Daitarn 3

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For the world, for the people, Daitarn 3 will smash the ambitions of the Meganoids. If you don't fear the shine of the Sun, then bring it on!

The Unchallengeable Daitarn 3 (無敵鋼人ダイターン3, Muteki Kōjin Daitān 3, lit. Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3) is an anime series created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate, and produced by Sunrise. It was first broadcast on Japanese TV in 1978. The series lasted for 40 episodes. The EPIC opening theme Come Here! Daitarn 3 is sung by Makoto Fujiwara.

Sōzō Haran was a brilliant scientist that was conducting research on Mars. He created a form of cyborg life with the ability to think for itself. These cyborgs, dubbed the Meganoids (メガノイド, Meganoido), soon ran out of control and killed Dr. Haran along with his whole family, save his youngest son, the 16-year-old Banjou Haran.

Banjō escapes from Mars on a rocket with a solar-powered super robot called Daitarn 3, which was built with the special metals of Mars. Now 18 years old and living on Earth in a luxurious mansion, Banjō fights against the Meganoids with the aid of his faithful butler Garrison and his two gorgeous companions, Action Girl and ex-INTERPOL agent Reika Sanjo and his childhood friend Beautiful "Beauty" Tachibana. Oh, and Bratty Half-Pint Toppo, a surprising crack shot who they picked up from a city that got levitated off the ground by the Meganoids in episode 2 and then stays with Banjō & C. for no apparent reason. Together they must stop the evil Meganoids which aspire to turn all humans into cyborgs and thus "improve" the human race.

Tropes used in Daitarn 3 include:

• Adjective Noun Fred: As noted above, the series' full title is Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3.
• Attack Of The Four Hundred Foot Whatever (Every single Meganoid Commander -- and even some of the normal foot soldiers -- can become a Megaborg.)
• Badass Creed/Boast(See picture description)
• Big Bad (Don Sauzer)
• Bittersweet Ending
• Blade on a Stick (Daitarn Javelin)
• Breaking the Bonds (The opening has this, except Banjō doesn't break tying ropes. He breaks prison bars)
• Bruce Lee Clone (In episode 10)
• By the Power of Grayskull (Banjō calls Daitarn 3 with a press of a button and a yell of "DAITAAA~RN...COME HERE!")
• Calling Your Attacks (Anything on this page with "Sun" or "Daitarn" at the beginning of its name is invariably shouted before firing.)
• Casanova (Banjō Haran.)
• The Collector: Benmel
• Crazy Prepared (A strip of platinum is all it takes to counter the effect of the Meganoids' brainwashing liquid. Banjō keeps one on his person at all times, just in case he's captured and dumped in a vat of the stuff.)
• Crimefighting with Cash (Much of Daitarn 3's operating cost and Banjo's actions in general are self-financed.)
• Death Dealer (Megaborg General Edwin)
• Dive Kick: The Daitarn Crash, done by Daitarn 3 to punch a hole through his opponent after the Sun Attack leaves them vulnerable. The attack is called out by Banjo Haran as a sign the battle is about to end. In the Super Robot Wars franchise, Daitarn 3 usually has a dynamic kill animation with this move, complete with a hole being punched out of their opponent.
• The Dragon (Koros)
  • In final episode it turned out that Koros was Dragon-in-Chief whole time because Don Zauther was inactive and he only awakened in finale when Koros was defeated.
• Epic Flail (Daitarn Hammer and Meganoid General Sandrake)
• Expy / Recycled in Space (James Bond With A Humongous Mecha And Blue Hair!)
  • X Meets Y: Daitarn 3 is James Bond meets 70s Super Robot shows.
• Evil Redhead: Koros
• Expository Theme Tune: "Come here, Daitarn 3, Daitarn 3! Take the sun's radiance into your chest."
• Fan Nickname: "Space pimp" for Banjou.
• The Fellowship Has Ended: A example that seems strange in its simplicity In the final episode, After The Hero Banjō defeats the enemy on Mars, the next scene is at his Mansion: Action Girl Reika Sanjo and Tagalong Kid Toppo say goodbye to Battle Butler Garrison and Spoiled Sweet Beautiful "Beauty" Tachibana, who takes her limo to her parent’s mansion. Garrison closes the mansion and takes the bus to an unknown destiny. There is only a light in one solitary window at Banjo’s mansion. The End.
• Finishing Move: The Sun Attack! and subsequent DAITARN CRASH! flying kick that respectively carve and punch a hole through Megaborgs.
• Frickin' Laser Beams (Sun Laser)
• Good Is Not Nice (Banjō only tries to destroy the Meganoids (and even then, he is willing to spare those who aren't all that bad), but is determined to be ruthless if need be)
• He Who Fights Monsters (Banjō becomes this in the final episode)
• Hey, It's That Voice! (Quite a bit, since Daitarn first aired in the 70s: Hirotaka Suzuoki a.k.a. Bright Noah -- in his debut role -- as Haran Banjō, You Inoue a.k.a. Sayla Mass and Haro as Reika, Fuyumi Shiraishi a.k.a. Mirai Yashima as Toppo, Banjo Ginga a.k.a. Gihren Zabi as Commander Neros, Shuichi Ikeda a.k.a. A CHAR as Commander Radik...)
• Hot Chick with a Sword (Megaborg General Milena)
• Humongous Mecha (Standing at 120 meters tall, Daitarn was among the largest before Studio Gainax decided to have a crack at the largest mecha ever.)
• Implacable Man (Franken.)
• Improbable Age/Younger Than They Look (Banjō is seriously 18 years old, even though he looks like a man in his thirties and have graduated several colleges, been a member of CIA for quite some time and has traveled through various countries A LOT)
• In The Name Of The Sun ("If you don't fear the shine of the Sun, bring it on!")
• Lawyer-Friendly Cameo (Episode 22: Banjō vs James Jimmy Dean.)
  • Thank God the real Jimmy Dean, a country music star and founder of a brand of sausages didn't find out.
• Limited Wardrobe (Played straight with Banjō, Toppo and Garrison; averted for the two bond girls female sidekicks. Also, defied in episode 20: Koros captures both Beauty and Reika, turns them into Meganoids and sics them on Banjō. Banjō kills them both, then explains that he noticed "Beauty" and "Reika" are wearing different clothes than the ones they left home with, and therefore are two female Meganoids disguised as Beauty and Reika, who indeed are still being held captive by Koros.)
• Lighter and Softer (Frankly, anything out of Tomino's portfolio barring Ideon would be Lighter and Softer compared to the Child Soldiering and rampant terrorism of Zambot 3.)
  • An interesting point to note is a light comedic element running through the whole series - the Meganoid foot soldiers exert some of their own personality with witty banter, bringing a fresh change to the silent drones which permeated super robot series previously.
• Love Makes You Evil (Pretty much THE whole reason for what Koros is doing)
• Meaningful Name: Banjō's full name, Haran Banjō, is a homophone of a Japanese phrase, 波乱万丈, which means "stormy and full of drama".
• Names to Know in Anime (Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino. Banjō was voiced by the late Hirotaka "Bright Noah" Suzuoki... in fact, it was Suzuoki's debut role!)
• No Export for You (Not for English-speaking fans, nope.)
• Once an Episode ("Borrowing the power of the Sun! Sure-kill attack! SUN ATTACK!" and "DAITARN CRASH!")
• Power Of Love, The (Quite literally in episode 17: Reika uses her pink, heart-shaped mind-beams of love to convince a man with Psychic Powers to refrain from killing Banjo)
• Paper Fan of Doom: Daitarn 3 carries two of these. Note that Daitarn 3 is actually a Humongous Mecha. And Daitarn uses them for defense. Which may or may not be more outlandish. In Super Robot Wars, Daitarn 3 can use said paper fan to either block attacks in defense by opening the fan, use it like a sword to block sword attacks and missiles, or use them like nunchucks. Note that Daitain already has a pair of swords and it still uses the paper fan like this.
• Precision-Guided Boomerang (GREAT STAR! mounted on Daitarn 3's chest)
• Redemption Earns Life (Despite his personal hatred of the Meganoids, Banjō is more than willing to let the ones who show they are capable of love or are honourable live as long as they don't kill humans; he even offers most of his enemies multiple opportunities to surrender during his battles.)
• Robot Girl: Koros
• Spell My Name with an "S" (Don Zauther? Don Sauzer? Don Zauker? Which one is correct?)
• Spiritual Successor (Of Zambot 3. The Big O is often considered a spiritual succssor to Daitarn 3 as well.)
• Super Prototype (The Daitarn was originally built as a testbed for Megaborg technology)
• Super Robot Wars (Has appeared in about three-fourths of them since all the way back in SRW3, often alongside Moon-themed counterpart Zambot 3. It has appeared in 4, F, F Final, Alpha series, Compact 1, Compact 2 Trilogy, Impact, Z/2, Advance, Reverse, 64)
• Swords Akimbo
• This Is a Drill: Meganoid General Katrof
• Third Person Person (Meganoid Commanders are very prone to this)
• Tomato in the Mirror: Some of the Super Robot Wars games imply that Banjo may be a Meganoid of some kind.
  • In series there were few hints supporting this theory but it was never stated if it was true or not.
• Transforming Mecha (Dai-Tank and Dai-Fighter modes)
• The Unintelligible (Don Zauther. Until episode 40, that is.)
• Unwilling Roboticisation: The Meganoids' master plan is making this to ALL humans.
• Wrench Wench (Reika is usually the one performing field repairs on the Mach Attacker, and on at least one occasion she gives instructions to Banjo when he's repairing the Daitarn.)