Sabre Rider and the Star Sheriffs

[Yohsho]

Ok this anime aired on YTV , in Canada, when I was a kid before Samurai Pizza Cats started its run. I just wanna see if anyone else remembers it. It might have a different title, I think Germans know it as Bismark and the Star Sheriffs or something like that. I'll give the basic stuff about it. Let's see everyone wore like hardsuits. One guy rode around on a mechanical horse and used a sword to kill the bad guys. Another wore a cowboy hat and flew around in a plane. Another had a six wheel race car. Then there was a girl who piloted the big ship they went into. It was call Ramrod and it transfromed into a gaint cowboy I think. Oh its final attack was to have all these guns pop out and blast away. I just wanna know if that's its real title and if anyone remembers it.

[areaseven]

Yes, I remember that anime. It's known in Japan as Seijuushi (Star Musketeer) Bismarck. The series was animated by Studio Pierrot (Great Teacher Onizuka, Hikaru no Go); the same animators would later on do another mecha anime titled Ninja Senshi Tobikage (I don't know if this saw a US release, but an English version (titled Ninja Robots) was playing on Cartoon Network Asia).

The funny thing is that there was no actual leader in the original Japanese version. If there was, it would probably be the Japanese guy (duh!), not the British dude like in the US version.

[Golden Arms]

I remember that cartoon as well. It aired in the US as Sabre Rider and the star sheriffs.

[Angel's Fury]

I remember that! I remember watching this show together with Voltes Five, G-Force(Gatchaman), the original GI Joe, and Voltron when I was a kid growing up back in the Philippines.

[Yang_Neumann]

I vaguely remember this one. If I'm not mistaken didn't the fully combined robot say "Head 'em up, move 'em out" in a John Wayne type voice? Anyone got a clue

[Captain of the SDF-1 Macross]

The funny thing is that there was no actual leader in the original Japanese version. If there was, it would probably be the Japanese guy (duh!), not the British dude like in the US version.

From what I remember, the US dub shows no evidence that anyone in the team is in command, either. Strange. The only thing is that the Japanese guy is the focal character, but not really leading the team.

When World Events (who also dubbed Voltron) dubbed the show, they were trying to make the American the lead character but stopped after a few eps when they realized that the Japanese guy is the focal character.

[Captain of the SDF-1 Macross]

I vaguely remember this one. If I'm not mistaken didn't the fully combined robot say "Head 'em up, move 'em out" in a John Wayne-type voice? Anyone got a clue

From what I remember, that voice is more along the lines of "the narrator cheering on the heros thing". The robot never talked since it is a piloted machine.

As for who voiced that, it is none other than Peter Cullen, who voiced the John Wayne-like Transformer, Optimus Prime.

Peter Cullen was also famous for dubbing in World Events' dubbed anime. On Voltron, he played as Coran, King Alfor, the narrator and various extra characters. On Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, he played as the narrator and various extra characters.

Currently. he does commercial voiceovers for Cartoon Network's Toonami commercials. The best one IMO is the Transformers Armada commercial, as if Optimus Prime himself self-promotes the show. B)

As much as Cullen (and the rest of the G1 voice actors) want to come back, he and the others will not reprise their roles unless they are given a huge salary.

[Angel's Fury]

I vaguely remember this one. If I'm not mistaken didn't the fully combined robot say "Head 'em up, move 'em out" in a John Wayne-type voice? Anyone got a clue

From what I remember, that voice is more along the lines of "the narrator cheering on the heros thing". The robot never talked since it is a piloted machine.

As for who voiced that, it is none other than Peter Cullen, who voiced the John Wayne-like Transformer, Optimus Prime.

Peter Cullen was also famous for dubbing in World Events' dubbed anime. On Voltron, he played as Coran, King Alfor, the narrator and various extra characters. On Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, he played as the narrator and various extra characters.

Currently. he does commercial voiceovers for Cartoon Network's Toonami commercials. The best one IMO is the Transformers Armada commercial, as if Optimus Prime himself self-promotes the show. B)

As much as Cullen (and the rest of the G1 voice actors) want to come back, he and the others will not reprise their roles unless they are given a huge salary.

Hmmm, that's very interesting. Thanks for the additional info.

[Golden Arms]

I thought the blonde guy in black was the team leader.

[gerwalk25]

Sabre Rider was an awesome show when it aired. Sure it was different than the original i.e Bismarck but rocked. Colt the sharp shooter was the man and he had a fly mini-jet, I wanted 2 be like him. It's one of the better dubbed 80's Anime fare out there (I think Star Blazers/Yamato is the best of the best dub). I think I still have a video of SR & TSS somewhere I gotta look. Brings back good memories! B)

~G25

[Barpharanges]

Yup, I loved this dubbed show.

The enemy Mecha designs were really cool, from the one man jet bikes (with an endless supply of pop-can missiles) to the "Renegade Units" (Bad guy Robots of the week-just oozing with 80's mecha style.). One of the re-occuring bad guys ("Jesse Blue") had two transforming robot suits too wreak havoc with. One was a mini jet much like the American Charactor's , except it transformed into something like a battle suit. The pilots helmet was the head, and the entire cockpit/nose section split into the two legs. Snub wings became arms if I recall correctly. I love this design.. The other Transforming Robot was a huge one man fighter jet painted bright yellow (or gold?). Its small cockpit was off set to one side of large wedge shaped nose, and remained in place in the Robot mode. The Head design was almost humanoid, like the late 80's Artmic style robot heads, and of course the mecha had a nigh infinite supply of pop-can missiles...

If anyone knows of a good picture site (or art book- hey, I can dream...) please let me know...

[Smiley424]

I remember this show, it was awesome. I don't remember much about the characters and whatnot, but the mecha action was pretty cool. I like how the robot looked like a cowboy, with hat and laser pistol in a hip holster.

[Aegis!]

Wow , I still remember this show , it was freaking cool , especially the vehicles , the story was above average I would say , at least the later episodes. Wasn´t there a conection between the bad guys and Easter Island ? I remember seeing some Moais (those giant head statues ) in the later episodes.

[Barpharanges]

I think the Giant Easter Island Head theme was from a more obscure Dubbed anime released here as "Thunder Sub" (It was called Blue Noah in Japan.). It was kinda like Yamato on the water, and the Thunder sub had a neat transformation where the upper half of the hull opened like a clam shell and became a large runway deck for its fighter craft. The Thunder Sub was eventually able to fly into space. In yet another nod to Yamato, the Story starts off with the Earth already in ruins by the aliens, but this time, the destruction was caused by the Aliens parking their Home Planet in low earth orbit and letting extreme tidal forces do the dirty work. Made for some neat backgrounds in the show...

Now if my memory is working, the Thunder Sub crew land on the alien planet and find Easter Island Heads everywhere, plus a lot of alien refugees that have some claim on Earth.

Some crappy pics to refesh peoples memories found At this italian (?) web page.

[Captain of the SDF-1 Macross]

I think the Giant Easter Island Head theme was from a more obscure Dubbed anime released here as "Thunder Sub" (It was called Blue Noah in Japan.). It was kinda like Yamato on the water, and the Thunder sub had a neat transformation where the upper half of the hull opened like a clam shell and became a large runway deck for its fighter craft. The Thunder Sub was eventually able to fly into space. In yet another nod to Yamato, the Story starts off with the Earth already in ruins by the aliens, but this time, the destruction was caused by the Aliens parking their Home Planet in low earth orbit and letting extreme tidal forces do the dirty work. Made for some neat backgrounds in the show...

Now if my memory is working, the Thunder Sub crew land on the alien planet and find Easter Island Heads everywhere, plus a lot of alien refugees that have some claim on Earth.

Some crappy pics to refesh peoples memories found At this italian (?) web page.

Ah, yes, I remember this show. It used to air in the Phillipines and other English-speaking countries back then. Filipino TV station RPM-9 aired this show alongside the 1980s version of Astroboy and the Filipino English-dubbed version of Macross on Sundays. What a great time to watch anime back then. B)

The show didn't get a nationwide North American release but did air on local stations who independantly picked it up. Canadian TV station CKVR (when it used to be owned by the CBC) aired it around my neighborhood for a while.

Thunder Sub/Space Carrier Blue Noah was created by Star Blazers/Space Battleship Yamato co-creator Yoshinobu Nishizaki, who also did the Quest for Odin anime as well.

One of the strangest things in Thunder Sub was that it was dubbed by the BBC, probably the only anime work they ever worked on.

IIRC, the premiere borrows from Star Blazers, in which in addition to parking the alien planet close to Earth, they also bombarded with their version of Gamilons' planet bombs as well. The aliens are called Gothomites, under the command of General Zee and their homeworld is called Gotham.

High school student Colin Collins and his friends would venture to the N1 research base to activate Thunder Sub. The officers who were supposed to be assigned to it also arrived to take command and recruit Collins and co. as an addition to the crew. Thunder Sub and its crew would be seafaring across the globe

As the Italian web page showed, Thunder Sub takes design cues from the Yamato and then some. The ship has its own "Wave Motion Gun" with a protective foldable gun hatches, the midsection splits to reveal its guns and flight deck and can launch two sections as seperate craft. What's not shown was an artillary support craft emerging from Thunder Sub's stern and what is shown on the web page is Tempest Jr., a submarine that stowed onto Thunder Sub's leveler/"thumb" section of the ship. When Thunder Sub seafares around Earth, Tempest Jr. would often be sent for battle as a support vessel.

Thunder Sub won't get its spacefarring drive and functions until around episode 20 IIRC once they have destroyed all occupied Gothomite forces on Earth and later goes off into space for a final showdown.

Sadly we don't get to see this show again and it was better than Quest for Odin IMO. There are PAL-recorded VHS tapes lurking in eBay time to time, as well as the diecast toy of Thunder Sub.

I did asked the BBC's Canadian branch if they still have the rights but they say that they let it go once Westcape (who produced Thunder Sub and Star Blazers in Japan) went bankrupt.

[Barpharanges]

The show didn't get a nationwide North American release but did air on local stations who independantly picked it up. Canadian TV station CKVR (when it used to be owned by the CBC) aired it around my neighborhood for a while.

Hey its a small world after all... I used to watch Thunder Sub Saturday mornings on CKVR.... I'm glad to see at least one other local remembers this show. One of my classmates in college was crazy about Thunder Sub, "The best show ever", and was eternally angry that no one had ever heard of it

@Captain of the SDF-1 Macross,

Do you remember the Easter Island heads on Thunder Sub/Blue Noah? or am I full of hot air?

Edited September 2, 2003 by Barpharanges

[Sazabi]

hehehe. i watched this series as a kid. i remember loving the american guy coz of his cool helmet (a cowboy hat) , and i acually picked up a tape of these serier a few months ago , and it totally owns! , im currentley on the looks out for the rest of the swedish dubbed tapes. swedish dubbs OWNED during the 80´s

//Dan..

[Captain of the SDF-1 Macross]

@Captain of the SDF-1 Macross,

Do you remember the Easter Island heads on Thunder Sub/Blue Noah? or am I full of hot air?

Honestly, I don't remember that part. The last time I watched a whole episode was that station N9 called Thunder Sub for a mission before they can enter N9 safely. They have to destroy two command bases located on the North and South Poles, which commands all Gothamite occupation forces and a space defense network that can shoot down spacecraft. So, both Thunder Sub and Tempest Jr. leave each other to destroy the polar bases before they meet up again on station N9.

I do remember the episodes when Thunder Sub flying into space but I can only remember the last five minutes of them because I often wake up late at the time. Wish that my family got a VCR at the time.

Anyways, I found a web site hosting the cels from that show:

http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/nihon_cel/...h/bluenoah.html

Save the pics before they're gone.

[Guest CoryHolmes3]

All this talk of Sabre Rider got me feeling nostalgic so I did a google search. Apparently, the Germans really liked that show, given the number of websites they've got devoted to it.

Not only that, but the German Amazon.com has the DVDs on sale...

And yes, it was a cool show. Lasted for 50-odd episodes, as I recall. Most enjoyable

[areaseven]

Apparently, the Germans really liked that show, given the number of websites they've got devoted to it.

Wow. Looks like Saber Rider is almost as popular to the Germans as David Hasselhoff.

[Yohsho]

Apparently, the Germans really liked that show, given the number of websites they've got devoted to it.

Wow. Looks like Saber Rider is almost as popular to the Germans as David Hasselhoff.

Usually when me or my brother go onto anime/mecha forums we see how many ppl know this title. But after that last comment A7 I just might have to stop asking if they know it.