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| Planetary Robot Danguard Ace | |
 Title card | |
| 惑星ロボ・ダンガードA (Wakusei Robo Dangādo A (Ēsu)) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Mecha |
| Created by |
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| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Tomoharu Katsumata |
| Written by | Mitsuru Majima Sōji Yoshikawa Tatsuo Tamura Haruya Yamazaki |
| Music by | Shunsuke Kikuchi |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Original network | FNS (Fuji TV) |
| Original run | March 6, 1977 – March 26, 1978 |
| Episodes | 56[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Leiji Matsumoto |
| Published by | Akita Shoten |
| Magazine | Boken Oh |
| Original run | 1977 –1978 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Anime film | |
| Danguard Ace vs. Insect Robot Troop | |
| Directed by | Masayuki Akehi |
| Produced by | Imada Chaiki |
| Written by | Tatsuo Tamura |
| Music by | Shunsuke Kikuchi |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Released | July 17, 1977 |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| Anime film | |
| Danguard Ace: The Great Space War | |
| Directed by | Masayuki Akehi |
| Produced by | Imada Chaiki |
| Written by | Tatsuo Tamura |
| Music by | Shunsuke Kikuchi |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Released | March 18, 1978 |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
Planetary Robot Danguard Ace (惑星ロボ ダンガードA,Wakusei Robo Dangādo Ēsu) is a Japanesescience fictionanime series created byLeiji Matsumoto with Dan Kobayashi.
Danguard Ace was Matsumoto's only contribution to themecha genre.
Danguard Ace takes place on a future Earth in whichnatural resources have been depleted. People have begun looking toward other planets to survive, in particular to thetenth planet, Promete. Although people had hoped to peacefully settle there, disaster strikes as the first explorers are destroyed by betrayal.[2]
After this event, an individual named Mr. Doppler announces that all attempts to reach Promete surrender to his command, those who do not will be destroyed. Using his own resources, Doppler constructs a vastmilitary force greater than that of Earth's. He forbids anyone from approaching the planet, under the insane belief that only he is entitled to it.
To gain control of Promete, the governments ofEarth begin constructing massive combat robots. Doppler is able to attack and destroy all of them before they are completed, except for Danguard Ace. The forces sent to attack Danguard's base were destroyed because of the efforts of Captain Dan. Nothing is known of this mysterious man, except that he previously served Doppler while undermind control.
Takuma Ichimonji, son of the man who betrayed the initial Promete exploration team, becomes acadet at Danguard's base. Ichimonji hopes that he might restore his father's honor by fighting against Doppler's forces.
Some of the main character designs were similar to characters appearing inSpace Battleship Yamato, which was known in the U.S. market asStar Blazers. The Takuma Ichimonji character resembles the Space Battleship Yamato character Susumu Kodai. The doctor on the show resembles Dr. Sakezo Sado fromSpace Battleship Yamato.
The series was released in English three times, first by M&M Productions under the title"The Planet Robot Danguard Ace" that saw limited release inHawaii and thePhilippines. The only remaining recording of this dub was a Story Record LP released in Japan.[3][4][5] It was then licensed and redubbed by Jim Terry Productions, as part of theForce Five promotion and was rereleased later by combined episodes into a feature-length presentation. This film edit gained acult following onShowtime during the 1980s.
The titularrobot also had a leading role inMarvel Comics'Shogun Warriors series, as well as in theeponymous toy line.
In 2009,William Winckler Productions produced three all-new English dubbed film versions edited from the original series. Winckler, known forTekkaman the Space Knight, wrote, produced anddirected these films, which have been seen on broadband inJapan and a three volume DVD release in theUnited States.
In the early 1980s, aFrench-dubbed version was released through Jacques Canestrier Productions entitledDanguard - La Conquete des Planetes, but only the first volume of three episodes were released onVHS.[6] It was released inHong Kong andItaly in 1978 and was the first anime ever broadcast on a private channel in Italy.[7] It also saw a 1986 release in bothSouth Korea andTaiwan.
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