| Armored Trooper VOTOMS | |
 Cover for the third DVD Box Set, with an illustration of the ATM-09-ST Scopedog done byKunio Okawara. | |
| 装甲騎兵ボトムズ (Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by |
|
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Ryōsuke Takahashi |
| Music by | Hiroki Inui |
| Studio | Nippon Sunrise |
| Licensed by |
|
| Original network | MegaTON (TV Tokyo) |
| Original run | April 1, 1983 – March 23, 1984 |
| Episodes | 52(List of episodes) |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Minoru Nonaka |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Magazine | Comic BonBon |
| Original run | May 1983 –April 1984 |
| Volumes | 4 |
| Original video animation | |
| The Last Red Shoulder | |
| Directed by | Ryōsuke Takahashi |
| Written by | Sōji Yoshikawa |
| Music by | Hiroki Inui |
| Studio | Nippon Sunrise |
| Licensed by |
|
| Released | August 21, 1985 |
| Runtime | 50 minutes |
| Original video animation | |
| The Big Battle | |
| Directed by | Ryōsuke Takahashi |
| Written by | Masanori Hama |
| Music by | Hiroki Inui |
| Studio | Nippon Sunrise |
| Licensed by |
|
| Released | July 5, 1986 |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| Original video animation | |
| Red Shoulder Document: Origin of Ambition | |
| Directed by | Ryōsuke Takahashi |
| Written by | Sōji Yoshikawa |
| Music by | Hiroki Inui |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by |
|
| Released | March 19, 1988 |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| Original video animation | |
| Armor Hunter Mellowlink | |
| Directed by | Takeyuki Kanda |
| Written by |
|
| Music by | Hiroki Inui |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Released | November 21, 1988 – April 28, 1989 |
| Runtime | 25 minutes (each) |
| Episodes | 12(List of episodes) |
| Original video animation | |
| Brilliantly Shining Heresy | |
| Directed by | Ryōsuke Takahashi |
| Written by | Sōji Yoshikawa |
| Music by | Hiroki Inui |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by |
|
| Released | March 21, 1994 – December 21, 1994 |
| Runtime | 25 minutes (each) |
| Episodes | 5 |
| Original video animation | |
| Phantom Arc | |
| Directed by | Ryōsuke Takahashi |
| Written by | Fuyunori Gobu |
| Music by | Yasuaki Maejima |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by |
|
| Released | March 26, 2010 – October 27, 2010 |
| Runtime | 25 minutes (each) |
| Episodes | 6 |
| Original video animation | |
| Case; Irvine | |
| Directed by | Shishō Igarashi |
| Written by | Takuya Satō |
| Music by | Yoshihiro Ike |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by |
|
| Released | November 6, 2010 |
| Runtime | 50 minutes |
| Original video animation | |
| Votoms Finder | |
| Directed by | Shigeta Atsushi |
| Written by | Masafumi Nishida |
| Music by | Kōtarō Nakagawa |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by |
|
| Released | December 4, 2010 |
| Runtime | 50 minutes |
| Original video animation | |
| Alone Again | |
| Directed by | Ryōsuke Takahashi |
| Written by | Masashi Ikeda |
| Music by | Tetsuro Oda |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by |
|
| Released | January 8, 2011 |
| Runtime | 50 minutes |
| Anime | |
| Die Graue Hexe | |
| Directed by | Mamoru Oshii |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Released | 2026 – scheduled |
| Original video animation | |
| |
| Games | |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Armored Trooper VOTOMS (Japanese:装甲騎兵ボトムズ,Hepburn:Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu) is a Japanesemilitary science fictionmechaanime series produced byNippon Sunrise, created and directed byRyosuke Takahashi and featuring mecha designs byKunio Okawara. Following directly in the footsteps of Takahashi's previous series,Fang of the Sun Dougram,VOTOMS continued the trend towardshard science in themecha anime subgenre.
The series was supplemented by numerousoriginal video animation releases and also inspired several spin-off works whose media ranges from serializedlight novels tovideo games. The TV anime was originally licensed by the now-defunctCentral Park Media, which released the series on DVD and VHS. Currently, it is licensed byMaiden Japan, a unit of Section23 Films,[3] which has also released all OVAs other thanArmor Hunter Mellowlink.
In the Astragius Galaxy, the Gilgamesh and Balarant nations had until recently been locked in a century-old galactic war whose cause was long ago forgotten. Now, the war is ending and an uneasy truce has settled. The main weapon of the conflict is the commonArmored Trooper, a mass-produced humanoid combat vehicle piloted by a single soldier. Both the Armored Troopers and their pilots are also known as VOTOMS (Vertical One-man Tank for Offense & Maneuvers). However, since Armored Troopers have extremely thin armor, and use a highly combustible liquid in theirartificial muscle, their pilots have a very low chance of survival and are commonly referred to instead as "Bottoms", the lowest of the low ("Votoms" and "Bottoms" are written and pronounced the same way in Japanese).
The series follows a main character named Chirico Cuvie, a special forces Armored Trooper pilot and former member of the Red Shoulder Battalion, an elite force used by the Gilgamesh Confederation in its war against the Balarant Union. Chirico is suddenly transferred to a unit engaged in a suspicious mission, unaware that he is aiding in the theft of secrets from what appears to be his side. Chirico is betrayed and left behind to die, but he survives, is arrested by the Gilgamesh military as a traitor, and is tortured for information on their homeworld. He escapes, triggering a pursuit extending across the entire series, with Chirico hunted by the army and criminals alike as he seeks the truth behind the operation. He is especially driven to discover the truth of one of the objects he was assigned to retrieve in that operation: a mysterious and beautiful woman who would become his sole clue to unraveling the galactic conspiracy.
Ryōsuke Takahashi conceived of VOTOMS after watching the filmJunior Bonner, in which the main character travels across towns performing rodeo shows, which gave Takahashi the idea of creating a story in a post-war setting, with mechs fighting each other for sport.[4] Although several authors have noted similarities between Chirico andSteve McQueen,[5][6] who played the main character inJunior Bonner, Takahashi stated that Chirico was not modeled after anyone in particular.[4]
A 1983 52-episode anime television series.
Armored Trooper Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder (装甲騎兵ボトムズ ザ・ラストレッドショルダー,Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Za Rasuto Reddo Shorudā) is a 50-minute OVA released on August 21, 1985.[7] The storyline takes place after the Woodoo storyline in the TV series.[5] It details Chirico meeting with his old comrades in his old military unit, and their plan to get revenge on General Pailsen.
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Big Battle (装甲騎兵ボトムズ ビッグバトル,Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Biggu Batoru), released asThe Big Battle by Maiden Japan, is a 1986 60-minute OVA. Takes place near the end of the series. The storyline features Chirico and his comrades participating in a mecha gladiatorial match.
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Red Shoulder Document - Origin of Ambition (装甲騎兵ボトムズ レッドショルダードキュメント 野望のルーツ,Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Reddo Shorudā Dokyumento Yabō no Rūtsu), released as justOrigin of Ambition by Maiden Japan, is a 60-minute OVA released in 1988.[8] The storyline serves as a prequel to the main series and especiallyThe Last Red Shoulder. It details Chirico's time in the Red Shoulder elite military unit and his encounters with General Pailsen.
Armor Hunter Merowlink (機甲猟兵メロウリンク,Kikō Ryōhei Merourinku) is a twelve episodeanimescience fiction action OVA series spinoff ofArmored Trooper Votoms. It premiered on November 21, 1988.[9] It takes place in the same universe (and time, and in some episodes, almost the same places) asVotoms, but the two stories are entirely independent of each other.
Merowlink is the story of a soldier whose unit is sacrificed on the battlefield for reasons unknown. Although he was not meant to survive, the main character, Merowlink Ality, manages to survive only to be framed for a crime he did not commit. Merowlink escapes his captors and begins hunting down his former commanding officers, both to avenge his dead platoon members and to find out the nature of the conspiracy that led to their deaths.
While the official English title of the series isLeechers Army Merowlink according to the text seen on multiple video and music software releases, it is commonly referred to asArmor Hunter Mellowlink in English. This translation dates from the now-defunct English-language anime magazineAnimag[10] and has been repeated in various fan sources over the years. However, the Mellowlink spelling is contradicted by text appearing in the animation itself. The meaning of "Leechers Army" is explained by how the armor hunters depicted in the series are soldiers who have lost their Armored Trooper combat vehicles and must depend on traps and tricks in order to survive, even going so far as to boobytrap the corpses of their own comrades. For this reason, they're considered "leeches of the battlefield", sucking on the blood of soldiers. "Armor Hunter" reflects a more faithful translation of the JapaneseKikō Ryōhei (機甲猟兵).
The series is available for download on Bandai Visual's official website and the Japanese DVD box set was released on December 6, 2006. The series was previously issued twice onlaserdisc, once as six individual volumes, and once as a three-disc box set along with the two soundtracks. It was released on Blu-ray as part of thePerfect Soldier Box on February 25, 2021.
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Brilliantly Shining Heresy (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 赫奕たる異端,Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Kakuyakutaruitan) is a 5-episode OVA series released in 1994.[11] It is a sequel to the original TV series.
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Pailsen Files (装甲騎兵ボトムズ ペールゼン・ファイルズ,Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Pēruzen Fairuzu) is a 12-episode OVA series that was released from October 26, 2007, to August 22, 2008.[12] It was also released as a feature film on January 17, 2009.[13] It is a prequel to the main series and a sequel toOrigin of Ambition.
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Phantom Arc (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 幻影篇,Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Gen'ei-hen), released asGenei ~ Phantom Arc by Maiden Japan, is a six-part OVA series that was released from March 26, 2010, to October 27, 2010. It is a sequel to the original TV series andShining Heresy.
Armored Trooper VOTOMS Case;Irvine (装甲騎兵ボトムズ Case;IRVINE), an OVA that follows the story of Irvine Lester, a repairer of the tank-like robotic Armored Trooper (AT) mecha in theVOTOMS story world.
Votoms Finder (ボトムズファインダー), an "alternate universe" OVA that centers around Aki Tesuno, a Bottoms guard for scrap salvagers and a pilot of a robotic mecha called an At or Altro (as opposed to VOTOMS' trademark Armored Trooper mecha).
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Alone Again (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 孤影再び,Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Koei Futatabi), released asChirico's Return by Maiden Japan, is a 2011 50-minute OVA that serves as a sequel toBrilliantly Shining Heresy and a prequel toPhantom Arc.
In January 2026,Bandai Namco Filmworks announced a new anime project titledArmored Trooper VOTOMS: Die Graue Hexe (装甲騎兵ボトムズ灰色の魔女,Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Hai-Iro no Majo) (The Grey Witch). The director was announced to beMamoru Oshii. It is set premiere in 2026 in commemoration of Sunrise's 50th anniversary and will be produced by Sunrise with production assistance by Production I.G, and will be part of a series of projects commemorating the studio's 50th anniversary to be released between 2026 and 2028.[14][15]
VOTOMS has appeared in numerous video games since the series' original airing.
For a limited time, theArmored Trooper Votoms - Uoodo and Kummen game included a Red Shoulder Custom model. Chirico also figures in theSunrise Eiyuutan (Sunrise Heroes) game for the PlayStation 2.
VOTOMS was a direct inspiration for theHeavy Gearrole-playing game.[5]VOTOMS also has its own official role-playing game,Armored Trooper VOTOMS: The Roleplaying Game (1997), developed byR. Talsorian Games and using theFuzion system.[16]: 296
