, known as ''

Starvengers , known as '' Starvengers'' in the United States, is a super robot anime series by Toei Animation based on ''Hundred Demons Empire'' arc of ''Getter Robo'' manga by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa. This direct sequel to ''Getter Robo'' was broad ...

'' in the United States, is a

super robot Mecha anime and manga, known in Japan as and , are anime and manga that feature robots (mecha) in battle. The genre is broken down into two subcategories; "super robot", featuring super-sized, implausible robots, and "real robot", where robots are ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series by

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' '' GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

based on ''Hundred Demons Empire'' arc of ''Getter Robo'' manga by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa. This direct sequel to ''

Getter Robo is a Japanese mecha media franchise created by Ken Ishikawa and Go Nagai. An anime television series produced by Toei Animation was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 4, 1974, to May 8, 1975, with a total of 51 episodes. The manga was seria ...

'' was broadcast on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

from May 15, 1975 to March 25, 1976, with a total of 39 episodes (some episodes were rebroadcast, erroneously giving the impression that there were 43 episodes).

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in mor ...

's popular Shogun Warriors toy collection included Getter Robo G's robot formations in that toy line: Getter Dragon (Dragun), Getter Liger (Raider), and Getter Poseidon (Poseidon). As a result of the popularity of these toys in the US, Jim Terry included this series in his '' Force Five'' anime lineup under the title of ''Starvengers''. Some ''Starvengers'' episodes were re-dubbed and released by FB Productions under the ''

Robo Formers ''Robo Formers'' was a series of VHS videos distributed in the 1980s and 1990s. The episodes revolve around the Evil Empire of the Pandamoniums and their attempts to take over the Earth to which the Robo Formers team stands in their way as defen ...

'' title. The original ''Getter Robo'' series, however, has yet to appear in the US (although the ''

Shin Getter Robo is a Japanese mecha media franchise created by Ken Ishikawa and Go Nagai. An anime television series produced by Toei Animation was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 4, 1974, to May 8, 1975, with a total of 51 episodes. The manga was seriali ...

'' OVAs have appeared). In the UK, ''Starvengers'' episodes were released on video by Krypton Force under the name ''Formators''.

Plot

After the final defeat of the Dinosaur Empire and the death of Musashi Tomoe in the original ''

'' series, Dr. Saotome (Dr. Copernicus in ''Starvengers''), creator of Getter Robo, fears that the peace the Getter Robo team has won will be short lived and that even greater enemies will appear. Dr. Saotome's fears are justified when the Hundred Demon Empire (Hyakki Teikoku, also known as the Pandemonium Empire in ''Starvengers'') appears. Composed of horned,

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

-like alien

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20 ...

s and possessing a technology advanced enough to build giant

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in Media (communication), media such as comics, video ...

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

s, this militaristic organization intends to steal Saotome's Getter Generator to fulfill their own goals of world domination. However, Dr. Saotome is prepared with the creation of an even more powerful Getter Robo, Getter Robo G and a new Getter Robo base. Also, with Musashi dead, Dr. Saotome needs a third pilot, which he finds in

baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

Benkei Kuruma.

Getter Machines

Like its predecessor, Getter Robo G is composed of three jet-like vehicles piloted by one of the three pilots. Dragon is the red jet, controlled by the pilot of Getter Dragon. Liger, the blue jet, is used by Getter Liger's pilot. Getter Poseidon's operator uses Poseidon, the yellow machine. All three are armed with

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...

s but are generally very weak and never used in combat unless absolutely necessary. They also appear when the pilots use the Open Get (Break Formation in the English version) verbal command to break up the current form, so that they can change into another, or so they can dodge an enemy's attack. * Getter Dragon (formed from Dragon+Liger+Poseidon) - English Version - Star Dragon - piloted by Ryoma Nagare, English version - Homer Winthrow * Getter Liger (formed from Liger+Poseidon+Dragon) - English version - Star Arrow - piloted by Hayato Jin, but piloted by Michiru when Hayato is captured near the end. English version - Paladin Spencer * Getter Poseidon (formed from Poseidon+Dragon+Liger) - English version - Star Poseidon - piloted by Benkei Kuruma, English version - Elmer O. Fossil aka "Foul Tip"

Mecha Oni

Mecha Oni are the monsters of the week that appear much like the mechasauruses in the first series. It is stated and proven in a few episodes that destroying their horns will critically weaken, if not destroy, a Mecha Oni. Most Mecha Oni take up the likeness of their pilots, primarily in the head, with a few exceptions.

References

External links

* {{Toei Animation 1975 anime films 1975 anime television series debuts 1976 anime films Getter Robo Shunsuke Kikuchi Super robot anime and manga Japanese animated science fiction films 1970s Japanese-language films 1970s science fiction films Fuji TV original programming 1970s animated short films Anime short films Toei Animation television Films scored by Shunsuke Kikuchi