UFO Robo Grendizer: Difference between revisions

''[['''UFO Robo Grendizer]]''''', known alternately by the names ''Grandizer'', ''Goldorak'' and ''Goldrake'', was the final series of the ''[[Mazinger Z|Mazinger]]'' trilogy, and one of the most well-received.

''Grendizer'' is about a young prince of the Royal Family of Fleed, whose planet is turned into a radioactive wasteland by the invading army of the Vegan Alliance. The Vegans had invaded to steal the planet for themselves, as their own had slowly fell into ruin as well. After this tragedy, the young prince, Duke Fleed, managed to hijack the Vegan Alliance's prize UFO Robo - the Grendizer. Fleeing, he crash lands on Earth, two years ahead of the pursuing Vegan Army. There he is taken in by a kindly scientist named Dr. Umon. When the Vegans ([[Hilarious in Hindsight|* snicker* ]]) attack, Duke takes the Grendizer into battle, along with Kouji Kabuto, the pilot of [[Mazinger Z]].

When it was shown in the US, it was [[Macekre|Macekred]]d into ''[[Grandizer]]'' as part of the ''[[Force Five]]'' syndication block. Two episodes of ''Grandizer'' were released on VHS in America; it is otherwise hard to get in the US.

* [[Aerial Canyon Chase]]: Used in the last episode, when General Gandal (Minos) tries to ram his ship into Grendizer in a suicide attack. Duke Freed manages to make him crash into a cliff, since the Spazer (Grendizer's UFO) was still controllable, while Gandal's flagship was a flaming mess.

* [[Aliens Are Bastards]]: This trope is played with. At the start Kouji believes he can try to communicate with the aliens and befriend them, but Daisuke tries to warn him they are NOT his friends and are NOT peaceful or reasonable. However, Daisuke himself was an alien and a decent person. And although most of the Vegans at the beginning are portrayed like bastards -and the [[Mook|Mooks]]s are [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]]-, along the series more aliens -including Vegans- are introduced who are decent people at best or at worst are [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Well Intentioned Extremists]] who believe that [[Utopia Justifies the Means]].

** In ''[['''UFO Robo Grendizer]]''''', Mazinger-Z, Great Mazinger and Grendizer combined all of their attacks in one manga scene to destroy a Vegan [[Starship]]. And in one of the movies, Grendizer and Great Mazinger combined their [[Chest Blaster]] attacks to destroy a Saucer Beast.

* [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]]: At the beginning it looks the trope is being played straight, but finaly it is averted. Several of the Vegans are decent people and many of them are given redeeming qualities.

* [[Black and White Morality]]: At first sight the Mazinger trilogy seems belonging to this trope since the the heroes are mostly good guys and the villains tend to be [[Complete Monster|CompleteMonsters]], but in reality the morality in these series is more greyish than it seems. [[Mad Scientist|Dr.]] [[Big Bad|Hell]] [[Freudian Excuse|became mad after having endured years of abuse, insults and mockery from everybody -including his parents- since he was a little kid, and even when he made a good action, he usually got beaten and scorned]]. [[Great Mazinger|Great General of Darkness]] wanted to take over the surface world because the Mykene civilization had been forced to live underground for millennia and he wanted his people to enjoy again things humans take for granted -such as seeing sunlight and breathing fresh air-. [[UFO Robo Grendizer|'''Emperor Vega]]''' began invading other planets because his own homeworld was dying, and several of his henchmen were [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Well-Intentioned Extremists]]s wanting to establish a benevolent dictatorship because they genuinely believed Earth people would be better off. And, frankly, humans in [[Mazinger Z|the]] [[Great Mazinger|Mazinger]] [[UFO Robo Grendizer|'''trilogy]]''' often acted like [[Ungrateful Bastard|utter]] [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters|bastards]] and forced the heroes to ponder why they bothered.

* [[Character Development]]: At the same time Duke is angsty because {{spoiler|he's dying via a radiation-inflicted wound he suffered during his escape and ''knows'' his days are numbered}}, his best friend Hikaru Makiba gets tired of being a [[Distressed Damsel in Distress]] [[Took a Level Inin Badass|and trains to become a pilot and Action Girl]], etc.

* [[Demoted to Extra]]: Kouji was [[The Hero]] in [[Mazinger Z]]. In [['''UFO Robo Grendizer]]''' he is merely [[The Lancer]].

* [[Final Battle]]: It varies depending on if we are discussing the [[Go Nagai]] manga, the anime series or the [[Gosaku Ota]] manga. In the anime version, {{spoiler|after his daughter got murdered, King Vega decided he had got it: he had wasted military resources trying take over Earth as planet Vega imploded and everyting he had managed was using up their resources, running out of [[Robeast|Robeasts]]s, and losing his commanders, his best soldiers and his daughter. So he ordered his troops to destroy their [[Space Base]] to hammer in them the idea of they now had no choice but conquering Earth or die, and he launched a full attack with the remnants of his army. Meanwhile, Duke took off in Grendizer and Kouji, Hikaru and Maria on a new [[Starship]]. Both sides fought in the space, between Earth and Moon. The Vegan army was finally destroyed in the final confrontation, and Duke killed King Vega.}} [[Go Nagai]] manga version had no a definite ending, but [[Gosaku Ota]] version did it, and the final was very different from the anime series. Let's tell [[It Got Worse]]. Like in {{spoiler|[[The End of the World as We Know It]]}} worse.

* [[Giant Equals Invincible]]: Sort of. Vegan [[Robeast|Robeasts]]s could not be damaged by conventional weaponry, but neither did tinier Vegan combat ships. So it can be argued alien technology rather than sheer size was the cause of its invincibility.

* [[It's Personal]]: In the [[Go Nagai]] manga, Commander Barendos {{spoiler|dropped Duke's little siblings from a height from three kilometers}}. In front of Duke. Duke is usually calmed when he is not piloting, but the only sight or mention of Barendos is enough to press Duke's [[Berserk Button]].

* [[Near Villain VictoryEucatastrophe]]: One of the best examples happened in the two-part finale of the first season. Grendizer had been beaten by two [[Robeast|Robeasts]]s and forced to hiding, Kouji's TFO had been badly damaged, [[The Dragon|Blackie]] had taken control of the Science Space Center and tortured Dr. Umon. When Duke returned, {{spoiler|he managed beat both mechas, saving his friends and destroying Blackie's command ship.}}

* [[PietaPietà Plagiarism]]: It happened near from the end, when {{spoiler|Rubina got murdered}} and Duke held her as she died.

* [[Pilot Movie]]: The eventual ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' spinoff ''[['''UFO Robo Grendizer]]''''' started off as a 30 minute movie named [[Uchu Enban Daisenso]].

* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]: The Vegans were a race whose society revolved around fighting and war. Many commanders of the army belonged to the [[Honor Before Reason]] school of thought and [[Taking You with Me|would rather dying taking their enemy with them]] before admitting defeat.

* [[Shiny-Looking Spaceships]]: Both Grendizer and the Vegan starships are shiny-looking, bright and very polished -although they may get dirty in battle, though-.

*** The SRW staff has said that there isn't an specific reason keeping the two series from appearing together. They simply just haven't decided to use them together yet.

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]]: Hikaru Makiba.