UFO robo: Gurendaizâ

There are at least two United States versions of this series. One (the superior in my opinion) was part of Jim Terry's Force Five, a show composed of five different animated series from Japan. Another is a feature-length "movie" composed of four or five of the show's pivotal episodes spliced together. The Force Five version went all the way through the original series while the "movie" only covers the first "boss villain's" introduction and defeat.

Either way you get it, Grandizer is a fun show. The hero, Duke Fleed (aka Orion Quest) is an experienced pilot right off the bat so they can skip the tedious training and such that seems to be the mainstay of most super and giant robot shows. Grandizer is also interesting in that he doesn't triumph because he is much more powerful than his foes (though he is powerful), he wins because he's *better* than they are.

Duke himself is an alien, physically superior to humans. Also, he is the reluctant hero type. However, he knows it was his fault the Vegan empire came to Earth and it's his responsibility to fight them. He only hesitates for the briefest of moments before unearthing Grandizer and heading into combat once more. His angst is there but not the alpha and omega of his character. Contrast this to shows like Evangelion, in which the characters' angst was all there was to them.

The supporting cast, including Koji Kabuto from "Mazinger Z", come off well with the exception of a midget cowboy apparently put in just to make fun of Americans. Fortunately, he doesn't do much. It's a lot of fun to see how Duke will prove himself superior to Koji from episode to episode. It's as if Go Nagai, creator of both "Grandizer" and "Mazinger Z", didn't really like Koji and wanted to humiliate him at every opportunity.

If you can find the "movie" version, pick it up. It's a lot of fun especially if you enjoy "old-school" super robots. The Force Five version is more satisfying, if you can get ahold of it. I am unaware of any subtitled in English versions of the original Japanese unless you can track down a fan sub.

The 3rd of Go Nagai's mecha, Grendizer carries over much of what made Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger successful, but manages to freshen things up. Even though Kabuto Koji is present, it feels a lot more like a standalone series.

The art and the animation are much cleaner than the previous entries in the catalog, often closer to the more polished OVAs. The sound design is also vastly superior.

The silly and often annoying comic relief element is not as omnipresent as it was in Great Mazinger, where Boss is often the focus of attention for much of the episode. In fact, thankfully enough, Boss is only featured in a handful of episodes. Grendizer's own cast of silly characters such as Danbei and Banta is somewhat easier to ignore for the most part. And thankfully, there are no such absurdities as taking crows either.

Even if it's made for kids, the tone is more serious, with romantic and even tragic elements, and the characters have a lot more depth.

And this is reinforced by the extraordinary music of Shunsuke Kikuchi, one of the great Japanese composers of the late 20th century. The score is full of pathos and remarkably dynamic, often reminiscent of Ennio Morricone. The music alone gives much more depth to the series than what you find in Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger.

Of course, the series has its share of fillers but overall it is very enjoyable.

I would recommend watching it in Japanese if you do have that option, as the progression of the series makes more sense. The translated versions can sometimes feel as though they were done in batches of a few episodes, without any real notion of the overarching plot. That being said, I grew up watching it in French, and I can attest that they did a fantastic job with that version, despite some issues. I assume that the same goes for the Arabic and Italian versions, seeing how beloved this series remains in France, Quebec, Italy and some Arab countries almost 50 years later.

This bland robot show (which aired as 'Goldorak' as I remember it) lacked the amorality, female nudity and blood splattering violence of 'Albator, le corsair de l'espace'(another children's cartoon on French tv in Canada at the time) -- thus it was less interesting to young boys in my grade.

Interestingly, the Quebec courts passed a law in 1999 forbidding parents from naming their child 'Goldorak.' I'm not making this up.

OK, the animation may be stiff and the characters cardboard, but this show carries great memories for thousands of people around the world. Mildly successful in Japan, "Grendizer" aka "Goldorak" or "Goldrake" was one of the first Japanese cartoons to achieve such great success and retain a cult following for such a long time. Even today, the struggle of the hero Actarus (aka Duke Fleed) against the evil hordes of "Great Strateguerre" Vega give me shivers down my spine! BTW, among the corny aspects of the show, which add to its appeal : why the heck does Vega keep sending his giant robots ONE BY ONE (gettings their asses kicked by Grendizer episode after episode) instead of sending them all in one big assault? Beats me. Talk about a lousy galactic overlord! Seeing a Grendizer episode is like a fountain of youth to me ! I just can't get enough of its cheesy charm!

Being in North America, I only got 26 episodes of the whole series as a kid. The only reason I remember it is because of the "movie" we rented so often, where Jim Terry Productions had taken scenes from several eps and cut them together, with some fresh voiceovers.

I just got hold of the entire series in Japanese with English subs this year. I had NO idea it had so many underlying themes, like belonging, protecting the environment, learning to rely on others, PTSD, and more. And Hikaru/Brenda's story arc was awesome.

My only gripes are the 70s-style comic relief. Danbi/Panhandle is annoying as hell, whether in English or Japanese. Boss is annoying, and Banta/Carlos usually is, too. It is also very plot-driven, e.g., Koji/Lance lights sticks of dynamite to free Hikaru from a seaweed trap...underwater. And sometimes Duke Fleed/Orion Quest uses the spazer to tag-team against a foe, and sometimes he doesn't. That sort of thing.

But was also the predominant way of writing cartoons back then. That they tackled such heavy themes as the after-effects of war on a person really surprised me.

Oh! One other thing that was so beautiful: almost every episode ends with a view of the sun, either direct or as a background. It was a lovely touch to show that this show is Japanese.

The American version that I watched as a kid erased almost all signs of the show's actual location. Given the American-style ranch, it was easy to do. And although I haven't watched the full French series yet, I've noticed the erasure, too, where possible. Heck, even the subtitles of the Japanese original that I have sometimes erase "Japan" or "Japanese" for English speakers.

But to demonstrate with actual dialogue from the scene in ep 1 where Koji lands his TFO at the ranch:

1. Japanese original: Koji confirms he's Japanese (he says, "Nihonjin"), not an alien.

2. American dub: "I'm more human than you are!" 3. French dub: "I'm a friend."

So, all in all, a beautiful series that's tons of fun, and you can hear the voice actors having fun while they're at it.

"Grendizer, go!"