GoShogun

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GoShogun
戦国魔神ゴーショーグン
(Sengoku Majin GoShogun)
Genre Mecha, Shōnen
TV anime
Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama
Studio Ashi Productions, Studio Z5
Network TV Tokyo
Original run March 3, 1982December 28, 1982
No. of episodes 26
Movie: GoShogun: The Time Etranger
戦国魔人ゴーショウグン 時の異邦人
(Sengoku Machine GoShogun: toki no ihôjin)
Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama
Studio Ashi Productions
Released 1985
Runtime 90 mins

Sengoku Majin GoShogun (Japanese: 戦国魔神ゴーショーグン) was a super robot anime series produced in 1981 and aired in 1982 in Japan. It is also referred to as "Demon God of the War Torn Land Goshogun", "Warring Demon God GoShogun", "Civil War Devil-God Goshogun", "Macron-1"


Contents

[edit] Original Story

A meteor strikes the Earth and is found to emanate a powerful new energy called Beamler, which is used to power a battle robot, GoShogun, and a teleporting fortress, Good Thunder. The Docougar Crime Syndicate, lead by crimelord Neo Neros, try to steal the secret of the energy from the inventor of GoShogun, but he kills himself rather than let them acquire it. His son is targeted by Neo Neros next, but he is taken in by the crew aboard Good Thunder, who travel the world fighting NeoNeros's forces with GoShogun. Eventually the son, Kenta, learns that he is actually an alien. In the end, Neo Neros's three officers side against him with the GoShogun crew. After he is defeated, Kenta takes GoShogun into space, back to his home planet.

[edit] US Adaptation

In 1985, the U.S combined footage from a similar show produced by "Kokusai Eiga-sha" called Akū Daisakusen Srungle to form "Macron-1", which portrays the Srungle characters as being part of another branch of the organization fighting evil in a parallel universe. This combined series was produced and released in the United States by Saban.

The US version involves test pilot David Chance traveling into a parallel universe under the tyrannical control of an organization called GRIP, led by Dark Star. Chance's entrance into the other universe allow GRIP to send their forces to Earth, leaving Dark Star's cyborg henchman Orn to remain in control in the alternate universe. GRIP is opposed by the two teams of Macron-1, the first led by Dr. Shegall and his team on Earth (from the GoShogun footage), while in the alternate universe Chance organizes a band of rebel warriors, Beta Command, to overthrow Orn (from the Srungle footage). The Beta Command members were given much less screentime.

[edit] European Adaptation

Also in the same time frame in 1985, Europe aired the show under the same title Macron-1, though in its original form. In Italy it was broadcasted under the name Gotriniton-Goshogun, il dio della guerra.

[edit] Staff

Additional Director: Tetsuro Amino, Junji Nishimura

Screenplay: Takeshi Shudo, Jiyu Watanabe, Sukehiro Tomita

Design: Mutsumi Inomata, Shunsuke Kasahara

Music: Tachio Akano

Art director: Geki Katsumata

Animation director: Hideaki Matsuoka, Junji Nishimura, Jutaro Oba, Osamu Kamijoo, Hiroshi Tanaka, Etsuki Tomita

Editing: Sozo Yamazaki, Toshio Henmi

Executive producer: Toshihiko Sato

Filming Director: Takeshi Fukuda

Planning Producer: Suichi Onodera

Producer: Hiroshi Kato, Masaru Umehara, Yasuroh Yamaie

Sound director: Noriyoshi Matsuura

Story Concept: Takeshi Suto

[edit] Characters

[edit] Good Thunder Team

  • Father: Good Thunder's main computer. Programmed from the mind of GoShogun's creator, Professor Sanada. In Macron-1, it's called Hugo.
  • Savalas: The advisor of the GoShogun crew, has a bald head and smokes cigars. Probably named after a resemblance to Telly Savalas. In Macron-1, his name is Dr. Shegall.
  • Shingo Hojo: A gunman who pilots a jet, King Arrow, that docks in GoShogun's chest. In Macron-1, his name is Jason Templar.
  • Killy Gagly: Pilots a second jet, Jack Knight, which docks inside GoShogun's right let. In Macron-1 his name is Scott Cutter.
  • Remy Shimada: Female pilot of Queen Rose, which docks inside GoShogun's left leg. In Macron-1 her name is Kathy Jamison.
  • Kenta Sanada: The son of the creator of GoShogun. He is actually an alien who can talk to machines, and studies to become Shingo's copilot. In Macron-1 his name is Nathan Bridger.
  • OVA: Kenta's robotic tutor. In Macron-1 his name is Andy-2.
  • TriThree: A fairly small robot formed by the combination of Queen Rose, King Arrow and Jack Knight, which is piloted by Remy.
  • GoShogun: Referred to as MacStar in Macron-1. this is the main robot this cartoon is all about. He has a gigantic axe, an equally gigantic energy sword and something like a bazooka as parts of his weaponry. His eyes can fire energy beams, and he's capable of launching energy missiles from his backpack. This 5 beams weapon is called GoFlasher, and changed over the time in the series giving it a semi-divine aura.

[edit] Docougar Crime Syndicate

  • Neoneros: The evil leader, also known in Macron-1 as Dark Star.
  • Leonardo Medici Bundle: One of the three underlings of Dark Star. Appears to be a dandy prince, usually holding a rose or a glas of red wine in his hands. Known as Prince Eharn in Macron-1.
  • Yattar Kernagul: A synthetic human with blue skin, and second henchman of Dark Star. Renamed Yarno Dahn in Macron-1. One of his driving ambitions is to open a chain of fried chicken restaurants called "Kernagul's Fried Chicken" and a hamburger chain called "KerDonald's". He's shown to have achieved this dream in The Time Etranger.
  • Suugini Kuttner: third and last of the three hechman of Darkstar. He is portrayed as an older looking pirate, usually wearing a crow (whose mood often mirrors his own) on his right shoulder. Captain Blade is his name in Macron-1. He is addicted to tranquilizers, and even sells his own brand of them, called "Kuttnerizers."

[edit] Trivia

  • Goshogun is one of the first robot anime to parody other robot series and poke fun at the genre conceits. Two of the more obvious examples are Kernagul, whose greatest ambition is to own a chain of fast food restaurants, and an enemy robot modeled after the RX-78-2 Gundam, which, when granted sentience by Goshogun, declares that it doesn't want to fight anymore and destroys itself.
  • A surrealstic follow-up movie "The Time Etranger," was set forty years after the end of GoShogun. In it, Remy is rendered catatonic in a car crash and her friends gather at her bedside to try to lend her their strength. In a dream, they are all trapped inside of a city where it is ordained that in several days they will die, but they fight back and Remy manages to survive. This movie is the only form of Goshogun that has been seen by many American anime fans.

[edit] External links