Invincible Super Man Zambot 3
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| Invincible Super Man Zambot 3 | |
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| 無敵超人ザンボット3 (Invincible Super Man Zambot 3) |
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| Genre | Mecha |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Yoshiyuki Tomino |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Network | Bandai |
| Original run | 8 October 1977 – 25 March 1978 |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
Invincible Super Man Zambot 3 (無敵超人ザンボット3 in kanji, transliterated as Muteki Choujin Zanbot 3 in romaji) is an anime series created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Yoshitake Suzuki, and produced by Sunrise. It was first broadcast on Japanese TV in 1977. The series lasted for 23 episodes.
Contents |
[edit] Story
There once existed a planet named Beal, until it was wiped out by the mysterious entity known as Gaizok. The few remaining survivors escaped to Earth and split into three families, named Jin, Kamie, and Kamikita respectively. While attempting to start a new life, the collectively known "Jin Family" prepared for the inevitable Gaizok invasion on Earth and its giant mechanical beasts known as "Mecha Boosts". In order to defend their new home, they have built three vehicles which when combined form the mighty Zambot 3. The Jin Family must not only defend against Gaizok attacks, but also harsh criticisms from the very people they protect, who blame the Jin Family for the invasion in the first place.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Beal-Seijin
Kappei Jin is the main character of Zambot 3 and pilot of the Zambird/Zambo Ace as well as controlling the primary functions of the titular robot. At 12 years old, Kappei is always eager to get into dangerous, high-risk situations, be it in battle against one of Gaizok's Mecha Boosts or against his rival Kouzuki. While Kappei is generally willing to go into battle, he will at times run into an emotional dilemma, generally stemming from civilian backlash against the Beal-Seijin. Kappei is also very athletic and a skilled martial artist. His best friends are his pet robot dog, Chuunishiki and the girls Aki and Michi.
Uchuuta Kamie is 15 years old and pilot of the Zambull. While Uchuuta is more mature than Kappei, he is about as eager to jump into battle, to the point that early on in the series Kappei and Uchuuta would argue over who should be doing most of the fighting. Uchuuta has to deal with a family that is not as devoted to the fight against Gaizok as himself.
Keiko Kamikita is 14 years old and pilot of the Zambase. On the Kamikita's ranch, Keiko's hobbies are archery and horseback riding. While not as overtly aggressive as her male teammates, Keiko is if anything more willing to fight Gaizok, even at times attempting to pilot despite bodily injury. While Keiko has the strongest convictions of the team, she is also perhaps the most emotionally vulnerable. One of Keiko's most famous lines is, "Please transform, and don't make a girl say 'please!'"
[edit] Humans
Shingo Kouzuki is 13 years old and the leader of a local gang of kids. Shingo (most frequently referred to as Kouzuki in the series) is essentially Kappei's rival, as both have tendencies to play in the most dangerous ways possible, e.g. fighting each other with anchors. Like Kappei, Shingo is a skilled martial artist. Shingo is a civilian and does not pilot any anti-Gaizok vehicles, but he is nevertheless thrust into the middle of the conflict due to both circumstances beyond his control and through his own actions. Shingo has a mother and a sister, Kaoru, of whom he is very protective.
Kaoru Kouzuki is Shingo's little sister. Unlike most others, Kaoru sees the Jin Family and particularly Kappei as good people.
Aki is 12 years old and can be seen as Kappei's "love interest." Along with her best friend, Michi, Kappei frequently takes them along on his adventures, both in and out of Zambird. Aki is very sensible and confident, and will give Kappei a few harsh words if need be. At the same time, she is rather impressed by Kappei and the Zambird. The Zambot Archives book refers to Aki and Michi as the "Kappei Fan Club."
Michi is 12 years old and best friends with Aki. Michi, like Aki, tends to follow Kappei for one reason or another. Shyer and more reserved than Aki, Michi is usually worried about what will happen to them whenever Kappei does anything dangerous/stupid. The Zambot Archives book refers to Aki and Michi as the "Kappei Fan Club."
[edit] Gaizok
Gaizok is the mysterious entity responsible for the destruction of the planet Beal. He seeks to do the same to Earth as he did to Beal, and perhaps other planets as well. No one knows Gaizok's true motives or even his true identity, including his subordinate, Killer the Butcher.
Killer the Butcher is the most prominent villain in Zambot 3. Butcher is responsible for sending out Mecha Boosts to attack the Earth, particularly Japan. Butcher is a rather eccentric villain, and is seen constantly divulging in luxuries, be it eating endless amounts of meat, trying on jewelry, or attempting to sun bathe despite being inside of the Bandok. However, this extravagance does not make him any less ruthless. Butcher was sent to kill the humans, and that's exactly what he plans to do. Butcher's headquarters is the powerful mobile fortress, Bandok.
[edit] Mechanical Weapons and Vehicles
[edit] Beal-Seijin
[edit] Zambot 3
Zambot 3, along with the King Beal, are the primary defenses against the Gaizok invasion. Zambot 3 is formed when the Zambird, Zambull and Zambase combine by a sequence called Zambot Combination. There is a separate cockpit for each pilot.
Height: 60 meters
Weight: 500 tons
Output: 350,000 horsepower (260 MW)
Energy source: Ion energy
Main weapons
- Arm Punch - Retaining the launching fists of the Zambull, Zambot 3 fires its fist in typical super robot fashion.
- Teisatsu Mecha Regon (Reconnaissance Mecha Regon) - Zambot 3 retain's Zambase's remote cameras.
- Zambot Grap - A pair of sai that can also join at the handles to transform into a double-sided lance, Zambot Blow, as well as a sword, Zambot Cutter. The variations are often used one after the other and to adapt to different situations.
- Buster Missile - Missiles fired from the pods on sides of Zambot 3's legs.
- Zambot Buster - The pods on the side of Zambot 3's legs are thrown like discs, and will often hit the enemy twice.
- Moon Attack - Energy is gathered from Zambot 3's hands to the moon on is forehead. A crescent moon-shaped energy attack flies at the target, multiplies and surrounds it, then recombines and punches a crescent moon-shaped hole through the target.
Weaknesses: Zambot 3 has very few glaring design flaws, but the most prominent one is that its armor begins to fail when in waters deeper than 8000 meters.
[edit] Zambird/Zambo Ace
Pilot: Kappei Jin Zambird is a high-speed aerial vehicle which is able to go faster than Japan Self-Defense Force fighter jets. Zambird can transform into the humanoid Zambo Ace. Zambo Ace's primary armament is its Zambo Magnum. Zambird forms primarily the head and the inner torso of Zambot 3.
Main Weapons
'Zambird'
- Tremble Horn: A laser that is shot out of the parabolic dish on top of Zambird.
- 50mm Vulcans: Fired out of the front of Zambird.
- Missiles
- Rockets
'Zambo Ace'
- Zambo Magnum: A large gun which can be outfitted with different parts to form not only a magnum but also a sniper rifle and rocket launcher.
[edit] Zambull
Pilot: Uchuuta Kamie Zambull is a tank-like vehicle that has the most hitting power out of the three parts of Zambot 3. Zambull forms the outer torso and arms of Zambot 3, as evidenced by the large fists that sit on top of Zambull.
Main Weapons
- Giant Cannon
- Missiles
- Arm Punch: Zambull fires its fist.
- Drill Missiles
[edit] Zambase
Pilot: Kamikita Keiko Zambase functions as both an attack and support vehicle. In addition to possessing its own weapons for offense, Zambase also carries spare ammunition and Zambo Magnums for Zambo Ace, as well as remote cameras for reconnaissance. Zambase forms primarily the legs of Zambot 3, and is also responsible for overseeing balance and power distribution throughout the entire robot.
Main Weapons
- Base Laser
- Base Fire
- Missiles
- Teisatsu Mecha Regon: Remote spy cameras
[edit] Controversy
This, along with Tomino's 1980 series Space Runaway Ideon, are largely credited with creating Tomino's infamous nickname, "Kill 'Em All" Tomino. This is due to Tominos' tendency to kill very large amounts of the main casts of his stories at the end. This reputation is somewhat exaggerated by fans, due to the difficulty of actually obtaining and watching many of Tomino's most vintage efforts in English. It is a widely-held misconception that Tomino frequently kills off even women and children, as he actually did in Ideon and somewhat sporadically in some Gundam series, but this is not always the case.
It is a very widely held misconception that the entire cast of Zambot-3 dies in the series ending. However, in the series' penultimate episode, the women, young children, and noncombatants aboard the King Beal are successfully evacuated in escape capsules. Of the characters who stay behind, which includes the Zambot pilots and the patriarchs of the extended Kami family, only Kappei survives to return to Earth after the battle is over. All of the other characters, including young pilots Uchuuta and Keiko, perform sometimes gruesome acts of self-sacrifice in their machines to ensure Gaizok's destruction.
This was obviously a controversial given the very young ages of Zambot's main cast, and the very young age of Zambot's target audience, though it was hardly something that would have caught a regular viewer of the series by surprise given Zambot's often-grim take on its subject matter. Although virtually all of the character deaths in the ending are very heroic, they are still gruesome and make a devastatingly frank statement about the terrors of war in a way that never would have been expected from such an anime during that era. The ending actually became the most popular and memorable story arc of the Zambot 3 series, owing to its unusually strong direction, moving emotional themes, and more sophisticated writing. Its success set Tomino on the path to repeating this success with the violent and sometimes nihilistic themes of his later, more financially successful mecha series. You can see classic Kill 'Em All endings in Aura Battler Dunbine and Ideon, and more restrained but still widespread death and destruction rampant in Zeta Gundam, Char's Counterattack, and Victory Gundam.
It is worth noting that Tomino seems to have turned on his Kill 'Em All reputation somewhat in recent years. The endings of 1998's Brain Power'd and 2000's Turn-A Gundam are quite happy and both series feature very little in the way of character death. The recent series of Zeta Gundam theatrical movies does not undo any of the original series' character deaths, but makes many changes to the story that alter the context of the major death scenes. Overall it is a much gentler version of Zeta Gundam's grim events, with the ending altered to the point that the apocalyptic events of Char's Counterattack and much of the subsequent UC timeline may have been retconed entirely.
[edit] Trivia
- The Official Internationa Title, as stated on the Sunrise Official Website is Supermachine Zambot 3'.
