Godannar

Godannar (神魂合ä½"ゴーダンナー!!, Shinkon Gattai Gōdan'nā!!, sold as Marriage of God & Soul Godannar!! in North America) is an anime series created and directed by Yasuchika Nagaoka. The first season aired in Japan from October 1 to December 24, 2003 on AT-X. A second season later aired from April 5 to June 29, 2004. Both seasons were licensed by ADV Films for North America. However as of 2013, it is now licensed by Sentai Filmworks.

Background

In 2042, alien threats known as the Mimetic beasts (æ"¬æ…‹ç£, gitaijÅ«) laid waste to Japan. During a final battle against the Mimetic beasts, Goh Saruwatari defeats the alien "boss" and saves his fiance, Anna Aoi, with his robot, the Dannar.

Now, on their wedding ceremony, the Mimetic beasts emerge after five years of tranquility. Goh and Dannar are called to action, forcing Goh to leave Anna at the altar.

As Goh struggles in his battle against the Mimetic beast, Anna stumbles upon a sealed robot known as "Neo Okusaer". She is able to activate and pilot the Neo Okusaer to save her "husband" by merging it with the Dannar to activate the Godannar's Twin Drive.

During the course of the series, it is discovered that humanity is threatened by the "Insania" virus, which is spread by the Mimetic beasts. All of humanity is infected, but the virus affects robot pilots most severely, since they come into close contact with the beasts on a regular basis. The virus has the effect of transforming human males into Mimetic beasts; females are somehow immune, unless they naturally generate large amounts of male hormones. The virus is stimulated by human hormones, especially those released in great quantities during combat.

During the second season, the pilots of Dannar Base struggle to balance the need to fight the Mimetic beasts with the danger of further infection. Eventually, it is discovered that Mira, Goh's former combat partner and lover, who was trapped inside a Mimetic beast for five years, is the source of the vaccine humanity needs.

The series is famous for its fanservice: 'up skirt' shots, bouncing breasts, and the scantily clad female pilots.

There was also a dōjinshi made by staff which was sold to fund the production of the second series.

Characters

• Goh Saruwatari (猿渡 ゴオ Saruwatari Gō), is the main protagonist of Godannar and the 29-year-old pilot of titular robot. Before to the start of the series, he rescues Anna in a battle with the Mimetic beasts. Five years later, Goh and Anna are to be married just as the Mimetic beasts begin to move once again, he is infected by the Insania virus, due to exposure from repeated battles with the Mimetic Beast. His body is covered in a cocoon, waiting to emerge as a Mimetic Beast. He is placed in suspended animation for seven years until he is given a cureâ€"Mira's blood, which stops his body from transforming. Since he was placed in suspended animation, his hair covered the length of his body. Anna made a promise to him, during the last few episodes, to cut his unkempt hair. She is the first person he sees upon being revived and they get married not long afterwards.

Voiced by: Takayuki Kondo (Japanese), Brett Weaver (English)

• Anna Aoi/Anna Saruwatari (è'µ 杏奈 Aoi An'na/猿渡 杏奈 Saruwatari An'na), A 17-year-old high school student and skilled robot pilot, she was to be married to Goh before the re-emergence of the Mimetic beasts interrupted their ceremony. Becomes the pilot of Neo Okusaer, and later Go Okusaer. She, Goh and Lou form the Godannar Triple Drive when Celleblader fuses with Godannar. After Goh is cured of the insania virus, using Mira's blood, she is the first person he sees when he wakes up. In the end, she and Goh are officially married with the other pilots and Dannar base personnel as witnesses (with Kucharachyov as the minister).

Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)

• Shizuru Fujimura (è—¤æ' 静流 Fujimura Shizuru) The pilot of Core Gunner and a remarkable sharp shooter, who also has a secret crush on Goh, yet is unable to confess these feelings. Much later develops a close friendship with Goh's younger brother, Shinobu, but not in a romantic nature. Killed by a swarm of Type 19 Mimetic Beasts at the end of Season 1, Shizuru is resurrected by Mira. She becomes the General Manager of Danner Base while Kiriko Aoi and Commander Kagemaru search for a cure for the infection caused by the Mimetic Beast.

Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu (Japanese), Tiffany Grant (English)

• Dr. Kiriko Aoi (è'µ 霧子 Aoi Kiriko) is Anna's extremely busty and sultry mother and Goh's boss (and his mother-in-law). Together with her husband, Tatsuya, she was responsible for the development of the Dannar project.

Voiced by: Takako Honda (Japanese), Laura Chapman (English)

• Dr. Tatsuya Aoi (è'µ 竜也 Aoi Tatsuya) is Anna's father, husband to Kiriko Aoi and father-in-law to Goh. He left his family when Anna was a small child. He disguised himself as several different people to watch over Anna and the rest of Dannar Base throughout several episodes. He and Kiriko were the founders of the Dannar project. He appeared during the final episodes to aid Danner Base against the Super Mimetic Beast. He leaves again, feeling that they can take care of themselves.

Voiced by: Hiroya Ishimaru (Japanese), John Swasey (English)

• Kagemaru (影丸) is the dashing Commander of Danner Base. Seems to have secret feelings for Kiriko Aoi, but the feelings are not reciprocated. She teases him at times during the end of the series. They travel together, with Kagemaru as a personal guard, searching for a cure to the Infection caused by the Mimmetic Beasts' insania virus. At the end of the series, he turns down a promotion to the commissioners to become a robot pilot.

Voiced by: Taro Yamaguchi (Japanese), Mike Vance (English)

• Milla Ackerman/Mira Ackerman (ミラ・アッカーマン Mira Akkāman) is the original pilot of Neo Okusaer. She was Goh's old combat partner and lover, until the battle 5 years previous in which she was thought to have been killed. When revived, she had no memories of the past, and behaved somewhat childlike. After regaining her full memories, she resumed her old duties as pilot of the Neo Okusaer. She still loves Goh, and claims she is the only one that truly understands him. Her DNA is the cure to infection caused by the Mimetic Beasts.

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

• Lou Roux/Lou Lowe (ルウ・ルー RÅ« RÅ«) is a young orphan girl taken in by Goh and Anna and the pilot of Cosmo Diver. Once an operator for the orbital space station that monitors the Earth for the presence of Type 17 Mimetic beasts, she is the lone survivor when the space station is destroyed and her father killed by Mimetic beasts that somehow managed to stow away on one of their shuttles. She becomes obsessed with becoming a robot pilot to avenge her father's death. At the end of the series, she pilots Celleblader to fight the Mimetic Beasts. She sometimes wanders off to fight the Mimetic Beasts, but returns to Dannar Base just to live there. She promised Ken to look after Goh and Anna to see that they can save humanity.

Voiced by: Kaori Shimizu (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)

• Shinobu Saruwatari (猿渡 忍 Saruwatari Shinobu) is Goh's younger brother who lives with Goh and Anna. Shinobu kids his older brother about his age and goes to school with Anna. Though he was once infatuated with Anna, he later refers to himself as her "big brother". He may have later developed close feelings for Shizuru, much to Kouji's chagrin but it is not definite. He later becomes the pilot of the Neo Diver.

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)

• Konami Sasagure (笹暮 小波 Sasagure Konami/Sasakure Konami) is one of the two operators of the main ship's console. She becomes a pilot at the end of the series.

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese), Mariela Ortiz (English)

• Momoko "Momochi" Momozono (桃åœ' 桃子 Momozono Momoko) is the other one of the two operators of the main ship's console. She becomes a pilot at the end of the series.

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Brittney Karbowski (English)

• Tetsuya Kouji (光司 鉄也 Kōji Tetsuya) is the easily excitable partner of Shizuru and co-pilot of G-Gunner. He spends most of the series recovering from injuries sustained in the battle from the first episode. He later returns in the final episodes piloting the G-Zero Gunner for the grand battle against the Super Mimetic Beast. He has feelings for Shizuru and is a little wary of Shinobu who seems to be getting a little too close to her. At the end of the series he is shown serving alongside Shizuru as the Vice Commander of Dannar Base and still remains a pilot as well. He is named after the pilots of Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger, Kouji Kabuto and Tetsuya Tsurugi.

Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese), Christopher Ayres (English)

• Shadow Dunaway(シャドウ Shadō) is the pilot of the American giant robot Genesister and partner of Luna whom she secretly loves. Strong, beautiful, athletic, but a bit masculine. The only female to be severely affected by the virus due to her having male hormones. She survives the infection after her fight with Rose Type.

Voiced by: Yuko Kaida (Japanese), Christine Auten (English)

• Luna (ルナ Runa) is the co-pilot of the American giant robot Genesister and partner of Shadow whom she also loves secretly. Small, petite and cute, but surprisingly strong.

Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (Japanese), Sasha Paysinger (English)

• Moukaku (モウカク Mōkaku) is the pilot of the Chinese giant robot Goddiner. Loud and brash, he surprisingly has a soft side. He's in love with Shukuyu. He asked her to marry him. After fighting Type 29 he becomes the second case of a full infection by the insania virus, like Max. Because of this, Knight, one of the pilots of the Dragliner, who was with the Goddiner team when this happened, is forced to kill him.

Voiced by: Jūrōta Kosugi (Japanese), George Manley (English)

• Shukuyu (シュクユウ) is the co-pilot of the Chinese giant robot Goddiner and partner of Moukaku. Younger than Moukaku, she reins him in. When Moukaku asks her to marry him, she accepts. She tries to help Moukaku gain control over the virus. Moukaku ejects her out of Goddiner before Knight destroys him.

Voiced by: Wakana Yamazaki (Japanese), Kelly Manison (English)

• Ekaterina (エカテリーナ EkaterÄ«na) is the well-endowed pilot of the Russian giant robot Volspina. Beautiful and magnificently busty, her relationship with her partner Kukrachyov is much like a dominatrix except she doesn't want to cause him harm.

Voiced by: Miho Yamada (Japanese), Marcy Rae (English)

• Kukrachyov (ククラチョフ Kukurachofu) is the co-pilot of the Russian giant robot Volspina. Tall, thin and quiet, he obeys every command of his partner Ekaterina without question. According to Ekaterina, he wasn't infected by the virus due to him being so submissive, resulting in more feminine hormones in his body. In the last episode, he presides over the marriage of Goh and Anna.

Voiced by: Shinji Kawada (Japanese), Illich Guardiola (English)

• Knight Valentine (ナイト・ヴァレンタイン Naito Varentain) is the pilot of the British giant robot Dragliner. Handsome and conceited, he is always chasing girls but loves his stepsister to which he has no blood relation. According to Shizuru, he never flirts with the same woman twice. According to Ellis, he was not infected by the virus because he had more feminine hormones due to his perverted behavior.

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Chris Patton (English)

• Ellis Valentine (エリス・ヴァレンタイン Erisu Varentain) is the other pilot of the British giant robot Dragliner. Knight and Ellis refer to each other as brother and sister, though they are not related by blood. She is constantly frustrated by Knight's skirt-chasing.

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (Japanese), Shannon Emmerick (English)

• Ken (剣) is the rogue robot pilot of the Blade Gainer who makes it his life mission to defeat the Tye 18 Mimetic beasts after the loss of his wife. While trying to find the Mimetic Beast that took his wife, Rosa, he can be heard yelling, "You're not the one!" to every Mimetic beast that he destroys, alluding to the Type 18 Mimetic Beast that took Rosa. He doesn't learn of her fate until later on in the series. He is often referred, by the world at large, as a "Menage Zero", a code name for a rogue robot acting without authority. He later takes Lou in when she begs Ken to teach her to be a pilot. He gets infected by the virus that almost every male pilot gets. He ejected Lou from the Celleblader out of the Gainer before Ken dies in his last battle and warns her she will become like him if she fights for revenge. He attacks the Super Mimetic Beast to reveal its weakness to Godannar to finish it off.

Voiced by: Toru Ohkawa (Japanese), John Gremillion (English)

• Rosa is the previous pilot of Celleblader. She saved Ken from a pack of Type 18 Mimetic Beasts several years ago, at the cost of her life. She and Celleblader were absorbed into one of the Mimetic Beasts until Ken killed said Mimetic Beast that kept her prisoner for years. Rosa was not inside the cockpit when Ken looked inside. This would suggest that Rosa was, somehow, absorbed by the Mimetic Beast during her imprisonment. Lou, after being asked by Ken, becomes the pilot of Celleblader for the remainder of the series.

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese), Carli Mosier (English)

• Nanae Hayashi (æž— 奈々絵 Hayashi Nanae) is one of the mechanics at Dannar base, she becomes infected by the virus after being eaten by Type 13 Mimetic beast early in the series and becomes a carrier at the end of the series. During the series, she has a relationship with Morimoto, another mechanic at the base, and eventually marries him. Her children become second generation carriers. She names them after Mira, Anna, and Goh by naming her children Mina, Ami, and Go respectively.

Voiced by: Nanae Katō (Japanese), Cynthia Martinez (English)

• "Pops" Shibakusa (芝草 Shibakusa) the widowed head mechanic. He makes ramen for the team on his breaks, constantly refers to Shizuru about her buttocks being large, and is reprimanded by Tonko. He runs a ramen shop with her in the end of the series 7 years later until the base is repaired, in which they go back to it.

Voiced by: Jin Horikawa (Japanese), Rob Mungle (English)

• Sugiyama (杉山) is the second Head Mechanic. He is married to Anita but spends so much time on the base she threatens to leave him. She pops up on the base 7 years later.

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono (Japanese), Andy McAvin (English)

• Morimoto (森本) - Another mechanic at the Dannar base. During the series, he has a relationship with Hayashi. Near the end of the series, he asks her to marry him, which she accepts. They later marry and have three children.

Voiced by: Shinji Kawada (Japanese), Mark X. Laskowski (English)

Episodes

Season one

Season two

Reception

"Not bad at all, but could have been loads better." â€" Stig Høgset, T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews. "I'm used to anime series surprising me and not being what they appear but Godannar really proved that twist again by being so much more than what I expected based on the trailer or opening sequence." â€" Chris Beveridge, Mania. "Like your mecha action old-school, flashy, and loaded with fan service, yet done with modern production values? Favor fun, high-spirited action series in general? Then Godannar is a must-see title for you." â€" Theron Martin, Anime News Network. "If the director can just even out the balancing act between HOT ROBOT ACTION and HOT CLEAVAGE ACTION, we may just end up with the best super robot series since Giant Robo." â€" Mike Toole. Anime Jump.

References

External links

• Godannar (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia