| Psycho Armor Govarian | |
Front cover of the EP Psycho Armor Govarian - Lonely Journey, King Records 1983 |
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| サイコアーマー ゴーバリアン (saiko āmā gōbarian) |
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|---|---|
| Genre | Mecha |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Seiji Okuda |
| Produced by | Hyota Ezu (TV Tokyo) Hirofumi Toida (Knack) |
| Written by | Hideki Sonoda et al. |
| Music by | Tatsumi Yano |
| Studio | Knack |
| Network | TV Tokyo |
| Original run | July 6, 1983 – December 28, 1983 |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Tatsuo Yasuda |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Demographic | Children |
| Magazine | Yoiko |
| Original run | August 1983 – February 1984 |
Psycho Armor Govarian (サイコアーマー ゴーバリアン saiko āmā gōbarian, also romanized as Psycho Armor Gobarian and Psychoarmor Govarian) is a anime television series created by Go Nagai. It was produced by Knack and TV Tokyo. The series was originally broadcast from July 6, 1983 to December 28, 1983 in Japan.[1][2] Besides Japan, it was also broadcast in South Korea in 1988 by MBC[3] where it was known as 사이코아머 고바리안 or 싸이코 아머 고바리안. It is also known as 海王星战士 in Taiwan. The anime is considered a mix of Genma Taisen, Mazinger and Gundam.[4]
Contents |
The Garadain Empire has exhausted the primary resources of their native planet, so they send different space expeditions to find a new world where to live. One of their main objectives is planet Earth. However, Zeku Alba, an alien scientist, decides to rebel against the imperial rule and flees towards the Earth, where he gathers a group of youngs gifted with the power of "psychogenesis", an ability that consists in creating solid matter from mental energy.
The most gifted of the squadron is Isamu, a young orphan whose family was killed in the first attack of the Garadain Empire. He is able to generate the powerful robot Govarian, an armor with which he can battle the alien monsters and is able to regenerate thanks to the psychic energy of the pilot. Helped by two other robots created by his team-mates, Isamu, aboard the robot Govarian, defends the Earth in the long war against the alien invaders.
| # | Title | Scenario | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "honō no naka senshi tanjō" (炎の中戦士誕生) | Yoshihisa Araki | July 6, 1983 |
| 02 | "chōnōryoku senshi fāsuto fairu" (超能力戦士ファーストファイル) | Yoshihisa Araki | July 13, 1983 |
| 03 | "josenshi meria no atsui nikushimi" (女戦士メリアの熱い憎しみ) | Yoshihisa Araki | July 20, 1983 |
| 04 | "senjō no kaiten mokuba" (戦場の回転木馬) | Hideki Sonoda | July 27, 1983 |
| 05 | "wanpaku sōko no merodī" (わんぱく双児のメロディー) | Katsuhiko Taguchi Yoshihisa Araki |
August 3, 1983 |
| 06 | "uchū no bōsō raidā" (宇宙の暴走ライダー) | Yuji Watanabe | August 10, 1983 |
| 07 | "ore tachi no tatakai" (俺たちの戦い) | Yoshihisa Araki | August 17, 1983 |
| 08 | "niji ni kie ta basutā" (虹に消えたバスター) | Hideki Sonoda | August 24, 1983 |
| 09 | "ai to nikushimi no famirī" (愛と憎しみのファミリー) | Katsuhiko Taguchi | August 31, 1983 |
| 10 | "atorasu no seishun" (アトラスの青春) | Yuji Watanabe | September 7, 1983 |
| 11 | "akūkan saizensen" (亜空間最前線) | Hideki Sonoda | September 14, 1983 |
| 12 | "tsuigeki domuson gundan" (追撃·ドムソン軍団) | Yuji Watanabe | September 21, 1983 |
| 13 | "gekisen supēsu koronī" (激戦·スペースコロニー) | Yoshihisa Araki | September 28, 1983 |
| 14 | "gaika demon dosu dai bakuhatsu" (凱歌·デモンドス大爆発) | Tomomi Minahaya | October 5, 1983 |
| 15 | "you jigen garadain shiro" (妖次元·ガラダイン城) | Hideki Sonoda | October 12, 1983 |
| 16 | "dasshutsu! nokosa reta ai" (脱出!残された愛) | Hideki Sonoda | October 19, 1983 |
| 17 | "kyodai yousai daingarāmu" (巨大要塞ダインガラーム) | Yuji Watanabe | October 26, 1983 |
| 18 | "aika senjō no kanata" (哀歌·戦場のかなた) | Yoshihisa Araki | November 2, 1983 |
| 19 | "tsuki jigoku no honō" (月·地獄の炎) | Masato Nishio | November 9, 1983 |
| 20 | "ankoku desu macchi" (暗黒デス·マッチ) | Yoshihisa Araki | November 16, 1983 |
| 21 | "getsumen bakuha daingarāmu" (月面爆破·ダインガラーム) | Tsukasa Takahashi | November 23, 1983 |
| 22 | "yōma no toride guron desurōmu" (妖魔の砦グロン·デスローム) | Hideki Sonoda | November 30, 1983 |
| 23 | "jigen shinryaku yōsai" (次元侵略要塞) | Yuji Watanabe | December 7, 1983 |
| 24 | "shitō kyokuten no burizādo" (死闘極点のブリザード) | Hideki Sonoda | December 14, 1983 |
| 25 | "saishū sakusen kaishi meria tai kurisuto" (最終作戦開始-メリア対クリスト-) | Yoshihisa Araki | December 21, 1983 |
| 26 | "kaimetsu? chikyū jigen idō" (壊滅?地球次元移動) | Yoshihisa Araki | December 28, 1983 |
"Lonely Journey" and "Lullaby" have been used in several music collections in arranged versions sung by Hironobu Kageyama.
The series was released in VHS format during the 1980s in 6 volumes.[6] In 2006-03-25 a DVD-box set containing the whole series was released by the company Japanese company BM3 with the standard number OHK-27.[7][8]
Besides the main TV series, two series of picture books were released, one by Shogakukan and the other by Asahi Sonorama.[9] Also a short manga serialization, with the art of Tatsuo Yasuda (another pen name of Tatsuya Yasuda), was published in the children's manga magazine Yoiko published by Shogakukan from August 1983 to February 1984.[9][10]
Four vinyl records were released during 1983 by King Records. The first one, an EP called Psycho Armor Govarian - Lonely Journey, contains the opening and ending theme, both of them performed by the Japanese group Neverland.[11] The second EP, called Psycho Armor Govarian - It's LOVE, contains the themes "It's LOVE" and "Yuhi no Omoi". Also performed by Neverland, both themes have lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Tatsumi Yano and are sung by Tomoaki Taka.[12][13] The last two are full LP album containing the BGM of the series and the opening and ending themes.[14][15][16][17]
| Title | Type | Artist | Standard number | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psycho Armor Govarian - Lonely journey | EP record | Neverland | K07S-3052 | July 1983 |
| Psycho Armor Govarian BGM Vol.1 | LP album | Tatsumi Yano | K22G-7144 | September 1983 |
| Psycho Armor Govarian - It's LOVE | EP record | Neverland | K07S-3063 | October 1983 |
| Psycho Armor Govarian BGM Vol.2 | LP album | Tatsumi Yano | K22G-7173 | December 1983 |
Besides its series related media, Govarian has appeared in other media. The most prominent is its appearance in the Dynamic Super Robots Soshingeki!! (ダイナミックスーパーロボット総進撃!! dainamikku sūpā robotto sōshingeki) clips that were included at the end of the DVDs of Shin Getter Robot tai Neo Getter Robot. Govarian appears alongside Great Mazinger, Venus A, Getter Robot G, Kotetsu Jeeg, God Mazinger and Groizer X to rescue Mazinger Z and Aphrodite A, but are defeated and in turn saved by Shin Getter Robot and Grendizer just before the arrival of Mazinkaiser.
The opening and ending songs of the series are included in several CD compilations of anime series.
| Title | Label | Standard number | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nagai Go Hero Densetsu: Kotetsu Majin Hen | First Smile Entertainment | FSCA-10204 | January 17, 2002 |
| Nagai Go Hero Densetsu: Kijin Sugosen Hen | First Smile Entertainment | FSCA-10210 | February 20, 2002 |
| Super Robot Tamashii The Best Vol.1: Super Robot Hen | Be! Smile | BSCH-30001/2 | October 22, 2003 |
| Super Robot Tamashii The Best Vol.2: Super Robot Hen 2 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30003/4 | November 19, 2003 |
| Getter Densetsu + 10: The Legends of GETTER | Be! Smile | BSCH-30013 | March 10, 2004 |
| Kageyama Hironobu Best & Live | Be! Smile | BSCH-30014 | April 7, 2004 |
| Super Robot Tamashii The Instrumental: Super Robot & Real Robot Hen Vol.1 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30030 | December 1, 2004 |
| Super Robot Spirits Shudaika Best Collection | Be! Smile | BSCH-30037 | July 6, 2005 |
| Nagai Go Dynamic!! The chronicle | Be! Smile | BSCH-30040 | December 21, 2005 |
| The Best!! Super Robot Spirits: Super Robot Studio Recordings | Be! Smile | BSCH-30063/6 | July 11, 2007 |
| Super Robot Spirits: Non stop mix Vol.3 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30086 | July 9, 2008 |
| The Best!! Super Robot Spirits: The Best Karaoke songs | Be! Smile | BSCH-30094/7 | December 10, 2008 |
Some toys and action figures based in the robots of the series were released, including several South Korean bootleg versions.[18] The official figures were made by the company Poem.
The head of the main mecha of the series, Govarian, is similar to the head of Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger. This was done on purpose by Go Nagai and Dynamic Planning in accordance with the demand of production company Knack.[19] In South Korea, it was presented as being part of the Mazinger series along with Groizer X.[4] Other than that, Psycho Armor Govarian has no real relationship to any of the Mazinger series.