Dai-Guard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dai-Guard | |
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| 地球防衛企業ダイ・ガード (Dai-Guard) |
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| Genre | Mecha, Comedy, Science Fiction |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Seiji Mizushima |
| Studio | XEBEC |
| Network | TV Tokyo |
| Original run | 5 October 1999 – 28 March 2000 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
Dai-Guard is an anime television series, produced and animated by XEBEC, and directed by Seiji Mizushima. It aired from 1999 to 2000, ran for 26 episodes, and 6 volumes of videos were released on VHS and DVD. The series also had a very brief run (two episodes) on Cartoon Network through Toonami's "Giant Robot Week."
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[edit] Series background
The series is based around three office workers of the 21st Century Defense Corporation who, with the company's giant robot, Dai-Guard, fight interdimensional alien beings called heterodynes. Unlike most giant robot anime, Dai-Guard performs on much more realistic physics, making it heavy, slow and a hassle to control. Also, the heterodynes seem to be the least of the 21st Century Corporations problems as they experience opposition in the form of massive damage claims, lawsuits, rivals and a jealous and antagonistic military who wishes to take back Dai-Guard for themselves.
- Backstory
On February 24, 2018, in the Northwest gap of the Sea of Japan, a giant creature appears and goes on a rampage, destroying a major city and killing countless people before being destroyed itself by a weapon of mass destruction. In the aftermath, a giant robotic weapon system, code-named Dai-Guard, was developed by the military as an alternative to the future use of such weapons. However, further attacks fail to occur, and no further sign of the creatures is seen for the next twelve years.
The company that built the robot for the military is compensated by allowing them to keep the useless weapon as a corporate mascot. However, during a security exposition in 2030, a Heterodyne attacks, and the robot is taken into battle ill-prepared and unarmed due to the headstrong nature of one of its pilots. However, that pilots same headstrong nature, combined with the talents of his fellow pilots, enable surprising victories to be made against the invaders, to the consteration of the military that spurned the '100 foot sales gimmick'.
As the Heterodyne are a dangerous and adaptable foe yet not an ineffable enemy like the Angels of Neon Genesis Evangelion, potent weapons are developed by the corporation's technical support teams, the grudging assistance of military advisors lead to the discovery of clever tactics, and Dai-Guard's alien fighting soon begins to take a backseat to the bureaucratic troubles and office politics that the Corporation faces. Although just about every personality in the cast shares the common goal of protecting the country from the Heterodyne threat, their personal beliefs often clash with each other, causing the show's real conflicts.
- Ending
Intriguingly, the series ends its run not with the final elimination of the Heterodyne threat, but in an epiphany shared by all of the former rivals: The Heterodyne, although a threat that must be faced with impressive technology, are simply yet another disaster to be faced in a dangerous world-no different from earthquakes or typhoons. And in a disaster, you don't have to argue about who is in charge, you are all in danger, and you all do what you can to help-and everyone has the ability to do so. There is no need to force a controlled peace, to suppress conflicting opinions, in order to apply personal solutions-all have potent capabilities with which to battle the Heterodyne, and all wish to do so with a minimum of collateral damage-so there is no real conflict after all.
[edit] Characters
[edit] The Dai-Guard Pilots
- Akagi Shunsuke
Headstrong, idealistic and impulsive, Akagi can be seen as the heart and brawn of the three Dai-Guard pilots. Beforehand, he was merely an office worker for the 21st Century Defense Corprotation, but he manages to achieve his (anime) dreams of becoming a "Giant Robot pilot." During the return of the Heterodynes, he and his two friends Ibuki and Aoyama become the pilots of Dai-Guard, and intend to put it to use in order to fight off the Heterodyne threat. Akagi loves his job a little too much and manages to stick out among his fellow workers as the more enthusiastic one. However, he is usually at odds with the more bureaucratic methods of his company and his superiors. Akagi always has the best intentions, even though they usually get him into trouble on occasions. Intriguingly, his distinctive personality makes him a natural as Dai-Guard's primary pilot-he is such a dedicated otaku that he has practically memorized all of the robot's functions and knows exactly what it is capable of at any given time. Additionally, his cartoon-samurai ethical code quickly win him a place in the hearts of the public-he will simply refuse to take or allow actions that will endanger civilian lives and or property if there is any alternative whatsoever.
- Momoi Ibuki
Years ago, during the last Heterodyne attack, Ibuki's father (who was a scientist wanting to prove his theories on the Heterodynes) was killed in the attack. Ever since that incident, Ibuki wanted revenge against the Heterodynes. She becomes the 2nd Pilot of Dai-Guard for this very reason. However, she learns the less than heroic truth about her father, and it leaves her without an emotional anchor. Ibuki has a rather strained relationship with her stepfather, who at first is against Ibuki piloting Dai-Guard, but becomes the person who helps understand her father and fight her personal demons in time to save the world with much more clarity. As with Akagi, her personality meshes well with her position as Dai-Guard's navigator-she is so obsessed with details that she can make quick and precise summaries of a Heterodyne's abilities, often noticing subtle flaws in a given Heterodyne that allow the team to destroy it with minimal casualties.
- Aoyama Keichiro
Both a veritable ladies man and also somewhat mysterious, Aoyama becomes the 3rd pilot of Dai-Guard. Most of the time, Aoyama disappears after work. While his friends believe he's off womanizing, it turns out that Aoyama is caring for his sick mother. (Who personally doesn't want to become Aoyama's top priority over piloting Dai-Guard) As his experiences grow during the course of piloting Dai-Guard, he meets more people from his past that he once again crosses paths with. Like both his fellow pilots, he possesses personality traits that assist him in his role as Dai-Guard's engineer. He is always looking for ways to save time and effort, so not only does he regulate the robot's systems with clockwork proficiency, but he will intuitively notice methods by which the team can accomplish its goal with less effort.
[edit] Theme songs
- Opening
- "Rojiura no Uchuu Shounen [Back Alley Space Boy]" by The Cobratwisters (Eps. 2-25)
- Endings
- "Hashire Hashire [Run, Run]" by Kyoko Endou (Eps. 1-25)
- "Rojiura no Uchuu Shounen [Back Alley Space Boy]" by The Cobratwisters (Episode 26)
