Dairugger XV

Combining Mecha from Toei that aired in 1982. Since shows like this were a dime a dozen in Japan, it unfortunately got overlooked. But elsewhere, including America, where Humongous Mecha shows were still practically unheard of, it got recognition as the vehicle robot of Voltron.

Dairugger is a peacekeeping and exploration robot during the days of space exploration. The Terran League decides to explore beyond the galaxy. But the first mission runs into the Galbeston Empire, who decide to attack Earth. Dairugger is sent to defend, but eventually learns that the Galbeston are actually desperate for a new home, as their planet is doomed.

Like Go Lion, Dairugger XV has been released in it's original form on DVD in R1, as Armored Fleet Dairugger.

See also Go Lion, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, and Super Sentai.

This show provides examples of:

 * The Battlestar -- The Rugger Guard, the space carrier from which the vehicles launched before combining
 * Combining Mecha -- Two ways! 15 small vehicles could combine into three larger ones, and then if that didn't get the job done, could re-combine into the titular super robot.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy -- One episode hade Galveston try to stop the pilots from forming Dairugger. Of course, they were able to combine anyway...
 * Genre Blindness -- At least two of the Galveston captains tried to ram Dairugger instead of retreating. Guess how both played out...
 * Fighter Launching Sequence
 * Hey Its That Voice: Walter Jack is Go Mifune (as he was called in the Japanese version)
 * To say nothing of Kazuto Nagano, who happens to be Boss.
 * Humongous Mecha
 * If It Swims It Flies
 * Loads and Loads of Characters
 * Old School Dogfighting: the air team vehicles got to do a bit of this before the need to form Dairugger arose.
 * The Short Guy With Glasses -- Yasuo
 * Stock Footage
 * Super Robot
 * Transformation Is a Free Action -- Often averted or subverted.
 * Wagon Train to The Stars