Voltes V: Overshadowed By Combattler V Before Getting Vindicated By History (Spoilers Ahead)

Above is a video by Filipino actor known by his screen name Michael V. Michael presents the history of Telesuccess Productions (a dubbing company in the Philippines that did the oh-so-cheesy English dubs back then). I remembered GMA-7 aired Combattler V by giving English first names and Japanese last names (which ironically made the real first names the dub surnames). Before that, Voltes V was aired by giving very American-English names to the cast of characters. I guess it was that hard to remember and pronounce Japanese names so the dub names were given. Personally, I don't hold a fondness for the dub names these days after seeing the Japanese original. 

Voltes V got aired during the Empire of Marcos. I originally had a theory that Voltes V stopped airing straightly after episode 28 when Emperor Zanbazil was revealed. I wonder how true it was that Zanbazil was renamed Ferdinand and General Bergan (Ozlack) was renamed General Fabian? If that were true, I guess we can never find the dubbed footage for that. It was somehow doomed to be in the shadow of Combattler V. Combattler V ran for 40 straight episodes while Voltes V ended up rather rushed with just 40 episodes. I wonder if Power Rangers tend to justify its shorter run based on some shows by Toei that are rather rushed? Dengekitai JAKQ ran for only 35 episodes due to its lack of popularity compared to Himitsu Sentai Goranger. Chojinki Metalder was only up to 39 episodes presumably due to how it was too serious even against Hikari Sentai Maskman and Kamen Rider BLACK. 

Combattler V was mostly a fun season in contrast to Voltes V. True, Combattler V didn't shy away from its high body count such as the early death of Professor Nambara, and some guest characters dying too young (even a child died so soon). However, there weren't many political undertones to build up with the story. I guess children were allowed to see the body count of characters here and there. Then we have Voltes V which I think took things to a whole new level...

Voltes V's more mature tones over Combattler V 

Voltes V didn't shy away from things that would later be "upgraded" in Golion. Golion would take place in 1981 - five years after Combatter V first aired. I wonder if Golion was meant to be an anniversary or tribute. Yeah, I really hate the Voltron franchise now. Voltes V would simply start to take things more seriously with higher body counts. The death of Mitsuyo Gou, Professor Hamaguchi, General Oka, and some guest characters can be very brutal. I could remember Mitsuyo bleeding while trying to save her sons. Later, General Oka died in an explosion meaning that there was no body left behind to bury. Other characters like General Dange would die after a short role. The scenes of slaves mistreated, arena battles, and the like may have heavily influenced Golion to go a bit more forward. 

I think the show was significantly more violent than Combattler V but a little less than Golion. The show didn't shy away from more blood or brutal executions. All these brutal executions and blood were weaved into political undertones. Even the earlier episode presented the one-shot antagonist Duke Zaki who reveals a bit of Prince Heinel's troubled past. Prince Heinel's father, Prince Lagour (Dr. Kentaro Gou) was someone who was supposedly a more rightful heir than Zanbazil, the bastard son of the previous emperor. Heinel himself had a shameful birth story - something that plagues him for the rest of his life. Heinel is pretty much mentally unstable especially when he has no idea that sending him to Earth was simply because he was a threat. Apparently, Heinel did help Zanbazil conquer other planets before and was probably winning the approval of the empire. So sending Heinel to Earth was probably Zanbazil's best safety net.

The politics would be another hard-to-deal-with plot. The Boazanians were more political than the Campbellites. The people at Campbell didn't reveal many politics. The closest it got was that Empress Janera was just a usurper and that it was her fault Campbell became brutal. The revelation Janera usurped Deus pretty much last-minute. Voltes V did reveal a lot in episode 28 such as Zanbazil's rise ot power. Zanbazil may have not shown up for most of the series and only started to show up in episode 18 then barely showed up after that. However, Zanbazil has more character development than Janera who came before him. Zanbazil's politics keeps the show going such as his intended plan to conquer the Universe. Zanbazil's ongoing rivalry and hatred for Prince Lagour also filled more drama whenever it was brought up. We never had that kind of politics in Combattler V huh? 

Years later, it seems Voltes V would eventually beat the 52-episode Golion

It's easy to see the whole Voltes V vs. Voltron art like the one above. I wonder if they saw Golion. If they did, I guess it'd be something that Voltes V may have used not just to bash Lion Voltron but also the source material Golion. I guess Golion was intended to celebrate Voltes V's 5th anniversary in 1982. However, it didn't do as well as planned. The show did have blatant similarities such as the team formation, a mentor comparable to the previous Super Robot mentors in Raible, maybe one can look at Hys as an expy of Okane from Daimos, and one could think that some members of Galra are obviously based on previous villains. Heck, one can easily think of Zanbazil and Daibazaal was pretty much rather identical as well!

With better graphics, Golion decided to beef up what Voltes V started with the violence. There are the brutal arena scenes beefed up with better graphics. The introduction of Emperor Daibazaal as the ruthless conqueror of the Universe since the first episode came. Daibazaal's quest is conquest of the Universe. Unlike Voltes V, we get to see the planets enslaved by Galra such as Planet Jarre. Though, the Galran nobility tends to do evil for the sake of evil. One good example is how the Galrans even fed executed prisoners to the Jarre slaves just for their own sick amusement. Later, Daibazaal even wants to see the mistreated slaves executed by the numbers. 

However, I think Zanbazil had more development than Daibazaal could dream of having. Earlier on, Daibazaal is simply introduced as the Galactic Conqueror akin to Zanbazil. Daibazaal wants to conquer the Universe as much as Zanbbazil. True, we get to see Daibazaal travel to certain planets thanks to technology that allows space travel to be much faster than what the Boazanians could've. We never saw Zanbazil enter one captured planet or celebrate his birthday on another planet. Zanbazil though had some good backstories such as his ascension to power and deepening hatred for Lagour. Golion never told us how Daibazaal ascended into power and only revealed that he was the illegitimate son of the previous emperor (and Honerva) in the finale. I still feel Honerva's revelation as the previous emperor's mistress (and how Daibazaal never knew she was his mother all along is something) was ripped off straight from Voltes V.  Zanbazil himself didn't need advice from a cackling old hag either. Zanbazil and Daibazaal are both Hate Sinks one way or another as NOTHING is redeemable about both Big Bads. Both also love to blame others for failures they caused themselves. 

I think Prince Heinel himself has been a little more stable than Prince Sincline. Both of them are princes of shameful births. Heinel's father was a noble-turned-slave after Zanbazil's wicked coup. It's revealed midseason that Sincline's mother was an Altean woman. I assume that Daibazaal probably married Sincline's mother explaining the flashback. Apparently, a diplomatic marriage was done between Galra and Altea only for Daibazaal to breach it. The plot was later used in the non-canon Voltron/Robotech crossover comics. Apparently, Sincline was too young to understand or his mind was altered in the process. Like Heinel, Sincline isn't only a stubborn foe rivaling The Leader of the super robot team but also lied to many times by their respective emperors. Sincline's half-Altean status is no less shameful than Heinel being born by a person marked as a traitor. Both have the tendency to go mad whenever a revelation doesn't fit with their narrative. 

Some episodes do fail to give a rationale. Many times, the Galran royalty's behavior has been For the Evulz. In the case of Prince Heinel - he never saw Zanbazil as an evil character until the finale arc. Apparently, Heinel was brainwashed into believing that Zanbazil was a force of good. The Galran royalty seems to oppress the working class just because they want to be as evil as possible. I think the use of blood in the series can become more laughable than disturbing. Are the Galran nobilities drinking wine from blood just so they could be evil? Did that disturbing scene during Daibazaal's 500th birthday (or maybe only 50 by Galran years) meant to show the empire's dream to be the most evil empire ever? I think a lot of episodes simply focus on Galra wanting to be as evil as it could rather than giving them development. What's the rationale for wanting to make human stew out of the Golion pilots or why are the Deathback Beastmen chowing down on slave stew? I bet Zanbazil would criticize Daibazaal in any non-crossover the two would be in. Zanbazil probably had more rationale in his evil acts rather than doing things out of a temper tantrum or to amuse himself. 

The finale did rip some things off from Voltes V but in a different order. Castle Gradam becoming a spaceship is taken straight from Camp Big Falcon. Sincline was deposed off in the finale arc like Heinel was. Daibazaal and Zanbazil were later overthrown by Sincline and Heinel. In Golion's case, I guess Sincline's popularity made him the final villain instead of Daibazaal. Both Sincline and Heinel were also seen chastising their fellow nobles who tried to surrender to the heroes. Eventually, the final confrontation between Castle Galra and Golion was an intensified version of Voltes V's battle with the Boazan headquarters on Earth. The last-minute revelation that Honerva was Daibazaal's mother all along would show that Daibazaal was the ILLEGITIMATE CHILD of the previous emperor and a mistress. However, it was a last-minute revelation unlike Heinel's status as the eldest son of Lagour (since we discover that Lagour and Kentarou are one and the same later on). Sincline probably only became the final villain because of his popularity with the audience.

I feel Voltes V's finale had more development than what Golion could bring. The writers failed to explain why Daibazaal never knew Honerva was his mother all along. There was no backstory of Daibazaal's ascension either. I feel Honerva being his mother all along would only make sense IF a previous episode showed that Daibazaal's father had an affair after having a retarded son. That plot could've been taken from Voltes V where the previous emperor had a mentally defective son before an adulterous affair led to Zanbazil's birth. Another thing worth mentioning is that Daibazaal's death in battle was too good for him. I feel Daibazaal's battle got anti-climatic with how short it was compared to the fight of Voltes V vs. the Godor robot. I felt Zanbazil's death at the hands of Heinel was more poetic than being converted into a Beast Fighter. I did feel Sincline's growing cruelty and loss of honor was probably just so he could be just as For the Evulz as the others. I also felt Castle Gradam joined in the final battle too the last minute, unlike the Solar Falcon. I do also think that there should've been Galran citizens joining the final rebellion to squash the nobility. 

I guess Golion's not-being-so-popular may have revived interest in Voltes V from six years back. Voltes V may have only had 40 episodes but the plot has been more solid. Golion seemed to rely too much on being more advanced than Voltes V in some areas. Sure, space travel speed in Golion has been improved while Voltes V had to rely on warp drive. However, Golion was probably too focused on For the Evulz than developing the Galra. One show knew how to do violence as part of the plot. Meanwhile, it seemed Golion was too focused on shock value that the story writing didn't come out as intended. 

After Golion, we had Dairugger XV just a year after which may have caused Voltes V to be vindicated yet again

If Golion was actually the fifth anniversary of Combattler V - Dairugger XV seems to be the fifth anniversary of Voltes V. Strangely, 15 is a number divisible by five. The year is 2200 A.D. where the Galaxy Garrison was established on Earth. Footage from Dairugger XV were placed in Lion Voltron. Golion never had a Galaxy Garrison as the series took place in 1999 A.D. where the Earth was destroyed in a thermonuclear war. In short, both series' events can't be reconciled and the Fleet of Doom movie's footage was made by Toei for American use only. Think about how Toei also gave Saban extra footage for Mighty Morphin'. 

The series though took what I'd call a strange direction. There was a total of 15 characters which might make it hard to follow. Now think about it Toei had three five-man team combiners in Combattler V, Voltes V, and Golion. Dairugger XV was a huge cramming decision. With the setting in 2200 A.D. - it's a very distant time when I wouldn't exist anymore! I wonder if it was originally planned to have Dairugger XV as a sequel of sorts to Voltes V since the series aired five years after the latter. Though, it could've been cool if the series had the Galaxy Garrison on Earth, Emperor Lagour leading a reformed Boazania, and Dairugger XV as a replacement for the Voltes V robot. However, it can confuse viewers who never saw Voltes V. 

I think Voltes V also has its vindication not only because of Golion but also Dairugger XV. I feel the Galveston Empire is that hard to follow. Emperor Corsair was practically like Emperor Zanbazil - a not-so-seen Big Bad. However, Corsair was never given as much development as Zanbazil ever had. Nothing is explored as to how Corsair came to the throne. All we know is that Corsair's policies and slowly led to Galveston's deterioration hence they seek to take over other worlds. I think Teles was pretty cool. I wish Sirk was Teles' sister though like the American Vehicle Voltron. Teles going from an antagonist to a hero was a fun watch. Corsair's death was also pretty well-deserved. 

I think the way the Galvestons were given more layers than the Boazanians. Sure, we saw Boazanians who opposed Zanbazil's tyrannical regime. Here, Teles and other good Galvestons end up rebelling against Corsair's unjust policies. I think the finale though served as a weakness. We did have the final battle. After that, we had an episode devoted to VACATING the Galvestonians to their new home. I simply found the finale not well-written. It would make sense if citizens were vacated before the final battle. I wonder why such a finale was written to begin with. I find the finale to be somewhat similar to what Kamen Rider Kuuga did later several years later. I guess epilogue-type finales are sometimes used IF they feel the standard finales can't give much content.  

Sure, it can be fun to watch Dairugger XV. However, Voltes V still manages to do more with the characters in 40 episodes. I think Dairugger XV bit more than it could chew with its huge cast. I guess more people ended up thinking Voltes V had better characterization. For me, rewatching Voltes V has been easier than rewatching Dairugger XV. Sure, I tend to flip-flop between Voltes V and Golion. However, I'd say that Voltes V has been miles better than Dairugger XV when it came to implementation.