#Dragonar

[spacebattleshippotemkin]

Metal Armor Dragonar.

Another show I did not watch, but I love the Mech Designs. Racing stripes are so cool!

[zokoira]

Dragonar 1,2,3

[scope-dogg]

Source

[aoko999]

[punk-63]

[arcadebroke]

[nyupuun]

LEVEL 5 SYNCHRO

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 3.2: Condition Green (1986-1990)

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Last time, we covered the first half of the 80's with a bit too much of a focus on the works of one Ryousuke Takahashi. If you remember from the last post, I also covered one series in particular: Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I'm bringing it up here so that it'll be fresh in your head: Galactic Heroes would be one of many Original Video Animation (OVA) series that would be released in this time.

It should also be noted that, unlike last time, there would be a new medium for mecha stories to flourish in: video games! While video games existed at least since the late 70's, it would be in the 80's where they would become mainstream.

Anyways, let's get down to business. Now, before I throw each and every one of you into the bay!!

The Five Star Stories (1986)

Created by Mamoru Nagano, the Five Star Stories would be his first major solo project after leaving Sunrise due to the higher-ups constantly blue-balling him. Covering at least five books and a couple of OVAs, the Five Star Stories is one of the true classics of the canon of mecha.

Now if you want to get an inkling of what he did before the Five Star Stories? I'll cover that next time.

Metal Armor Dragonar (1987)

Coming off the heels of Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, Sunrise was eager to fill in the void that Gundam left in its wake. And that's where Metal Armor Dragonar comes in. While I felt weird referring to Layzner as being Gundam-like, here I don't. Dragonnar was made first and foremost to fill in for Gundam, especially after the lackluster performance of ZZ.

Robocop (1987)

Also in 1987, we would see the release of Paul Verhoven's Robocop. Robocop is a part of that generation of 80's films where the original movie's deep scathing criticism would be watered down by corporate America's need to constantly make money off of each and every remotely popular series. And while that may be true, the original Robocop still holds up as a scathing criticism of American capitalism in the 80's.

Rockman/Megaman (1987)

(I just found this gif on Tenor. If anyone knows who to source it to, please let me know.)

1987 would also see the release of Capcom's Megaman, one of the icons of the halcyon days of gaming. Sporting his arm-mounted Mega Buster, Mega Man would run through multiple stages in an attempt to stop Doctor Wily and his army of Robot Masters. Megaman would become one of the more iconic of Capcom's roster of characters, though over time he'd be left behind in favor of other characters like Ryu from Street Fighter, Dante from Devil May Cry, and my personal favorite, Rathalos from Monster Hunter. Fortunately, the Blue Bomber would never truly be forgotten, especially with the surprise release of Mega Man 11 in 2018.

Warhammer 40,000 (1987)

Man, 1987 was a packed year for mecha, wasn't it.

In 1987, Games Workshop would release the first edition ruleset for Warhammer 40,000, the sci-fi spinoff to their popular Warhammer Fantasy setting. The grim dark future of the 41st millennium is filled to the brim with all sorts of mechanical monstrosities, from the hulking Imperial titans, to the crimson-robed tech priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the mechanical hordes of the Necron.

A fun thing to also note is that, due to both series having a big modelmaking scene, Warhammer 40k tends to see an overlap in fanbases with Mobile Suit Gundam. It certainly helps when both peddle in plastic crack, and as someone who is addicted to the Gundam variety, game respects game.

Patlabor (1988)

Created in 1988 by the collective known as Headgear (which includes famed director Mamoru Oshii among its ranks), I would consider Patlabor to be one of the greatest love letters to mecha ever created. Patlabor is a series where a lot of worldbuilding was added to justify the existence of the giant robots that the creators love so dearly. Something to take note of while watching Patlabor is the general optimism the series brings to the table, even though the series is often grouped together with shows like Armored Trooper VOTOMs.

Most of the series would release between the the end of the decade, but one entry in this franchise would release during a rather rough moment in Japanese history. I'll cover it at some point when I get around to the 90's. Let's just say that if you know what the phrase "Kill Wyvern" is, you'll probably recognize what it'll be.

Also, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I did a write about Patlabor back in the day. So feel free to check that out as well if you have the time.

Cyberpunk 2020 (1988)

(Footage from Cyberpunk 2077)

In 1988, Mike Pondsmith would release the first edition of the Cyberpunk 2020 ruleset, because this is the 80's and tabletop RPGs are kind of the thing (Satanic Panic notwithstanding). In a move that will surprise no one, this series would help to codify a lot of tropes associated with the cyberpunk genre, including at the very least the concept of cyber psychosis.

In 2012, former Internet darling company CD Projekt Red would announce that they would be working on a video game adaptation of Cyberpunk called Cyberpunk 2077. Let's just leave it at that, as I don't really have nice things to say about CD Projekt Red.

Dragon's Heaven (1988)

From mechanical designer Makoto Kobayashi comes 1988's Dragon's Heaven. This extremely stylish and artistically unique OVA is a product of what happens when you give someone who's career started with building garage kits the budget to make an OVA. You want to know where the budget went to? It went into making the models for the main mecha of the OVA. Don't take my word for it? Here's Kenny Lauderdale talking about exactly that.

And in case anyone's wondering, Makoto Kobayashi has, in fact, worked on Gundam before. He's the one who designed Zeta Gundam's Baund-Doc and The O.

Ghost in the Shell (1988)

Also releasing in 1988 is the manga Ghost in the Shell. Created by Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell would become an important series in the worlds of cyberpunk and anime, especially with the film that would release in 1995 directed by Mamoru Oshii. Specifically, this movie along with Akira would be some of the first anime that would really show that people outside of Japan had an interest in anime. Ghost in the Shell would also come to be one of the more influential works out there, as it would be the basis for the Wachowski's iconic movie The Matrix.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989)

1989 would be greeted with the introduction of two (of many) culturally important mecha OVAs. The first is Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, which is also the first Gundam series to be directed by someone not named Yoshiyuki Tomino. War in the Pocket would be a great reminder of why Gundam works as a story, but it would also be one of the Gundam stories with, in my humble opinion, the strongest anti-war messages of the franchise.

Gunbuster (1989)

The other would be Studio Gainax's first official (meaning not the Daicon short) animated series, Gunbuster. Arguably one of the most hot-blooded mecha series out there, Gunbuster is a series that tries to ground itself with real world physics before going "eh," throwing it all in the waste paper basket, and deciding that all we need is HOT BLOOD. This would be the first of many of Gainax's hits, and it would be the first of what I'm going to be referring to from here on out as Gainax's Elite Four.

Conclusion

We've covered a lot of series, but you might be asking yourself things like: "What was going on with Nagano?"

Don't worry, my friends. We still have one more part for the 80's. And in case you're wondering why I saved this part for last, it's because Tomino's output in the 80's is pretty legendary due to how iconic pretty much every series is. Granted, not everyone talks about these series in this day and age, but anyone who's talked about mecha in any capacity will more than likely be able to recognize at least one of these series.

You will see the tears of time.

[laboitediabolique]

Cover of "SD Club", Issue 3, Bandai, December 1988

[rin-yellow]

was gonna put this up a bit ago but I guess it goes up now. Sorry if it's a bit sloppier than my last two annual posts but I didn't feel like finishing it so here it is.

year of the dragon woohoo. I guess I still exist somewhat.

[redsamuraiii]

Metal Armor Dragonar (1987) Blu Ray Version Opening

One of the most underrated mecha anime that I love.

[yugiohcardsdaily]

T.G. Over Dragonar

"1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Synchro Summoned: You can Special Summon any number of 'T.G.' monsters from your GY in Defense Position, also you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except 'T.G.' monsters. You can only use this effect of 'T.G. Over Dragonar' once per turn. If this card on the field is destroyed: Draw 1 card."

[reapthegirlwind]

Now that I've watched through Dragonar myself just for Min and caused a category 5 five blorbo event in the process, I can make my own post of screencaps I made (and an official character sheet thing) over the course of it, including some of her sick dual-chainsaw metal armor.

[frogshunnedshadows]

Accidentally stumbled across this photo set of the Dragonar Kai models, published in a 1987(?) special issue of B-Club magazine. Not sure if this includes any new images or info, but I thought I'd post it just in case. Click for the super big version.

[august-singularity]

The Dragonar Pencil Case

A favorite of mine when it comes to old anime merch is stationary. I swear to god every anime in the 80s had a pencil case to go along with it.

Recently I stumbled upon this amazingly 80s pencil case on Ebay:

So, I’ve never actually seen Dragonar but my boyfriend recognized the mech immediately. I thought this was just the cutest thing ever, it’s a pencil case that’s shaped like a cassette player!

It has a little mechanism that lets you set the date!

It even has drawers!

Then came the creme de la creme: the inside

The inside of the case has the name of the original owner written inside. Kate, whoever she was, clearly loved this damn Dragonar pencil case because it’s a bit beat. I mean, she put her full name on the inside so other people would know it was hers!

At this point my boyfriend came to the conclusion that it may be a customized pencil case. He said that maybe Kate got the stickers somewhere and put them on the pencil case, maybe she was one of the OG American anime fans in the 80s.

I mean, there’s no way that this case was packaged with a Dragonar sticker along with girly little stickers with bows on them, right? I’m not so sure. I feel like it would’ve been very difficult to get your hands on this size of sticker at the time, and it just doesn’t seem right to me.

Dragonar isn’t super popular, especially amongst westerners. Although, maybe it’s similar to Orguss where it was popular at the time and fell into semi-obscurity in the years following.

I did some more digging and found THIS pencil case on Ebay as well:

Not quite the same style, but damn close. Yes, that’s the Garland from Megazone 23 with ROBOT in all caps next to it.

and yes, that’s the Orguss on the back. Also with the oh-so-coveted ROBOT text.

At this point I was CONVINCED that these two pencil cases were connected somehow, and luckily this listing included a picture of the side of the box.

FLOMO, finally I have a name to work with.

I urgently google FLOMO and learn that not only are they a legitimate company, but they’re actually still around! Honestly, it seems like FLOMO made just about every western-released mecha anime pencil case and I was just oblivious up till now because none of the listings included the names of the series. To be fair, how would they know? It’s not like it’s included. Hell, the Dragonar listing’s description calls it a “Gundam pencil case.”

Then, I struck gold.

A nearly identical pencil case listed on picclick. This one has the Zeta and a... Dragonar grunt mech? I haven’t watched Dragonar so apologies to all the millions of Dragonar fans that are surely reading this if I’m incorrect.

Yet again, made by FLOMO.

In conclusion, this was a really fun rabbithole to jump down. I’m definitely going to be posting some pictures of some of these weird pencil boxes so if anyone else is a fan of these sorta bizarre manifestations of American companies bringing over little-known Japanese IPs, I hope you enjoy!

[japanese-movie-god-at-yahoo]