Generation Mech » 1970-79

UFO Robot Grendizer

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:50:26 +0000

UFO Robo Grendizer TV Cover circa 1975

The 6th super robot TV production creation by Go Nagai. Again, it’s helmed as one of his great super robot anime works since produced for television in those days. I really loved it.

Though I remembered watching it on a different production crew ie the American version. They renamed it as the Force Five Series and this is one of the series that came out from this. I’d better check this one up before I give everybody the full story.

Here’s excerpt from the Wikipedia.org and MyAnimeList.

UFO Robot Grendizer (UFOロボ·グレンダイザー, sometimes romanized as UFO Robo Grendizer) is a super robot TV anime and manga created by manga artist Go Nagai. It was broadcast on Japanese television from October 5, 1975, to February 27, 1977, and lasted 74 episodes. The robot’s first appearance in the United States was as a part of the Shogun Warriors line of super robot toys imported in the late 1970s by Mattel, then in Jim Terry’s Force Five series, both under the title Grandizer. It is still widely popular in the Middle East and was especially popular in continental Europe and in the province of Quebec under the title, “Goldorak.”

Synopsis

The Vega homeworld has become unstable due to the exploiting of Vegatron, a powerful radioactive ore. Seeking to expand his militaristic empire and find a substitute planet to settle upon, the ruthless King Vega unleashes his armies — composed of flying saucers and giant robotic monsters — and turns first against neighbors such as Fleed, a highly advanced but peaceful world. In a tragically ironic twist, the invaders’ blitzkrieg turns against them: the once verdant, idyllic Fleed is turned into a radioactive wasteland. Too late, the only known survivor of the royal family, Prince Duke Fleed, manages to steal the Grendizer, the robotic embodiment of the Fleedian God of War, from the Vegan invaders who plan to use it to spearhead their invasion fleet. Grendizer is a giant robot that interfaces with Spazer, a flying saucer that enables the robot to fly.

Fleeing Vegan space by flying at faster than light speed, Duke enters our solar system and switches course to Earth, making a rough landing in Japan, on the slopes of Mount Fuji. He is befriended by Doctor Umon, a noted scientist who oversees a research laboratory called the Space Science Lab near a small ranch. The kindly Umon takes in the young humanoid alien as his son, under the assumed name of Daisuke, and assists him in hiding Grendizer. Taking the name Daisuke Umon, Duke Fleed works at the ranch run by Danbei Makiba (based on Abashiri Daemon of Go Nagai’s manga Abashiri Ikka).

Roughly two years later, Kouji Kabuto returns to Japan after studying abroad in a flying saucer he personally designed and built (called the TFO). He heads to the Space Science Lab after hearing of multiple sightings of “flying saucers”. He plans to contact the aliens if possible and make peace with them. Daisuke, however, scoffs at the notion and fears that these aliens, the Vegans, led by generals Blaki and Gandal, are preparing to attack Earth. Kouji ignores his warnings and flies out to meet the incoming saucers, only to discover the horrible truth. In order to save Kouji and protect his adoptive homeworld from destruction, Daisuke is forced to return to his true identity as Duke Fleed. He unearths Grendizer from its hiding place under the lab and sets off to fight his enemies.

The Vegans establish a base on the dark side of the moon and start to attack Earth from there. Kouji discovers Duke Fleed’s true identity and their bitter rivalry soon turns to friendship. The daughter of Danbei Makiba, Hikaru, also discovers Daisuke’s secret and becomes a pilot in order to assist him despite his objections. Later on, it is revealed that there were two more survivors from planet Fleed: Duke’s younger sister Maria Grace Fleed and a man who had rescued her and fled to Earth, raising her under the guise of her grandfather. Caught in a crossfire between Grendizer and a Vegan beast, he reveals to Maria that she is the last survivor of the royal family of Fleed (under the belief that Duke was killed) before dying from his wounds. Maria swears revenge on Grendizer and its pilot. She tries to ambush Duke, Kouji and Hikaru at the Space Science Lab, but the fight is short lived. Maria’s attacks brings Duke’s necklace (which is the same as the one she wore) into view and the truth is revealed. The lost siblings are reunited at last and Maria becomes the last addition to the team.

As the conflict nears the end, it is shown that Duke Fleed was engaged to King Vega’s daughter, Princess Rubina, prior to the attack on Fleed. When Rubina discovers that planet Fleed is no longer polluted with Vegatron radiation and that her fiancé is alive and well, she rushes to Earth to bring him the good news. Unfortunately, one of King Vega’s generals uses this opportunity to ambush Duke Fleed, and Rubina is killed when she takes a shot aimed at Duke. This makes Duke even more determined to wipe out the Vegan menace once and for all.

King Vega decides to gather his remaining forces and make an all-out attack on Earth, destroying the Moon Base to coax his troops into fighting to the end and finally succeed in invading Earth and taking it as their new home planet. Duke and company go out to intercept them in Grendizer and the newly-designed space combat Spazers. After a fierce battle, they finally manage to destroy the Vegan mothership along with King Vega himself. Soon afterwards, Duke and Maria bid a tearful farewell to Earth and their friends and return to help reconstruct planet Fleed.

TV Opening Theme – Grendizer

Production

The original concept was shown in a 1975 30-minute pilot movie War of the Flying Saucers. The movie had the same basic plot, with a few changes: Daisuke appears as the Professor’s biological son, the enemy was Princess Teronna from Planet Yarban, and the robot’s original name was Gattaiger (gattai is Japanese for “combine”). The series, which started later the same year, is considered another sequel to the Mazinger series, partly because of the inclusion of Mazinger Z’s pilot Koji Kabuto, and having giant robots, which made it a “Super Robot” mecha anime.

The Grendizer robot and Daisuke have been included in two short Go Nagai cross-over features: UFO Robot Grendizer vs. Great Mazinger, and Great Mazinger, Grendizer, Getter Robot G: Decisive Showdown! Great Sea Beast., in which the various super-robots combine forces to take on the seemingly indestructible Dragonsaurus which emerges from the sea and proceeds to destroy Tokyo; even Boss Borot makes an appearance.

Grendizer is best remembered as one of the first anime shows to have a huge success in Europe and Canada, particularly in France and Quebec (titled Goldorak), Italy and Malta (titled Goldrake), where it holds a strong following even today. Grendizer was also one of the most popular anime series ever shown in Arabic countries. Grandizer is also popular in Russia.

The French version of the show has the characters named after stars, planets and galaxies: Duke Fleed becomes Actarus (from the star Arcturus), as both his alien and Earth name; Kouji Kabuto is Alcor, Doctor Umon is Professeur Procyon etc. The Italian version, which uses the French adaptation, uses almost all the same names.

Although set in Japan, which can be seen from the air on several occasion, the series was given an American Western feel by including a ranch where Duke Fleed and Kouji Kabuto would work in their spare time. The ranch owner, Danbei Makiba, and his children would dress in cowboy/girl outfits (though they also appeared in traditional Japanese clothes on occasion) and even had a neighbour who wore a Mexican sombrero. In spite of this the series was not a success in the US. Only twenty-six episodes of Grendizer were shown on American TV as part of the multi-mecha show Force Five, out of the total of 74 in the original series. Many character’s names were changed: Grendizer spelling was changed to Grandizer; Duke Fleed was Orion Quest, and his alias was Johnny Bryant; Planet Fleed’s name was changed to Antares, and so on. This corresponds to the first season and story arc (ending with the death of one of the main villains, who is replaced afterwards). Although Mazinger Z was later imported to the United States, Kouji’s character appearing in both Tranzor Z and Grandizer was not acknowledged.

Great Mazinger

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:41:03 +0000

The Mazinger Z sequel, also produced by Go Nagai. A slightly stronger version of Mazinger Z with many mechanical functions that are superior to Mazinger Z’s fighting abilities (see weapons statistics below).

Said to be not as successful as the original series. For its obvious reason since we never seen much return of the original characters. Personally, it does ruin the entire process of enjoying the Mazinger Z franchise, when fans of the orginal series were really pinning hope of getting Kabuto Koji and his gang to ready to take on world of baddies. Not much a good move. But hey! It’s still remembered as one of Nagai’s great works.

Here’s the excerpt descrption of the series (sourced from Wikipedia.org)

Great Mazinger (グレートマジンガー Gurēto Majingā?) is a manga comic book and anime television series by manga artist Go Nagai, made as a direct continuation of the successful Mazinger Z series. It was aired on Japan in 1974, immediately following the end of the first Mazinger series. It lasted for 56 episodes.

Synopsis

The story centers on Tetsuya Tsurugi (剣鉄也 Tsurugi Tetsuya?), an orphan raised by none other than Kenzo Kabuto (兜剣造 Kabuto Kenzō?), the once thought dead father of Mazinger Z pilot Kouji Kabuto. Kenzo Kabuto is the creator of the new, improved version of Mazinger, made by refining his father’s Chogokin Z (Super Alloy Z) into a new, stronger form, designed to fight against humanity’s new enemy, the Mikenese Empire, led by the Great General of Darkness and his army of Warrior Beasts. Kenzo gives the Great Mazinger to Tetsuya to pilot, who is accompanied by a new token girl, Jun Hono (an orphaned half Japanese, half black girl), in her female robot Venus A.

Both Great Mazinger’s and Tetsuya’s training are completed just in time to come to Kouji’s aid as the Mycene Battle Beasts overwhelm Mazinger Z. With the original Mazinger destroyed, Kouji went to America to study space travel and left Japan’s defense in the hands of Tetsuya and the Fortress of Science. Tetsuya battles the Mycene Battle Beasts and even their mighty generals, cumulating in a bitter final battle with the Mycene’s military leader, Ankoku Daishogun (Great General of Darkness). After the Great General of Darkness’ defeat, the Mycene forces are led by Doctor Hell, the villain from Mazinger Z, back under the guise of the Great Marshall of Hell.

The series also includes some cast members the original Mazinger Z show, like Shiro Kabuto (Kouji’s little brother), and comic-relief robot Boss Borot. The series was not as successful in Japan as the original, and it was never shown in the United States. It was however shown unedited and in its entirety, like Mazinger Z, in Italy, Mexico and some other Latin American countries with great success, and occasionally footage from Great Mazinger’s sole appearance in the final episode of Mazinger Z would be shown in Tranzor Z.

Great Mazinger was also the star of the short theatrical “team-up movies” features released in Japan like Great Mazinger versus Grendizer, Great Mazinger versus Getter Robo G, etc., based on anime crossovers of the manga creations of Go Nagai.

Tetsuya and the Great Mazinger are featured, along with Jun in the Mazinkaiser OVA and movie Mazinkaiser: Death match! Ankoku Daishogun. The characters have been also a mainstay in Banpresto’s Super Robot Wars, a popular battle-simulation/RPG series of video games based on many anime mecha shows, including the original Mazinger Z and many others like Getter Robo, the Gundam series, and Neon Genesis Evangelion among others. Tetsuya also appears in Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z Hen.

Tetsuya also pilots an earlier version of Mazinger Z called Energer Z

Great Mazinger Z TV Opening

Statistics
Power Source: Photonic Energy
Armor Materials: Chogokin New Z (New Super-Alloy Z)
Dimensions
*Height: 25 meters
*Weight: 32 tons
*Neck Circumference: 6.2 meters
*Chest Circumference: 18.5 meters
*Arm Circumference: 6.5 meters
*Leg Circumference: 7 meters
*Arm Length: 9.8 meters
*Leg Length: 13 meters
*Foot Length: 4 meters (approximate)
Performance
*Walking Speed: 70 km/h
*Running Speed: 450 km/h
*Swimming Speed: 25 knots
*Flight Speed: Mach 4
*Flight Speed (docked with Great Booster): Mach 5
*Ceiling: 50 km
*Maximum Jump Height: 30 meters
*Maximum Dive Depth: 8 km
*Output: 90,000 horsepower

Weapons and Attacks
Navel Missile
Just like Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger mounts a missile launcher in its stomach.

Atomic Punch
Great Mazinger also possesses a Rocket Punch-like attack, though its fists spin while in flight, giving them extra force.

Drill Pressure Punch
It is like the Atomic Punch, except that the forearms sprout drill-like blades that add to the damage as well as the speed of rotation.

Great Boomerang
Great Mazinger can take the heat sink fin off of its chest and throw it as a giant boomerang.

Scramble Cutter
Just like Mazinger Z’s Scrander Cutter, Great Mazinger slashes the enemy with the Scrander’s wings while flying at high speeds.

Great Typhoon
Just like Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger uses turbines to generate powerful wind attacks. However, Great Mazinger’s attack is simply a wind-based attack, lacking the corrosive properties of Mazinger’s attack.

Knee Impulse Kick
Great Mazinger can sprout a spike from its knee, making its kick attacks more lethal.

Backspin Kick
Great Mazinger can also sprout a curved blade on the front of its leg for stronger kicks.

Mazinger Blade
The flanged compartments on Great Mazinger’s legs hold a pair of swords. Tetsuya typically uses the Blades for melee combat, but on several occasions he threw them at the enemy.

Breast Burn
Like Mazinger Z, the fin on Great Mazinger’s chest doubles as a heat sink and a weapon, unleashing incredible thermal energy.

Thunder Break
Great Mazinger can release energy into the atmosphere, stimulating the process that creates natural lightning. Great Mazinger then calls the lightning down onto the antennae on its head and redirects the energy towards an enemy. In the Super Robot Wars series, Tetsuya can perform this alongside the Grendizer’s Space Thunder or another Great Mazinger unit’s Thunder Break to perform the Double Lightning Buster.

Thunder Blade
A one-time attack where Tetsuya channeled the lightning from the Thunder Break through one of his Mazinger Blades.

Double Thunder Break
Similar to Thunder Break but Great Mazinger uses both hands to redirect the lightning.

Breast Burn Special
Basically a powered-up Breast Burn, almost akin to the Kaiser Nova of Mazinkaiser but with detrimental effects to Great Mazinger. Used in the manga to destroy Gilgilgan from within.

Getter Robo – the first Transformers before Transformers G1?

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:22:45 +0000

After Go Nagai’s great success with Mazinger Z, he went ahead to pursue making another great super robot classic series. And this time, it is about having three air units that can “combine” into a robot. In three different ways. I keep thinking of myself “Oh, really? How on earth could they design something like that?”. So I questioned my doubt. And my curiosity grew as I researched and found out the truth further on how three futuristic warplanes have the capability to ‘transform’ into 3 different robots, with each of them can perform unique functions that’s different to one another.

Though it’s part of Go Nagai’s signature, the majority of the credits go to Ken Ishikawa, Go Nagai’s protege. He was the one notably contributed the ideas on making Getter Robo series a running success after so many years since its Getter Robo days, including several re-incarnated series during the 90s and 00s like Shin Getter Robo, Neo Getter Robo, Getter Robo G, New Getter Robo etc. It ran as part of the manga series with its main publisher, Shonen between 1974 and 1975, covered in 5 volumes. It was later converted into TV series and it become another great mecha anime sensation again, for Go Nagai.

Getter Robo story begins with a story with a brilliant scientist by the name of Professor Saotome, who invented the three planes that come with hidden special abilities of thwarting the evil plots of their nemesis, Dinosaur King, from Dinosaur Empire. The special planes are powered by Getter Ray, a rare source of energy ray obtained from outer space, which were originally used for deep-space exploration of solar systems, galaxies and beyond. However, this scientific project was called and “redubbed” for far more important use as Earth’s greatest defense against the might of the invading Dinosaur Empire whose attempts are nothing short of evil ambitions to take over the world, for they claim to be the ‘true rulers‘ of Earth since they existed several million years ago. As the story unfolds, we learned that Professor Saotome went on a hunt for three pilots who are capable of riding such scientifically sophisticated machines. So a talented martial artist(Ryoma Nagare), a delinquent loner(Hayato Jin) and a judo expert(Musashi Tomoe) were called upon to take up such honorary task to defend the Earth, and they learned the secret powers of their Getter planes.

This robot series was helmed as the first Super Robot anime in history that produced a groundbreaking concept of merging (or combining) units into one super robot. And not only one type of super robot can be formed but in three types! Each robot is unique in its own way to handle different situations/struggles our Getter heroes face in the heat of battle. I was pretty dissapointed the fact I remembered back in the early 80s as a kid there was Getter Robo G whose licencing rights were bought by American company Force Five Series and later relabelled as the Starvengers and I couldn’t comprehend why is that Getter Robo was never queued to broadcast in Malaysia before Getter Robo G. Was it because of no money, or demand for Japanese robot was nonexistent? It’s a mystery to me. Nevertheless, it’s good to know that after all these years I finally know the truth behind the great legend of that is Go Nagai’s Getter Robo.

Anyway, I digress. The concept of combining units is this (at least in Getter Robo Universe). Getter Robo has 3 transformations, Getter 1, Getter 2 and Getter 3. The three planes are named Eagle (red plane), Jaguar (white plane) and Bear (yellow plane). Getter 1 transformation goes with Eagle jet, Jaguar jet and Bear Jet, in an order. Getter 2 transformation goes with pushing the previous order ‘up’ having Jaguar first, Bear second and Eagle last. And lastly Getter 3 transformation goes with pushing Getter 2’s order up having Bear first, Eagle second and Jaguar last. Here’ the illustration

Getter 1 Transformation – In this order

Eagle + Jaguar + Bear = Getter 1

Getter 2 Transformation – In this order

Jaguar + Bear + Eagle = Getter 2

Getter 3 Transformation – In this order

Bear + Eagle + Jaguar = Getter 3

The 3 Getter Robo come with unique and amazing fight capabilities when facing tougher mechanical monsters dispatched by the Dinosaur Empire with notable signature attacks. Getter 1 being very agile with its Tomahawk, Getter 2 with its highly-powered drill arm that can penetrate on any type of surface, and lastly Getter-3 with its overly-stretchy arms that extend up to several hundred metres in range to grasp any opponent to do a ‘throw’ ie Hammer Throw (as Musashi’s a judo expert). And they’re all come together along with Professor Saotome’s support and his children, Michiru and Genki Saotome to thwart the evil attempts of Dinosaur Empire’s conquest for Earth domination.

And so there lies a question I’ve been meaning to ask myself about. Was Getter Robo considered as the first “Transformer” ever in the history before the prime days of Transformers G1 that took over USA and the rest of the world? Well. Yes and no, depending on how you look at it. Facts gathered that even though Getter Robo succeeded in combining three units into one large unit, and its morphing capabilities into 3 robots suggest transformation is the valid description for this. However, another angle pointed out that a true Transformer is really a robot that puts itself in disguise of any object, be it cars, radios, trucks, construction equipment or even your Iphone! They can transform into robots that hold all the properties of their respective disguises, which shapes their robotic appearance. It makes you think logically Transformers do what they always do best. They always put into disguise. And they can always transform back to being robots again. Whereas Getter Robo can’t. It couldn’t fit in this category because the three units were not ‘transformable’, separately. So there’s no way Getter Robo is truly the first Transformers, so to speak.

But then again, you could also argue that if Getter Robo did not introduce this ‘morphing’ capabilities in its series, then it would have not inspired other countless super robot anime artists who incorporated this element into their own robot shows and continue to thrive their imagination to take place. Meaning, the Transformers as we know today oughta give plenty of credit to Getter Robo for bringing its own existence, doesn’t it? I really do believe it should. After all, you’ll come to know there are other startling facts behind the Transformers that the Japanese did invented the Transformers, whereas USA was responsible for the branding behind the titular name (and the catchy opening music).

Later on, I’m planning to add further interesting details about the series in regard of the plot and character development, once I get the original classics on DVD release in my hands. More to come.

The “father” of all the super robot genre (and, arguably, real robot)

admin — Tue, 19 May 2009 10:34:56 +0000

Mazinger Z. Yes, the greatest robot anime of all time in Japanese animation industry as anime industry analysts said. I heard so much about it from many great accolades of fans(old and new) that the show trully defined its own special subgenre of anime , of that we all now know as ‘Mecha’. The show’s popularity had grown exponentially over the years between 1972-1974 and many children at the time gave incredibly high ratings for it. The scale of its popularity is almost comparable to likes of the Beatles’ mania that exploded throughout the 70’s! But at a much smaller scale, matter-of-factly, within the shores and soils of Japan. But sources gathered that it became a

major hit in Spain and Italy so the show made quite an impact that Mazinger Z is recognized as a symbol of ‘cult’ status just as much as what Beatles did in other specific continents of the world. Yet, personally I never knew anything about Mazinger until last year when I run into Wikipedia, and looking up for all great super robot shows. As I read the history on the developments of this genre, I arrived at the conclusion that (hence my post’s title) our infamous anime creator, Go-Nagai, delivered a simple manga produce that turned itself to be the great ‘mother’ of all super robot genre shows in our lifetime so far. Without it, we would not have seen so many talented anime artists coming out of Japan to produce great mileage of robot series and ever growing fan base of robot anime enthusiasts out there, across the globe.

So what is Mazinger Z, truly? What is it all about?

Mind you, I never watched this show in my country of Malaysia while growing up, but I distinctly remembered seeing programmes produced by Go Nagai, but it appeared under a different broadcasting agency called Force Five series. And I saw the opening credits that went by saying ‘Animation created by Go Nagai’ for the shows of Getter Robo(known as Starvengers) and UFO Robo Grendizer (also known as Grandizer). I was deeply shocked about this because we lacked the public information that Go Nagai was truly

the great genius behind these shows and we didn’t have the privilege to watch Mazinger Z which started it all?? It doesn’t make any sense. How can we supposed to acknowledge his great works of art when the media came and made us to think these programmes were made in USA, but it’s all because of licensing and broadcasting rights USA companies like Force Five Series can take and rebrand the product to get a different name and the kids just watched thinking these are memorable cartoons on Saturday mornings?? I felt my mind’s been plagued by these distortions and I find it sad I only came to know the truth at the later stages of my life. Tsk…. Tsk….

But still, I’m glad to say even where I’m at in my life now, I finally get to know what Mazinger Z is thanks to the ever-growing presence of internet that lets you connect people in so many ways. Especially in the mecha community field. I’m glad this technology has allowed me to seek the bigger and better picture of what mecha anime industry is going about. I’ve learnt heaps about this in particular. Go Nagai pioneered the whole mecha genre inside out and that’s how many animators in Japan could produce several, if not all, successful anime programmes of this genre for last 30 years. His visual concept of a person ‘piloting’ a robot as if he was riding an aeroplane was a genius idea in the making. The coolest part of his design is that when giant robots are given special commands for attack, the pilot would yell the attack sequence and the robot will launch them. And suddenly everybody’s gotten completely bonkers over this and soon many robot shows are following the same ‘format’. Really ingenious and stupendous. So it would be fair for me to acknowledge that his series also sparked another new mecha subgrene, called “Real Robot”. Go Nagai was not involved with any of Real Robot developments. It was one of other famous Japanese mecha artists and producers by the name of Yoshiyuki Tomino, who’s responsible for converting Super Robot mecha genre into Real Robot genre (click here on his Wiki page for more info). Yoshiyuki used to do a lot of previous work on Super Robot genre for several years before he’s decided to make Real Robot a success with his life-long series of Gundam shows. Officially, he’s the godfather of “Real Robot” since then. Thanks to ongoing success of several super robot anime series in the early 70s, 80s this part of animation industry enjoyed, Real Robot became a possibility. You gotta give plenty of credit for Go Nagai how much impact his Mazinger Z did on Tomino’s works, including others.

One other interesting element I find about Mazinger Z is how so many successful super robot series shared the same element of story-telling Go Nagai had for Mazinger Z ie “father-builds-robot-for-son-so-he-can-ride-it-to-save-the-world-from-bad-guys” part to having every new enemy robot featured on every episode. Examples for these are Toshi Gordion, Steel Jeeg, Groizer X , Mechander Robo, Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3, Trider G7 etc. It’s very refreshing to think back how great every robot anime I watched in those days all shared one common thing. And that to me that’s the winning formula for making great mecha anime series, all the time.

I’m looking forward to watching the original series from beginning till the end now that I have the copy of its DVD release.