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Spaced Out Japanimation (4pc)
Spaced Out Japanimation (4pc)
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List Price: $29.99
Our Price: $5.54
You Save: $24.45 (82%)

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Product Details

  • Starring: Akira Kamiya; Keaton Yamada; Rihoko Yoshida; Marcelle Lajeunesse; Giorgio Locuratolo
  • Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
  • Binding: VHS Tape
  • Director: Tomoharu Katsumata; Masamune Ochiai; Masayuki Akemi
  • EAN: 9780739600122
  • Format: Animated, Box set, Color, EP, NTSC
  • ISBN: 0739600125
  • Label: Parade Video
  • Manufacturer: Parade Video
  • Number of Items: 4
  • Product Group: Video
  • Publisher: Parade Video
  • Release Date: 1999-11-16
  • Studio: Parade Video
  • Theatrical Release Date: 1975-03-28
  • Title: Spaced Out Japanimation (4pc)
  • UPC: 071083551031
Avg Customer Rating: 4 stars

Product Description: For the 1980 syndicated program Force Five, producer Jim Terry bought the rights to five series from Toie Animation that originally ran from 44 to 90 episodes and recut each one into a 26-chapter adventure. A different series ran each day of the week, allowing viewers to follow the different continuities as they chose. This collection offers two episodes apiece from four of the series, Spaceketeers, Starvengers, Grandizer, and Gaiking; for some reason Dangard Ace is omitted. The stories have been edited and reworked to the point where it's impossible to judge their original quality. In their present form, the storytelling is leaden, with hammy vocal performances and repetitious dialogue. The very simple character designs exhibit a stronger American Saturday-morning influence than later anime. In her miniskirted pink space suit, Princess Aurora, the heroine of Leiji Matsumoto's Starzinger, looks like a cross between Maetel of Galaxy Express and a Barbie doll. Many of the robots, including the Minotauresque Grandizer, mark the beginning of the flowering of mecha design. Although Starvengers was the most popular of the series, some viewers may object to the Colonel Fuerer character, who looks like a caricature of Adolph Hitler with longhorn steer's horns. Those curious to know more about the history of anime (and particularly Gekigangar III, which is spoofed in the popular series Martian Successor Nadesico) will find these tapes a useful reference; nostalgic Gen-Xers may remember Force Five fondly. Although the program was not a huge success, it helped to create an audience in the United States for the giant-robot series that would cross the Pacific in the next few years: Voltron in 1984, followed closely by others. But the stilted animation, cornball dialogue, and giant-robot characters became a cliché that still causes many Americans to pooh-pooh anime, just as the uninspired series cranked out by Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, Ruby-Spears, and DIC during the '70s and '80s led them to dismiss animation as mindless children's entertainment. The set contains these episodes: 1. "Aurora Accepts the Challenge" and "The Invincible Warrior" from Spaceketeers; 2. "Who'll Fly the Poseidon" and "Dragon Formation... Switch On" from Starvengers; 3. "Robot Back to Action" and "Beware the Red Moon" from Grandizer; 4. "Aries Joins the Team" and "Right Down the Middle" from Gaiking. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up; cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon


Customer Reviews


2 stars Not Bad, but VHS Tracking is Terrible
I bought this box set because I had seen these episodes when I was very young and really like them at the time. Turns out that they voice acting on these videos is absolutly terrible. The inflection and traslations are very juvenile, much more so than I remembered. But then again, I was quite young last time I watched it.

The biggest problem that I ran into was the tracking. I have two VCRs with auto tracking and tried them on both and at least twice per episode the tracking would get so bad that the screen would go blank before the tracking could catch back up and the quality was pretty poor through out all of the episodes.

All in all, not bad, but I'm sending it back since since it wasn't what I was expecting between the quality of the video and the voice acting.


5 stars PLEASE FIND JIM TERRY AND HAVE HIM RELEASE THIS ON DVD!!!!!!!!!!!
This (along with STARBLAZERS and TRANSFORMERS) was HANDS DOWN my favorite cartoon series when I was a kid in the 80's... I think that this was only shown locally in the Northeast... This is where it's at for CLASSIC anime... it's hilariously quirky, has great plotlines, and an AWESOME funky soundtrack.

PLEASE RELEASE FORCE FIVE ON DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


5 stars Grendizer
I haven't seen this box set, but I have been fortunate enough to see the complete show of Grendizer. So, I'm not commenting on this box set, but I'm providing information only on the UFO Robot Grendizer, which was created by Go Nagai the creator of Mazinger.

Grendizer appeared for the first time in Arab World at the 80's as a complete two-season Arabic dubbed show. It gained a huge popularity among the Arab children in the 80s, especially because dubbed cartoons are very rare at that time. Grendizer popularity in Arab World even very much exceeded Mazinger's; especially in Saudi Arabia where Mazinger has never been shown on TV.

The show is still being aired occasionally on both Space Toon and ART Teens (free-to-air Arabic satellite channels) which can be received in Middle East, parts of Africa, Europe, and Asia on the Egyptian TV satellite (Nile Sat). Also VHS tapes for the complete show (19 tapes)are being sold in Saudi Arabia.


5 stars Best of 70's Old School
While Robotech, Starblazers, Speed Racer and Kimba are all great old school anime, many have forgotten that the 70's was the sprouting decade for mecha anime. Now, the best of anime from the 70's is now chroincallized in this four tape set. Originally airing as a week block of animation called Force Five, these tapes are mega old school.

Spaceketeers.
Directed by the famous Leiji Matsumoto (Starblazers, Galaxy Express 999) and then just forgotten by all because it seems this wasn't the high point of Leiji's career. However, it is actually pretty good. There is no mecha in this saga however. It is more like Ronin Warriors in space. It starts out with the princess of an empire who is to free an evil android that will save her planet from the evil animal-aliens. The only problem was that this series is too short. Just when I was really getting into the story, they cut it off after only two episodes. I need more!

Starvengers.
Directed by Go Nagai, this series was known as Getter Robo G in Japan and was a sequel to Getter Robo. Fans of Getter Robo Armageddon will want to check out this tape to see where it all began. The story begins right after the third pilot of the old starvenger (or getter robo) is killed and unvails the new unit. The first two episodes introduce the enemy and the new team member quite well. Plus, the artwork is really great. However, some of the dubbing is a little stereotypical, but I'm surprised they would keep in the word kendo. How about that?

Grandizer.
Also directed by Go Nagai and also another sequel. This was the second sequel of Mazinger Z which has become very popular with many mecha fans and I can see why. It takes place in a western setting where a science institute has built special UFOs. However, new aliens have come to Earth to destroy it. And who better to fight them than an alien himself. Grandizer was really exciting! Two explosive battles on this tape.

Gaiking.
The last tape on the set is pretty much what you should expect from a mecha series. It's like Voltron fell into Dancougar. When a rookie baseball player fractures his throwing arm, he is called to a secret labratory as a possible candidate for piloting the Gaiking. Not all that exciting, but it's a fair series.

There were a lot of anime series that came out in the 70's and I can't count how many. But it was cool to see that America wasn't afraid to stick their hand in and grab a few. And with the exceptions of a few edits and hardmatted credits, these tapes are pretty much uncut! Plus, I gotta give Jim Terry props for including the creators names in the credits (most series before the 90's never did that). So go out and get some of the most classic anime of the 70's. Highly recommended!


5 stars BEST ANIME BOX SET EVER!!!
Well, something close to it, at least. It really is worth your money. First, you get two episodes each of Gaiking and Grandizer. The storylines, dubbing, and editing are stinky, sure, but that only added to my viewing enjoyment. They're giant robots, for Christ's sake. They can't be cool AND intelligent. As for the two episodes of Starvengers, they're okay, but only really watchable thanks to the bad fake British accents of the voice actors.

But the star of the set is Spaceketeers. In case you didn't know, Spaceketeers is a series done by Leiji Matsumoto of Harlock, Galaxy Egg, and Star Blazers fame. On this tape, the acting is decent, the animation is excellent, the storyline is almost fresh, and the characters are awesome.

Spaceketeers alone is worth the .... Add in the presence of some Shogun freakin' Warriors and you've got no reason left to avoid purchasing this box set.