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Haja Taisei Dangaioh ( 破邪大星ダンガイオー ) AIC/ARTMIC/Bandai Visual, 1987-1989 U.S. Renditions, 1990-1992 (Out of Print) Directed by Toshihiro Hirano (Hades Project Zeorymer, Fight! Iczer-One) Not Rated (Suggested 13-Up). Contains graphic violence and strong language. (Author's note: This review covers the original subtitled release, not Manga Entertainment's butchered version.) "Cross-Fight! Dangaio!"Cast Mayumi Shou (Yuratei in Hades Project Zeorymer, Chi-Chi in Dragon Ball/DBZ/DBGT) as Mia Alice Akira Kamiya (Roy Focker in Macross/Macross Zero, Ryo in City Hunter) as Roll Kran Maya Okamoto (Emma in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Liza in Macross Dynamite 7) as Lamba Nom Naoko Matsui (Katsumi in Silent Möbius, Rally in Riding Bean) as Pai Thunder Takeshi Aono (Dakuan in Ninja Scroll, Katsuhito and Noboyuki in Tenchi Muyo!) as Dr. Tarsan Shigeru Chiba (Shiba in Patlabor, Megane in Urusei Yatsura) as Gil Berg Kenichi Ogata (Genma in Ranma 1/2, Azaka in Tenchi Muyo!) as Galimos Ichiro Mizuki (legendary anime and tokusatsu singer) as Yoldo Mitsuko Horie (legendary anime and tokusatsu singer) as Dira Masako Katsuki (Emeraldas in Harlock Saga, Lucette in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083) as Shazarla Kazuhiko Inoue (Cyborg 009, Jerid in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam) as Burst. Synopsis Four psychic teenagers - Mia Alice, Roll Kran, Lamba Nom and Pai Thunder - are brainwashed by the scientist Dr. Tarsan as pilots of his greatest experiment - the giant robot Dangaioh. But as their memories slowly return, these pilots use their abilities and Dangaioh to combat the tyranny of Captain Galimos and the Bunker Space Pirates. Story: B- Next to Gunbuster, Dangaio was among the first set of subtitled anime titles in my collection. It's not as good as Gunbuster, but it has a decent plot, great mecha action and okay character development. The U.S. Renditions release is also infamous for mistranslating Psychic as "Side-kick." Aside from that, Dangaio has many elements that giant robot anime enthusiasts love. Unfortunately, the series ended in a cliffhanger that has yet to find a true ending (and no, it's not that poor excuse for a sequel called Great Dangaioh). Animation: A The animation quality of Dangaio is outstanding, even by today's standards. And it's hard to beat Shoji Kawamori's (Macross, The Vision of Escaflowne) design for Dangaio itself. Character designs by Toshihiro Hirano. Supporting mechanical designs by Masami Obari (Bubblegum Crisis, Fatal Fury) and Koichi Ohata (Gunbuster, M.D. Geist). Soundtrack: B- Since the 1970s, Michiaki Watanabe has composed memorable soundtracks for anime titles like Mazinger Z, as well as live-action shows like Jinzou Ningen Kikaider. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much of new material in Dangaio; the soundtrack uses BGM recycled from his other works (the Psychic Wave BGM on episode 1 is taken from Uchuu Keiji Shaider). As a matter of fact, Dangaio's soundtrack would later on be recycled in the 2003 TV series Shinkon Gattai Godannar. At least Dangaio has a catchy opening theme performed by veteran anime vocalists Mitsuko Horie (Choudenji Machine Voltes V, Candy Candy) and Ichiro Mizuki (Mazinger Z, Getter Robo Armageddon). Cross-Fight! Cross-Fight! (Cross-Fight!) Just cross for love Atsuku atsuku atsuku tatakae! Dangaio! The Bottom Line Dangaio is fun for old-school robot anime fans. Too bad you can't get a decent version of this title in the U.S. anymore. Reference Anime News Network

With an official Voltron toy from Mad Toys in the works and Dangaio coming out soon on Blu-ray. I was thinking, what are the best or fan favorite combining robots? And do they have good toys available? These are the top that I remember. Voltron Lions I think Voltron is the first combining robot that I ever saw and maybe still the best. The idea of robot lions that can fly and also transform into a large robot was and is just as cool as the Macross Valkyrie. And the form Blazing Sword weapon and animation is probably one of the best scenes in animation. GunbusterProbably the second best combining robot. The anime was serious too. The passage of time thing was something I didn't expect. The Soul of Chogokin version looks really good. I missed the first version and I'm going to get the color version. DangaioThere was something more destructive about Dangaio compared to the others when I first watched it on a bootleg VHS. I don't remember at that time seeing large robots fight in the middle of a city. And although many of the weapons like the sword and shooting hands were in Voltron, the more complex design of the ships and Dangaio was something new. I wish someone would make another toy other than that expensive version. Mighty OrbotsI always liked this cartoon. It was one of those Saturday morning shows that was always on early. Even as a kid something didn't seem right about the Orbots though. I could kind of tell it was like Voltron, how the robots came from certain areas like the ocean. But when they combined it seemed wrong. Now I see that the scale is crazy. But I still want a toy version and they could release a complete DVD or Blu-ray while they are at it so I can see the whole thing.

I've been searching around for the old Creations line of artbooks by Movic. I own a few myself: Dangaio 2 Creations, Gunbuster, and Zillion Creations 2. I want to know if anyone has other Creations artbooks from old anime shows? Or from the 1st and 3rd Dangaio episodes? I know there is a 1st Creations book for Zillion. Thanks.

After reading some of the comments in the Southern Cross topic and thinking for a while. For the first time I came to the conclusion or perhaps realization that a lot of the anime I like might be past its selling point for most. I grew up with this stuff and it’s still cool to me. Sometimes it feels like yesterday even though it was back in the 80s or early 90s. I still want items from these shows but the majority either don’t or grew out of it. Which is sad because current technology allows many anime toys, models, and figures to be produced at high quality. I even came up with a new project idea while thinking about one of these older anime shows. To me Southern Cross is great. I still want a hovertank, hovercycle, and Dana figure. I was listening to the music from Zillion and remembered that we never got the full series over here. I only have some of the VHS tapes. Something happened to my SEGA Master System games. I need to get them again. I still want well done Dangaio team ships that are transformable with fairly detailed figures. Accurate Voltron lions ever since it was mentioned in a topic here. So much should be coming out but it's almost like we get a tease and then a cancellation. I’m still upset about Rook’s cyclone / ride armor. There was a good Noriko kit from Gunbuster that never came out or is so rare I can’t find it. And of course figures of Minmay and others from Macross since the days of unpainted kits being the best you can get are long gone. Do you guys still want this stuff? Or are you satisfied with what we are getting?