Space Runaway Ideon: Difference between revisions

''[['''Space Runaway Ideon]]''''' (aka Densetsu Kyojin Ideon, Legendary Giant God Ideon) was the project that [[Yoshiyuki Tomino]] worked on directly after ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]''. As with its sister series it had its run cut short, it was planned for 43 episodes but got pulled after 39. The last 4 episodes were made into the movie ''Be Invoked''. Due to its angsty and bizarre ending, it is often cited as close inspiration for ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. Heck, it's probably best known today as the absolute heavyweight champion of the [[Kill'Em All]] trope.

So, for those of you who seek a comprehensive plot summary of the series, here is one. A group of Terran colonists on a remote planet find a [[Cool Starship]] and three bulky starfighters that [[Combining Mecha|combine]] into a [[Super Robot Genre|Super Robot]]. The ship and the robot contain the so-called Ide, a source of infinite energy, which a militaristic [[Human Aliens|alien-but-actually-human]] civilization of Buff Clan is after. This results in a rather monotonous [[Monster of the Week|Strategy Of The Week]] as Buff Clan (unsuccessfully) employs increasingly more devastating technologies and renowned military commanders to bring down the Solo ship and get their hands on Ideon. Along the way, [[Anyone Can Die|many folks die]] and the Solo ship screws up their relationships with other Terran colonies and the Earth itself, all of whom now want Ide for themselves. Towards the end of the series, [[Bolivian Army Ending|every known army in the universe gangs up against the Solo crew]]. It also becomes apparent that Ideon has a will of its own and that it is displeased with the humans' wars and infighting. Enough so to completely wipe all of them out. That's where the series abruptly cuts. In [[The Movie]], Buff Clan stages the final assault on the Solo ship and Ideon, this time with a planet-destroying [[Wave Motion Gun]]. [[Gone Horribly Right|And succeeds]]. Ideon explodes and destroys what's left of Buff Clan army, since even before that, it generates a swarm of meteors that [[Earthshattering Kaboom|wreck]] Earth ''and'' Buff Clan homeplanet (destruction of other Terran colonies is [[Handwaved]]), so all sentient beings on both planets are destroyed. Cue the [[Mind Screw|Mind Screwing]]ing scene with the characters' spirits being somehow [[Ascend to Aa Higher Plane of Existence|reborn on a higher plane of existence]].

Compared to its immediate spiritual predecessor, ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'', ''Ideon'' is a step back from [[Real Robot]] to [[Super Robot]] (the trend was discontinued with ''[[Zeta Gundam]]'' in the 80s) and as a result, features rather formulaic combat engagements. These usually follow the pattern of Buff Clan (later, Earth, too) presenting their newest strategy/technology/commander, engaging Ideon (which may or may not be in combined form at the time), and getting their asses handed to them in every single episode. The grand scale of the battles commonly seen in various [[Gundam|Gundams]]s is unattainable with a single robot and a [[Cool Starship]], so don't look for it here. Another notable feature is the shameless [[Plot Armor]] of major antagonists, as it is not uncommon to see them escape with ease while Ideon takes out their [[Redshirt Army]]. To be fair, however, the show isn't ''that'' bad, just a little monotonous and difficult to sit through. ''Be Invoked'', on the other hand, is a must for every anime fan out there. Otherwise, you miss out big time on how [[Kill'Em All]] was done back in the days...

[[Yoshiyuki Tomino]] apparently wants to make a remake of it. [http://www.animenewsnetwork.comcc//interest/2011-03-18/shinbo-tomino-want-to-do-new-madoka-magica-ideon Complete with the death scenes.]

** If you believe a certain one-shot manga penned by Tomino, implying that the Universal Century of Gundam is the Universe that replaced Ideon's, and that {{spoiler|Judau, hero of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (Anime)|Gundam ZZ]]'', is actually Cosmo reincarnated}}, then yes, things get a ''lot'' better.

* [[The End of the World Asas We Know It]]

* [[Faster -Than -Light Travel]]: DS drive.

* [[Good Old Fisticuffs]]: The Ideon is rather fond of hand-to-hand combat, either [[Better Than It Sounds|by choice]] or when the [[Applied Phlebotinum|Ideon Gauge 'is low']].

* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]]: A lot of the [[Mobile Suit Gundam]] cast appear in ''Ideon''. See the [[Names to Know Inin Anime]] entry below.

* [[Hilarious in Hindsight]]: Mechas called the Dogg Mack and [[Zero Wing|'Take off every Zigg Mack']].

* [[Hot -Blooded]] [[Action Girl]]: Kasha, more so than the other Ideon pilots.

* [[A Long Time Ago in Aa Galaxy Far Far Away]]

* [[Names to Know Inin Anime]]: [[Yoku Shioya]] (Cosmo), [[Hideyuki Tanaka]] (Bes), [[Keiko Toda]] (Karala), [[You Inoue]] (Sheryl), Rumiko Ukai (Kitty), Fuyumi Shiraishi (Kasha), [[Banjo Ginga]] (Damdo)

* [[Off Withwith His Head]]: How {{spoiler|Kitty}} and later {{spoiler|Ashura}} die in ''Be Invoked''.

* [[PietaPietà Plagiarism]]: In ''Be Invoked'', {{spoiler|Daram}}'s soul carries {{spoiler|Harulu}}'s around like this.

* [[Shout -Out]]: Several of Buff Clan's mecha are modeled after the Martians' [[Tripod Terror|tripod]] from [[War of the Worlds]].

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]]: Gije, after he got [[Put Onon a Bus]], {{spoiler|tasked with studying Ide, and came back only to be abandoned by his new superiors.}}

* [[You Have Failed Me...]]: Gije fails to defeat the Ideon for the upteenth time and crashes on the Moon; his superiors just don't bother to pick him up anymore. He doesn't die like they expect him to though (yet).