Grendizer

UFO Robot Grendizer (ＵＦＯロボ グレンダイザー, Yūfō Robo Gurendaizā) is a Super Robot TV anime and manga created by manga artist Go Nagai. It is the third entry in the Mazinger trilogy. It was broadcast on Japanese television from October 5, 1975, to February 27, 1977, and lasted 74 episodes.^[1][2] The robot's first appearance in the United States was as a part of the Shogun Warriors line of super robot toys imported in the late 1970s by Mattel, then in Jim Terry's Force Five series, both under the title Grandizer. It is still widely popular in the Middle East, and it was especially popular in France and Quebec, as well as among French speaking Canadians in the province of New Brunswick, where it was aired under the title Goldorak. In Italy, the series was as popular and known as Goldrake.

Plot

The Vega homeworld has become unstable due to the exploiting of Vegatron, a powerful radioactive ore. Seeking to expand his militaristic empire and find a substitute planet to settle upon, the ruthless King Vega unleashes his armies—composed of flying saucers and giant robotic monsters—and turns first against neighbors such as Fleed, a highly advanced but peaceful world. In a tragically ironic twist, the invaders' blitzkrieg turns against them: the once verdant, idyllic Fleed is turned into a radioactive wasteland. Too late, the only known survivor of the royal family, the Crown Prince Duke Fleed, manages to steal the Grendizer, the robotic embodiment of the Fleedian God of War, from the Vegan invaders who plan to use it to spearhead their invasion fleet. Grendizer is a giant monster robot that interfaces with Spacer (Spaizer), a flying saucer that enables the robot to fly.

Fleeing Vegan space by flying at faster than light speed, the Duke enters our solar system and switches course to Earth, making a rough landing in Japan, on the slopes of Mount Fuji. He is befriended by Doctor Umon, a noted scientist who oversees a research laboratory called the Space Science Lab near a small ranch. The kindly Umon takes in the young humanoid alien as his son, under the assumed name of Daisuke, and assists him in hiding Grendizer. Taking the name Daisuke Umon, Duke Fleed works at the ranch run by Danbei Makiba (based on Abashiri Daemon of Go Nagai's manga Abashiri Ikka).

Roughly two years later, Koji Kabuto returns to Japan after studying abroad in a flying saucer he personally designed and built, called the TFO. He heads to the Space Science Lab after hearing of multiple sightings of "flying saucers". He plans to contact the aliens if possible and make peace with them. Daisuke, however, scoffs at the notion and fears that these aliens, the Vegans, led by generals Blaki and Gandal, are preparing to attack Earth. Koji ignores his warnings and flies out to meet the incoming saucers, only to discover the horrible truth. In order to save Koji and protect his adoptive homeworld from destruction, Daisuke is forced to return to his true identity as Duke Fleed. He unearths Grendizer from its hiding place under the lab and sets off to fight his enemies.

The Vegans establish a base on the far side of the Moon and start to attack Earth from there. Koji discovers Duke Fleed's true identity and their bitter rivalry soon turns to friendship. The daughter of Danbei Makiba, Hikaru, also discovers Daisuke's secret and becomes a pilot in order to assist him despite his objections. Later on, it is revealed that there were two more survivors from planet Fleed: Duke's younger sister Maria Grace Fleed and a man who had rescued her and fled to Earth, raising her under the guise of her grandfather. Caught in a crossfire between Grendizer and a Vegan beast, he reveals to Maria that she is the last survivor of the royal family of Fleed (under the belief that Duke was killed) before dying from his wounds. Maria swears revenge on Grendizer and its pilot. She tries to ambush Duke, Koji and Hikaru at the Space Science Lab, but the fight is short lived. Maria's attacks bring Duke's necklace (which is the same as the one she wore) into view and the truth is revealed. The lost siblings are reunited at last and Maria becomes the last addition to the team.

As the conflict nears its end, it is shown that Duke Fleed was engaged to King Vega's daughter, Princess Rubina, prior to the attack on Fleed. When Rubina discovers that planet Fleed is no longer polluted with Vegatron radiation and that her fiancé is alive and well, she rushes to Earth to bring him the good news. Unfortunately, one of King Vega's generals uses this opportunity to ambush Duke Fleed, and Rubina is killed when she takes a shot aimed at Duke. This makes Duke even more determined to wipe out the Vegan menace once and for all.

King Vega decides to gather his remaining forces and make an all-out attack on Earth, destroying the Moon Base to coax his troops into fighting to the end and finally succeed in invading Earth and taking it as their new home planet. Duke and company go out to intercept them in Grendizer and the newly designed space combat Spazers. After a fierce battle, they finally manage to destroy the Vegan mother ship along with King Vega himself. Soon afterwards, Duke and Maria bid a tearful farewell to Earth and their friends and return to help reconstruct planet Fleed.

Episodes

DVD releases

The licensed dubbed version for some French-speaking countries was officially announced in 2006. In 2005, a major crisis led Toei to take legal actions against DVD customers, all French megastores, and two major French anime publishers in France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The crisis started with the official release of unlicensed Goldorak DVD by Manga Distribution and Déclic Image websites and on eBay. By November 28, 2005 the Manga Distribution and Déclic Images publishers were sentenced to pay €7,200,000 to Toei and Dynamic Planning for selling unlicensed DVD boxset.^[3][4]

As of 2013, following an agreement with Toei, an official, "fully remastered and uncensored" DVD release of the complete series is available on the French market, and the series is aired on Mangas TV.^[5]

Production information and staff

• Episodes: 74
• Timeslot: Sundays, 19:00–19:30
• Network: Fuji TV
• Production Company: Toei Doga
• Original Story: Go Nagai, Dynamic Production
• Serialized in: TV Magazine, Tanoshii Youchien, Otomodachi- Published by: Kodansha, TV Land- Published by: Tokuma Shoten, Boken Oh- Published by: Akita Shoten
• Producer: Masahisa Saeki
• Planning: Azuma Kasuga, Toshio Katsuda, Koji Bessho
• Series Directors: Tomoharu Katsumata, Masayuki Akechi, Masamune Ochiai
• Episode Directors: Tomoharu Katsumata, Yoichi Kominato, Yasuo Yamayoshi, Tsunekiyo Otani, Hidenori Yamaguchi, Kazukiyo Shigeno, Yoshikatsu Kasai, Takenori Kawada, Masamune Ochiai, Hiroshi Shidara, Kazuya Miyazaki, Johei Matsuura, Osamu Kasai, Tokiji Kaburagi, Kozo Morishita, Masayuki Akechi, Kazumi Fukushima
• Character Design: Kazuo Komatsubara
• Art Directors: Tadanao Tsuji, Iwamitsu Ito
• Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi
• Lyrics: Kogo Hotomi
• Vocalist: Isao Sasaki
• Opening Theme: "Tobe! Grendizer" (とべ!グレンダイザー, Tobe! Gurendaizā, translated as "Fly! Grendizer") by Isao Sasaki, Columbia Yurikago-kai and Ko'orogi '73
• Ending Theme: "Uchuu no Yuusha Grendizer" (宇宙の勇者グレンダイザー, Uchū no Yūsha Gurendaizā, translated as "Grendizer, Hero of Space") by Isao Sasaki
• Cast: Kei Tomiyama (Daisuke Umon / Duke Fleed), Hiroya Ishimaru (Koji Kabuto), Kosei Tomita (Danbei Makiba), Joji Yanami (Dr. Genzo Umon / Emperor Vega), Kazuko Sawada (Goro Makiba), Chiyoko Kawashima (Hikaru Makiba), Kenichi Ogata (Banta Arano / Blacky), Rihoko Yoshida (Maria Grace Fleed), Kazuko Sawada (Lady Gandal), Kazuko Sugiyama (Naida), Noriko Ohara (Rubina), Ryoichi Tanaka (Zuril Jr), Keiichi Noda (Captain Gorman), Nobuyo Tsuda (Hara Arano), Hiroshi Otake (Boss)

Source(s)^{[1][2][6][7][8]}

Dynamic Superobot Wars and Dynamic Heroes

UFO Robot Grendizer returns in 2002 in the 6th chapter of "Dynamic Superobot Wars" and in 2004 in Dynamic Heroes (ダイナミックヒーローズ, Dainamikku Hîrôzu)—also known as Nagai Go Manga Gaiden—Dynamic Heroes (永井豪まんが外伝 ダイナミックヒーローズ, Nagai Gô Manga Gaiden Dainamikku Hîrôzu) and as Go Nagai Manga Heroes Crossover Collection—Dynamic Heroes, a Japanese manga based in several works of Go Nagai, including most of his most famous robots, such as Mazinger Z, Getter Robot and Great Mazinger. It was originally published as a monthly manga magazine e-manga from Kodansha, from June 2004 to July 2007.

See also

• UFO Robot Grendizer tai Great Mazinger
• Grendizer, Getter Robot G, Great Mazinger: Kessen! Daikaijuu

References

External links

• UFO Robot Grendizer (Japanese) at Toei Animation website
• UFO Robot Grendizer at Toei's corporative website
• UFO Robo Grendizer (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• UFO Robot Grendizer (Japanese) at The World of Go Nagai webpage
• Goldrake - Atlas UFO Robot (Italian) at the Enciclo'Robopedia website
• UFO Robot Grendizer (Japanese) at Animemorial
• UFO Robot Grendizer (animated film) (Japanese) at Animemorial
• Ufo Robots Project - Italian Fan Grendizer Movie in CG (CG movie and images) (Italian) at URP no profit project
• UFO Robo Grendizer (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• UFO Robot Grendizer: Akai Yuuhi no Taiketsu (animated film) (Japanese) at Animemorial
• UFO Robot Grendizer: Akai Yuuhi no Taiketsu (animated film) (Japanese) at allcinema
• UFO Robot Grendizer: Toys, books, merchandise vintage and new (animated film) (Japanese) no profit