Mechander Robo

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Mechander Robo
合身戦隊メカンダーロボ
(Gasshin Sentai Mekandā Robo)
Genre Mecha
Anime television series
Directed by Yoshikata Nitta
Produced byTakao Niimi (Tokyo 12 Channel)
Mitsuo Sato (Wako Productions)
Katsumi Kawabata (Tokyu Agency)
Written byTakeshi Honda
Satoshi Suyama
Hisayuki Toriumi
Music by Michiaki Watanabe
Studio Wako Productions
Original network Tokyo 12 Channel
English network GMA-7 (1979 Philippines)
GMA Cebu and Davao (Cebuano Philippines)
MBC TV (1986 South Korea)
Original run March 3, 1977 – December 29, 1977
Episodes35
Wikipe-tan face.svg Anime and Mangaportal

Mechander Robot(合身戦隊メカンダーロボ,Gasshin Sentai Mekandā Robo) was an anime series aired in 1977 in Japan. There were 35 episodes aired at 25 minutes each. It is also known as Gasshin Sentai Mechander Robo, Mekander, Mechander, Combiner Battle Team Mekander Robot, Combining Squadron Mechander Robo, Mekander Robot and Mekanda. It was produced by Tokyu Agency and animated by Wako Productions.

Anime Japanese animation

Anime is hand-drawn and computer animation originating from or associated with Japan.

Japan Constitutional monarchy in East Asia

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian continent and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea in the south.

Contents

Original story

The Doron Empire, hailing from the Ganymede system came to Earth in order to conquer it. General Doron already overthrew the queen Medusa of Ganymede in the Magellan star cluster. Earth's defenses were no match; in a matter of days, 95% of the Earth fell under Doron's occupation. Doctor Shikishima, a brilliant scientist, places his last hopes for Earth in a robot (Mechander Robo) that he has created. The mother of Jimi would be reborn into a cyborg who is now the leader of the opposing forces and her memory could not recall the past. An interesting twist to the usual giant robot formula was that the Doron empire, after having devastated Earth in their successful first strike, ringed it with energy-detecting satellites programmed to lob hugely destructive payloads (similar to H-bombs) on Earth's surface wherever they picked up energy signatures suggesting human technological activity. Having no means to tackle the alien satellites the Mechander's crew had less than three minutes to successfully engage and beat the invaders' mecha on Earth's surface, before being atomized by the incoming alien bombardment.

Production note

The production company was plagued with bankruptcy issues, so the main sponsors forced the studios to reuse footage from old episodes to patch newer episodes without redrawing new animation. The final episode was merely a complete recap of the series.

Concept

Mechander Robo following combination MechanderRobo.jpg
Mechander Robo following combination

Three command jets - Mechander-1, Mechander-2 and Mechander-3 - combine to form one larger jet known as Mechander Max, which then would dock at the back of Mechander Robo. Some of the trademark weapons include spiked shields, missile pod forearms, chest flame throwers and missiles shaped like sharks. Halfway through the series, Mechander Robo is severely damaged, but is rebuilt as four component ships combining to form the robot before docking with Mechnder Max. [1]

Despite the show targeting young audiences at the time and that the opposing forces were robots, the attack techniques and damages in battle are quite violent by today's standards.

Staff

Rintaro Japanese anime director

Rintaro is the pseudonym of Shigeyuki Hayashi, a well-known director of anime. He works frequently with the animation studio Madhouse, though he is a freelance director not employed directly by any one studio. He began working in the animation industry—at age 17—as an in-between animator on the 1958 film Hakujaden. His works have won and been nominated for multiple awards, including a nomination for Best Film (Metropolis) at the 2001 Festival de Cine de Sitges.

Hisayuki Toriumi, sometimes credited as Eiko Toriumi, was a Japanese director, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for having directed the television program Science Ninja Team Gatchaman and its ancillary projects. He is also credited for contributing to several other anime series and authored nearly two dozen novels.

Kunio Okawara Japanese mechanical designer

Kunio Okawara is a mechanical designer in the Japanese anime industry. Okawara was the first in the industry to be specifically credited as a mechanical designer. He designed mecha for the Gundam and Brave Series franchises, as well as those of numerous Super Robot and Real Robot shows.

Characters

NameVehicleVoices by
NarratorKouji Nakata
Jimmy OrionMechander-1 Akira Kamiya
Kojiro Hachijima (Marcus Vance)Mechander-2 Kazuyuki Sogabe
Ryosuke Shikishima (David Humbolt)Toraika B-3 Akio Nojima
Mika Shikishima (Jenny Humbolt) Keiko Yokozawa
General Ozmel (Gen. Goznel) Masane Tsukayama
Professor Shikishima (Prof. Humbolt) Masaya Taki
Medusa Natsuko Fuji

International broadcasts

Mechander Robo was dubbed in English for broadcast in the Philippines in the late-1970s. [2] It also aired by MBC TV Korea in 1986 as "메칸더V" MechanderV and was dubbed in Korean, and was one of the most popular robot animations. [3] Outside of Asia, it was only broadcast in Italy, in 1982, under the title Mechander Robot.

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation South Korean company

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation is one of the leading South Korean television and radio network companies. Munhwa is the Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television station MBC TV is Channel 11 (LCN) for Digital.

Video game appearance

Mechander Robo debuted in the Super Robot Wars series as part of Super Robot Wars Compact 3 for the Wonderswan Color. True to the anime, if Mechander Robo is deployed and a certain number of turns pass, the Omega Missile will appear and attempt to destroy as many robots in the player's force as it can reach.

Super Robot Wars is a series of tactical role-playing video games produced by Banpresto, which is now a Japanese division of Bandai Namco Entertainment. Starting out as a spinoff of the Compati Hero Series, the main feature of the franchise is having a story that crosses over several popular mecha anime, manga and video games, allowing characters and mecha from different titles to team up or battle one another. The first game in the franchise was released for the Nintendo Game Boy on April 20, 1991. Later spawning numerous games that were released on various consoles and handhelds. Due to the nature of crossover games and licensing involved, only a few games have been released outside Japan, and in English. The franchise celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016.

Toys

During the series' release, a toy of Mechander Robo was released by Bullmark. [4]

Bullmark is a Japanese toy company that is most famous for selling PVC kaiju character toys in the 1960s and 1970s. Founded in 1969 after the bankruptcy of pioneering toy manufacturer Marusan, the company was also known simply as Bull by many people as their logo of a bull was stamped on the bottoms of the feet of many of its toys.

In 2009, CM's Corporation released an 18 cm. action figure of Mechander Robo as part of the Mecha Action Series line. The figure features a Mechander Max jet that docks in the back, as well as cargo bays on the feet to store either the Triger-3 ship, the New Triger or two Jaws shark missiles. The forearm shields can combine into the Mechander UFO weapon. Other accessories include the Mechander Fencer sword, additional hands and an Omega Missile. [5] A second edition in a metallic finish was also released. [6]

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References

  1. ↑ Mechander Robo Transformation
  2. ↑ Clements, Jonatha. McCarthy Helen. [2006] (2006). The Anime Encyclopedia: Revised & Expanded Edition. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN   978-1-933330-10-5
  3. ↑ Manhwa series songs:메칸더 V
  4. ↑ ToyBoxDX Brog - Forever Young: Bullmark Zinclon Young Mekanda Robo
  5. ↑ HobbyLink Japan - Mecha Action Series Mechander Robo
  6. ↑ HobbyLink Japan - Mechander Robo Standard Version Limited Edition Metallic Color
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