was an

anime is hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

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.

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

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. 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

*Additional Director

Takashi Anno is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings The name Takashi can have multiple different meanings depending on which kanji is used to write it. Some possible writings of the name include: *江詩 - "estuary , inlet, poem" *隆 - "prosp ...

Yasuo Hasegawa

Rintaro is the pseudonym of , a well-known director of anime. He works frequently with the animation studio Madhouse (which he co-founded), though he is a freelance director not employed directly by any one studio. He began working in the animation ind ...

*Producer

Sumio Takahashi Sumio (written: 澄男, 澄夫, 澄雄, 純男, 純生 or 寿美雄) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese judoka *, Japanese physicist *, Japanese classical composer *, Japanese politician *, Japane ...

*Screenwriter
Hisayuki Toriumi *Designer
Nobuhiro Okaseko

Tsuneo Ninomiya Tsuneo is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Tsuneo can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *常雄, "usual, masculine" *常男, "usual, man" *常夫, "usual, husband" *恒雄, "a ...

*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 nume ...

*Animator
Satoshi Touzan

Masayuki Hayashi is the pseudonym of , a well-known director of anime. He works frequently with the animation studio Madhouse (which he co-founded), though he is a freelance director not employed directly by any one studio. He began working in the animation ind ...

Satoshi Tozan
Takeshi Honda *Music
Michiaki Watanabe *Opening theme
"Tri-Attack! Mechander Robo" by

Ichiro Mizuki , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on theme songs for anime and tokusatsu. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese film, televisio ...

and the Columbia Cradle Club

Characters

International broadcasts

''Mechander Robo'' was dubbed in English for broadcast in the Philippines in the late-1970s. 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. Outside of Asia, it was only broadcast in Italy, in 1982, under the title Mechander Robot.

Video game appearance

''Mechander Robo'' debuted in the

Super Robot Wars ''Super Robot Wars'', known in Japan as is a series of tactical role-playing video games produced by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Banpresto. Starting out as a spinoff of the ''Compati Hero'' series, the main feature of the franchise ...

series as part of ''Super Robot Wars Compact 3'' for the

Wonderswan Color The (ワンダースワン) is a handheld game console released in Japan by Bandai. It was developed by Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto Laboratory and Bandai, and was the last piece of hardware Yokoi developed before his death in 1997. Released ...

. 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.

Toys

During the series' release, a toy of Mechander Robo was released by Bullmark. 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. A second edition in a metallic finish was also released.HobbyLink Japan - Mechander Robo Standard Version Limited Edition Metallic Color
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References

{{reflist 1977 anime television series debuts Super robot anime and manga