Fang of the Sun Dougram
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Taiyou no Kiba Dougram | |
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| 太陽の牙ダグラム (Fang of Sun Dougram) |
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| Genre | Mecha |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Ryosuke Takahashi |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Network | TV Tokyo |
| Original run | 23 October 1981 – 25 March 1983 |
| No. of episodes | 75 |
Fang of the Sun Dougram (太陽の牙ダグラム Taiyō no Kiba Daguramu?) is a 75-episode anime television series, created by Ryosuke Takahashi and Sunrise, and aired in Japan from October 23, 1981 to March 25, 1983 on TV Tokyo. A 1983 full-length feature film, Dougram: Documentary of the Fang of the Sun, summarized the series.
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[edit] Plot
Malcontents on the Deloyer colony agitate for the independence of their world from the Earth Federation. In an unexpected coup, the elected Governor declares martial law and sets himself up as absolute dictator. With the approval of the Federation, he rules the planet with an iron fist. In reaction, a ragtag group (including the governor's estranged son) rises in open rebellion, using a powerful prototype Combat Armor: the Dougram. Their goal is the end of the dictatorship and total independence from the Federation's influence.
The story follows the action of the guerilla freedom fighters known as "The Fang of the Sun." The war is fought across the planet Deloyer as the Federation vigorously pursues the rebels.
[edit] Characters
- Crinn Cashim: the show's main character. Son of Governor Denon Cashim. He sides with the rebels and pilots the Dougram Combat Armor.
- Rocky Andor: red-haired leader and founder of the Fang of the Sun rebel group.
- Canary Donetto: The Fang of the Sun's second-in-command and Rocky Andor's lover.
- Chico Biento: rebel weaponeer, carries a powerful portable laser cannon called the Big E-Gun.
- Festo Bronco: A feisty 18-year-old ex-classmate of Crinn.
- Billy Hall: 16-year-old rebel auxiliary, he looks and acts more like a 12-year-old and hero-worships Crinn.
- Nanashi: Fang of the Sun infantryman, heavily built. Comedy relief among the rebel group.
- Heckle G. Thompson: 24-year-old rebel engineer who builds, modifies and maintains the Fang's Combat Armors.
- Dr. David Samlin: former professor at Deloyer University and chief designer of the Dougram.
- Denon Cashin: Crinn's father and the Governor of Deloyer. Co-conspirator with Helmut LeCoque and Brudoran Garcia.
- Helmut J. LeCoque: Vice-governor of Deloyer. The true villain of the story. He plays the Federation against the Rebels in hopes of winning absolute control over both Deloyer and Earth.
- Brudoran Garcia: Military Chief Of Staff. A pompous windbag, firmly in LeCoque's pocket. He stages the initial coup against the government of Deloyer.
- Dick Lertoff: APU reporter and war correspondent. Amoral opportunist who will do anything for a headline.
- J. Locke: one-eyed commander of the Federation Occupation Forces. First to employ the Federation's Tequila and Desert Gunners in combat.
- Rick Boyd: Federation Major, fiercely loyal to Locke.
- Von Stein: Federation Colonel. A self-serving gloryhound who hopes to take Locke's place and, eventually, displace Garcia.
- Jacky Zalshiev: Federation Combat Armor pilot and ace. He comes the closest to killing Crinn of anyone, except Locke.
- Blink: Federation Korchima Pilot and commander of the 24th Battalion. Rarely seen without sunglasses.
- Rad, Barrel and Tennisn: Federation Korchima pilots who serve under Blink.
- Destin: Samlin's assistant and LeCoque's spy.
[edit] Combat Armors
In S.C. 140 (Dougram time system), the Federal military asked for an all-terrain heavy-weapon system to deal with the varied geographic conditions of the colony worlds. Only two companies made it through the extensive requirements testing: Abitate and Soltic.
Abitate's F44A "Crabgunner" was a 12-meter, 4-legged walking tank. Soltic's own H8 "Roundfacer" was humanoid, with a single pilot located in the head. The simpler Crabgunner became the mainstay of the early Federation forces, but it was the Roundfacer that would revolutionize mechanized warfare. As the rebellion grows in number, the Federation introduces new models of Combat Armors to oppose it, many of them designed to fullfil specific roles (desert fighting, cold weather deployment, etc.). Unlike other anime, these new machines are production models and rarely one-of-a-kind prototypes (the Dougram itself being the most notable exception).
The following list showcases the machines seen in the show. The terms "Soltic," "Abitate," and "Dougram" actually represent the names of the companies that built the combat armors, not the names of the machines themselves. The "common names," if any, are given in quotes.
- "Dougram" Combat Armor
- Abitate F35C "Blizzard Gunner"
- Abitate F44A "Crab Gunner"
- Abitate F44B "Tequila Gunner"
- Abitate F44D "Desert Gunner"
- Abitate T-10B "Blockhead"
- Abitate T-10C "Blockhead"
- Hasty F4X "Ironfoot"
- Soltic H8 "Roundfacer"
- Soltic H8-RF "Korchima Special" (24th Battalion Custom)
- Soltic H404S "Mackerel"
- Soltic H-102 "Bushman"
- Soltic HT-128 "Bigfoot"
- Nicholiev AG-9 "Cabarov"
Combat Armors used by the Fang of the Sun are marked with a gold-bordered red triangle. The rebel group fields the Dougram and some Ironfoots, with the occasional captured machine thrown in. The Federation Occupation Forces use gold chevrons to indicate the division they are assigned to (1st, 2nd, or 3rd). They field all the above, except the Dougram.
[edit] Influence
Dougram was one of the first successors to the "real robot" (real robots have 3 important characteristics: their weapons rely on ammunition, they must be regularly maintained and their power source is not infinite) genre created by Mobile Suit Gundam. It featured a similar plot centered around a small team fighting a running battle with a powerful enemy, using an advanced mecha. The show was a surprise success, especially considering the heavy emphasis on military tactics which slowed the pace of the story, and further confirmed that military mecha science-fiction was here to stay. Takahashi and Sunrise would go on create a follow-up series, Armored Trooper Votoms, which used similar styling and themes but was otherwise unrelated in plot, characters or setting.
[edit] Merchandising
Toymaker Takara was the show's main licensee. They made a very successful plastic model kit series, a large number of diecast toys, and also released several strategy wargames set in the Dougram world. The latter included tiny, unpainted diecast combat armors as playing pieces; additional scale accessories were available separately.
The diecast toys were produced in three sizes. The 1:144 scale "Collection Series" featured a hollow diecast body and leg structure, with plastic detail parts. The "Dual Model Series" (in two scales, 1:72 and 1:48) featured a zinc-diecast endoskeleton upon which plastic armor pieces were attached. Although the imported toys were physically identical to the Japanese ones, the packages were modified for American shelves. The 1:144 scale boxes had sleeves to be hung from pegs, while the larger toys had English-language stickers glued over the original boxes.
Takara also produced a magnetically-jointed Dougram and several soft-vinyl toys. Although the vinyls did not have specific scales, they appeared to be between 1:100 and 1:60 scale. Toy manufacturer Seven, a Takara spin-off devoted to low-end toys, produced several plastic and rubber Dougram toys as well.
[edit] Controversy
Neither the film nor the television series were released in North America. However, plastic model kit manufacturer Revell released many of Takara's Dougram kits as characters in their Robotech Defender series, and Takara sold much of their diecast toy line through American toy stores in the mid-Eighties. The detailed construction of the toys, the lack of any background info on the characters, and the revolutionary slogans printed on the boxes ("Fight! Dougram to save independence of the Deloyer!" or "We will never approve independence from our federation!") confused many.
In the mid 1980s, American gaming company FASA used the vehicle designs of the show for its Battletech miniature wargame and role-playing game. The first edition, then named BattleDroids, actually included two Japanese 1/144 model kits from Dougram. FASA was later sued for copyright infringement for using mecha designs from Macross (for example, Valkyrie fighters renamed Stinger, Wasp and Phoenix Hawk) and Dougram (among others, Dougram renamed as Shadow Hawk, Crabgunner as Goliath, and Blizzard Gunner as Scorpion), allegedly without the proper copyright license. The related lawsuits were settled out of court, and post-lawsuit Battletech products do not feature the designs under contention.
The Dougram tabletop battling game also came out in 1984, a year before (Battledroids)Battletech was released in America.
