Chōdenji Machine Voltes V

Chōdenji Machine Voltes V (超電磁マシーン ボルテスＶ, Chōdenji Mashīn Borutesu Faibu, Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes Five) more popularly known as Voltes V, is a Japanese anime television series that was first aired on TV Asahi starting June 4, 1977. It was created by Saburo Yatsude (a pseudonym referring to a committee within Toei Company) and directed by Tadao Nagahama. Voltes V is the second part of the Robot Romance Trilogy of the Super Robot genre which includes Chōdenji Robo Combattler V and Tōshō Daimos. Like Combattler V, the series was animated by Sunrise and produced by Toei Company. The series was animated by Sunrise on Toei's behalf. This super robot along with the other two aforementioned super robots first appeared the USA as a part of Mattel's Shogun Warriors line of import toys, released in the late 1970s.

<h2>Plot

An armada of horned humanoid aliens known as Boazanians invade earth and launch their "beast fighters" all over the world, defeating most of the world's armed forces including the US military. Their first humiliating defeat by Super Electromagnetic Machine, Voltes V brings the invaders to focus their attacks on Japan. Voltes V was designed by Professor Kentaro Gō (Doctor Ned Armstrong), his wife Professor Mitsuyo Gō (Doctor Mary Ann Armstrong) and their trusted colleague, Professor Hamaguchi (Doctor Richard Smith) and built by large scale construction effort backed by United Nations Earth Defense Force and General Oka (Commander Robinson). Voltes V is a robot composed of five "Volt Machines", and each are themselves formidable weapons. Each machine is piloted by Ken'ichi(Steve), Daijiro(Big Bert), and Hiyoshi(Little John): the three sons of Kentaro and Mitsuyo Gō, along with the only daughter of General Oka; Megumi(Jaime Robinson), and Ippei Mine(Mark Gordon), an orphan cowboy.

Voltes V's home base is Camp Big Falcon, a fortress situated on a bird-shaped island along the coast of Japan. Voltes V's enemies are the Boazanians; namely Prince Heinell, Katharine, Jangal, and Zuhl. The series focuses on the struggle against the Boazanian invaders, and the Gō brothers' search for their long-lost father, Kentarō Gō. As the series progresses, four major charactersâ€"Professor Mitsuyo Gō, Zuhl, General Oka and Professor Hamaguchiâ€"die. Zuhl and Hamaguchi are replaced by Belgan and Professor Sakunji (Doctor Hook), respectively. Later in the series, the brothers learn of their unique heritage of being half Boazanian. The characters deal with their identity's impact on their own lives and that on both their close friends and bitter enemies.

Airings and release

An American English dubbed version was released in North America in 1983 by 3B Productions as Voltus 5. It was a condensed version of the first three episodes of the series. The English dub used the character names of the Philippine English version.

In the Philippines, since May 5, 1978, an English-language dub of Voltes V was first aired on GMA-7, which was shown every Friday (6:00 pm) and lasted for a year until 1979. In 1979, shortly before the series finale, then-president Ferdinand Marcos issued a directive banning Voltes V and other similarly-themed anime series due to concerns about "excessive violence". The directive also led to speculations at the time that the series was also taken off the air due to its aforementioned revolutionary undertones.

In 1986, the series was aired in PTV-4 then on ABS-CBN from 1986â€"1987 and IBC-13 from 1989 (brief Tagalog dub Episodes 1 -11) and 1994 (English reruns Episodes 1 - 36), and on GMA in 1999 which was shown in Tagalog. The latter's popularity spurred numerous homages and pastiches, namely the Ang Dating Doon parody religion sketch in Bubble Gang. In 2005, the cable channel Hero, owned by the ABS-CBN Corporation, released Voltes V as Voltes V Evolution. However, the voice cast was different from the GMA version. In an attempt to promote the show to a younger audience, the network had Jett Pangan, Sandara Park, Dennis Trillo and other Filipino celebrities re-dub the characters' voices.

Toys

During the series' run, Popy released a diecast metal toy of Voltes V. The toy was available either with the five Volt Machines sold separately or in a gift set known as the "Volt In Box". Aside from the Volt Machines combining to form Voltes V, the toy also transformed into Voltank mode (an alternate vehicle mode wherein the robot lied down face-first with the Volt Panzer and Volt Lander's wheels on the ground). Voltank mode never appeared in the series, but was a unique feature of the toy. The boxed set was re-released in 1982 before being repackaged as part of Bandai's Godaikin line for the international market in 1983. Popy also released a Jumbo Machinder version of Voltes V. Standing at over 24 inches in height, the toy featured firing projectile fists and could transform into Voltank mode, which small children could ride on.

In 2006, Bandai released a newer, smaller Voltes V toy as part of their Soul of Chogokin line. This toy is more detailed and more poseable than its Popy diecast predecessor. In 2008, the toy was re-released as a special edition called "Respect for Volt In Box", which pays homage to the original toy in both color scheme and packaging. In addition, this version has been retooled to transform into Voltank mode.

Reception

References

External links

• Chōdenji Machine Voltes V (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Voltes V on IMDB