#superhuman samurai syber-squad

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 4.1: THE EAST IS BURNING RED!!! (1990-1995)

(Read in the voices of Yosuke Akimoto and Tomokazu Seki) ANSWER ME, DOMON! THE SCHOOL OF THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST!!

THE WIND OF KINGS!!

ZENSHIN!!

KEIRETSU!!

TEMPA KYOURAN!!!

LOOK, THE EAST IS BURNING RED!!!

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Last time, we saw the proliferation of mecha shows throughout the 80's. We also saw the introduction of an incomplete list of influential industry people who got their start in the 80's. In the 90's, we will begin to see a continuation of this proliferation of mecha works throughout the decade. The 90's will also see a lot of the stories I have talked about pay off, as

What we will also see in the 90's are a few major events that will affect the world of mecha in pretty major ways. The first is the bursting of the Japanese economic bubble, which would cause the Japanese economy to go from an era of excess to one of stagnation known as the Lost Decade. Another is the sudden arrival of a third honorary mecha series, except this honorary mecha series would arguably help to kickstart the slow decline of mecha stories. It should be noted that this series is not the only reason for the slow decline of mecha shows. That is a whole conversation in and of itself, and one that, maybe one day, I will talk about.

The last thing that should be noted about the 90's is that this would also see the creation of a handful of networks in the US that would help to bring anime over to the west, namely one Cartoon Network (and more importantly, its spinoff networks Toonami and [adult swim]) for the people in the US. While anime had seen some popularity in the west thanks to shows and movies like Robotech, Voltron, Ghost in the Shell, and Akira, it would be the four-part knockout of two of the series mentioned here alongside animanga juggernauts Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon that would cause anime to become mainstream.

That should be everything. With all of that out of the way...

Gundam Fight!

READY?! GO!!!

Yuusha Exkaiser/Brave Exkaiser (1991)

Starting us off in 1991, Takara would realize that, due to the sudden success of Transformers in the US, it might be time to diversify as Transformers had no longer felt like it was truly their property anymore. As such, they would create the Yuusha line, with their debut series being Brave Exkaiser. Exkaiser would prove to be a massive hit amongst its intended younger audience and would kickstart a whole franchise, which would also include:

The Brave Fighter of Legend Da-Garn (1992)

The Brave Express Might Gaine (1993)

The Brave Police J-Decker (1994)

The Brave of Gold Goldran (1995)

Brave Command Dagwon (1996)

The King of Braves, GaoGaiGar (1997), which I will talk about next time.

The Brave franchise is important due to how often this series gets referenced by other works, with the usual reference points being either Might Gaine or GaoGaiGar. More importantly, both Brave Exkaiser and the Giant Robo OVA would usher in an era of works that looked to the older mecha shows like Tetsujin 28, Mazinger Z, and Getter Robo for inspiration as opposed to Mobile Suit Gundam.

Super Robot Wars (1991) & Another Century's Episode (2003)

1991 would also see the start of Banpresto's Super Robot Wars, the ultimate crossover of in terms of mecha works. Super Robot Wars is where a lot of mecha-related terminology such as Super Robots, Real Robots, and the Holy Trinity (Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, Gundam 0079) come from. Super Robot Wars would also introduce its own set of original robot designs, each with their own unique pilots. Super Robot Wars would eventually gain a sister series in the form of 2003's Another Century's Episode.

One of the most important factors of Super Robot Wars is that, due to its celebratory (some might even say masturbatory) nature, these games can serve as a good metric behind what is a mecha story.

Giant Robo the Animation: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1992)

In 1992, Yasuhiro Imagawa and company would release the first episode of the now-legendary OVA Giant Robo the Animation: The Day the Earth Stood Still. This OVA, along with Brave Exkaiser, would begin the push for giant robot shows to take inspiration from works that were not Mobile Suit Gundam. The Giant Robo OVA, on top of being one of Imagawa's magnum opera (fun fact: the plural of magnum opus is magnum opera) alongside Mobile Fighter G Gundam, would also be the direct inspiration for western darling The Big O.

Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger (1992) & Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (1993)

If you're wondering why I mentioned Super Sentai in part 2, this series is why.

In 1992, the Super Sentai series Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger would release in Japan. While, to my understanding, it was about as popular as the rest of the Super Sentai franchise, this specific series in particular would attract the attention of one Haim Saban. With some editing here and there, along with filming new segments featuring an American cast as opposed to using the original footage featuring the original Japanese cast, Saban and company would create Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, which would air for the first time in 1993. Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers would go down in history as one of many series that would help pave the way for animanga to gain a foothold in western media.

Denkou Choujin Gridman/Gridman the Hyper Agent (1993) & Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad (1994)

1993 would also see the legendary Tsuburaya Productions, after a long period of struggles, finally make a comeback with their new series Gridman the Hyper Agent. With its smaller budget, the Hero of Dreams would come to be known as the hero who would help Tsuburaya Productions come back to relevance in the 90's.

Due to the success of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, other US companies would want in on the action. DiC Entertainment would buy the US distribution rights for Gridman and would try to put their own spin on Power Rangers by creating Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad.

Eventually, the people at Studio Trigger, who were interested in making an anime based off of Ultraman, would reach out to Tsuburaya Productions in an attempt to get permission to do so. While their initial request for Ultraman specifically was shot down, they were allowed to choose any of Tsuburaya's other properties for their anime adaptation. And they would choose Gridman for their subject, which would lead to the creation of SSSS.Gridman (a show I will talk about later).

If you have time to spare, you should also check out Cheese GX's video on the history behind Gridman.

Patlabor 2 (1993)

The fan-beloved Patlabor 2 would also release in 1993. Reflecting the realities of post-economic bubble Japan and the ensuing Lost Decade, Patlabor 2 would trade out the optimism commonly associated with the franchise with a much more cynical and grounded (even by Patlabor standards) tone. People tend to view this movie as being what Patlabor is all about, but in my opinion, this movie is an anomaly that can only truly be appreciated by knowing the context of everything that came before it.

Magic Knight Rayearth (1993)

1993 would also see the publishing of the shoujo manga series Magic Knight Rayearth. Created by the legendary mangaka group CLAMP, Rayearth would be one of the first magical girl series to really escape the long shadow cast by one Sailor Moon (if I understand my magical girl history correctly, Sailor Moon is basically the magical girl equivalent of the original Mobile Suit Gundam). How was Magic Knight Rayearth able to do this?

By adding giant robots into the mix. That's right: Magic Knight Rayearth is most likely the reason why there is overlap between magical girl and mecha fans. While remembered by many as being an important series in the canons of mecha, magical girls, and CLAMP, Rayearth's legacy would largely be overshadowed by one Cardcaptor Sakura.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994)

1994 would see Gundam return in a radically different form with the martial arts-inspired Mobile Fighter G Gundam. Often considered to be the other iconic series of Yasuhiro Imagawa, G Gundam would mark the beginning of a new era of Gundam by being the first alternate universe series to exist, thus allowing the franchise to flourish while letting the original Universal Century timeline continue to exist and get its own stories. Because of its radically different nature though, G Gundam is oftentimes looked down upon as a series that spits on the legacy of the Gundam franchise.

And again, not to toot my own horn here, but I also have a trilogy of posts all talking about G Gundam. All three posts seemed to be pretty popular relative to my other posts, so there seemed to be something in them that resonated with a lot of readers.

New Mobile Report Gundam Wing (1995) & New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (1996)

Following on from G Gundam is 1995's New Mobile Report Gundam Wing, which is arguably the most important Gundam series after the original and Gundam Seed in the 2000's. As a return to the war stories of the original Gundam, the reason why this series is important is because Gundam Wing would be one of the big four anime series that would make anime become mainstream in the West.

In my opinion though, Gundam Wing's legacy begins and ends with it being the first Gundam series to air in the West. In Japan, another series would air at around the same time as Gundam Wing, one that would loom over the rest of canon of mecha due to its impact on the anime industry and Japanese pop culture as a whole.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) & The End of Evangelion (1996)

Ah yes, the original "Not Like the Other Girls" mecha anime.

The series that would hamper a lot of Gundam Wing's cultural impact would be Hideaki Anno and Studio Gainax's legendary Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the second of Gainax's Big Four alongside Gunbuster. Created as an homage to shows like Ultraman and Space Runaway Ideon, Evangelion would take the zeitgeist by storm, forcing its way into the pantheon of the mecha canon like... well, like an Evangelion Unit tearing through an Angel's AT Field. There was a certain je ne sais quois to the series that made it stick to a lot of viewers at the time, and a lot of the history and context behind this series' production would help shape a lot of its more cerebral moments.

Anno would eventually revisit this series in 2007 by remaking this anime series into a quartet of films known as the Rebuild of Evangelion series. At first just a project to bring Evangelion to the 21st century, the Rebuild films would eventually become the first of the Shin Japan Heroes Thematic Universe, which would come to also include:

Shin Godzilla (2016)

Shin Ultraman (2022)

Shin Kamen Rider (2023)

The problem with a series like Evangelion is that, while it is a culturally important series that deserves a lot of the attention and praise it gets, a lot of Evangelion fans tend to go a little bit too far. It's subversive nature tends to become exaggerated to the point where Evangelion is often treated as being subversive of mecha, and thus, not like the other mecha shows. This is, in large part, why the infamous idea of Evangelion being "Not like other mecha shows because it deals with character drama" comes from, and it's something that I'd like to talk about at some point in the future after all of this.

Conclusion

And there you have it! As we get into the latter half of the 90's, we will see a lot of iconic mecha shows begin to pop up. We will also see [adult swim] begin to really play its part in making anime more mainstream, along with Gundam begin to decline and the end of the Brave franchise. We'll also see the appearance of the crazy man known as Tetsuya Takahashi make his directorial debut in what is quiet possibly the single most ambitious JRPG project of all time along with a surprise appearance by... LEGO?!

Next time, Part 4.2: A Grand Glorious Gathering!!

This will be the key to victory.

[reversemoon255]

SSSS.GRIDMAN THE GATTAI Full Powered Girdknight

Missed the preorder window on this one, but managed to snag the second one that popped up on Mandarake. And I'm glad I did, because this thing is great. This should be the same mold as the upcoming THE GATTAI FP Gridman, and it is a startling improvement. This isn't just some simple retool; it's an entirely new mold. Not even Gridknight is the same, overhauling him to better fit his role as the center of this robot, something the original Gridman failed to do.

The Good: Gone is the flimsy DX Full Powered Gridman. To start, Gridknight has been fitted almost entirely with ratcheted joints, meaning he can now much more easily hold the weight of all his machines. Not only that, but they took a page out of the Moderoid's book and made a stronger, more posable replacement torso, but also fixed the issue I had with it by giving it its own head, so you can display both Gridknight and FP Gridknight at the same time. But even if you choose to forgo it, Gridknight is perfectly capable of holding everything up.

Onto everyone else, this set actually comes with two Calibers of different sizes, and a handle so you can use the larger one's chest piece as a shield. Max, Borr, and Sky are functionally the same as vehicles, but Max's cannons now stop at the appropriate height so you don't have to fiddle with that during transformation.

Powered Knight Zenon may not look much different from the original, but has quite a few new tricks going on under the hood. For starters, it requires no adapters; everything is designed into the vehicles themselves, including the very impressive neck joint they added (which just blows my mind how they pulled that off). They also gave it a much better A-stance, actual ankles to accommodate it, and you can use Sky's transformation joints to give it some inward arm motion.

And Full Powered Gridknight is an impressive feat, being both taller than the original and around its scale to Dynazenon seen in the film. The transformation is also so much cleaner. Everything feels better, connects better, is much more solid, even more so than Dynazenon. They even made the cuts in Sky's wings the actual transformation joint, which several of the releases haven't done. And he is ridiculously posable. It has every joint; I don't know what else to tell you. It also comes with open and posable alternative hand. They even added dedicated engineering into Borr that allows for a brand new combination with Goldburn.

The Bad: Not everything is exactly perfect, though. While you can get the new Gridknight to work as Rouge Kaiser, the elbows are too long, meaning you have to twist the arms in a weird way to get them to fit, and Dynasoldier is less stable.

And both Zenon and FP have mediocre ankles. Like, they work, but Zenon's require a bit of fidgeting and you often have to display them on their toes. FP on the other hand just doesn't have enough rock, making more wide-legged, dynamic poses an issue. I recommend using the included stand to help with those (...which I did not take pictures of).

Overall, the difference is quality between this and the original DX are dirt and stratosphere. If you were disappointed by the original, or if you liked the Moderoid, then I highly recommend this one, or just waiting a few months for the V2 to come out.

[wcwit]

The Hero Of Dreams - A Complete Retrospective On The Hyper Agent Gridman (CheeseGX)

[modularmedia]

Analytical Fanboys Discuss SSSS.Gridman & SSSS.Dynazenon

For @busterscorp 's third pick of the year, they have the others check out another recent anime!

[haveyouseenthistoku]

[peteneems]

[bravehero96]

Can’t wait to see it

[kamenwriter]

[celesteisbest]

So I was doing the thing and finally watching the original Gridman.

I grew up with the TRULY AWFUL Superhuman Samurai Suber Squad and while I have no love for the non-Time Curry parts of that show, I do miss my old toys.

Then I saw this…

Sweet Jesus, I thought at first, then I really looked at his face.

Dear god I have a new Sleep Paralysis Demon.

My mind is destroyed and low, I am born anew.

McCall’s Gridman is my god now.

[jimmyisageek]

Ser un héroe is genial!

Despite growing up with this show in English, the Spanish opening makes me feel oddly nostalgic.

[thehollowprince]

Anyone else remembered Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad?

[reversemoon255]

SSSS.DYNAZENON THE GATTAI Gridman Universe & Big Goldburn

Thank goodness this one didn't have shipping issues like the last Goldburn set. In fact, I got an email a week out saying exactly when it would ship, and it arrived before the tracking number could even update. That's pretty good service if you ask me, especially compared to last time.

Oh, and I really enjoyed the crossover film. It basically gave us everything you'd want from this type of thing; catching up with the characters post-series, lots of fun character moments between the casts, previous villains playing heroic roles, every single possible robot combination you might want, just a lot of fun overall.

The Good: Gridman Universe is a decent upgrade to its previous incarnations. While it looses a bit of posability, it has ratcheted shoulders to help support the weight of the larger arms. The hands are also easier to swap, and they fixed the issue with the chest gem by giving it a release button on the back of the figure.

Big Goldburn is a bit of a brick, but has a few articulated areas. He's got arms, fingers and toes, wings, a bit of neck and tail, and a mouth (though its on the same joint as the neck, so it clashes). Also, when you spin the shoulders, the internals and tips spin in the opposite direction.

And Rouge Kaiser Gridman is very cool. It feels a lot more solid than its Gridknight counterpart, with the tail also serving to tripod the unit if need be (though it doesn't need it).

The Bad: While Gridman's new shoulders do help hold everything up better than its predecessors, I do find it to be a little under-powered. They hold a pose well, but if you start moving the figure, they will shift around. There are some weird transformation ideas that feel like they're there for longevity's sake, but they do seem and feel a bit odd at first. And this may just be a thing with international shipments, but the instructions seem to imply the chest piece is supposed to come with batteries (it is illustrated with a pulltab), but in practice has none. It required 3 LR44s, but it's important to note that those batteries have multiple names and can vary by brand, so have your phone out while shopping in-store for them.

Overall, while I can try and nitpick this kit, it's a fantastic addition to both the DX Gridman and The Gattai lines. It does a great job trying to adjust to the failings of its predecessors, and gives me high hopes for the Full Power Gridman V2 releasing later this year. I've got my nose to the ground trying to track down Full Power Gridknight (since I missed the preorder window on that one), so hopefully we'll get to talk about that one soon, too.

[aoypodcast]

AoY Podcast #171 - Takahashi vs Tomino Round 6 Pt A (Armored Trooper Votoms Review)

Also known as: “Ain’t nobody got a level like dat!” and also: “Chirico, YOU JUST KILLED GOD!” Download Episode HERE! (Total Time:…

[therobotmonster]

Can I share some things I love with you?

They're music videos, if that helps.

Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive is one of those things that should be quintessentially tumblr but the tumblr community remains unaware of its beauty.

This is the story of Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive, they are a person who feels good to be alive, This is the story of Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive Believes the underdog will eventually survive

"Hey, hey he fumbles for what to say He loves the world except for all the people"

What's more Tumblr than that, I ask ye?

"C'mon guys, is all this really necessary? Can't we just leave the deli tray out and split out of here?"

More songs should be about kaiju monsters attacking humanity. Imagine seeing this at a sleepover on Headbangers' Ball, then trying to explain what you saw to others enough to track it down. Congrats, you know what its like to be me at 14.

This song was Parodied on Kids next Door, I shit you not.

In keeping with cartoony metal, a literal heavy metal cartoon song. The less known but amazing "Takin' a Ride" by Don Felder from every 80s kids' first exploration into the forbidden, Heavy Metal.

The theme to Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad

What? I can't put a 90s Power Rangers tailcoat rider themesong matched to a modern anime reboots' footage on a list of my favorite music videos? You're not my mom!

I'm sorry, but "The hero always makes the cut" overrides any rules of decorum or aesthetics.

"If she asked me to I'd murder, I'd gladly give my soul."

A song that plays with the conventions of love songs to express the nature of fandom out of control.

"Now I lie in bed an think of her, sometimes I even weep, now I dream of her behind the wall of sleep."

Sometimes, art is treating a metaphor literally.

One of my favorite TMBG songs, and that's saying something, cuz 22.33364% of my favorite songs are from TMBG.

The Jenny Saga

Tell me these two songs aren't connected:

They even have similar hooks! The Killers made a sequel to a Falco song and no one noticed! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME! WHAT'S IN THAT NEEDLE I-

Some songs are always about somebody and somewhen, but never the same someone or somewhere.

I love two things, hard rock and songs from objectively bad movies. So ACDC doing the theme song to Maximum Overdrive? Chef's fucking kiss! Listen to it twice!

It's good for ya!

Also blah blah still socially relevant blah blah its ACDC and it rocks.

Tumblr's a fucking narc and won't let me post more than ten videos per post, so lets roll this to the reblog!

[sulan1809]

Gridman - Um Tokusatsu esquecido que virou anime...

Se você assistia Tokusatsu nos anos 1990, existe a probabilidade de você lembrar de séries do gênero, como Kamen Rider e Ultraman, por exemplo. O gênero de anime estilo Mecha já não é mais popular como era antes, mas ainda é um gênero muito importante e influente dentro dos animes. Um dos gêneros mais populares no Japão é o Tokusatsu, que é bem representado pelos Power Rangers em terras ocidentais. No começo dos anos 1990, teve uma série que fugiu dos parâmetros fundamentais de Ultraman ao implementar lutas de gigantes contra monstros virtuais, com suporte de Mechas, Gridman the Hyper Agent(電光超人グリッドマン), que foi elaborada pela Tsuburaya Productions, empresa muito renomada por Ultraman.

Na premissa da série de 1993, três adolescentes, Naoto Sho, Yuka Inoue e Ippei Baba, estavam desenvolvendo um software através de um supercomputador chamada Junk, até que um acidente funde o programa que eles elaboravam com um policial interdimensional chamado Gridman. Do outro lado, Kahn Digifer, um poderoso demônio digital, entrou no computador de um jovem revoltado chamado Takeshi Todo, que fez um acordo com ele para se vingar das pessoas que o humilharam, e com a ajuda do demônio imperial do ciberespaço, ele cria monstros virtuais para aterrorizar o mundo virtual. Durante a crise digital, Naoto e Gridman se fundem, e eles enfrentam os monstros criados por Takeshi e Kahn Digifer... Esta série serviu de base para Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, uma adaptação americana que a DiC Entertainment licenciou da Tsuburaya Productions para competir com um fenômeno que estava em grande ascensão naquela época: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

No ano de 2017, o Studio Trigger anuciou que iria fazer um reboot no formato anime sobre uma série de tokusatsu esquecida há 24 anos. Este reboot foi denominado SSSS.Gridman com as quatro letras "S" iniciais referenciando Super Human Samurai Syber-Squad, e apropriadamente, a adaptação em anime combina elementos de ambos os predecessores, a versão original(Gridman) e a adaptação ocidental(Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad), em algo extremamente novo, e o herói titular, Gridman, parece mais próximo de um Mecha do que um personagem de Tokusatsu, enquanto que outros membros do Gridman Team se transformam em veículos. Falando sobre mechas, a escolha artística para a série aborda elementos de uma série de Robôs em Disfarce que você deve conhecer bem: Transformers. Embora SSSS.Gridman teve apenas 12 episódios em 2018, tornou-se rapidamente a entrada de maior sucesso da franquia devido ao quanto reviveu a propriedade.

Em 2021, SSSS.Gridman teve uma continuação, SSSS.Dynazenon, que teve design e premissa mais apropriados para uma série de anime Super Robot. Essa evolução abraçou totalmente o gênero mecha e solidificou a transição para uma direção longe das raízes clássicas do gênero Tokusatsu, mesmo que agora houvesse um universo Gridman estabelecido através do anime predecessor. A Takara Tomy (empresa que administra a franquia Transformers no Japão) também estaria envolvida na produção de Dynazenon, uma vez que a companhia havia trabalhado na série de 1993 previamente.