Jump to content

Special Armored Battalion Dorvack

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Tokusō Kihei Dorvack)
Special Armored Battalion Dorvack
Promotional artwork
特装機兵ドルバック
(Tokusō Kihei Dorubakku)
GenreMecha, military science fiction
Anime television series
Directed byMasami Anno (series director)
Jutaro Oba (chief director)
Written byShigemitsu Taguchi
StudioAshi Productions
Licensed by
Original networkFNS (Fuji TV)
Original run October 7, 1983 July 6, 1984
Episodes36 (List of episodes)
icon Anime and manga portal

Special Armored Battalion Dorvack (Japanese: 特装機兵ドルバック, Hepburn: Tokusō Kihei Dorubakku) is a 36 episode anime series aired from 1983 to 1984 in Japan and also aired in Hong Kong at roughly the same time. The show is also known as Special Armored Trooper Dorvack and Powered Armor Dorvack.[1][2]

Story

[edit]

The year is 1999. The Idelians, whose colony-ship has been wandering in space for tens of thousands of years, are nearing exhaustion. Their sole hope is to settle on the nearest habitable planet, Earth. Soon after their arrival in orbit, they launch an invasion, landing a large attack force in the Alps.

The Earth Defense Forces valiantly fight in their powered armor against the enemy, but with little success. Only one unit is able to inflict significant damage, the Special Armored Battalion Dorvack. Under the command of Colonel Takagi, Masato Mugen, Pierre Bonaparte and Louie Oberon fight to defeat the invaders. They are equipped with special variable mecha that are able to convert from rugged all-terrain vehicles to humanoid forms.

Concept

[edit]

The show was essentially a showcase for the toyline released by Takatoku. The mecha designs were created by Katsumi Itabashi and Nobuyoshi Habara, while the models were made by the model company Gunze Sangyo. The plot was kept simple, but filled with high levels of animation and action.

Staff

[edit]
  • Planning, Production: Ashi Productions, Yomiuri
  • Director: Masami Anno
  • Story editor: Shigemitsu Taguchi
  • Original creator: Takeshi Shudo
  • Character Design: Osamu Kamijo
  • Mecha design: Katsumi Itabashi, Nobuyoshi Habara

Music

[edit]
  • Opening Theme: "Chikyuu Ni I Love You" by WELCOME
  • Ending Theme: "Kimi Ni Okuru Lullaby" by WELCOME

Voice cast

[edit]
Name Japanese Name Voiced by
Masato Mugen 無限真人 Tōru Furuya
Louie Oberon ルイ・オベロン Hiromi Tsuru
Pierre Bonaparte ピエール・ボナパルト Sukekiyo Kameyama
Stanley Hilton スタンレー・ヒルトン Hirotaka Suzuoki
Col. Yōichi Takagi 高木洋一 Kiyoshi Kobayashi
Bob Floyd ボブ・フロイド Yutaka Shimaka
Jackie Frank ジャッキー・フランク Asami Mukaidono
Peter ピーター Masako Katsuki
Henry ヘンリー Yūsaku Yara
Idel イデル Show Hayami
Amov アモフ Osamu Saka
Aroma アロマ Keiko Toda
Zelar ゼラー Eiji Kanie

Merchandise

[edit]

The series featured some solid mechanical designs, but the slow-moving storyline failed to move fans. The line of 1/24, 1/72 and 1/100 scale toys and models sat on Japanese toy store shelves. Toymaker Takatoku Toys, already suffering from the poor performances of the merchandise lines from the previous Super Dimension Century Orguss and Galactic Whirlwind Sasuraiger series, went under as a result.

American toy company Hasbro acquired the molds for two of the deluxe toys, the Mugen Calibur and the Ovelon Gazzette. They were re-released in North America as part of the Transformers line as "Deluxe Autobots", under the names "Roadbuster" and "Whirl", respectively.[3] While both Roadbuster and Whirl featured heavily in British-written stories for Marvel UK's Transformers comics (even though, ironically, their toys were never released in the UK) neither character appeared in the American animated series or in U.S. Marvel stories. Due to their fame in the English stories, Dreamwave Productions made use of them in their Transformers comics, produced some 16–17 years later. They also had prominent roles in Transformers (IDW Publishing). Bonaparte Tulcas would later appear in a cameo role in the 'Fun Publication' run, getting the name "Headcannon".

The American firm Select also repackaged two color variations each of the smaller Variable Machine Collection toys under the name "Convertors". Mugen Calibur became "Wheels", Oberon Gazzette became "Chopper", and Bonaparte Tulcas became "Tanker".

Episodes

[edit]
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1 (Japanese: 1999年戦いの序曲)Directed by : Jutaro Oba
Storyboarded by : Rei Hidaka
Shigemitsu TaguchiOctober 7, 1983 (1983-10-07)
2 (Japanese: 総攻撃・スタンバイ!)Directed by : Hiroyuki Yokoyama
Storyboarded by : Hiroshi Yoshida
Shigemitsu TaguchiOctober 14, 1983 (1983-10-14)
3 (Japanese: 鳥が死んだ日)Directed by : Kazuhiko Ikegami
Storyboarded by : Masayuki Ozeki
Shigemitsu TaguchiOctober 21, 1983 (1983-10-21)
4 (Japanese: 霧に消えたルイ)Directed by : Jutaro Oba
Storyboarded by : Mitsuo Kusakabe
Shigemitsu TaguchiOctober 28, 1983 (1983-10-28)
5 (Japanese: 理由なき失脚)Directed by : Hiroyuki Yokoyama
Storyboarded by : Kozo Takagaki
Shigemitsu TaguchiNovember 4, 1983 (1983-11-04)
6 (Japanese: 密林の戦士ミランダ)Hiroshi YoshidaKenji TeradaNovember 11, 1983 (1983-11-11)
7 (Japanese: 走れ!ジャッキー)Mitsuo KusakabeKazumi KoideNovember 18, 1983 (1983-11-18)
8 (Japanese: 潜入!イデリア基地)Directed by : Kazuhiko Ikegami
Storyboarded by : Saki Noda
Saki NodaDecember 2, 1983 (1983-12-02)
9 (Japanese: 地下道のメロディー)Directed by : Jutaro Oba
Storyboarded by : Mitsuo Kusakabe
Shigemitsu TaguchiDecember 9, 1983 (1983-12-09)
10 (Japanese: ボブの向けた銃口)Directed by : Hiroyuki Yokoyama
Storyboarded by : Mitsuo Kusakabe
Kenji TeradaDecember 16, 1983 (1983-12-16)
11 (Japanese: 悪魔の赤い花)Directed by : Hiroshi Yoshida
Storyboarded by : Mitsuo Kusakabe
Kazumi KoideDecember 23, 1983 (1983-12-23)
12 (Japanese: 烈火のイースター島)Directed by : Kazuhiko Ikegami
Storyboarded by : Masayuki Ozeki
Shigemitsu TaguchiJanuary 13, 1984 (1984-01-13)
13 (Japanese: 地獄におちたチャンプ)Hiroyuki YokoyamaKenji TeradaJanuary 20, 1984 (1984-01-20)
14 (Japanese: 響け!野性の叫び)Hiroshi YoshidaShigemitsu TaguchiJanuary 27, 1984 (1984-01-27)
15 (Japanese: 戦火に散った恋)Mitsuo KusakabeKenji TeradaFebruary 3, 1984 (1984-02-03)
16 (Japanese: 秘められた警告)Directed by : Kazuhiko Ikegami
Storyboarded by : Masayuki Ozeki
Shigemitsu TaguchiFebruary 10, 1984 (1984-02-10)
17 (Japanese: レーニア神殿の謎)Directed by : Hiroyuki Yokoyama
Storyboarded by : Mitsuo Kusakabe
Kenji TeradaFebruary 17, 1984 (1984-02-17)
18 (Japanese: あばかれたイデリアの秘密)Hiroshi YoshidaShigemitsu TaguchiFebruary 24, 1984 (1984-02-24)
19 (Japanese: 脱出!アルプスの拠点)Directed by : Kazuhiko Ikegami
Storyboarded by : Rei Hidaka
Kenji TeradaMarch 2, 1984 (1984-03-02)
20 (Japanese: 緊急指令!北海の要塞をつぶせ)Mitsuo KusakabeShigemitsu TaguchiMarch 9, 1984 (1984-03-09)
21 (Japanese: さらば友よ!戦士が死ぬ瞬間)Hiroshi YoshidaKenji TeradaMarch 16, 1984 (1984-03-16)
22 (Japanese: モアイの光放つ時)Osamu KamijoShigemitsu TaguchiMarch 23, 1984 (1984-03-23)
23 (Japanese: 1999年地球最後の日)Directed by : Hiroyuki Yokoyama
Storyboarded by : Mitsuo Kusakabe
Shigemitsu TaguchiApril 6, 1984 (1984-04-06)
24 (Japanese: 暗黒への序章)Hiroshi YoshidaShigemitsu TaguchiApril 13, 1984 (1984-04-13)
25 (Japanese: 恐怖!新たなる敵)Directed by : Kazuhiko Ikegami
Storyboarded by : Mitsuo Kusakabe
Shigemitsu TaguchiApril 20, 1984 (1984-04-20)
26 (Japanese: ひとりぼっちのアロマ)Hiroshi YoshidaKenji TeradaApril 27, 1984 (1984-04-27)
27 (Japanese: 墓標に隠された過去)Mamoru HamatsuSatoshi NamikiMay 4, 1984 (1984-05-04)
28 (Japanese: はるかなる想い)Directed by : Hiroyuki Yokoyama
Storyboarded by : Mitsuo Kusakabe
Yoshihisa ArakiMay 11, 1984 (1984-05-11)
29 (Japanese: 愛と憎しみの谷)Hiroshi YoshidaKeiji KubotaMay 18, 1984 (1984-05-18)
30 (Japanese: 肖像画のジャンヌ)Directed by : Jutaro Oba
Storyboarded by : Rei Hidaka
Kenji TeradaMay 25, 1984 (1984-05-25)
31 (Japanese: 恐怖!閃光に浮かぶ影)Kazuhiko IkegamiShigemitsu TaguchiJune 1, 1984 (1984-06-01)
32 (Japanese: 絶叫の淵からの脱出)Hiroshi YoshidaSatoshi NamikiJune 8, 1984 (1984-06-08)
33 (Japanese: 悪魔につかれた男達)Directed by : Jutaro Oba
Storyboarded by : Mitsuo Kusakabe
Yoshihisa ArakiJune 15, 1984 (1984-06-15)
34 (Japanese: 終末へのイリュージョン)Hiroyuki YokoyamaKeiji KubotaJune 22, 1984 (1984-06-22)
35 (Japanese: 決断!最後の上陸作戦)Hiroshi YoshidaYoshihisa ArakiJune 29, 1984 (1984-06-29)
36 (Japanese: 復活への奇跡)Directed by : Jutaro Oba
Storyboarded by : Rei Hidaka
Shigemitsu TaguchiJuly 6, 1984 (1984-07-06)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ragone, August (1982). "Far East Report". Japanese Fantasy Film Journal. No. 14. p. 7.
  2. ^ Mateo, Alex (25 April 2022). "Discotek Releases Heart and Yummie, Holmes of Kyoto, Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire, Violence Jack Anime on BD on July 26". Anime News Network. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  3. ^ 1985 Transformers Scan. "Autobot Deluxe Vehicles, in Upper Left corner." Transformers Scan. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
[edit]