Волтес V: Жапон анимациялық сериалы

Japanese television series

, popularly known as simply Voltes V (pronounced as "Voltes Five") is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Company and animated by Nippon Sunrise (now known as Bandai Namco Filmworks and formerly known as Soeisha). It is the second installment of the Robot Romance Trilogy, which also includes Chōdenji Robo Combattler V and Tōshō Daimos. It is directed by Tadao Nagahama and produced by Yoshiyuki Tomino. It aired on TV Asahi and its affiliates from June 1977 to March 1978. Voltes V grew into a cultural phenomenon in the Philippines since its airing in the country in 1978, and had achieved popularity as well in Indonesia and Cuba. A Philippine live action adaptation, Voltes V: Legacy, premiered on GMA Network in May 2023.

One day, a massive horde of flying saucers appears out of the depths of space and launches an invasion of the planet Earth. Despite the best efforts of the world's militaries and the Earth Defense Force under the Japanese Commander Oka, simultaneous deployments of the invaders' fleets of well armed and highly mobile flying saucers devastate key strategic targets around the world and completely overwhelm the defenders. The invaders are aliens from the imperial planet Boazan, fighting under the command of the Boazanian emperor's ruthless nephew, Prince Heinel. With their victory all but assured, the Boazanian commanders retire to Castle Heinel, a secret underground citadel constructed by their agents in preparation for their conquest, and deploy the massive bio mechanical "Attack Beast Knight Dokugaga" to destroy humanity's last bastion of resistance. Unbeknownst to the Boazanians, however, are the efforts of Japanese scientists Mitsuyo Goh and Professor Hamaguchi, who have been working alongside Oka on a plan originally created by Mitsuyo's vanished husband, Dr. Kentaro Goh. Having forced her children, Kenichi, Daijiro, and Hiyoshi, to undergo a grueling training regimen alongside the American rodeo champion Ippei Mine and Commander Oka's daughter, Megumi Oka, it is revealed that all of their efforts up to this point were secretly meant to prepare the earth for this very eventuality. The scientists take the children to a top secret base on the hidden island of Ootorijima known as "Big Falcon", where they reveal to the five Kentaro Goh's greatest life's work and humanity's last remaining hope for survival: the Super Electromagnetic Robot, "Voltes V". Though it takes them some time to adjust to the controls, the five are able to work together and save the EDF from total destruction by finishing off Dokugaga with their powerful Heaven Sword, or Tenkuu ken. The Boazanians continue with a variety of strategies, attempting to defeat earth's robust new robot, ever constructing new Beast Knights based on different animals. The Voltes 5 team train to improve their teamwork and skill, learn more about the nature of the Boazanians and the Goh siblings' missing father. Professor Goh is revealed to have disappeared on a diplomatic mission to the planet Boazan itself, hoping to stop their impending invasion. Imprisoned by the Boazanian empire the entire time, he escapes from their control and attempts to return to earth with several allies, but is waylaid by a breakaway force and taken prisoner by Heinel's traitorous science officer, Zuhl. Much of the second half of the series revolves around the Goh siblings desperately searching for their father, while he in turn works to oppose the invaders in secret. Aside from its technological advancement, the planet Boazan is in fact very similar to Earth, and the native Boazanians are so like humanity that the two races can even healthily interbreed. The planet is wholly governed by an oligarchic monarchy with a cruel caste system: Boazanians born with horns are highly regarded and form an aristocratic elite, while the hornless are forced into slavery and worked to death on physically demanding tasks such as mining and construction. During a succession dispute between the highly revered Chief Science Minister La Gour, son of the late emperor's brother, and Zu Zambajil, an illegitimate son of said emperor, it was discovered that despite La Gour's noble birth, he had been born hornless and had hidden the fact with prosthetics. Taking advantage of this fact to further his own quest for power, Zambajil had La Gour imprisoned and exiled his wife Rosalia, causing him great despair. After learning that Rosalia died while he was forced to work as a common slave, La Gour joined a band of hornless dissidents and subsequently led a daring insurrection against the empire, only to be easily thwarted by their vastly superior military. With no other options available to him, La Gour was forced to escape on a flying saucer and flee across the galaxy until he found himself on the faraway planet of Earth. Upon crash landing, he was discovered by a Japanese scientist, and they fell in love. To blend in on Earth, La Gour exchanged his name for a Japanese one: Dr. Kentaro Goh. Thus, Dr. Goh's powerful technological advancements and knowledge of the oncoming alien invasion suddenly make sense, for he was once a native of that very planet himself. Knowing that Zambajil's ambition was to rule a galactic empire, Goh quickly set into motion his plans to protect the Earth from their eventual attack, and moreover, to someday finish what he started by returning to Boazan and liberating its oppressed underclass. Yet when Zambajil threatened to invade the earth unless Goh returned to work under him, Goh had no choice but to abandon his family. Refusing to work for the tyrannical ruler, Goh was once again imprisoned and nearly executed, only to be saved by the remnants of the rebel army he had created right before his exile. It is here that he met the rebel General Dange, an aristocrat who cut off his horns to join the rebellion, and they left for their ill fated return to Earth. Just when everyone else believes them to be dead, it is revealed that Goh and Dange have been working on the creation of a massive spaceship known as the Solar Bird, with which they hope to return to Boazan to topple its oppressive government once and for all.

Voltes V was produced by Toei Company with animation from Nippon Sunrise and sponsorship from Popy for the toys. During the development of Voltes V, Nagahama originally conceived the series to be a sequel to Chōdenji Robo Combattler V and to follow the events of the series after the finale before making it into a separate series. From Nagahama's memo, the series is originally meant to be titled Granbuffer Ace (グランバッファーA (エース)) or Chōdenji Robo V. Krieger (超電磁ロボ・V・クリーガー). Both names were ultimately scrapped and it was renamed Voltes V.

During the time of its development, NET TV transitioned its name to TV Asahi during 1977. In a proposal from Popy in 1976, Voltes V was meant to have a gun like finishing attack but Sunrise and Toei wanted the actual attack for the toys to be changed. As such, the gun was changed to a sword, which is carried over to the mech's Heaven's Blade/Laser Blade attack. Akinori Watanabe, the previous director of Toei's Television Business Division, was worried that the plot will be too depressing to viewers and wanted to avoid viewers crying all the time. In response to Watanabe's request, he created the rival character, Prince Heinel, who was based on one of the actors in the world famous Takarazuka Revue. The final draft of the series was completed in March 1977, with the first episode was broadcast on June 4 of the same year. with Infiniti Music having held exclusive rights to release its soundtrack in the 1990s. The Telesuccess dubs (English and Tagalog, respectively) were made available in Southeast Asia through video on demand service iflix in September 2016. Discotek Media licensed the series and is released on DVD and Blu ray (with English subtitles) in North American territories. Another English dub, written and directed by William Ross, was produced in Tokyo, Japan by Frontier Enterprises and released in North America in 1983 by 3B Productions as Voltus 5. It was a compilation of selected episodes (from episode 1 to 18).

A Philippine live action adaptation, Voltes V: Legacy, premiered on GMA Network on May 8, 2023. The production is licensed from Toei Company through its Philippine licensee Telesuccess Productions, Inc. Director Mark A. Reyes led the production of the series with Suzette Doctolero as the headwriter, which involved close supervision from Toei. Riot Inc. was hired to do the special effects alongside GMA's video graphic department.

During the series' run, Popy released a diecast metal toy of Voltes V. The toy was available either with the five Volt Machines sold separately or in a gift set known as the "Volt In Box". Aside from the Volt Machines combining to form Voltes V, the toy also transformed into Voltank mode (an alternate vehicle mode wherein the robot lied down face first with the Volt Panzer and Volt Lander's wheels on the ground). This mode never appeared in the series, but was a unique feature of the toy. The boxed set was re released in the United States in 1978 by Mattel as part of the Shogun Warriors line of imported toys. Later it was re released in 1982 repackaged as part of Bandai's Godaikin line for the international market in 1983. Popy also released a Jumbo Machinder version of Voltes V. Standing at over 24 inches in height, the toy featured firing projectile fists and could transform into Voltank mode, which small children could ride on. In 2006, Bandai released a newer, smaller Voltes V toy as part of their Soul of Chogokin line. This toy is more detailed and more poseable than its Popy diecast predecessor. In 2008, the toy was re released as a special edition called "Respect for Volt In Box", which pays homage to the original toy in both color scheme and packaging. In addition, this version has been retooled to transform into Voltank mode. In 2018, Bandai released the Soul of Chogokin Voltes V F. A. (Full Action) figure. The figure sacrifices its combination gimmick in favor of more anime accurate proportions and dynamic articulation. In 2020, Bandai released the titular mecha under the DX Soul of Chogokin line.

The series itself has been included and featured in the long running Super Robot Wars series of video games with its first appearance on the PlayStation game Shin Super Robot Wars in 1996.

Voltes V is notable for its cultural impact in several countries like Indonesia, Cuba, In the case of the latter, it had a major impact in the country during the period of martial law under President Ferdinand Marcos, who banned the series along with other "violent" Japanese animated series on August 27, 1979, for their "harmful effects on children". However, popular speculation was that the series was banned because of the anime's underlying themes of rebellion and revolution. The remaining four episodes were never aired and Filipino children angered by the sudden ban have sometimes been referred to as the "Voltes V generation". After the success of the 1986 People Power Revolution, Voltes V was re aired on Philippine television from the 1990s to 2010s with a Filipino dub. Toym Imao, a visual artist who was a child at the time the series aired, made a sculpture inspired by Voltes V in 2014 called Last, Lost, Lust for Four Forgotten Episodes as part of his series of art installations entitled Super Robot Suffer Reboot that was displayed at the entrance of Palma Hall at the University of the Philippines.