Gotriniton - the robot anime series from 1981

26 September 2021

Gotriniton (戦国魔神ゴーショーグン Sengoku majin Goshogun? Literally The dark deity of the Goshogun fighting realms) is a super robot anime series created by Takeshi Shudo. It was produced and broadcast in 1981 in Japan, with a film special released in 1982 and a film sequel, GoShogun: The Time Étranger or Time Stranger, in 1985. Its title has been variously translated into English as “Demon God of the War -Torn Land GoShogun "," Warring Demon God GoShogun "and" Civil War Devil-God GoShogun ", but in the United States and some parts of Europe it is mainly known by the names of GoShogun and Macron 1, the title of its adaptation North American.

The series Gotriniton and its film sequel, The Time Étranger, were both written by Takeshi Shudo and directed by Kunihiko Yuyama. The series is known for its witty dialogue and lighthearted parody of its genre conventions. The Time Étranger moves away from the original genre, leaving the robot completely aside to focus on the strong and complex heroine. He was praised for his serious tone, psychological intensity, and handling of mature themes.

History

The story is set at the beginning of the 21st century, in which a secret evil organization, Dokuga, led by the lord NeoNeros, holds near-total political, economic and military control of the world. Dokuga's agents try to forcibly recruit a brilliant physicist, Professor Sanada, who detonates a suicide bombing rather than letting Dokuga acquire his secret research. His son Kenta becomes Dokuga's next target, but is rescued by his father's colleague and taken aboard a teleportation fortress, Good Thunder. Teleportation is made possible by a mysterious form of energy, called Beamler, discovered by Sanada. The same energy also powers a giant battle robot, Gotriniton, operated by three pilots. The Good Thunder crew travels the world, repeatedly battling the forces of NeoNeros with Gotriniton and often by hindering Dokuga's influence locally, both by destroying their bases and businesses, aiding popular rebellions, and avoiding environmental disasters. On at least one occasion the pilots of Gotriniton they must ally with the three chief officers of Dokuga against a common enemy to prevent the destruction of all of them. This sets the stage for an XNUMXth hour reversal, in which the three Dokuga generals finally line up against NeoNeros with the team of Gotriniton.

Over the course of the series it is revealed that Beamler's energy comes from a meteorite fragment found at the impact site of Tunguska. It was sent to Earth by a supernatural power and was activated when humans reached the technological capability for space exploration, in order to test whether humans are worthy of engaging with civilizations from other planets. Beamler's development is closely connected with Kenta, who eventually becomes the embodied form of energy and the representative of the collective soul of the earth, including not only living beings, but also robots and sentient machines. NeoNeros turns out to be a negative and evil form of the same energy. After defeating him, Kenta takes GoShogun into space.

Characters

Captain Sabarath (Shingo ): Captain of Good Thunder and senior adviser of the GoShogun team; colleague of the late Professor Sanada. Depicted as bald, with dark glasses and cigar smoke; pragmatic and generally emotionless. It is probably named after Telly Savalas, who it resembles in appearance. Renamed Dr. James Shegall (vb Ike Medlick) in Macron 1.

Shingo Hojo : young squad leader and gunfighter piloting the King Arrow jet, which docks in GoShogun's chest. He is in charge of GoShogun during the battle, activating the voice of his launch, the docking of the three jets and various attacks. Stoic, serious and a little stiff, but brave and balanced under pressure. Prior to the events of the series, he lost his girlfriend in a Dokuga terrorist attack. Renamed Jason Templar (vb Cam Clarke) in Macron 1.

Remy Shimada : Female pilot of the Queen Rose jet, which docks on the inside of GoShogun's left leg. He is in charge of the smaller TriThree robot, activating the voice of its assembly, movement and attacks. Smart, brave and beautiful, but unlucky with the opposite sex. Former secret agent in France. Expert in the art; hopeless in the kitchen. Renamed Kathy Jamison (vb Lisa Michelson, then wife of Gregory Snegoff) in Macron 1.

Killy Gagley : Third jet pilot, Jack Knight, docking on the inside of GoShogun's right leg. A former New York gangster, nicknamed the 'Bronx Wolf', he's tough, smart, and something of a prankster. He has a knack for throwing knives, an eye for the ladies and is writing an autobiography. Renamed Scott Cutter (vb Kerrigan Mahan) in Macron 1.

Kenta Sanada : The son of Professor Sanada, the scientist who discovered Beamler and built Good Thunder and GoShogun. Ten years at the beginning of the series, very imaginative, but initially a slacker and troublemaker. Over time he develops a paranormal ability to communicate with machines and robots, as well as with the spirits of earth's ecosystems, and eventually becomes the living embodiment of Beamler's energy. Renamed Nathan Bridger (vb Barbara Goodson) in Macron 1.

Father : Good Thunder supercomputer and artificial intelligence, programmed from the mind of Professor Sanada. Sometimes, he ignores Sabarath's commands to follow the Professor's instructions and ensure the Beamler's energy passes from one stage of development to another. Renamed Hugo (vb Steve Kramer) in Macron 1.

OVA : tutor and keeper of Kenta's robot, who becomes more like a mother to him. Renamed ND-2 (vb Ted Layman) to Macron 1.
TriThree: Small robot formed by the assembly of the three jets, piloted by Kathy, renamed MacStar-1 in Macron 1.

Gotriniton : The robot of the same name in the series, renamed MacStar in Macron 1. His weapons include a giant ax, an energy sword and a photon bazooka. Gotriniton he can fire laser-like beams from his eyes and other parts of his body. Its most powerful weapon, called the GoFlasher, consists of five energy missiles fired from the robot's upper back, giving its head a semi-divine aura. Initially, GoFlasher has a purely destructive power, but as Beamler develops, this power becomes animator, giving sentience to enemy robots, who then choose to self-destruct rather than keep fighting.

NeoNeros : The evil leader, renamed Dark Star (vb Ike Medlick) in Macron 1. A menacing figure on a dark throne is always shown in the shadows and his true form is not revealed until the finale.

Leonardo Medici Bundle : one of the three chief officers of NeoNeros, specializing in intelligence, espionage and intrigue. He looks like a dandy prince with long blond hair, usually holding a rose or a glass of red wine; judges everything by beauty or not, and battles with classical music played on the speakers. Over time, she develops a romantic interest in Remy. His name and surname are based on Leonardo da Vinci and Lorenzo de Medici. In The Time Étranger, he is portrayed as a modern day samurai, preferring the katana to other weapons. Renamed Prince Eharn (vbGregory Snegoff) in Macron 1.

Suegni Cuttnal : second henchman of NeoNeros, responsible for military strategy. Represented as an older looking one-eyed pirate, usually with his pet raven sitting on his shoulder. He runs a business that sells his own brand of tranquilizers ("Cuttnalizers"), which he consumes frequently, by hand. Its other legitimate businesses include Disney-like amusement parks. The Time Étranger places greater emphasis on his role as a pharmaceutical scientist and later as a general surgeon. Renamed Captain Blade (vb Mike Reynolds) in Macron 1.

Yatta-la Kernagul: a synthetic human with blue-green skin and NeoNeros' third henchman, responsible for combat operations. Rough, brutal and with severe anger management issues. One of its driving ambitions, however, is to open a fried chicken restaurant chain called "Kernagul's Fried Chicken" and a burger chain called "KerDonald's". He is shown to have realized this dream in The Time Étranger. Renamed Lord Jeraldan (vb Robert V. Barron) in Macron 1.

Dr. Jitter (vb Mikio Terashima): Scientist working for Dokuga, responsible for the invention of the destroyers intended to destroy GoShogun, as well as other weapons and technological tricks. He often complains of insufficient funding. Renamed Dr. Fritz (vb Gregory Snegoff) in Macron 1.

Mother : the supercomputer of Dokuga, Father's counterpart.
Keruna : Kernagul's stress reliever robot, which functions primarily as his personal punching bag during outbursts. Typically a source of comic relief, Keruna also plays a pivotal role towards the end of the show. Renamed Clarence (vb Ted Layman) in Macron 1.

Technical data

Author Takeshi Suto
Regia Kunihiko Yuyama
Subject Takeshi Shudo
Film script Takeshi Shudo, Juji Watanabe, Kunihiko Yuyama, Sukehiro Tomita
Char. design Satoshi Hirayama, Hajime Kamegaki, Hideyuki Motohashi
Artistic Dir Shigeki Katsumata
Music Tachio Akano
Studio Ashi production
Network TV Tokyo
1st TV July 3 - December 28, 1981
Episodes 26 (complete)
Duration ep. 22 mins
It network. Channel 5
1st Italian TV. 1982