Trider G7
Encyclopedia
Trider G7, known in Japan as , was a Japan
ese anime
television series which aired from 1980 to 1981. There were 50 episodes. It is also referred to as "Trider G7", "Unchallengeable Trider G7" and "Tryder G7", "Bird Attack Tryder G7", "Unrivaled Robot Trider G7".
immediately following Mobile Suit Gundam
. While Mobile Suit Gundam's appeal mostly caught the eye of older viewers, Trider G7 was mainly created to appeal to those in the younger generation with whom Gundam was not as popular.
While a super robot
-styled show at heart, many real-world impressions were included as part of the story, such as announcing to nearby citizens that the robot, Trider G7, was being activated, and having to consider the monetary expenses of battle while fighting against the enemy. Rather than depicting robots as a military weapon like Mobile Suit Gundam did, the aim of the story was to portray the real world. Trider G7's own unrealistic abilities are explained with scientists that were exiled from the enemy empire, as Trider G7's capabilities are far beyond that of the other Earth-made robots in the show.
As with other super robot shows, Invincible Robo Trider G7 is generally a story of Trider G7's battle with the alien Robot Empire, but its main drama derived from the protagonist, Watta, interacting with many normal, working-class citizens and showing the human kindness that they possess. The enemy Robot Empire is never explained to be anything more than "strange, mysterious robots bent on taking over Earth". Each time the Robot Empire attacks, Trider G7 is launched in order to intercept them, and through various coincedences, the Robot Empire fails again and again while attempting to figure out what Trider G7 is exactly. In the last episode, the Robot Empire finally abandons their quest to take over Earth. This all results in a unique story structure where neither the good guys nor the bad guys have any interaction with the other side. The only real time contact between them occurs is between the protagonists and the exiled scientist Nabalon, who built Trider G7, but the only ones who actually know of Nabalon's true identity are the protagonist Watta, Watta's late father, and Clard, an engineer for the Robot Empire - none of the other major characters ever find out about this.
The series ends without a single fight in the final episode, but rather Watta's elementary school graduation ceremony. There are episodes that focus not on the war, but on Watta's school life, such as him having a cavity filled during a physical examination, and him going on a field trip with his class. These scenes hold as much excitement as his battles in Trider G7.
The narration in the show was performed by Ichirou Nagai, who did the serious-sounding narration for Mobile Suit Gundam. However, in complete contrast to the dark tone of that show's narration, this narration was performed very energetically.
Up until now, the series airing on TV Asahi in this timeslot had their soundtracks composed by Takeo Watanabe
and Yuushi Matsuyama, but the two were busy working on the soundtrack for the theatrical adaptation of Mobile Suit Gundam, so Kurando Kaya filled in the role.
titles.
under the Chogokin
label, but none of them could perfectly reproduce its unique seven states of transformation; each one left out the two forms of the head, which could transform independently.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese anime
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 which aired from 1980 to 1981. There were 50 episodes. It is also referred to as "Trider G7", "Unchallengeable Trider G7" and "Tryder G7", "Bird Attack Tryder G7", "Unrivaled Robot Trider G7".
Concept
Invincible Robo Trider G7 aired on TV AsahiTV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
immediately following Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam
is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...
. While Mobile Suit Gundam's appeal mostly caught the eye of older viewers, Trider G7 was mainly created to appeal to those in the younger generation with whom Gundam was not as popular.
While a super robot
Super Robot
is a term used in manga and anime to describe a giant robot or mecha, with an arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons, extreme resistance to damage unless the plot calls for it, sometimes transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles usually piloted by young, daring heroes,...
-styled show at heart, many real-world impressions were included as part of the story, such as announcing to nearby citizens that the robot, Trider G7, was being activated, and having to consider the monetary expenses of battle while fighting against the enemy. Rather than depicting robots as a military weapon like Mobile Suit Gundam did, the aim of the story was to portray the real world. Trider G7's own unrealistic abilities are explained with scientists that were exiled from the enemy empire, as Trider G7's capabilities are far beyond that of the other Earth-made robots in the show.
As with other super robot shows, Invincible Robo Trider G7 is generally a story of Trider G7's battle with the alien Robot Empire, but its main drama derived from the protagonist, Watta, interacting with many normal, working-class citizens and showing the human kindness that they possess. The enemy Robot Empire is never explained to be anything more than "strange, mysterious robots bent on taking over Earth". Each time the Robot Empire attacks, Trider G7 is launched in order to intercept them, and through various coincedences, the Robot Empire fails again and again while attempting to figure out what Trider G7 is exactly. In the last episode, the Robot Empire finally abandons their quest to take over Earth. This all results in a unique story structure where neither the good guys nor the bad guys have any interaction with the other side. The only real time contact between them occurs is between the protagonists and the exiled scientist Nabalon, who built Trider G7, but the only ones who actually know of Nabalon's true identity are the protagonist Watta, Watta's late father, and Clard, an engineer for the Robot Empire - none of the other major characters ever find out about this.
The series ends without a single fight in the final episode, but rather Watta's elementary school graduation ceremony. There are episodes that focus not on the war, but on Watta's school life, such as him having a cavity filled during a physical examination, and him going on a field trip with his class. These scenes hold as much excitement as his battles in Trider G7.
The narration in the show was performed by Ichirou Nagai, who did the serious-sounding narration for Mobile Suit Gundam. However, in complete contrast to the dark tone of that show's narration, this narration was performed very energetically.
Up until now, the series airing on TV Asahi in this timeslot had their soundtracks composed by Takeo Watanabe
Takeo Watanabe
was a Japanese musician and composer. In addition to composing the well known theme song for Cutie Honey he has also composed music for multiple television anime and films including Lone Wolf & Cub, Candy Candy, and Mobile Suit Gundam....
and Yuushi Matsuyama, but the two were busy working on the soundtrack for the theatrical adaptation of Mobile Suit Gundam, so Kurando Kaya filled in the role.
Story
Invincible Robo Trider G7 portrays the attempted invasion by the Robot Empire to take over Earth. Rebelling against this, the scientist Nabalon, who was exiled from the Empire, meets the protagonist Watta's father, and together, they design the transforming robot Trider G7. However, Watta's father dies in an accident, and Watta has no choice but to succeed him at both his job and piloting Trider. As the president of the Takeo General Company, Watta must now fight to ensure everyone's happiness, as well as the condition of the company's funds.Staff
- Original Work
Hajime YatateHajime Yatateis a pseudonym for the collective contributions of the Sunrise animation staff.-Name:"Hajime Yatate" is considered named after a quote of Matsuo Bashō's Oku no Hosomichi:-Credited series:...
- Director
Katsutoshi Sasaki
- Producer
Ayumi Sekioka
Masami IwasakiMasami Iwasakiis a Japanese voice actor. Most but not all of his roles are minions or ruffians.-Anime:* Birdy * Koji Kuroki, Cerberus, Kaoru Hatsujo, Morgan, and other misc. in * Roland/Isono * Akazawa Yoshiro...
Nobuyuki Okuma
- Additional Director
Seiji Kikuchi
Akira Suzuki
Takao Yoshikawa
- Screenwriter
Hiroyuki Hoshiyama
Tsunehisa Ito
Kenichi Matsuzaki
Katsutoshi Sasaki
Sukehiro Tomita
Fuyunori Gobu
- Art Director
Takashi Miyano
- Design
Nobuyoshi Sasakado
Kunio OkawaraKunio Okawarais a mechanical designer in the Japanese anime industry. A mechanical designer is similar to a character designer, but the design is for robots, ships, and other mechanical items found in a particular show. Okawara was the first in the industry to be specifically credited as a mechanical designer...
Yutaka IzubuchiYutaka Izubuchiis a Japanese anime designer and director. Izubuchi is credited for designing costumes, characters and creatures, but most of his designs are mechanical...
- Animation Director
Akihiro Kaneyama
- Animation
Nobuyoshi Sasako
Akehiro Kaneyama
Keijiro Kaya
Kazuhito KikuchiKazuhito KikuchiKazuhito Kikuchi is a Japanese composer. From 2001 to 2005 he was a member of the J-pop duo Breath.He has been one of the main song composers for Ayumi Hamasaki and has also written songs for Kumi Koda, Every Little Thing, Ami Suzuki and others. He won the Best Composer Award at the Japan Record...
Mitsuko Kase
Norio Kashima
Characters
| Japanese Name | Voiced by |
|---|---|
| Watta Takeo | Satomi Majima |
| Umemaro Kakikouji | Ichirou Nagai |
| Tetsuo Atsui | Yuzuru Fujimoto |
| Touhachirou Kinoshita | Yamamoto Aidoki |
| Ikue Sunabara | Keiko Han Keiko Han is a Japanese voice actress. She attended Tōyō Eiwa Jogakuin, going on to study theatre arts at Nihon University. She gained experience in theater while attending school by obtaining work through Aoni Production, singing the theme songs in productions such as Story of the Alps: My Annette and... |
| Michitarou Takeo | Tatsuo Sakuragata |
| Nabalon | |
| Ms. Mieko | Harumi Umaba |
| Mr. Daimon | Akira Murayama Akira Murayama is a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo. He is represented by Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society.-Anime:*Captain Tsubasa *Combat Mecha Xabungle *Gambalist! Shun... |
| Kaoru Taki | Kinue Matsuyama |
| Ken'ichi Ooyama | Toshio Furukawa Toshio Furukawa is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production and is married to fellow voice actress Shino Kakinuma. His height is 164cm. Hobbies are Fishing, diorama, reading and movies.In July 2011, Furukawa appeared at Anime Expo as a guest.-Career/Personal:... |
| Akira Yamada | Keisuke Yamashita |
| Kayo Takeo | Keiko Hanagata Keiko Hanagata is a Japanese voice actor who works for 81 Produce.-Voice roles:*Glass Mask *Maison Ikkoku *Robot Carnival -External links:... , Chikako Akimoto |
| Director Adachi | Ken'ichi Ogata (Ryuusuke Shiomi in the first episode) |
| Zacron | Kazuyuki Sogabe Kazuyuki Sogabe Kazuyuki Sogabe was a Japanese voice actor born in Chiba Prefecture. Sogabe retired from voice acting on December 31, 2000 when he felt a weakness in his own voice. After his retirement, many of his current roles went to voice actors Tetsu Inada and Ryotaro Okiayu. Kazuyuki, however, was active in... |
| Ondoron | Masaru Ikeda Masaru Ikeda is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tokyo. He is a graduate of the Tokyo Metro Fifth Commerce Senior High School and is currently affiliated with the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society... |
Video games
No video games sport Trider G7 as the main story, but Invincible Robo Trider G7 has made an appearance in various Super Robot WarsSuper Robot Wars
is a series of tactical role-playing video games produced by Banpresto, which is now a Japanese division of Namco Bandai. The main feature of the franchise is having a story that crosses over several popular mecha anime, manga and video games, allowing characters and mecha from different titles to...
titles.
Merchandise
Toys of the titular robot, Trider G7, were produced for the show by Clover manufacturingClover (toy company)
Clover was a Japanese toy company founded in 1973. It went out of business 10 years later in 1983.Today it is mainly known as the sponsor of the original Gundam TV-series in 1979. As such, it was responsible for canceling the show early because it didn't sell enough toys. The show was mainly...
under the Chogokin
Chogokin
is Japanese for "Super Alloy" and is a fictitious material which first appeared in Go Nagai's Mazinger Z manga and anime. It was later adopted by Popy in 1972 as the name of a new line of die-cast metal robot and character toys sold in Japan...
label, but none of them could perfectly reproduce its unique seven states of transformation; each one left out the two forms of the head, which could transform independently.