Loading AI tools
1981 anime series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beast King GoLion (百獣王ゴライオン, Hyaku Jūō Goraion, The King of Hundred Beasts GoLion) is a Japanese super mecha anime television series. The animation from GoLion was edited and trimmed to create the version of the American series Voltron: Defender of the Universe, with new names and dialogue. In 2008, GoLion was released on Region 1 DVD in three volumes. To coincide with the anime's original run, a manga adaptation by Yoshiki Tsuchiyama was serialized in TV Land (テレビランド, Terebi Rando).[citation needed]
Beast King GoLion | |
百獣王ゴライオン (Hyaku Jūō Goraion) | |
---|---|
Genre | Mecha, post-apocalyptic |
Created by | Saburō Yatsude |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Katsuhiko Taguchi |
Produced by | Itaru Orita |
Written by | Susumu Takaku |
Music by | Masahisa Takeichi |
Studio | Toei Animation |
Licensed by | |
Original network | Tokyo Channel 12 |
Original run | March 4, 1981 – February 24, 1982 |
Episodes | 52 |
Manga | |
Written by | Yoshiki Tsuchiyama |
Published by | Tokuma Shoten |
Magazine | TV Land |
Demographic | Children |
Original run | April 1981 – February 1982 |
GoLion's story is set in 1999, when the planet Altea is subdued and enslaved by the Galra Empire. Meanwhile, five space pilots (Akira Kogane, Takashi Shirogane, Isamu Kurogane, Tsuyoshi Seidou and Hiroshi Suzuichi) return to Earth from their latest space exploration, only to find the planet annihilated by war, World War III. Suddenly, the explorers are ambushed, captured and enslaved by the visiting Galra Empire, and then, they are forced to fight for their lives in Emperor Daibazaal's arena.
The young pilots escape and eventually land on the planet Altea, where they discover the secret of the mighty sentient robot GoLion, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Emperor Daibazaal's forces. Thousands of years ago, GoLion was an arrogant robot who, after defeating several Beastmen, tried to challenge the goddess of the universe into battle, but failed. For GoLion's hubris, the goddess taught him humility by separating him into five pieces in the form of five lion robots that sailed through space and crash-landed on Altea, to lay in wait for those who would one day reawaken him to fight evil once again.[1][2][3] The Princess of Altea, Fala, recruits the five of them so they can become the new pilots of GoLion and help her start fighting back against the Empire.
The Galra Empire (ガルラ大帝国, Garura dai Teikoku) are a race of merciless individuals who even oppress their own people. They capture other planets and enslave their population, forcing them to serve its evil ruler, Emperor Daibazaal. Daibazaal's son, Prince Sincline, conquered other worlds and beheaded their leaders as trophies. The Galra Empire invades planets with the aid of Galran Beast Fighters.
Golion was separated into five separate lion robots by a space goddess who wished to teach Golion humility until he could be reassembled. Golion later gains a soul after being reawakened by the five pilots who use Golion to protect the universe from Emperor Daibazaal's forces. Golion is 60 meters (200 ft) tall, and weighs 772 tons. Individually, the lions weigh 154.4 tons.
Each Lion has a Lion Blade (a boomerang held in the lion's mouth), dorsal missiles, and shoulder-mounted lasers. When united, Golion's main weapon is Ten Kings Sword (十王剣, Jūōken), which is usually used to deliver the final blow to his opponents. Later in the series, it is used to perform the techniques Lightning Drop (稲妻落とし, Inazuma Otoshi) and Meteor Five Step Slash (流星五段斬り, Ryūsei Godan Giri). The name is a pun: Jūō written with the kanji 獣王 means Beast King. In Media Blasters' release of GoLion, it is translated as "King's Sword Jyuoken" (when summoning the weapon, otherwise it is simply "Jyuoken").
Galran Deathblack Beastmen (デスブラック獣人, Desuburakku Jūjin) were previously Beast Fighters, serving as the apex of Galran technology and dark magic, and are sent by Honerva against Golion. Anyone captured and enslaved by the Galran Empire are immediately herded into the arena on Planet Galra where they are forced to fight to the death against the larger, powerful, and deadlier Beastmen who can easily kill them before an enthusiastic crowd. Then the slaves are butchered and made into slave stew, a favorite gruesome dish for the Beastmen to eat and also fed to surviving slaves as a form of forced cannibalism to turn them to be as savage as the Beastmen. Anyone who survives fighting the Deathblack Beastmen are subjected to Honerva's dark magic that changes them into Beastmen to fight Golion.
Galran Mechablack Beastmen (メカブラック獣人, Mekaburakku Jūjin) are the successors of the Deathblack Beastmen and first appear in episode 31; most of their names are taken after letters of the Greek Alphabet. Unlike deathblacks, mechablacks are constructed at planet Galra's occult science plant instead of the coliseum and use beastmen as their brain component.
Notably, Emperor Daibazaal unwillingly becomes part of a mechablack beastman in the series' final episodes.
GoLion footage was heavily edited and re-assembled by World Events Productions in the U.S. to create Voltron. Changes made to the series included rewritten dialogue, omitted character deaths, toned-down violence, and altered plot developments. In addition, Toei Animation Ltd. created and animated a brand new plot arc specifically for the U.S. Voltron series. Toei sold all of its rights to GoLion to World Events Productions, as GoLion had achieved only average ratings in Japan, in comparison to the popularity of Voltron in the U.S., and the series has yet to receive a DVD release in Japan.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Escape from Slave Castle" (Japanese: 奴隷城からの脱出) | Directed by : Hiroyuki Kamii Storyboarded by : Katsuhiko Taguchi Johei Matsura | Susumu Takaku | March 4, 1981 |
2 | "The Ruined Phantom Planet" (Japanese: 死滅した幻の星) | Directed by : Shohei Ishida Storyboarded by : Masamune Ochiai | Susumu Takaku | March 11, 1981 |
3 | "A Ghost and the Five Keys" (Japanese: 亡霊と五つの鍵) | Directed by : Hideo Watanabe Storyboarded by : Kazuyuki Okasako | Susumu Takaku | March 18, 1981 |
4 | "Resurrection of the Legendary Giant" (Japanese: 伝説巨人の復活) | Directed by : Katsuhito Akiyama Storyboarded by : Toshihiko Nishikubo | Susumu Takaku | March 25, 1981 |
5 | "Fortress for the New Struggle" (Japanese: 新しき戦いの砦) | Directed by : Hideo Watanabe Storyboarded by : Katsuhiko Taguchi | Hirohisa Soda | April 1, 1981 |
6 | "Death of Shirogane the Hero" (Japanese: 勇者銀しろがねの死) | Directed by : Makoto Nagao Storyboarded by : Masamune Ochiai | Susumu Takaku | April 8, 1981 |
7 | "The Beautiful Princess' Battle" (Japanese: 美しき姫の戦い) | Hiroyuki Kamii | Akira Nakahara | April 15, 1981 |
8 | "Stolen Blue Lion" (Japanese: 盗まれた青獅子) | Directed by : Katsuhito Akiyama Storyboarded by : Kazuyuki Okasako | Masaki Sakurai | April 22, 1981 |
9 | "Girl of the Land of Evil" (Japanese: 悪魔の国の少女) | Directed by : Hideo Watanabe Storyboarded by : Kenzo Koizumi | Susumu Takaku | April 29, 1981 |
10 | "Secret of the White Lion" (Japanese: 白ライオンの秘密) | Directed by : Hiroyuki Kamii Storyboarded by : Masamune Ochiai | Masaki Sakurai | May 6, 1981 |
11 | "The Red Rain of Hell" (Japanese: 地獄の赤い雨) | Directed by : Hideo Watanabe Storyboarded by : Hideyoshi Oga | Masaki Sakurai | May 13, 1981 |
12 | "Evildoing of the Emperor" (Japanese: 大帝王の悪業) | Directed by : Hideyoshi Oga Storyboarded by : Hiroyuki Kamii | Akira Nakahara | May 20, 1981 |
13 | "Introducing Beautiful Honerva" (Japanese: 美女ホネルバ出現) | Directed by : Katsuhito Akiyama Storyboarded by : Kazuyuki Okasako | Susumu Takaku | May 27, 1981 |
14 | "The Crown Prince of Hell" (Japanese: 地獄の皇太子) | Directed by : Kazushi Nomura Storyboarded by : Hiroshi Sasagawa | Susumu Takaku | June 3, 1981 |
15 | "Overcome the Phantom of Shirogane" (Japanese: しろがねの幻を乗越えろ) | Directed by : Hiroyuki Kamii Storyboarded by : Tadashi Ai | Akiyoshi Sakai | June 10, 1981 |
16 | "The Legendary Bridge of Love" (Japanese: 伝説の愛の橋) | Directed by : Kazushi Nomura Storyboarded by : Hiromichi Matano | Masaki Sakurai | June 17, 1981 |
17 | "Challenge from Space" (Japanese: 宇宙の挑戦状) | Directed by : Kazushi Nomura Storyboarded by : Satoshi Suyama | Satoshi Suyama | June 24, 1981 |
18 | "Footsteps in the Forest of Fear" (Japanese: 恐怖の森の足音) | Kazuya Miyazaki | Masaki Sakurai | July 1, 1981 |
19 | "The Mystery of Ghost Castle" (Japanese: 謎の幽霊城) | Directed by : Tatsuya Kasahara Storyboarded by : Tadashi Ai | Masaki Sakurai | July 8, 1981 |
20 | "Goodbye, Earth" (Japanese: さようなら地球) | Directed by : Kazushi Nomura Storyboarded by : Hiroshi Sasagawa | Masaki Sakurai | July 15, 1981 |
21 | "Altea's Sister Planet" (Japanese: アルテアの姉弟きょうだい星) | Katsuhito Akiyama | Satoshi Suyama | July 22, 1981 |
22 | "Phantom Space Flowers" (Japanese: 幻の宇宙花) | Directed by : Kazushi Nomura Storyboarded by : Hiroshi Sasagawa | Satoshi Suyama | July 29, 1981 |
23 | "Friday the 13th" (Japanese: 十三日の金曜日) | Hiroyuki Kamii | Masaki Sakurai | August 5, 1981 |
24 | "Look for the Little Shadows" (Japanese: 小さな影を探せ) | Kazushi Nomura | Masaki Sakurai | August 12, 1981 |
25 | "Destroy the Giant Cannon!" (Japanese: 巨大砲を破壊せよ) | Directed by : Kazuya Miyazaki Storyboarded by : Hideyoshi Oga | Akiyoshi Sakai | August 19, 1981 |
26 | "Defeat the Invisible Enemy" (Japanese: 見えない敵を倒せ) | Hiromichi Matano | Hiroshi Toda | August 26, 1981 |
27 | "Giant Beastman's Lullaby" (Japanese: 巨大獣人の子守歌) | Directed by : Tatsuya Kasahara Storyboarded by : Tadashi Ai | Kumiko Hayashi Masaki Tsuji | September 2, 1981 |
28 | "The Demon's Birthday" (Japanese: 悪魔の誕生日) | Directed by : Keiji Namisato Storyboarded by : Hideyoshi Oga | Satoshi Suyama | September 9, 1981 |
29 | "Comes a Fiery Sky" (Japanese: 火の空が迫る) | Kazuya Miyazaki | Hiroshi Toda | September 16, 1981 |
30 | "The Prince Imperial's Dark Love" (Japanese: 皇太子の黒い恋) | Directed by : Keiji Namisato Storyboarded by : Katsuhiko Taguchi | Akira Nakahara | September 23, 1981 |
31 | "The Dreaded Mecha Beastman" (Japanese: 恐怖のメカ獣人) | Directed by : Johei Matsura Storyboarded by : Katsuhiko Taguchi | Masaki Sakurai | September 30, 1981 |
32 | "Behold! The 100-ton Punch" (Japanese: 見よ百トンパンチ) | Directed by : Tatsuya Kasahara Storyboarded by : Katsuhiko Taguchi | Satoshi Suyama | October 7, 1981 |
33 | "Terror of the Space Frogs" (Japanese: 宇宙ガエルの恐怖) | Directed by : Kazuya Miyazaki Storyboarded by : Katsuhiko Taguchi | Hiroshi Toda | October 14, 1981 |
34 | "Underground Operation" (Japanese: 地下潜行作戦) | Directed by : Keiji Namisato Storyboarded by : Katsuhiko Taguchi | Susumu Takaku | October 21, 1981 |
35 | "Protect the Soccer Field" (Japanese: サッカー場を守れ) | Hiromichi Matano | Masaki Sakurai | October 28, 1981 |
36 | "Mortal Combat of Light and Shadow" (Japanese: 光と影の死闘) | Directed by : Norihisa Kosaka Storyboarded by : Hideyoshi Oga | Masaki Tsuji | November 4, 1981 |
37 | "Space Speed Demon" (Japanese: 宇宙のスピード狂) | Directed by : Keiji Namisato Storyboarded by : Kazuo Nakamura | Hiroshi Toda | November 11, 1981 |
38 | "GoLion Hunting" (Japanese: ゴライオン狩り) | Kazuya Miyazaki | Kosuke Yoshida | November 18, 1981 |
39 | "The Hypergravity Planetoid Trap" (Japanese: 超重力星のわな) | Directed by : Tatsuya Kasahara Storyboarded by : Kazuo Nakamura | Satoshi Suyama | November 25, 1981 |
40 | "No Tomorrow for Altea" (Japanese: 明日なきアルテア) | Directed by : Norihisa Kosaka Storyboarded by : Hideyoshi Oga | Satoshi Suyama | December 2, 1981 |
41 | "Brave Shirogane's Brother" (Japanese: 勇者銀しろがねの弟) | Directed by : Keiji Namisato Storyboarded by : Katsuhiko Taguchi | Kosuke Yoshida | December 9, 1981 |
42 | "The Sand Planet of Death" (Japanese: 死を呼ぶ砂惑星) | Directed by : Shunichi Ishida Storyboarded by : Hideyoshi Oga | Kinuyo Nozaki | December 16, 1981 |
43 | "Angry Youth Suicide Corp" (Japanese: 怒りの少年決死隊) | Directed by : Keiji Namisato Storyboarded by : Hiromichi Matano | Hiroshi Toda | December 23, 1981 |
44 | "The Planet Jarre Oath" (Japanese: ジャール星の誓い) | Tatsuya Kasahara | Sumiko Watanabe | December 30, 1981 |
45 | "The Great Army of Darkness" (Japanese: 暗黒の大軍団) | Directed by : Hideyoshi Oga Storyboarded by : Kazuya Miyazaki | Kosuke Yoshida | January 6, 1982 |
46 | "Fight Back, Space Mice" (Japanese: 宇宙鼡ガンバレ) | Keiji Namisato | Akira Nakahara | January 13, 1982 |
47 | "The Seven Free Planets" (Japanese: 七つの自由な星) | Directed by : Kazuya Miyazaki Storyboarded by : Hideyoshi Oga | Norio Kozuka Keiji Kubota | January 20, 1982 |
48 | "Reunion with the Phantom" (Japanese: 幻との再会) | Hiromichi Matano | Masaki Sakurai | January 27, 1982 |
49 | "The Last of Hys" (Japanese: ヒスの最後) | Kazuya Miyazaki | Keiji Kubota | February 3, 1982 |
50 | "The Great Storming of Galra" (Japanese: ガルラへ大進撃) | Directed by : Tatsuya Kasahara Storyboarded by : Katsuhito Akiyama | Hisashi Yamazaki[a] | February 10, 1982 |
51 | "GoLion's Desperate Battle" (Japanese: ゴライオン大苦戦) | Directed by : Johei Matsura Storyboarded by : Hideyoshi Oga | Jiro Yoshino[b] | February 17, 1982 |
52 | "Burn Galra Castle" (Japanese: 燃えろガルラ城) | Directed by : Keiji Namisato Storyboarded by : Katsuhiko Taguchi | Jiro Yoshino | February 24, 1982 |
Media Blasters released GoLion on DVD in the U.S. in 3 volumes:
GoLion episodes have at times been made available for viewing on World Events Productions' YouTube channel.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.