Psycho Armor Govarian
Encyclopedia
is a anime
television series created by Go Nagai
. It was produced by Knack and TV Tokyo
. The series was originally broadcast
from to in Japan. Besides Japan, it was also broadcast in South Korea
in 1988 by MBC
where it was known as 사이코아머 고바리안 or 싸이코 아머 고바리안. It is also known as 海王星战士 in Taiwan
. The anime is considered a mix of Genma Taisen, Mazinger
and Gundam
.
The most gifted of the squadron is Isamu, a young orphan whose family was killed in the first attack of the Garadain Empire. He is able to generate the powerful robot Govarian, an armor with which he can battle the alien monsters and is able to regenerate thanks to the psychic energy of the pilot. Helped by two other robots created by his team-mates, Isamu, aboard the robot Govarian, defends the Earth in the long war against the alien invaders.
.
Source(s)
Source(s)
"Lonely Journey" and "Lullaby" have been used in several music collections in arranged versions sung by Hironobu Kageyama
.
format during the 1980s in 6 volumes. In 2006-03-25 a DVD
-box set containing the whole series was released by the company Japanese company BM3 with the standard number OHK-27.
and the other by Asahi Sonorama
. Also a short manga serialization, with the art of Tatsuo Yasuda (another pen name of Tatsuya Yasuda), was published in the children's manga magazine Yoiko published by Shogakukan
from to .
called Psycho Armor Govarian - Lonely Journey, contains the opening and ending theme, both of them performed by the Japanese group Neverland. The second EP, called Psycho Armor Govarian - It's LOVE, contains the themes "It's LOVE" and "Yuhi no Omoi". Also performed by Neverland, both themes have lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Tatsumi Yano and are sung by Tomoaki Taka. The last two are full LP album
containing the BGM
of the series and the opening and ending themes.
clips that were included at the end of the DVDs of Shin Getter Robot tai Neo Getter Robot. Govarian appears alongside Great Mazinger
, Venus A
, Getter Robot G, Kotetsu Jeeg, God Mazinger
and Groizer X to rescue Mazinger Z
and Aphrodite A
, but are defeated and in turn saved by Shin Getter Robot and Grendizer
just before the arrival of Mazinkaiser
.
The opening and ending songs of the series are included in several CD compilations of anime series.
versions. The official figures were made by the company Poem.
and Great Mazinger
. This was done on purpose by Go Nagai and Dynamic Planning in accordance with the demand of production company Knack. In South Korea, it was presented as being part of the Mazinger series along with Groizer X. Other than that, Psycho Armor Govarian has no real relationship to any of the Mazinger series.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series created by Go Nagai
Go Nagai
, better known by the penname , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi, but is best known for creating Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s. In 2005, he became a...
. It was produced by Knack and TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
. The series was originally broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
from to in Japan. Besides Japan, it was also broadcast in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
in 1988 by MBC
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC (Hangul : 문화방송주식회사, Munhwa Bangsong Jushikoesa) is one of four major national South Korean television and radio networks. Munhwa is the Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television...
where it was known as 사이코아머 고바리안 or 싸이코 아머 고바리안. It is also known as 海王星战士 in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. The anime is considered a mix of Genma Taisen, Mazinger
Mazinger
is a long running series of manga and anime featuring giant robots or mecha. The name can also be pronounced "Mazinga", as it is has been known in several countries, including in the United States of America.-Series:The series in order:...
and Gundam
Gundam
The is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....
.
Story
The Garadain Empire has exhausted the primary resources of their native planet, so they send different space expeditions to find a new world where to live. One of their main objectives is planet Earth. However, Zeku Alba, an alien scientist, decides to rebel against the imperial rule and flees towards the Earth, where he gathers a group of youngs gifted with the power of "psychogenesis", an ability that consists in creating solid matter from mental energy.The most gifted of the squadron is Isamu, a young orphan whose family was killed in the first attack of the Garadain Empire. He is able to generate the powerful robot Govarian, an armor with which he can battle the alien monsters and is able to regenerate thanks to the psychic energy of the pilot. Helped by two other robots created by his team-mates, Isamu, aboard the robot Govarian, defends the Earth in the long war against the alien invaders.
Main mechas
- Psycho Armor Govarian
- Length: 13 meters
- Weight: 47 tonneTonneThe tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s - Pilot: Isamu Napoto
- Length: 11 meters
- Weight: 43 tonnes
- Pilot: Kurt Buster, Hans Schultz (after the death of Buster)
- Length: 11 meters
- Weight: 63 tonnes
- Pilot: Karim Atlas
Garadain mechas
: The basic flying infantry mecha.: The basic walking infantry mecha.: Mecha used by Meria: Mecha used by Meria: The most powerful mecha, controlled by Christo. Kurt Buster dies trying to destroy it. After Buster's attack, it's modified and later it is finally destroyed by Meria in a suicide attackSuicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
.
Episodes
| # | Title | Scenario | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
Source(s)
Staff & production notes
- Airtime: Wednesday, 19:30-20:00 hrs.
- Network: TV TokyoTV Tokyois a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
- Production: TV Tokyo, Knack
- Original work: Go NagaiGo Nagai, better known by the penname , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi, but is best known for creating Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s. In 2005, he became a...
, Dynamic PlanningDynamic Planningis a licensing company owned by manga artist Go Nagai. It was established in 1974 as a sister company of Dynamic Productions.Dynamic Planning is credited in all of Go Nagai's animated works since 1974 as the "planner" and/or "producer".... - Planning: Seiichi Nishino (Knack)
- Producer: Hyota Ezu (TV Tokyo), Hirofumi Toida (Knack)
- Series organization: Yoshihisa Araki
- Series director: Seiji Okuda
- Animation director: Gen Fukuda, Yuki Kinoshita
- Script: Hideki Sonoda, Katsuhiko TaguchiKatsuhiko Taguchiis a Japanese rally driver.-Career:Taguchi began rallying in 1994. He based most of his rallying in Australia and New Zealand, competing in his first World Rally Championship event on Rally New Zealand in 1995. In 1999 he won the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship . In 2001 he competed on the Cyprus...
, Yuji Watanabe, Tomomi Minahaya, Masato Nishio, Tsukasa Takahashi - Original character: Go Nagai
- Character design: Gen Fukuda
- Mechanic design: Sawaki Tateba
- Art director: Morishige Suzuki
- Photography director: Yoichi Shimizu
- Music: Tatsumi Yano
- Theme song performance: Neverland
Source(s)
Theme songs
- Opening theme: , lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Neverland & Hiroki Harada (chorus), song by Tomoaki Taka.
- Ending theme: , lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Neverland, song by Tomoaki Taka.
- Insert song: , lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Tatsumi Yano, song by Tomoaki Taka. This theme is used in the last episode.
- Insert song: , lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Tatsumi Yano, song by Tomoaki Taka.
"Lonely Journey" and "Lullaby" have been used in several music collections in arranged versions sung by Hironobu Kageyama
Hironobu Kageyama
is a Japanese musical artist prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game, and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the pop group Lazy. By the early '80s, the band split and Kageyama went solo...
.
Home video
The series was released in VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
format during the 1980s in 6 volumes. In 2006-03-25 a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
-box set containing the whole series was released by the company Japanese company BM3 with the standard number OHK-27.
Picture books and manga
Besides the main TV series, two series of picture books were released, one by ShogakukanShogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
and the other by Asahi Sonorama
Asahi Sonorama
is a Japanese book, magazine, and manga publisher and a division of Asahi Shimbun Publications, which is a subsidiary of the publisher of the Asahi Shimbun. "Sonorama" is a coined word combining sonus, the Latin word for "sound", and horama, the Greek word for "sight"...
. Also a short manga serialization, with the art of Tatsuo Yasuda (another pen name of Tatsuya Yasuda), was published in the children's manga magazine Yoiko published by Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
from to .
Soundtracks
Four vinyl records were released during 1983 by King Records. The first one, an EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
called Psycho Armor Govarian - Lonely Journey, contains the opening and ending theme, both of them performed by the Japanese group Neverland. The second EP, called Psycho Armor Govarian - It's LOVE, contains the themes "It's LOVE" and "Yuhi no Omoi". Also performed by Neverland, both themes have lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Tatsumi Yano and are sung by Tomoaki Taka. The last two are full LP album
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
containing the BGM
BGM
BGM can mean:*Greater Binghamton Airport serving Binghamton, New York *Background music*an abbreviation for the former Bell Globemedia, now Bell Media*BGM , Japanese band YMO's album*Bonnier Gazell Music...
of the series and the opening and ending themes.
| Title | Type | Artist | Standard number | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psycho Armor Govarian - Lonely journey | EP record | Neverland | K07S-3052 | |
| Psycho Armor Govarian BGM Vol.1 | LP album | Tatsumi Yano | K22G-7144 | |
| Psycho Armor Govarian - It's LOVE | EP record | Neverland | K07S-3063 | |
| Psycho Armor Govarian BGM Vol.2 | LP album | Tatsumi Yano | K22G-7173 | |
Appearances in other media
Besides its series related media, Govarian has appeared in other media. The most prominent is its appearance in theclips that were included at the end of the DVDs of Shin Getter Robot tai Neo Getter Robot. Govarian appears alongside Great Mazinger
Great Mazinger
is a manga comic book and anime television series by manga artist Go Nagai, made as a direct continuation of the successful Mazinger Z series...
, Venus A
Venus A
is a female mecha from the Great Mazinger anime and manga series, created by Go Nagai. She plays the traditional role of the lady robot that helps the mazinger robot fight the enemy. She was named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty.- History :...
, Getter Robot G, Kotetsu Jeeg, God Mazinger
God Mazinger
, also known as is an anime, manga and novel series created by manga artist Go Nagai. The anime aired on Japanese TV from to in the network Nippon Television with 23 episodes. The manga was originally published in tankōbon format by Shogakukan in 4 volumes published in , , and respectively....
and Groizer X to rescue Mazinger Z
Mazinger Z
, known briefly as Tranzor Z in United States, is a Super Robot manga and anime series created by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later continued in Kodansha TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974. In...
and Aphrodite A
Aphrodite A
is a female mecha from the Mazinger Z anime and manga series, created by Go Nagai. It was the first giant robot in the genre to resemble the female anatomy.She was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty....
, but are defeated and in turn saved by Shin Getter Robot and Grendizer
Grendizer
is a super robot TV anime and manga created by manga artist Go Nagai. It is the third entry in the Mazinger trilogy. It was broadcasted on Japanese television from October 5, 1975, to February 27, 1977, and lasted 74 episodes...
just before the arrival of Mazinkaiser
Mazinkaiser
is an anime OVA series, inspired by Go Nagai's Mazinger series. The OVA follows Kouji Kabuto, Tetsuya Tsurugi and the rest of the "Mazinger Team" as they fight against Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts....
.
The opening and ending songs of the series are included in several CD compilations of anime series.
| Title | Label | Standard number | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nagai Go Hero Densetsu: Kotetsu Majin Hen | First Smile Entertainment | FSCA-10204 | |
| Nagai Go Hero Densetsu: Kijin Sugosen Hen | First Smile Entertainment | FSCA-10210 | |
| Super Robot Tamashii The Best Vol.1: Super Robot Hen | Be! Smile | BSCH-30001/2 | |
| Super Robot Tamashii The Best Vol.2: Super Robot Hen 2 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30003/4 | |
| Getter Densetsu + 10: The Legends of GETTER | Be! Smile | BSCH-30013 | |
| Kageyama Hironobu Best & Live | Be! Smile | BSCH-30014 | |
| Super Robot Tamashii The Instrumental: Super Robot & Real Robot Hen Vol.1 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30030 | |
| Super Robot Spirits Shudaika Best Collection | Be! Smile | BSCH-30037 | |
| Nagai Go Dynamic!! The chronicle | Be! Smile | BSCH-30040 | |
| The Best!! Super Robot Spirits: Super Robot Studio Recordings | Be! Smile | BSCH-30063/6 | |
| Super Robot Spirits: Non stop mix Vol.3 | Be! Smile | BSCH-30086 | |
| The Best!! Super Robot Spirits: The Best Karaoke songs | Be! Smile | BSCH-30094/7 |
Merchandise
Some toys and action figures based in the robots of the series were released, including several South Korean bootlegCounterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
versions. The official figures were made by the company Poem.
Relationship to the Mazinger series
The head of the main mecha of the series, Govarian, is similar to the head of Mazinger ZMazinger Z (robot)
Mazinger Z is a fictional mecha from the anime and manga series of the same name, created by Go Nagai. Within the story, Mazinger Z was created by Professor Juzou Kabuto and piloted by his grandson Kouji...
and Great Mazinger
Great Mazinger
is a manga comic book and anime television series by manga artist Go Nagai, made as a direct continuation of the successful Mazinger Z series...
. This was done on purpose by Go Nagai and Dynamic Planning in accordance with the demand of production company Knack. In South Korea, it was presented as being part of the Mazinger series along with Groizer X. Other than that, Psycho Armor Govarian has no real relationship to any of the Mazinger series.
External links
- Psycho Armor Govarian at allcinema
- Psycho Armor Govarian at the Enciclo'Robopedia website