, sometimes romanized as ''Getter Robot Go'' and known in the United States as ''Venger Robo'', is a Japanese
mecha
In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
and
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
Go Nagai
, better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of Japanese science fiction, science fiction, fantasy, Japanese horror, horror, and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', b ...
and Ken Ishikawa.
The anime was originally broadcast from February 11, 1991, to January 27, 1992, on TV Setouchi and
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network. Along with the TV series, a few manga versions were released. One of them was released in the US under the name ''Venger Robo'' and in Spain as ''Venger Robot Go''. The international title given to the anime on Toei's website is ''Goldbang''."Goldbang" on http://corp.toei-anim.co.jp/ /ref>
The manga written by Ishikawa is a sequel to the original ''Getter Robo'' manga and its second instalment, '' Getter Robo G'', taking place some years after ''G''. ''Go'' itself is followed by the '' Getter Robo Arc'' manga and anime. The ''Getter Robo Go'' anime is a very loose adaptation of the manga.
Premise
In the year 200X, Doctor Rando, a genius scientist gone mad, has broken the peace on the Earth by trying to conquer the world from his Polar base, using an army of his Metal Beasts, super robots developed by him to conquer the world and led by his genetically created officers. No regular weapons seem to work against the Metal Beasts. To combat him, Japan's Defense Agency requests the cooperation of NISAR, the Japan International Aerospace Corporation, which has developed a robot, the Getter Robo. Dr. Tachibana, the head of the Getter Robo project, is reluctant to use the robot for battle. Despite this, Getter Robo, piloted by Go Ichimonji (later joined by Sho Tachibana and Gai Daido), is able to defeat a Metal Beast with the sacrifice of Shinichi, the son of Dr. Tachibana. This prompts the improvement of Getter to make it a transforming machine piloted by three persons, capable of defeating the Metal Beasts and stopping Dr. Rando from conquering the world.
Episodes
Source(s)
Staff and production notes
*Airtime: Monday, 18:30-19:00
*Network: TV Setouchi, TV Tokyo
*Production: TV Setouchi, BigWest, Toei Company
*Animation studio:
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 ...
Getter Robo
is a Japanese Mecha anime and manga, mecha media franchise created by Ken Ishikawa (manga artist), 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, 197 ...
'' series with no real relationship with the previous anime or manga. Each episode features a different metal beast enemy, a similar format to the anime television series '' Mazinger Z''. The design of the Getter Robo has some features reminiscent of Mazinger Z, such as a "Rocket Punch" attack. The series also marked the renewal of business relationships between Toei Animation and Go Nagai, which were interrupted by the conflict with '' Daiku Maryu Gaiking''.
Theme songs
*Opening 1: (lyrics by Bun Onoe, composition by Daiji Okai, arrangement by Hiroshi Toyama & Daiji Okai, song by Hiroyuki Takami)
*Ending 1: ''Grievous Rain'' (lyrics by Bun Onoe, composition by Daiji Okai, arrangement by Hiroshi Toyama, song by Hiroyuki Takami)
*Opening 2: (lyrics by Kang Jin-hwa, composition & arrangement by Michiaki Watanabe, song by Ichiro Mizuki, chorus by )
*Ending 2: (lyrics by Kang Jin-hwa, composition & arrangement by Michiaki Watanabe, song by Ichiro Mizuki)
Source(s)
Media
Home video
The series was released on
Laserdisc
LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
by Toei Video. Toei also released the series on DVD:
Music
The opening and ending themes have been released as singles and have been compiled in albums of the artists who performed them. The soundtrack is available in two CDs, one of which was re-released years later,
The opening and ending themes are available in several compilation albums of the ''Getter Robo'' series.
Manga
Three manga versions were published with the release of the TV series. Two of them were drawn by Tatsuo Yasuda, the first one was published in the magazine '' TV-kun'' from to and the chapters have been collected into a single volume. The second one was published in the magazine '' Bessatsu Coro Coro Comic Special'' from to and the chapters have been collected into a single volume too. Both of these versions were published by
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan.
Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...
.
Another version, written and illustrated by Ken Ishikawa under the supervision of
Go Nagai
, better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of Japanese science fiction, science fiction, fantasy, Japanese horror, horror, and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', b ...
, was published in the magazine '' Shōnen Captain'', published by
Tokuma Shoten
is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company's product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, man ...
, from February 1991 to May 1993. This version was originally compiled in 7 volumes, and later reprinted in other collections published by Daitosha (5 volumes) and
Futabasha
is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in , Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Futabasha is known for its manga works, and its 1967 magazine Manga Action first conceived of the manga category, decades before the other major companies tested th ...
(3 volumes).
From this manga, the first stories were published in the United States by
Viz Media
Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
in 1993 in 7 issues (not volumes) under the name ''Venger Robo''.
Some of these numbers were also published in Spain by Planeta DeAgostini in 1995, under the name ''Venger Robot Go''. In France, the series was published from 1999 to 2001 for a total of 5 volumes by Dynamic Vision. A volume of the series was also published in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
by Seoul Cultural Publishers. In Italy, the series was published integrally as part of the ''Getter Saga'' series, which included all ''Getter Robot'' series in a single series of 12 volumes. There are a lot of major differences between Ken Ishikawa's version and the TV version. The whole plot is rewritten to match as the sequel to the last series, Getter Robo G as well as incorporating characters and storyline that would later be adapted in the OAVs
Getter Robo Armageddon
''Getter Robo Armageddon'', known in Japan as , is an original video animation, OVA released between August 25, 1998 to May 25, 1999 by Bandai Visual and was animated by Brain's Base and Studio OX. The OVA is based on the manga and anime seri ...
Sixteen years after Ryouma Nagare, Hayato Jin and Benkei Kuruma defeated the , research has begun to develop a new set of Getter Machines in order to fight the threat of a new, cyborg-like species known as Metal Beasts, led by the evil Professor Rando of the "Vega Zone". Leading this project is Hayato himself, who soon scouts and enlists three young pilots: Go Ichimonji, a young professional athlete, Sho Tachibana, the daughter of Prof. Tachibana (leader of the Getter-Go project) and a skilled sword-fighter, and Gai Daidou, a former Getter mechanic. Together, these three pilots use a new set of Getter Machines to form the super robot known as "Getter Robo Go", and begin a battle to stop Rando once and for all.