Metal Armor Dragonar
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| Metal Armor Dragonar | |
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| 機甲戦記ドラグナー (Kikou Senkan Dragonaa) |
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| Genre | mecha |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Takeyuki Kanda |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Network | Nagoya Broadcasting Network |
| Original run | 7 February 1987 – 30 January 1988 |
| No. of episodes | 48 |
Metal Armor Dragonar (機甲戦記ドラグナー, Kikou Senki Dragonaa) is a 48-episode mecha anime series, created by Sunrise and aired from 1987 to 1988. Devised shortly after the release of Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, Dragonar was intended to be both a "starter" series to get new fans into mecha anime, and a potential successor to the Gundam franchise. Though the series enjoyed good ratings and earned a loyal fan following, it failed to surpass Gundam and ended up as a single series, probably due to its light, ZZ Gundam-like take on the real robot mecha genre. Game developer Banpresto had Dragonar appear in two of its popular franchises, Super Robot Wars and Another Century's Episode; fans responded positively, and Sunrise acknowledged them in 2005 by releasing a memorial DVD collection of the series, a remastered version of the previous two LD-BOX releases years before.
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[edit] Story
Dragonar takes place in the year 2087, when a military force called the Lunar Empire of Giganos has risen and captured the Moon. Their stated goal is the rebirth of mankind, but their primary intention is the destruction of all those who dwell on Earth. To this end, the Empire uses humanoid battle machines called Metal Armors, as well as a gigantic mass driver cannon. Originally intended to send lunar material to Earth orbit for later retrieval, the Mass driver is reconfigured to launch small meteorites towards the home world. By the time the story takes place many bombardments have already taken place. The Earth Alliance, unable to compete with the Giganos military might, manages to steals three prototype Metal Armors with plans to reverse-engineer them with the help of exiled Giganos scientists. However, the ship carrying the Dragonars (posing as a refugee ship) is chased to a neutral colony by Giganos, and an attack is staged to retrieve them. Kaine, Tapp and Light, three friends and EA trainees, are on the colony during the attack, and find a dying Giganos spy who gives them three disks. Chased by Giganos' weapons, the trio enters the colony's dock and finds the Dragonars. Using the disks, they activate the machines and use them to protect the colony. However, since the Dragonars are keyed to only be operable by their initial user, the three friends find themselves forced to become the Earth Alliance's first Metal Armor pilots, faced against the advanced technology and veterans of the Giganos forces...
[edit] Characters
[edit] Earth Alliance
Kaine Wakaba - The pilot of Dragonar-1 and the main character of the story. A sixteen-year-old Earth Alliance trainee who graduated in Japan, Kaine lives on Alucard with his mother, who helps manage the colony. His parents are divorced, and Kaine resents his father for putting his work before his family. When his mother is apparently killed in the attack on Alucard, he is more than willing to help fight Giganos. Voiced by Masami Kikuchi
Tapp Oseano - One of Ken's best friends and the pilot of Dragonar-2. Tapp is a native New Yorker and graduated from an American training academy and was transferred to the astronaut academy on Alucard. Tapp tends to be cheerful and laid back, even in situations where Kaine and Light are stressing out. Even so, he can be serious when the need arises. Voiced by Houchu Otsuka.
Light Newman - Kaine and Tapp's friend and the pilot of Dragonar-3. A native Briton, Light's grandfather was in the Parliament and his father leads the Federation's European branch. However, he prefers to avoid positions of leadership, showing a natural aptitude for information-gathering and electronic warfare, which makes him the perfect pilot for Dragonar-3 (which he affectionately calls "D3-chan". Voiced by Kenyuu Horiuchi.
Linda Plato - Meio's younger sister, she becomes an enlisted member of the Alliance after the attack on the Alucard colony. Combined with her role as a communications officer/operator for the Earth Alliance, she is very much an homage to Sayla Mass from Mobile Suit Gundam.
Rose Pattenton - Rose was born on the Moon and became a refugee when Giganos declared independence. She escapes to Alucard and later boards the Idaho before the colony is destroyed. At 16 she is a warm and charming personality who assists in supervising the refugee children.
Ben Rooney
Diane Lance
Kenny Duncan
Yama
Douglas
Lang Plato
Genil
Soul Jirsett
Jim Austin
Aoi Wakaba
[edit] Lunar Empire of Giganos
Meio Plato - Giganos' top ace pilot, nicknamed the Blue Hawk. He gained fame piloting the Falguen and is fiercely loyal to Guiltorre. His father Lang Plato is the engineer who helped develop the Dragonars, and he has a younger sister, Linda, who opposes the war. Despite his calm nature and popularity with younger pilots, he is repeatedly demoted for failing to capture the Dragonars and begins to chaffe under Dorchenov's command. Voiced by Juurouta Kosugi
Dan Kruger Practice Squad member.
Welner Fritz Practice Squad member.
Karl Geiner Practice Squad member.
Marshal Guiltorre
Chephov
Gon Jem Leader of the "Gon Jem Shittenoh" platoon and pilot of the YAMA-13 Geyzam, and later the YGMA-14 Gilgazamune. Ridiculed with the nickname of "Garbage of Giganos"
Lee Sue Min Gon Jem Shittenoh member, and pilot of the Stark Deins.
Gol Gon Jem Shittenoh member, and pilot of the Stark Gewei.
Ganan Gon Jem Shittenoh member, and pilot of the Stark Gan-Dolla.
Zin Gon Jem Shittenoh member, and pilot of the Stark Dauzhen.
Mordel
Perkins
Dorchenov - Dorchenov is an ambitious officer of Giganos who, while not seen much early on, becomes the main villain of the series when he wages a coup d'etat of the Empire and assassinates Guiltorre, and putting the blame on Giganos ace Meio Plato who also happens to be at the scene.
[edit] Civilians
Martin
Jack
Danny
Betty
G UNIT
[edit] Metal Armors
[edit] Earth Alliance
XD-01 Dragonar-1 - Piloted by Kaine Wakaba, Dragonar-1 (also called D-1) is a general purpose Metal Armor. Its primary weapons include a rapid-firing hand railgun, laser sabers that combine to form a lancer, and a number of grenades and thrown bombs. D-1 was also designed to work with the XC-00 Cavalier Zero an armored support unit mounting extra weapons. Later on, D-1 is given a missile-laden flight unit and redesignated XDFU-01 Dragonar-1 Lifter.
XD-02 Dragonar-2 - Piloted by Tapp Oceano, Dragonar-2 (also called D-2) focused on long-range firepower. It mounts a pair of powerful railcannons on its backpack, along with a set of rear-firing machineguns for defense, and can also carry a double Gatling gun or mount extra missile pods on its legs. Like D-1, D-2 is eventually upgraded into the XDFU-02 Dragonar-2 Lifter, gaining missile launchers and the ability to fly.
XD-03 Dragonar-3 - Piloted by Light Newman, Dragonar-3 (also called D-3) is an electronic warfare unit. Its oddly-shaped head and chest contain a number of powerful sensors, as well as jammers and ECM equipment. Playing a mostly supportive role, D-3 only carries a hand railgun and an assault knife. Even when upgraded into the XDFU-03 Dragonar-3 Lifter, it only gains a pair of missiles.
XD-01SR Dragonar-1 Custom
XD-02SR Dragonar-2 Custom
MBD-1A Dragoon - The Federation's mass-produced metal armor, created from data gathered by all three of the Dragonars. A single railcannon is mounted on the right shoulder for mid/long-range attacks, and it also carries a single laser saber and a hand railgun. On the chest is a variety of sensors similar to the D-3's, albeit not as powerful. A Lifter flight system is also standard, with missile launchers mounted on the wings. The Dragoon is easily a match for many of the Giganos Empire's standard metal armors, and can be especially formidable with a skilled pilot in the cockpit.
[edit] Lunar Empire of Giganos
RMA-07A Drau
AMA-03B Gebaye
MAFFU-05 Gebaye MAFFU
FMA-04A Dyne
FMA-04A Dyne (Ground Type)
MAFFU-04 Dyne MAFFU
Dora
Gunzer
AMA-06B Gundora
Gelfer
AMA-06C Geldora
FFA-02 Schwarg
AFA-03 Dowtwen
WAMA-07A Zwai
XMFA-09 Falguen (Pilot: Meio Plato)
MAFFU-09 Falguen MAFFU (Pilot: Meio Plato)
YFMA-08A Gelf (Pilot: Dan Kruger)
MAFFU-08 Gelf MAFFU (Pilot: Dan Kruger)
YAMA-08B Jagd Gelf (Pilot: Welner Fritz)
MAFFU-08B Jagd Gelf MAFFU (Pilot: Welner Fritz)
YRMA-08C Reb Gelf (Pilot: Karl Geiner)
MAFFU-08C Reb Gelf MAFFU (Pilot: Karl Geiner)
AMA-03G Stark Gebaye (Pilot: Gol)
FMA-04G Stark Dyne (Pilot: Lee Sue Min)
AFA-03G Stark Dowtwen (Pilot: Zin)
Stark Gundora (No code) (Pilot: Ganan)
YAMA-13 Geyzam (Pilot: Gon Jem)
YGMA-14 Gilgazamune (Hydelnecken Colors) (Pilot: Hydelnecken)
YGMA-14 Gilgazamune (Dorchenov Colors) (Pilot: Dorchenov)
YGMA-14 Gilgazamune (Gon Jem Colors) (Pilot: Gon Jem)
[edit] Theme Songs
First opening: Yume-iro Chaser (Dream-colored Chaser) by Mami Ayukawa
Closing: Illusion wo Sagashite by Mami Ayukawa
Second opening: Starlight Serenade by Mami Yamase
Closing: Shiny Boy by Mami Yamase
[edit] Video Games
Though it has no dedicated games, Dragonar has appeared in several related games. It first appeared in the 2001 game Super Robot Wars Advance, in which Kaine and friends were (unwillingly) mentored first by Gundam Wing's Lucrezia Noin, then later by Gundam 0083's South Burning. The series would later appear in the 2004 game Super Robot Wars MX, where Giganos took center stage as the primary Real Robot antagonists, even usurping the Titans and Neo-Zeon from the so-called "Holy Trinity of Gundam" (Zeta, Double-Zeta, and Char's Counterattack). A late 2004 release saw Dragonar in Super Robot Wars GC, using Giganos as an ally to Zeon, with the Dragonar storyline being closely tied in with the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Dragonar's next video game appearance was in the 2005 game Another Century's Episode, a 3D action game produced by the team of Banpresto and From Software. The game allowed players to control the D-1, D-2, D-3 and, surprisingly, the Gilgazamune, but not the Falguen. The year 2006 brings about Another Century's Episode 2, which features the Custom versions of the Dragonars, as well as the ability to use Meio's Falguen MAFFU and Min's Stark Dyne, as well as Gon Jem's Gilgazamune from the first game.
[edit] Production Notes
The show made it's debut in February, 1987 and was Sunrise's only SF mecha anime series on the airwaves left at that time.
Much confusion had surrounded the early release of this series even before it went on the air. The Japanese anime magazine Animec for example, still hailed the title under the working name "Stillevar", not "Dragonar", despite the fact that the mecha and chara designs were already approved. Before the series went to air there were fans in North America who believed this to be a Gundam prequel. Small wonder since the plot was similar.
The name "Linda Plato" is very similar to "Dana Plato" a young actress who played on the comedy series "Diff'rent Strokes" and is quite possibly the inspiration for the name.
Character Designer: Kenichi Ohnuki
Mecha Designer: Kunio Okawara
Dragonar first opening directed by: Masami Obari
Both opening animations are widely praised for exceptionally high levels of detail and quality.
