"Yûfô robo Gurendaizâ" (1975) TV series 1975-1977

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Directors:

Masayuki Akemi
Tomoharu Katsumata

Writers:

Gô Nagai (comic) and
Keisuke Fujikawa (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

5 October 1975 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Romance | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Escaping from Vega's evil forces, the young Prince of planet Fleed leaves his destroyed homeland aboard the UFO Robot Grendizer...

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Piloted Giant Robot | Space Invader | Surrealism | Good Versus Evil

Cast

Banjô Ginga

...

Zuril (unknown episodes)

Also Known As:

"Force Five" (USA) (syndication title)
"Grandizer" (USA)
"UFO Robo Grendizer"
"UFO Robot Goldorak" (International: English title)

Runtime:

France:26 min (74 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

Dynamic Planning

Trivia:

The toys from this anime series were featured in Mattel's phenomenal Shogun Warriors toy line. Grendizer was renamed "Grandizer".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in La liceale seduce i professori (1979)

Soundtrack:

Tobe! Grendizer

LA PIU' GRANDE AVVENTURA DI UFO ROBOT: GOLDRAKE ALL' ATTACCO {Feature-Length Version Of Japanese TV Series UFO ROBO GRENDIZER} (Go Nagai, 1979) **1/2

Note: This review also concerns the following "Goldrake" feature films - GOLDRAKE L'INVINCIBILE, GOLDRAKE ADDIO! and MAZINGA VS. GOLDRAKE.

I grew up watching the original series – and a handful of similar anime – on Italian TV; consequently, re-acquainting myself with it on DVD via an Italian 5-Disc Set proved extremely nostalgic...but, at the same time, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it generally held up after all these years!

Admittedly, I'm averse to today's children's programmes – from what little crosses my path while TV zapping, the style of animation itself has largely gone to the dogs: even if the "Goldrake" series dates from the mid-1970s, the detail is incredible – with beautiful colors, imaginative settings and an action-packed narrative. The four films (compiled expressly for Italian consumption where Goldrake was, at the time, a phenomenon) package together a number of episodes, so that they feature a battle (designating the climax of each programme) every 20 minutes or so. Characterization is not exactly one-note, but certainly clearly-defined (especially the villains); it was also interesting to note the changes made to characters, robots, vehicles and settings throughout the films which in the series was, obviously, done more gradually. The comic relief is the most dated and childish aspect about it, though this is thankfully downplayed in the last 2 films.

The third film is the longest and best – with the villains more engrossed in doing in one another, and which includes scenes that never made it into the series as originally broadcast on Italian TV! The fourth, then, was exhibited in the widescreen format: it brings together a plethora of robots/mutants (Devilman, Mazinga Z, Mazinger, Getta Robot) and villains – but results in being extremely muddled in development (and disjointed in effect) by trying to cram too much in a mere 75 minutes! Other DVDs of these type of animated series – such as Mazinga Z and Mazinger (the latter being a continuation of the former, and both among my personal favorites) – are available for rental and I'd love to check them out eventually...