, which is a smidgen odd, since it's available in both subtitled and English dubbed versions in an official release on YouTube.
It's about characters on a planet that resembles the Wild West, only there are giant robots.
(There's no proper introduction posting on YouTube, probably because the intro changed a little bit every few episodes, and was generally rather spoilery. That is the intro song, though.)
The first episode watches like a traditional western, with a mysterious drifter who shows up and rescues a kid (in this case, a fourteen-year-old girl) from a rough and rowdy roaming gang. It goes through typical story paces, with only oddities such as the drifter's weapon being a sword instead of a gun and the gang threatening the town with the impending arrival of an armor (i.e. a giant robot) setting it apart from something that could have been a traditional genre western.
Then the mysterious drifter summons a giant robot that falls from the sky (accompanied by fantastic music).
Aside from the fact that the series is, as noted about three times now, the wild west with giant robots, it's an exceptionally well-crafted series.
It also has one of the best main villains of all time. (There's a scene from the third-to-last episode that cemented him as such forever in my mind, but I can't explain it without majorly spoiling it. See, the villain's reveal is kind of a big freaking deal, and he works best if you're introduced to him by watching the series itself. I'll just say he probably won't be what you expected.)
I don't think there are any bad episodes (well, the beach episode was kind of dumb, and episode six felt mildly like filler, but the beach episode had a purpose and was kind of amusing, and episode six nearly caused my sister to die from laughter), but the last three were really good. Even if I'd thought most of the series was only so-so, those last three would have made it worth it. (Of course, all the fantastic things relied on things set up earlier in the series...)
There are so many threads woven together-almost every character of significance gets at least a second mention in a later episode, even the guy with the freaky mustache from the second episode (though not directly in dialogue). And yes, that will make sense in context.
One of the most interesting parts is the dichotomy that the series presents between the characters Van and Ray. Both men have similar motivations and goals, but in nearly every other way are different from each other (although it's implied that neither of them are prone to eating more than the bare minimum to sustain themselves). The compare/contrast between the two is one of the most defining aspects of the series, and is one of the things that helps make that third-to-last episode so great.
Be warned that there are parts, especially late in the series, that are pretty disturbing. Most of the villains are really messed up people, in one way or another. Some of the heroes aren't exactly well-adjusted themselves (particularly Ray and to a lesser degree Van).
All in all, though, it's a great series that blends elements together in a way that works fantastically. (I still get chills every time I hear the "Wake Up, Dann" theme. And yes, I know that's not the theme's name.)
-Signing off.
It's about characters on a planet that resembles the Wild West, only there are giant robots.
(There's no proper introduction posting on YouTube, probably because the intro changed a little bit every few episodes, and was generally rather spoilery. That is the intro song, though.)
The first episode watches like a traditional western, with a mysterious drifter who shows up and rescues a kid (in this case, a fourteen-year-old girl) from a rough and rowdy roaming gang. It goes through typical story paces, with only oddities such as the drifter's weapon being a sword instead of a gun and the gang threatening the town with the impending arrival of an armor (i.e. a giant robot) setting it apart from something that could have been a traditional genre western.
Then the mysterious drifter summons a giant robot that falls from the sky (accompanied by fantastic music).
Aside from the fact that the series is, as noted about three times now, the wild west with giant robots, it's an exceptionally well-crafted series.
It also has one of the best main villains of all time. (There's a scene from the third-to-last episode that cemented him as such forever in my mind, but I can't explain it without majorly spoiling it. See, the villain's reveal is kind of a big freaking deal, and he works best if you're introduced to him by watching the series itself. I'll just say he probably won't be what you expected.)
I don't think there are any bad episodes (well, the beach episode was kind of dumb, and episode six felt mildly like filler, but the beach episode had a purpose and was kind of amusing, and episode six nearly caused my sister to die from laughter), but the last three were really good. Even if I'd thought most of the series was only so-so, those last three would have made it worth it. (Of course, all the fantastic things relied on things set up earlier in the series...)
There are so many threads woven together-almost every character of significance gets at least a second mention in a later episode, even the guy with the freaky mustache from the second episode (though not directly in dialogue). And yes, that will make sense in context.
One of the most interesting parts is the dichotomy that the series presents between the characters Van and Ray. Both men have similar motivations and goals, but in nearly every other way are different from each other (although it's implied that neither of them are prone to eating more than the bare minimum to sustain themselves). The compare/contrast between the two is one of the most defining aspects of the series, and is one of the things that helps make that third-to-last episode so great.
Be warned that there are parts, especially late in the series, that are pretty disturbing. Most of the villains are really messed up people, in one way or another. Some of the heroes aren't exactly well-adjusted themselves (particularly Ray and to a lesser degree Van).
All in all, though, it's a great series that blends elements together in a way that works fantastically. (I still get chills every time I hear the "Wake Up, Dann" theme. And yes, I know that's not the theme's name.)
-Signing off.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Super Robot Profiles: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
I am so frikkin' high on Gurren Lagann right now. Because I just finished watching it maybe ten or fifteen minutes ago.
What am I saying?
Well, Gurren Lagann (complete English dub release available for free on YouTube!) is one of the most popular anime of the last decade (and of all time, really), and for good reason: It is awesome.
(If you haven't seen it, don't Google it or read any other sites for it. Just go watch it.)
I'm not going to spoil it for you, but I'll try to use more than simple "LOL EPIC" to bring across just what this series is.
Gurren Lagann is a series where symbolism is more important than physics; where determination trumps probabilities; where emotion means more than literal events. In other words, first and foremost, it's a story about fictional people.
And it never pretends that it isn't.
On the other hand, it's a series where events have real consequences. Gurren Lagann never steps back or retcons away events; it unabashedly goes into what happens next, always pushing forward.
Because that is the way a drill works.
The series is both funny and deadly serious. This is not a contradiction, although it gets more serious and less funny as it continues.
The characters are enormous hams, and this is not a bad thing. (More questionable is the often distracting fanservice, which I don't especially care for [it's not very attractive a lot of the time, although sometimes I admit I laughed at the audacity of it], but you take the bad with the good with a series like this.)
Really, to say more than that is to say too much, but it's still not enough. I'm not even sure what else to say.
-Signing off.
What am I saying?
Well, Gurren Lagann (complete English dub release available for free on YouTube!) is one of the most popular anime of the last decade (and of all time, really), and for good reason: It is awesome.
(If you haven't seen it, don't Google it or read any other sites for it. Just go watch it.)
I'm not going to spoil it for you, but I'll try to use more than simple "LOL EPIC" to bring across just what this series is.
Gurren Lagann is a series where symbolism is more important than physics; where determination trumps probabilities; where emotion means more than literal events. In other words, first and foremost, it's a story about fictional people.
And it never pretends that it isn't.
On the other hand, it's a series where events have real consequences. Gurren Lagann never steps back or retcons away events; it unabashedly goes into what happens next, always pushing forward.
Because that is the way a drill works.
The series is both funny and deadly serious. This is not a contradiction, although it gets more serious and less funny as it continues.
The characters are enormous hams, and this is not a bad thing. (More questionable is the often distracting fanservice, which I don't especially care for [it's not very attractive a lot of the time, although sometimes I admit I laughed at the audacity of it], but you take the bad with the good with a series like this.)
Really, to say more than that is to say too much, but it's still not enough. I'm not even sure what else to say.
-Signing off.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Super Robot Profiles: Robot Taekwon V
Robot Taekwon V is totally awesome because I watched it when I was a little kid.
Of course, I had no idea at the time, and I only discovered that I had today. Previously, those childhood memories were a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in an obscure name-changing dub.
Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about Robot Taekwon V, with Wikipedia funniness and such bolded for your convenient amusement:
Robot Taekwon V (로보트 태권 V) is a South Korean animated film directed by Kim Cheong-gi and produced by Yu Hyun-mok, the prominent director of such films as Obaltan (오발탄) (Aimless Bullet) (1960). It was released on July 24, 1976 , immediately becoming a mega-smashed hit in the late 1970s, and consequently inspired a string of sequels in followng years. Robot Taekwon V was released in the United States in a dubbed format under the name Voltar the Invincible. Robot Taekwon V became the first Korean film to receive full digital restoration treatment in 2005. In Japan, it is known as a plagiarism of Mazinger Z.
It was a mega-smashed hit, indeed. (Though I could have sworn that it was called Voltak, not Voltar.) Also-dude, do you guys even know what plagiarism means? (It does not refer to imitation; it refers to using someone else's work as your own without crediting the other. Unless they stole actual animation or claimed that they had created Mazinger Z, they weren't plagiarizing.)
Even though that video wasn't the actual intro, it gives some impression of what it's like; for the place and time period, the animation is actually pretty sharp. The intro itself is made of pure crack.
And if you disbelieve me, here's some clips from the film (yes, it was a movie):
Compare to the Mazinger Z footage I embedded here. It certainly isn't bad by comparison... The martial arts aspect also adds a nice twist to the Taekwon V combat that Mazinger Z is sadly lacking, actually. (I particularly like the fact that, instead of rocket punching, Taekwon V rocket chops.)
But check this out:
Yes, at least according to the guy who posted this, they're making a live action movie with a CGI Robot Taekwon V.
Of course, there was a much more ignominious sequel to the movie, Super Taekwon V...
...which ripped off design elements from Xabungle, Daitarn 3, Gundam, and probably countless other things.
I love Korean animation.
-Signing off.
Of course, I had no idea at the time, and I only discovered that I had today. Previously, those childhood memories were a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in an obscure name-changing dub.
Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about Robot Taekwon V, with Wikipedia funniness and such bolded for your convenient amusement:
Robot Taekwon V (로보트 태권 V) is a South Korean animated film directed by Kim Cheong-gi and produced by Yu Hyun-mok, the prominent director of such films as Obaltan (오발탄) (Aimless Bullet) (1960). It was released on July 24, 1976 , immediately becoming a mega-smashed hit in the late 1970s, and consequently inspired a string of sequels in followng years. Robot Taekwon V was released in the United States in a dubbed format under the name Voltar the Invincible. Robot Taekwon V became the first Korean film to receive full digital restoration treatment in 2005. In Japan, it is known as a plagiarism of Mazinger Z.
It was a mega-smashed hit, indeed. (Though I could have sworn that it was called Voltak, not Voltar.) Also-dude, do you guys even know what plagiarism means? (It does not refer to imitation; it refers to using someone else's work as your own without crediting the other. Unless they stole actual animation or claimed that they had created Mazinger Z, they weren't plagiarizing.)
Even though that video wasn't the actual intro, it gives some impression of what it's like; for the place and time period, the animation is actually pretty sharp. The intro itself is made of pure crack.
And if you disbelieve me, here's some clips from the film (yes, it was a movie):
Compare to the Mazinger Z footage I embedded here. It certainly isn't bad by comparison... The martial arts aspect also adds a nice twist to the Taekwon V combat that Mazinger Z is sadly lacking, actually. (I particularly like the fact that, instead of rocket punching, Taekwon V rocket chops.)
But check this out:
Yes, at least according to the guy who posted this, they're making a live action movie with a CGI Robot Taekwon V.
Of course, there was a much more ignominious sequel to the movie, Super Taekwon V...
...which ripped off design elements from Xabungle, Daitarn 3, Gundam, and probably countless other things.
I love Korean animation.
-Signing off.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Super Robot Cartoon Profiles: Mighty Orbots
A series I've mentioned a few times but never quite profiled is Mighty Orbots.
Mighty Orbots is a series which bridged the gap between animation in the US and Japan. What does this mean?
Well, for one, it makes for some crazy fun.
In the first episode, some evil rock stars use their "alien music" to make a magnetic monster, which Mighty Orbots throws into a volcano on some rocky moon so hard that it (the moon) explodes.
In the second episode, the Orbots cut a planet in half, scooped out the middle, used the halves to trap a giant gas monster guy, and then welded it shut to keep him in there. (It didn't work-they had to throw him into a planet-eating wormhole later on.)
In the fourth episode, the Orbots were mind-controlled by blatant Ewok analogues, who themselves were under mind control.
The main cast of Mighty Orbots are Rob, AKA the "Orbots Commander" (it was actually a secret dual identity, which is hilariously incongruous for a few hundred reasons), Ohno, the mother hen and the component that activates the combination (she scolds and tirades an awful lot), Tor, the big dumb brute, Bort, Crunch, the dog who eats stuff (okay, he's not the dog, but he talks about as much as a dog), and Bo and Boo/Bu, the girls with energy powers. (Bo is "master of the elements," which basically means she can absorb and focus all kinds of energy; Boo is basically a robotic Invisible Woman [invisibility, force fields] who can also make more elaborate illusions and teleport.)
All together, they're like the Fantastic Four (a strong guy, a flexible/shapeshifter type, an energetic and mischievous master of elements, and the one who sounds lame but is powerful... and then there's Crunch, who eats stuff-um, yeah, he doesn't fit with this analogy) but robots.
And since they're robots, they can combine into a giant robot, conveniently called Mighty Orbots, who has all their powers. (And when I say "giant," I mean, a few hundred times more massive than the combined mass of the Orbots themselves. How? It's powered by 100% pure Japanesanimesium.)
So I guess they're a combination of the FF and the Planeteers from Captain Planet... except that Mighty Orbots came out six years before Captain Planet. Ah, well.
Anyway, as mentioned, this series is half-Japanese, half-American. This gives it one of youth-oriented anime's strangest quirks-excessive narration. The series is also, as you might guess, unabashedly goofy. (Author Michael Reaves, talking about his cartoon-writing experiences, once called Mighty Orbots one of the worst series he'd ever worked on. He seems to have taken that remark down...)
But despite (or even because of) that, I really enjoy digging up old episodes of it on video sites, because they're unselfconsciously fun.
I need to do more posts on them. Sigh.
-Signing off.
Mighty Orbots is a series which bridged the gap between animation in the US and Japan. What does this mean?
Well, for one, it makes for some crazy fun.
In the first episode, some evil rock stars use their "alien music" to make a magnetic monster, which Mighty Orbots throws into a volcano on some rocky moon so hard that it (the moon) explodes.
In the second episode, the Orbots cut a planet in half, scooped out the middle, used the halves to trap a giant gas monster guy, and then welded it shut to keep him in there. (It didn't work-they had to throw him into a planet-eating wormhole later on.)
In the fourth episode, the Orbots were mind-controlled by blatant Ewok analogues, who themselves were under mind control.
The main cast of Mighty Orbots are Rob, AKA the "Orbots Commander" (it was actually a secret dual identity, which is hilariously incongruous for a few hundred reasons), Ohno, the mother hen and the component that activates the combination (she scolds and tirades an awful lot), Tor, the big dumb brute, Bort, Crunch, the dog who eats stuff (okay, he's not the dog, but he talks about as much as a dog), and Bo and Boo/Bu, the girls with energy powers. (Bo is "master of the elements," which basically means she can absorb and focus all kinds of energy; Boo is basically a robotic Invisible Woman [invisibility, force fields] who can also make more elaborate illusions and teleport.)
All together, they're like the Fantastic Four (a strong guy, a flexible/shapeshifter type, an energetic and mischievous master of elements, and the one who sounds lame but is powerful... and then there's Crunch, who eats stuff-um, yeah, he doesn't fit with this analogy) but robots.
And since they're robots, they can combine into a giant robot, conveniently called Mighty Orbots, who has all their powers. (And when I say "giant," I mean, a few hundred times more massive than the combined mass of the Orbots themselves. How? It's powered by 100% pure Japanesanimesium.)
So I guess they're a combination of the FF and the Planeteers from Captain Planet... except that Mighty Orbots came out six years before Captain Planet. Ah, well.
Anyway, as mentioned, this series is half-Japanese, half-American. This gives it one of youth-oriented anime's strangest quirks-excessive narration. The series is also, as you might guess, unabashedly goofy. (Author Michael Reaves, talking about his cartoon-writing experiences, once called Mighty Orbots one of the worst series he'd ever worked on. He seems to have taken that remark down...)
But despite (or even because of) that, I really enjoy digging up old episodes of it on video sites, because they're unselfconsciously fun.
I need to do more posts on them. Sigh.
-Signing off.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Super Robot Profiles: Machine Blaster
Boy, it's been a bit since I last did one of these, hasn't it? (Feels longer than it is, but still...)
Blocker Gundan 4 Machine Blaster is a series that I can't boast a huge amount of knowledge of, but I can tell you one thing for certain about it.
It took the venerable concepts of Mazinger Z (detachable head ship, super robot type weapons, etc.) and did them literally to death. (Well, perhaps I exaggerate.) It took an idea that wasn't too bad at all, and did it over and over again in so many ways that we end up with the idea practically becoming a parody of an idea.
And while these designs have a certain charm to them, they are U-G-L-Y.
Only a small community has much interest in Machine Blaster, and this is almost purely for posterity. Other series on at the same time (such as Combattler V, king of yo-yos, and Gaiking, Mr. giant-dragon-head-for-a-body) were much better.*
If Combattler V can kick your butt because you're goofy and lame, you're in trouble.
*Actual summary of Machine Blaster's "concept" from Wikipedia: "The number 4 comes from the team of 4 robots. The robots individually have their own weapon, but they can also be combined to form a fire ring which cuts through the enemies. It was not the most popular show since anime powerhouses Gaiking and Combattler V, which featured more creative combinations and designs, were ruling the airwaves."
-Signing off.
Blocker Gundan 4 Machine Blaster is a series that I can't boast a huge amount of knowledge of, but I can tell you one thing for certain about it.
It took the venerable concepts of Mazinger Z (detachable head ship, super robot type weapons, etc.) and did them literally to death. (Well, perhaps I exaggerate.) It took an idea that wasn't too bad at all, and did it over and over again in so many ways that we end up with the idea practically becoming a parody of an idea.
And while these designs have a certain charm to them, they are U-G-L-Y.
Only a small community has much interest in Machine Blaster, and this is almost purely for posterity. Other series on at the same time (such as Combattler V, king of yo-yos, and Gaiking, Mr. giant-dragon-head-for-a-body) were much better.*
If Combattler V can kick your butt because you're goofy and lame, you're in trouble.
*Actual summary of Machine Blaster's "concept" from Wikipedia: "The number 4 comes from the team of 4 robots. The robots individually have their own weapon, but they can also be combined to form a fire ring which cuts through the enemies. It was not the most popular show since anime powerhouses Gaiking and Combattler V, which featured more creative combinations and designs, were ruling the airwaves."
-Signing off.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Super Robot Profiles: Daitetsujin 17
Daitetsujin 17 (pronounced "one seven," or perhaps more properly, "one sevuuuuun," in case you've never been told how the Japanese pronounce Arabic numerals) is something I've rarely discussed-a live-action super robot.
Not related in any way to Tetsujin 28. Really. All they have in common is blueness and super-robotness.
Anyway, Daitetsujin 17 was dubbed as "Brain 17." How you translate "giant iron being" into "brain," I don't know, but somehow they did it.
I suppose they might have done it because the robot is occasionally controlled through the helmet the kid wears, but whatever.
The reason I like what little I've seen of Daitetsujin 17 is because it has such a distinct visual style from other tokusatsu (live action with special effects from Japan-i.e. like Godzilla movies with a bit lower budget) programs I've seen. (There used to be a music video with a nice remix of its theme and the coolest footage from the series, but it apparently doesn't exist anymore. Ah, well.) It's also kind of scary to watch DTJ 17 take out that steamroller robot-I have no idea what he was doing to him, but it looked like it hurt.
-Signing off.
Not related in any way to Tetsujin 28. Really. All they have in common is blueness and super-robotness.
Anyway, Daitetsujin 17 was dubbed as "Brain 17." How you translate "giant iron being" into "brain," I don't know, but somehow they did it.
I suppose they might have done it because the robot is occasionally controlled through the helmet the kid wears, but whatever.
The reason I like what little I've seen of Daitetsujin 17 is because it has such a distinct visual style from other tokusatsu (live action with special effects from Japan-i.e. like Godzilla movies with a bit lower budget) programs I've seen. (There used to be a music video with a nice remix of its theme and the coolest footage from the series, but it apparently doesn't exist anymore. Ah, well.) It's also kind of scary to watch DTJ 17 take out that steamroller robot-I have no idea what he was doing to him, but it looked like it hurt.
-Signing off.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Super Robot Profiles: Dancouga(r)
Super Beast Machine God Dancouga(r), also known as Dancouga(r)-Super Beast Machine God and "God bless the Dancouga" (I kid you not), is basically a Voltron-type super robot series.
What I mean by this is that the series features a squad of similar vehicles which all combine into one huge ultimate weapon robot. (What distinguishes the "Voltron-type" series from a "Getter-type" series is that the individual Getter craft don't actually do much of anything; Voltron-type series often have fighting sequences involving the individual vehicles or ships. I know that Voltron was not the first series to do this, but it's a term that's simple for me to use and which most people will recognize.)
Unlike many of those, Dancouga(r) didn't actually combine until the sixteenth episode, nearly halfway through the series.
Beyond that, Dancouga(r) obviously paid much more attention to its individual components than most previous series, and in keeping with that, each of the component robots was actually in and of itself a triple changer-i.e., a transforming robot with three modes (in this case, a basic vehicle mode, an animal fighting mode, and a humanoid robot fighting mode). And like the Voltron Lions, each of the Dancouga(r) components was capable of defending itself and even taking the fight to the enemy pretty well. And in and of itself, Dancouga(r) had a much more sophisticated and complex design than Voltron, without losing much if any of the charm.
Also, Dancouga(r) was animated in the mid-'80s, which means its animation style is the kind I love-not too stylized and tons of shadow.
So pretty much, you could say that it's Voltron for people who like pretty things.
-Signing off.
What I mean by this is that the series features a squad of similar vehicles which all combine into one huge ultimate weapon robot. (What distinguishes the "Voltron-type" series from a "Getter-type" series is that the individual Getter craft don't actually do much of anything; Voltron-type series often have fighting sequences involving the individual vehicles or ships. I know that Voltron was not the first series to do this, but it's a term that's simple for me to use and which most people will recognize.)
Unlike many of those, Dancouga(r) didn't actually combine until the sixteenth episode, nearly halfway through the series.
Beyond that, Dancouga(r) obviously paid much more attention to its individual components than most previous series, and in keeping with that, each of the component robots was actually in and of itself a triple changer-i.e., a transforming robot with three modes (in this case, a basic vehicle mode, an animal fighting mode, and a humanoid robot fighting mode). And like the Voltron Lions, each of the Dancouga(r) components was capable of defending itself and even taking the fight to the enemy pretty well. And in and of itself, Dancouga(r) had a much more sophisticated and complex design than Voltron, without losing much if any of the charm.
Also, Dancouga(r) was animated in the mid-'80s, which means its animation style is the kind I love-not too stylized and tons of shadow.
So pretty much, you could say that it's Voltron for people who like pretty things.
-Signing off.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Super Robot Profiles: Bismarck
Sei Jushi Bismarck (translated roughly as "Star Musketeer Bismarck," or so Wikipedia would have you believe) was a series that had a rather understated cowboy theme.
You might possibly recognize it as being Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs...
...which took that cowboy theme (if you don't believe me about this theme, take a look at the toy) and hit you in the head with it. How much does it do so?
Peter Cullen dusts off his John Wayne impression to be the giant robot. The dub version of the giant robot, if you didn't notice, is named the Ramrod, which apparently was slang among cowboys for being the big guy/leader in a gang. (A ramrod is also the device used in an older gun, such as a cowboy-era revolver, to drive the gunpowder and bullet into the gun.)
Taking it even further was some coloring storybook I remember having as a kid, which featured a really Western-style story. All I really know about the series from that, however, is, well, nothing. (I would never have known from that book that there was a giant robot at all. In fact, it wasn't until I started looking for this kind of stuff on the Internet that I realized, hey, giant robot!)
Something I did learn, however, was that April/Marian totally looks better as a redhead. And that the armor these guys wore looked really good in all black. Ahh, childhood!
-Signing off.
You might possibly recognize it as being Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs...
...which took that cowboy theme (if you don't believe me about this theme, take a look at the toy) and hit you in the head with it. How much does it do so?
Peter Cullen dusts off his John Wayne impression to be the giant robot. The dub version of the giant robot, if you didn't notice, is named the Ramrod, which apparently was slang among cowboys for being the big guy/leader in a gang. (A ramrod is also the device used in an older gun, such as a cowboy-era revolver, to drive the gunpowder and bullet into the gun.)
Taking it even further was some coloring storybook I remember having as a kid, which featured a really Western-style story. All I really know about the series from that, however, is, well, nothing. (I would never have known from that book that there was a giant robot at all. In fact, it wasn't until I started looking for this kind of stuff on the Internet that I realized, hey, giant robot!)
Something I did learn, however, was that April/Marian totally looks better as a redhead. And that the armor these guys wore looked really good in all black. Ahh, childhood!
-Signing off.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Super Robot Profiles: God Mars
God Mars (also known as Six God Union Godmarz, Six Gods Unit, and [hilariously] Hexademonic Symbiote Godmars) was one of the fairly numerous shows about a big combining robot thingy.
On this side of the Pacific, God Mars is probably most famous among the Japanese die-cast toy circles, and its Soul of Chogokin (a sort of super-high-end collectible "toyline" where average retail price is well over $100) recently won Toy of the Year on one such site.
One notable fact about God Mars is that the original '80s era toy was to have been retooled to become the Mighty Orbots toys. It's just as well this didn't happen-it would have been pretty hideous.
Anyway, the series itself seems to have had more plot than simply BUNCH OF ROBOTS SHOW UP FIGHT COMBINE WIN. The series' main protagonist, some guy, was sent from outer space to Earth as a baby. Why? So that when he grew up, he could use the bomb in the robot that brought him to blow up the Earth!
Mwahahahahahahaha!
Of course, this seriously begs the question of why the robot wasn't simply sent to destroy the Earth all by itself. Seriously. But they used this plot point in an interesting way-since the kid is raised on Earth, he loves Earth and wants to protect it (didn't see that coming [/sarcasm]), and so he uses the robot (named, you guessed it, Gaia-wait, that wasn't your guess?) to fight the bad guys. But if he ever dies, the bomb in Gaia will go off, destroying the Earth.
The big bad is fine with this, and tries to kill him, with, among other evil schemes and whatnot, the protagonist's brother who was raised to hate him. But it turns out that the kids' dad, who wasn't totally cool with this whole thing, sent five more robots to help him when he grew up. And these five robots combine with Gaia into God Mars. (The robot that merges with Gaia to become God Mars' torso is strangely called Sphinx, most of the rest are named for planets or moons, one is called Shin, and the last is called Ra.) Eventually, when the main villain is defeated, the villain (who looked suspiciously similar to Darth Vader) exploded into a thousand spores of hate disease or something typically Japanese.
As far as I know, up to the point where this series was released, it was the first robot made up entirely of smaller but still humanoid robots. It was also, to my knowledge, the first combining robot with that many components. The series itself also has some fairly original (in both the good and the bad sense) enemy mecha designs (images can be found on these Italian pages).
It also had a pretty nice theme song.
-Signing off.
On this side of the Pacific, God Mars is probably most famous among the Japanese die-cast toy circles, and its Soul of Chogokin (a sort of super-high-end collectible "toyline" where average retail price is well over $100) recently won Toy of the Year on one such site.
One notable fact about God Mars is that the original '80s era toy was to have been retooled to become the Mighty Orbots toys. It's just as well this didn't happen-it would have been pretty hideous.
Anyway, the series itself seems to have had more plot than simply BUNCH OF ROBOTS SHOW UP FIGHT COMBINE WIN. The series' main protagonist, some guy, was sent from outer space to Earth as a baby. Why? So that when he grew up, he could use the bomb in the robot that brought him to blow up the Earth!
Mwahahahahahahaha!
Of course, this seriously begs the question of why the robot wasn't simply sent to destroy the Earth all by itself. Seriously. But they used this plot point in an interesting way-since the kid is raised on Earth, he loves Earth and wants to protect it (didn't see that coming [/sarcasm]), and so he uses the robot (named, you guessed it, Gaia-wait, that wasn't your guess?) to fight the bad guys. But if he ever dies, the bomb in Gaia will go off, destroying the Earth.
The big bad is fine with this, and tries to kill him, with, among other evil schemes and whatnot, the protagonist's brother who was raised to hate him. But it turns out that the kids' dad, who wasn't totally cool with this whole thing, sent five more robots to help him when he grew up. And these five robots combine with Gaia into God Mars. (The robot that merges with Gaia to become God Mars' torso is strangely called Sphinx, most of the rest are named for planets or moons, one is called Shin, and the last is called Ra.) Eventually, when the main villain is defeated, the villain (who looked suspiciously similar to Darth Vader) exploded into a thousand spores of hate disease or something typically Japanese.
As far as I know, up to the point where this series was released, it was the first robot made up entirely of smaller but still humanoid robots. It was also, to my knowledge, the first combining robot with that many components. The series itself also has some fairly original (in both the good and the bad sense) enemy mecha designs (images can be found on these Italian pages).
It also had a pretty nice theme song.
-Signing off.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Super Robot Profiles: Macross
Macross is an anime from 1982-83 which was adapted into the first part of Robotech for North American distribution. (This is a simplification-the first Macross was followed by at least two "non-sequel sequels" [basically new series set in the same or a similar universe] and about a bazillion retellings of the same stuff, the latest one of which is slated for this summer.)
Created by Tatsunoko, this series follows what I think of as "the Tatsunoko Rule." The Tatsunoko Rule is as follows: The robots from a given Tatsunoko Productions series must fight enemies at least twice their own size, preferably at least five times their own size, and if possible a few thousand times their own size. This, despite the series ostensibly being one of the earliest "real robot" series, which changes the focus from a single, essentially magical robot to a large number of mass-produced robots that are fairly clearly technological.
The Tatsunoko Rule extends even to the enemy warfleet that attacks Earth in the series.
Created by Tatsunoko, this series follows what I think of as "the Tatsunoko Rule." The Tatsunoko Rule is as follows: The robots from a given Tatsunoko Productions series must fight enemies at least twice their own size, preferably at least five times their own size, and if possible a few thousand times their own size. This, despite the series ostensibly being one of the earliest "real robot" series, which changes the focus from a single, essentially magical robot to a large number of mass-produced robots that are fairly clearly technological.
The Tatsunoko Rule extends even to the enemy warfleet that attacks Earth in the series.
(Image yanked from Jeff Russell's Starship Dimensions, specifically the -10X page. The SDF-1 Macross, the ship used by the protagonists, is on the bottom.)
That big ship on top? It's one of the Zentradi's medium-sized ships. And to be fair, while the Executor dwarfs even the massive flagships used by the Zentradi, the Zentradi "home base" is literally four to ten times the size of the Death Star. (You can use this page for a visual comparison of the two structures' official sizes.)
The really interesting part, though, is that that, as a species, the Zentradi themselves follow the Tatsunoko Rule. The Zentradi, while more or less the same species (in some insane Japanese way) as humans, are approximately the same size as the mecha piloted by the humans. This obviously helps account for some of the usage of the Tatsunoko Rule here, which really is more than can be said for any other Tatsunoko series. (Part of the irony here, of course, is the fact that the big ugly mecha used by the Zentradi [ugly in the best possible sense-they're charming designs] are, while faster and more agile than their opposite numbers, pretty much a cinch for their tiny and less technologically advanced enemies to destroy.)
Other than that, blah blah love triangle blah blah fishcakes.
Also, one of the later Macross series featured the protagonists controlling and powering their fighter mecha by playing guitars.
I'm sorry, but that's a little too silly even for me.
-Signing off.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Super Robot Profiles: Gold Lightan
Golden Warrior Gold Lightan (pronounced Gord Raitan) was one of about fifty bazillion schlocky super robot series produced by '80s anime giant Tatsunoko (of Robotech/Macross fame).
Notice anything... significant about Lightan there? He hangs out with a kid who's what, ten? And he transforms (through incredible size altering power) into a cigarette lighter.
"Oh," you say, "lighters have other purposes. It's perfectly innocent."
What if I told you that the kid formed a club/team called the One Pack Rangers?
I rest my case.
Moving on. Lightan is pretty typical of the Tatsunoko robots in that he kicks and beats the living daylights out of things many times his size. (Unlike most of the robots I mention in these profiles, by the way, Lightan is self-aware and self-controlled.) Like a certain other robot I've mentioned, he does so with extreme brutality. His "signature" move is jabbing his hand into an enemy robot and tearing out the "heartbox energy device."
But that's not the only case of Lightan's brutality. Observe:
Ouch. And again, ouch. Granted, it's a fighting game, in which size is often a liability rather than an advantage, and it was two on one, but nonetheless... ouch.
One last note: Lightan had many sidekicks who resembled R2D2/Transformer hybrids... which were all named [adjective] Lightan.
-Signing off.
Notice anything... significant about Lightan there? He hangs out with a kid who's what, ten? And he transforms (through incredible size altering power) into a cigarette lighter.
"Oh," you say, "lighters have other purposes. It's perfectly innocent."
What if I told you that the kid formed a club/team called the One Pack Rangers?
I rest my case.
Moving on. Lightan is pretty typical of the Tatsunoko robots in that he kicks and beats the living daylights out of things many times his size. (Unlike most of the robots I mention in these profiles, by the way, Lightan is self-aware and self-controlled.) Like a certain other robot I've mentioned, he does so with extreme brutality. His "signature" move is jabbing his hand into an enemy robot and tearing out the "heartbox energy device."
But that's not the only case of Lightan's brutality. Observe:
Ouch. And again, ouch. Granted, it's a fighting game, in which size is often a liability rather than an advantage, and it was two on one, but nonetheless... ouch.
One last note: Lightan had many sidekicks who resembled R2D2/Transformer hybrids... which were all named [adjective] Lightan.
-Signing off.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Super Robot Profiles: Raideen
One of the classic super robots is Raideen. More correctly, Brave Raideen, of no relation to other robots called Brave.
Raideen, also called Reideen, was probably the first super robot to do no small number of things. First, it was an ancient robot with mysterious origins which could only be controlled by descendants of the ancient civilization of Mu. (The robot was powered by Mutron energy. Heh.) The robot itself also had an innate intelligence of some kind, which is also a relative first. (Grendizer was apparently able to distinguish its owner from other potential pilots, and would shoot those intruders who came too close, but that's the only other instance from the era that immediately comes to mind.) It was also, apparently, the first title super robot that transformed. Unlike many later transforming robots, Raideen didn't use its transformation, the "God Bird mode," for utility purposes. He used it...
...to kill things very dead.
Also, the pilot of Raideen was typically teleported in and out.
Another innovation of sorts within the series was the fact that Raideen was hard to pilot. Not "difficult to control." If you weren't careful and healthy, Raideen would kill you. (Well, maybe. I suppose it probably didn't happen.)
Raideen was pretty influential. It had two sequels/remakes of sorts, one of which was so badly paced that a reviewer claimed that a single robot punch ate about fifteen minutes of screen time.
Obviously, it isn't quite that bad, but that's still pretty bad. (If I recall correctly, that bow-shot thing was a response to being shot at from behind.) The Reideen (yes, spelled differently for no useful reason) series' version of the robot also had a pseudo-teleportation ability called "Flash Drive." Heh.
It also had an "unofficial" or "spiritual" remake, RahXephon. Aside from that, the features of Raideen which were unusual for the time period have been used and re-used to the point where they're practically anime cliches.
-Signing off, with more stuff added now.
Raideen, also called Reideen, was probably the first super robot to do no small number of things. First, it was an ancient robot with mysterious origins which could only be controlled by descendants of the ancient civilization of Mu. (The robot was powered by Mutron energy. Heh.) The robot itself also had an innate intelligence of some kind, which is also a relative first. (Grendizer was apparently able to distinguish its owner from other potential pilots, and would shoot those intruders who came too close, but that's the only other instance from the era that immediately comes to mind.) It was also, apparently, the first title super robot that transformed. Unlike many later transforming robots, Raideen didn't use its transformation, the "God Bird mode," for utility purposes. He used it...
...to kill things very dead.
Also, the pilot of Raideen was typically teleported in and out.
Another innovation of sorts within the series was the fact that Raideen was hard to pilot. Not "difficult to control." If you weren't careful and healthy, Raideen would kill you. (Well, maybe. I suppose it probably didn't happen.)
Raideen was pretty influential. It had two sequels/remakes of sorts, one of which was so badly paced that a reviewer claimed that a single robot punch ate about fifteen minutes of screen time.
Obviously, it isn't quite that bad, but that's still pretty bad. (If I recall correctly, that bow-shot thing was a response to being shot at from behind.) The Reideen (yes, spelled differently for no useful reason) series' version of the robot also had a pseudo-teleportation ability called "Flash Drive." Heh.
It also had an "unofficial" or "spiritual" remake, RahXephon. Aside from that, the features of Raideen which were unusual for the time period have been used and re-used to the point where they're practically anime cliches.
-Signing off, with more stuff added now.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Super Robot Profiles: Tekkaman
(In the unlikely event you might be curious about my earlier mention of a speech in the area by Scott McCloud, no, I didn't go. Ah, well. Considering I didn't know about it 'til the day before, it isn't surprising.)
Tekkaman is kind of an odd duck to be included in "Super Robot Profiles," as the series fails to meet one very significant aspect of my super robot definition: Size. Tekkaman (also known as Teknoman, and I may slip and call him that by accident for reasons I'll explain) is only marginally bigger than a human being. Primarily, this is because Tekkaman actually is a human being.
See, it's all through the powers of magic anime physics that he actually mass-shifts and transmutes himself into a towering, red and white metallic pseudosamurai. (Well, I don't really know about the original Tekkaman, although it sounds like it must have been reasonably similar to the one I'm familiar with.) If you're a fan of Western media, particularly comics, you may snort, but don't bother telling me it's goofy-it's hardly any goofier than a guy suddenly turning into a giant green invulnerable bodybuilder. And a big mecha samurai man certainly seems like it'd be more dangerous than some dumb lug. (Please disregard the inherent goofiness of the preceding sentence.)
I suppose that the series makes up to a small extent for Tekkaman's small size by including an actual giant robot, although not a "true" giant:
Of course, in the first Tekkaman, this is counteracted by the robot's sheer ugliness. It might not be such a bad idea to have Tekkaman riding around on a spaceship/robot (named Pegas or Pegasus, depending on whom you're asking) if he weren't so darned ugly.
A decade or so after Tekkaman came Tekkaman Blade. No, I don't know why there was such a long gap.
Tekkaman Blade, unlike its predecessor, looks FREAKING AWESOME. (cough) Even Pegasus looks like total awesomesauce, if a bit too Gundamy for my tastes. And it was a pretty good series, too.
See, unlike a lot of these series that I profile, I actually saw a good-sized chunk of Tekkaman Blade. To hear anime purists talk about it, it was horribly butchered... but it was still something incredible to my much-younger self. (And let's not even talk about what kind of effect it had on the psyche of someone I know...)
Looking back at this all these years later, this was a really retro dub for the time period (early-to-mid '90s). Also, calling Teknoman a "superhero" strikes me as somehow incredibly incongruous.
Teknoman (er, Tekkaman Blade) also made it into the Super Robot Wars games, which gives him extra super robot street cred. I mean, not that he needed very much, as he passes the requirements other than size with flying colors (he slaughtered stuff ten times his own size with less effort than swatting a fly, if nothing else, and if that's not super robot street cred, I don't know what is-in one episode, he shoots down a "nuclear missile" [not really a nuclear missile per se-it was something more exotic] that was as big around as a football field).
One more note: The original Tekkaman's full title was Tekkaman: The Space Knight. Why does that sound familiar?
-Planning on looking for Tekkaman Blade/Teknoman footage on YouTube in the near future, and signing off.
Tekkaman is kind of an odd duck to be included in "Super Robot Profiles," as the series fails to meet one very significant aspect of my super robot definition: Size. Tekkaman (also known as Teknoman, and I may slip and call him that by accident for reasons I'll explain) is only marginally bigger than a human being. Primarily, this is because Tekkaman actually is a human being.
See, it's all through the powers of magic anime physics that he actually mass-shifts and transmutes himself into a towering, red and white metallic pseudosamurai. (Well, I don't really know about the original Tekkaman, although it sounds like it must have been reasonably similar to the one I'm familiar with.) If you're a fan of Western media, particularly comics, you may snort, but don't bother telling me it's goofy-it's hardly any goofier than a guy suddenly turning into a giant green invulnerable bodybuilder. And a big mecha samurai man certainly seems like it'd be more dangerous than some dumb lug. (Please disregard the inherent goofiness of the preceding sentence.)
I suppose that the series makes up to a small extent for Tekkaman's small size by including an actual giant robot, although not a "true" giant:
Of course, in the first Tekkaman, this is counteracted by the robot's sheer ugliness. It might not be such a bad idea to have Tekkaman riding around on a spaceship/robot (named Pegas or Pegasus, depending on whom you're asking) if he weren't so darned ugly.
A decade or so after Tekkaman came Tekkaman Blade. No, I don't know why there was such a long gap.
Tekkaman Blade, unlike its predecessor, looks FREAKING AWESOME. (cough) Even Pegasus looks like total awesomesauce, if a bit too Gundamy for my tastes. And it was a pretty good series, too.
See, unlike a lot of these series that I profile, I actually saw a good-sized chunk of Tekkaman Blade. To hear anime purists talk about it, it was horribly butchered... but it was still something incredible to my much-younger self. (And let's not even talk about what kind of effect it had on the psyche of someone I know...)
Looking back at this all these years later, this was a really retro dub for the time period (early-to-mid '90s). Also, calling Teknoman a "superhero" strikes me as somehow incredibly incongruous.
Teknoman (er, Tekkaman Blade) also made it into the Super Robot Wars games, which gives him extra super robot street cred. I mean, not that he needed very much, as he passes the requirements other than size with flying colors (he slaughtered stuff ten times his own size with less effort than swatting a fly, if nothing else, and if that's not super robot street cred, I don't know what is-in one episode, he shoots down a "nuclear missile" [not really a nuclear missile per se-it was something more exotic] that was as big around as a football field).
One more note: The original Tekkaman's full title was Tekkaman: The Space Knight. Why does that sound familiar?
-Planning on looking for Tekkaman Blade/Teknoman footage on YouTube in the near future, and signing off.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Super Robot Profiles: Getter Robo
Today's entry is Getter Robo.
Getter Robo is one of the most successful super robots, having appeared in more series than I'm even going to bother mentioning. The etymology of its name is pretty obscure; my best guess is that "get" is a corruption of "gate" (i.e. Gater Robo), as the formation of the robots sort of involves the "opening" and "closing" of "gates" (or at least, that's what the guys shout when the robots separate). Like its predecessor, Mazinger Z, Getter Robo was created by Go Nagai, although unlike most of Go Nagai's series, a co-author is credited as well.
What sets Getter Robo apart from its contemporaries is immediately obvious.
Getter Robo was the first "team" super robot. It had three pilots, and each of those pilots had their own version of the robot that they controlled, and each had their own specialties and strengths (as well as weaknesses) that made the combining mechanic important, indeed, central, to the series.
Another thing that set Getter Robo apart is that one of the robot pilots died at the end of the series. This is notable for two reasons: first, he's still dead. Second, his death has been depicted so inconsistently that it's sometimes seen as a running gag, although it's nearly always a very heroic sort of thing.
In subsequent series, he was replaced by a taller, less fat guy. (No, I can't bring myself to care much about their names at the moment.) Generally, they seem to be almost the same character except for the (relatively minor) differences in appearance-that is, the fat comic relief.
Getter robot G (intro above) was the last Getter Robo for a long time, with the exception of a rather poorly received sorta-not-quite-a-sequel in the early '90s.
However, during the relatively recent revival of popularity of the super robot series as a genre, Getter Robo led the charge of returning older series with Change/Shin Getter Robo-The Last Day/Armageddon.
In the current anime climate in Japan, super robots are as hot as they've been since the late eighties, and Getter Robo's continuing popularity even today reflects that. Like Mazinger Z before it, Getter Robo was a trendsetter.
On a side note, I've frequently seen mention of the dub of Getter Robo, Starvengers. When I was first investigating super robots on the internets some years ago, I recognized Getter Robo as being excessively similar to a set of videos I had watched as a kid called Starformers. (Later research made it clear that these videos had been a dub of Getter Robo G.) The peculiar thing is that I've never found any information on this version. Anywhere. I have no way of knowing if it was related to the Starvengers dub, if perhaps it was dubbed for another country, or what. It's almost as if they never existed.
-Signing off in mild confusion.
Getter Robo is one of the most successful super robots, having appeared in more series than I'm even going to bother mentioning. The etymology of its name is pretty obscure; my best guess is that "get" is a corruption of "gate" (i.e. Gater Robo), as the formation of the robots sort of involves the "opening" and "closing" of "gates" (or at least, that's what the guys shout when the robots separate). Like its predecessor, Mazinger Z, Getter Robo was created by Go Nagai, although unlike most of Go Nagai's series, a co-author is credited as well.
What sets Getter Robo apart from its contemporaries is immediately obvious.
Getter Robo was the first "team" super robot. It had three pilots, and each of those pilots had their own version of the robot that they controlled, and each had their own specialties and strengths (as well as weaknesses) that made the combining mechanic important, indeed, central, to the series.
Another thing that set Getter Robo apart is that one of the robot pilots died at the end of the series. This is notable for two reasons: first, he's still dead. Second, his death has been depicted so inconsistently that it's sometimes seen as a running gag, although it's nearly always a very heroic sort of thing.
In subsequent series, he was replaced by a taller, less fat guy. (No, I can't bring myself to care much about their names at the moment.) Generally, they seem to be almost the same character except for the (relatively minor) differences in appearance-that is, the fat comic relief.
Getter robot G (intro above) was the last Getter Robo for a long time, with the exception of a rather poorly received sorta-not-quite-a-sequel in the early '90s.
However, during the relatively recent revival of popularity of the super robot series as a genre, Getter Robo led the charge of returning older series with Change/Shin Getter Robo-The Last Day/Armageddon.
In the current anime climate in Japan, super robots are as hot as they've been since the late eighties, and Getter Robo's continuing popularity even today reflects that. Like Mazinger Z before it, Getter Robo was a trendsetter.
On a side note, I've frequently seen mention of the dub of Getter Robo, Starvengers. When I was first investigating super robots on the internets some years ago, I recognized Getter Robo as being excessively similar to a set of videos I had watched as a kid called Starformers. (Later research made it clear that these videos had been a dub of Getter Robo G.) The peculiar thing is that I've never found any information on this version. Anywhere. I have no way of knowing if it was related to the Starvengers dub, if perhaps it was dubbed for another country, or what. It's almost as if they never existed.
-Signing off in mild confusion.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Super Robot Profiles: J9
What kind of a title, you may be asking, is J9? It's the title of a metafranchise. That is, a "series of series" which are at least nominally connected to each other. Specifically, it's a "trilogy" of series, those series being Braiger, Baxinger, and Sasuraiger. Shockingly, the three series actually have continuity with each other, which is perhaps the only thing that makes them worthy of talking about for any length of time.
Of course, the series are set hundreds of years apart, and thus any continuity between them would merely be "historical." Right?
(Note the robot with the HAL-9000esque head that towers over Braiger yet gets cut in half with one stroke.)
Of course, the thing about history is that it's usually considered to be big, important things happening. And what could be more historical, in this respect, than a failed attempt to turn Jupiter into a second star resulting in its destruction and the reordering of the Solar System?
You read that absolutely right. Some crazy person wanted to turn Jupiter into a star in order to make it and its planets into a new Solar System. Theoretically, this would have resulted in 30+ habitable planets (apparently moons of Jupiter aren't legitimate targets for the superadvanced terraforming technology that they explicitly possess in this series) and thus, er, allowed a huge population boom or something? That this guy would have ruled over, maybe? I dunno.
So the next series, 600 years later, doesn't have Jupiter in it. (It apparently also sees the lowest possible legal neckline as not being a fashion faux pas of any kind.) It does have a squad of people who are called "J9" after the heroic team who kept Jupiter from being destroyed (wait...) (because it apparently was profitable to save Jupiter [wait...]) with their very multicolored robot that formed from their magic motorcycles (there we go).
(Considering that this same studio made Macross (AKA Robotech), where there were humanoid aliens who on an individual basis stood as tall as robots that transformed from fighter jets, it really shouldn't be surprising that the enemy robots were so freaking huge here.)
And then, Sasuraiger, another 200 years later (exactly 200 years, just like the previous series was exactly 600 years after the one that came before it-suspicious) features a train that turns into a robot (or a robot that turns into a train) which according to stuff I have read is sometimes called Batrain (I'm Batrain). The train, of course, is an interstellar spaceship that allows the cast to travel the galaxy, looking for planets where they'll be happier or something-e.g., two of the characters are youngsters looking for a planet that allows underage marriage. WHAT.
There's not much more to say, I think.
Signing off.
Of course, the series are set hundreds of years apart, and thus any continuity between them would merely be "historical." Right?
(Note the robot with the HAL-9000esque head that towers over Braiger yet gets cut in half with one stroke.)
Of course, the thing about history is that it's usually considered to be big, important things happening. And what could be more historical, in this respect, than a failed attempt to turn Jupiter into a second star resulting in its destruction and the reordering of the Solar System?
You read that absolutely right. Some crazy person wanted to turn Jupiter into a star in order to make it and its planets into a new Solar System. Theoretically, this would have resulted in 30+ habitable planets (apparently moons of Jupiter aren't legitimate targets for the superadvanced terraforming technology that they explicitly possess in this series) and thus, er, allowed a huge population boom or something? That this guy would have ruled over, maybe? I dunno.
So the next series, 600 years later, doesn't have Jupiter in it. (It apparently also sees the lowest possible legal neckline as not being a fashion faux pas of any kind.) It does have a squad of people who are called "J9" after the heroic team who kept Jupiter from being destroyed (wait...) (because it apparently was profitable to save Jupiter [wait...]) with their very multicolored robot that formed from their magic motorcycles (there we go).
(Considering that this same studio made Macross (AKA Robotech), where there were humanoid aliens who on an individual basis stood as tall as robots that transformed from fighter jets, it really shouldn't be surprising that the enemy robots were so freaking huge here.)
And then, Sasuraiger, another 200 years later (exactly 200 years, just like the previous series was exactly 600 years after the one that came before it-suspicious) features a train that turns into a robot (or a robot that turns into a train) which according to stuff I have read is sometimes called Batrain (I'm Batrain). The train, of course, is an interstellar spaceship that allows the cast to travel the galaxy, looking for planets where they'll be happier or something-e.g., two of the characters are youngsters looking for a planet that allows underage marriage. WHAT.
There's not much more to say, I think.
Signing off.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Super Robot Profiles: Laserion
Video Warrior Laserion is generally considered the first anime to feature a depiction of virtual reality. Of course, I'm not overly concerned with that aspect of it-I'm here to tell you what's most insane about the series.
It's pretty obvious with this one.
SUPER SEIZURE FINGERS.
That's right, the protagonist's prodigious digits were so fast and skillful, he could use them to induce seizures in small children with disorders of the nervous system.
I could comment on the robot's colorful nature or any number of things, but I just can't get past those darned fingers.
Signing off.
It's pretty obvious with this one.
SUPER SEIZURE FINGERS.
That's right, the protagonist's prodigious digits were so fast and skillful, he could use them to induce seizures in small children with disorders of the nervous system.
I could comment on the robot's colorful nature or any number of things, but I just can't get past those darned fingers.
Signing off.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Super Robot Profiles: Voltron
Voltron is one of those really odd ducks. It's one of the most famous and popular super robot series that aired in the United States-one of the few I would consider describing as "mainstream." But its history is a rather tangled one.
After its origins as Golion, Voltron was heavily edited and dubbed under the name Voltron, and released here.
Oops! Who was that?
That was Vehicle Voltron. Chances are, even if you're familiar with the other ("Lion") Voltron, you've never or rarely heard of this one. (Darned shame-his toy was half again as tall and a bit more fun, and that was after he lost most of his accessories.) Vehicle Voltron was based on a different series called Dairugger XV. So, here we go, Voltron:
Whoops! That's not Voltron either. That is Lightspeed God Albegas (or something like), who was almost a third Voltron ("Gladiator" Voltron-and there were toys released under that name, by the way). That is a fan-made trailer that was entered in an official contest. So, let's try again:
Man, this is embarrassing. That's Daltanious, who was almost some other Voltron in some stage of development. (Voltron fans rejoice-you dodged a bullet.)
So, here's Voltron.
Anyway, Voltron is quite the odd duck, as I mentioned. Why is it odd? First, it was popular enough that, even though Golion creator Toei had no intention of continuing the series, its dub "owners" were hungry for more material. So they hired a Korean animation team to produce a second, less-well-animated season, and a movie as well (which provided a crossover between the two Voltrons, who were totally unrelated in their respective Japanese incarnations).
Odder still, while Toei has not displayed any interest in Voltron since then, World Event Productions decided more recently that, with the resurgence of popularity of Transformers with the Beast Wars series, it was once again Voltron's time. First, they re-released the Korean-animated series with updated intros (a later one of which used extensive CGI animation). However, this was only to buy time for their true diabolical plan: "3D" Voltron!
(The sad thing is, while the show wasn't bad by the standards of the time in terms of animation quality, it found itself sitting next to another but far superior CGI program, War Planets/Shadow Raiders. This series was produced by Mainframe Entertainment, the same company that created the Beast Wars series-small world.)
There are even plans, no doubt inspired by Transformers' more recent and even greater success, to produce a live-action movie. The sad thing is, and this is something that its producers don't seem to realize, the similarities between Voltron and Transformers are actually superficial ones-they have science-fictional themes, Japanese roots, large robots, and originated in the '80s. While these tie the two together in the minds of many, they are basically the only major features they have in common. (Off the top of my head, I could probably list a few dozen series that these terms described.) So Voltron's owners (Toei no longer seems to have the rights to the series) are dooming it to playing second fiddle to Transformers.
Kinda sad for the Defender of the Universe.
After its origins as Golion, Voltron was heavily edited and dubbed under the name Voltron, and released here.
Oops! Who was that?
That was Vehicle Voltron. Chances are, even if you're familiar with the other ("Lion") Voltron, you've never or rarely heard of this one. (Darned shame-his toy was half again as tall and a bit more fun, and that was after he lost most of his accessories.) Vehicle Voltron was based on a different series called Dairugger XV. So, here we go, Voltron:
Whoops! That's not Voltron either. That is Lightspeed God Albegas (or something like), who was almost a third Voltron ("Gladiator" Voltron-and there were toys released under that name, by the way). That is a fan-made trailer that was entered in an official contest. So, let's try again:
Man, this is embarrassing. That's Daltanious, who was almost some other Voltron in some stage of development. (Voltron fans rejoice-you dodged a bullet.)
So, here's Voltron.
Anyway, Voltron is quite the odd duck, as I mentioned. Why is it odd? First, it was popular enough that, even though Golion creator Toei had no intention of continuing the series, its dub "owners" were hungry for more material. So they hired a Korean animation team to produce a second, less-well-animated season, and a movie as well (which provided a crossover between the two Voltrons, who were totally unrelated in their respective Japanese incarnations).
Odder still, while Toei has not displayed any interest in Voltron since then, World Event Productions decided more recently that, with the resurgence of popularity of Transformers with the Beast Wars series, it was once again Voltron's time. First, they re-released the Korean-animated series with updated intros (a later one of which used extensive CGI animation). However, this was only to buy time for their true diabolical plan: "3D" Voltron!
(The sad thing is, while the show wasn't bad by the standards of the time in terms of animation quality, it found itself sitting next to another but far superior CGI program, War Planets/Shadow Raiders. This series was produced by Mainframe Entertainment, the same company that created the Beast Wars series-small world.)
There are even plans, no doubt inspired by Transformers' more recent and even greater success, to produce a live-action movie. The sad thing is, and this is something that its producers don't seem to realize, the similarities between Voltron and Transformers are actually superficial ones-they have science-fictional themes, Japanese roots, large robots, and originated in the '80s. While these tie the two together in the minds of many, they are basically the only major features they have in common. (Off the top of my head, I could probably list a few dozen series that these terms described.) So Voltron's owners (Toei no longer seems to have the rights to the series) are dooming it to playing second fiddle to Transformers.
Kinda sad for the Defender of the Universe.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Super Robot Profiles: Steel Jeeg
Steel Jeeg, also known as Kotetsu Jeeg (which means the same thing), is kind of an odd duck as super robots go.
First off, this fellow is a particularly ugly duckling, if you catch my drift.
Second, the robot is formed of a number of independent, magnetically connected segments which are controlled by the pilot, who is the head.
Yes, the pilot is the head.
Apparently, Jeeg's pilot, Go Nagai Motorcycle-riding Protagonist #8, noted for having a fashion sense literally directly inspired by Elvis, had a magic bell surgically placed in his chest to save his life. This gave him the amazing power to morph into a big, ugly, flying robot head. A fully combat capable ugly flying robot head.
And, as the first part of this Super Robot Wars video demonstrates, he's apparently quite a nasty little head.
Jeeg might have descended into relative total obscurity, were it not for the current wave of super robot nostalgia leading to something pretty awesome:
The newer version of Jeeg, Kotetsushin Jeeg, is awesome partly because it is a really awesome-looking redesign of an older robot that is clearly actually based on the older one (there have been some redesigns in recent years that fail here, which I will cover at some vague, undefined point in the future). They even came up with a way for the protagonist to not have ridiculous powers and still ride a motorcycle in one fell swoop.
Disappointingly, I can't find the really awesome video of Shin Jeeg using his ridiculously oversized cannon, so I'll direct you here and suggest you imagine it: Scroll down a ways and look at how freaking big the cannon that replaces the toy's arm here is. Then, imagine that the cannon is actually at least twice that big, and it's firing and destroying things before it actually fires.
First off, this fellow is a particularly ugly duckling, if you catch my drift.
Second, the robot is formed of a number of independent, magnetically connected segments which are controlled by the pilot, who is the head.
Yes, the pilot is the head.
Apparently, Jeeg's pilot, Go Nagai Motorcycle-riding Protagonist #8, noted for having a fashion sense literally directly inspired by Elvis, had a magic bell surgically placed in his chest to save his life. This gave him the amazing power to morph into a big, ugly, flying robot head. A fully combat capable ugly flying robot head.
And, as the first part of this Super Robot Wars video demonstrates, he's apparently quite a nasty little head.
Jeeg might have descended into relative total obscurity, were it not for the current wave of super robot nostalgia leading to something pretty awesome:
The newer version of Jeeg, Kotetsushin Jeeg, is awesome partly because it is a really awesome-looking redesign of an older robot that is clearly actually based on the older one (there have been some redesigns in recent years that fail here, which I will cover at some vague, undefined point in the future). They even came up with a way for the protagonist to not have ridiculous powers and still ride a motorcycle in one fell swoop.
Disappointingly, I can't find the really awesome video of Shin Jeeg using his ridiculously oversized cannon, so I'll direct you here and suggest you imagine it: Scroll down a ways and look at how freaking big the cannon that replaces the toy's arm here is. Then, imagine that the cannon is actually at least twice that big, and it's firing and destroying things before it actually fires.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Super Robot Profiles: Grendizer
One of the later robot series created by Go Nagai back in the late '70s, Grendizer had a lot going for him. There was a supporting cast member taken from an earlier series that was extremely popular (in fact, Kouji Kabuto had been the main character of Mazinger Z, a series which not only reinvented the robot-based genre but probably to some extent anime itself, and which commanded something like seventy percent of all television viewers in Japan within its time slot), the fact that it was created by Go Nagai, one of the hot commodities of the time period and the genre, and the fact that the robot was, by the standards of the time, pretty well designed and fairly original.
Not to mention, in the mini-mini-mini-series that was a nice little extra on a DVD set based on all of Go Nagai's robots teaming up and fighting for the thinnest of all possible excu-er, reasons, Grendizer teamed up with a robot fifteen to twenty years his junior to kick giant freaky Japanese mutant samurai demon booty but good.
(Yes, that was the entire series I was talking about.)
So why is Grendizer so bloody obscure by even the standards of the genre?
Here's a hint.
ARGH THE PAIN. While Grendizer's French, Arabic (!), and Italian dubs were very popular, the English dubs were close to as bad as dubs get.
PLEASE HAVE MERCY.
Not to mention, in the mini-mini-mini-series that was a nice little extra on a DVD set based on all of Go Nagai's robots teaming up and fighting for the thinnest of all possible excu-er, reasons, Grendizer teamed up with a robot fifteen to twenty years his junior to kick giant freaky Japanese mutant samurai demon booty but good.
(Yes, that was the entire series I was talking about.)
So why is Grendizer so bloody obscure by even the standards of the genre?
Here's a hint.
ARGH THE PAIN. While Grendizer's French, Arabic (!), and Italian dubs were very popular, the English dubs were close to as bad as dubs get.
PLEASE HAVE MERCY.
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