Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs
Tags: flashback

Plot synopsis:
The series is set in the distant future. Humans have spread beyond living on Earth and have colonized planets across the universe, creating a New Frontier of man. In order to protect these new settlers and maintain law and order in the New Frontier, Earth's Cavalry Command was created. Cavalry Command is a military organization that maintains an army and fleet of ships to protect the New Frontier and the residents of the planets within it known as Settlers. Within Cavalry Command is a unit of special operatives known as Star Sheriffs that function as the organization's field agents, investigating any crimes and plots that threaten the security of the New Frontier.
The main foe of Cavalry Command and the Star Sheriffs is a race of non-human creatures known as Vapor Beings (also sometimes called Outriders) that have jumped into our dimension in order to conquer it. They attack the Settlers, destroy settlements, and kidnap humans in order to mine various metals or crystals from the soil of various planets.
Outriders are superior to humans in battle technology. They control a legion of gigantic robots with weapons greatly superior to the weapons and defenses of the space-going fleets of Cavalry Command. In response to the Outriders' threat, Cavalry Command develops a prototype spaceship known as the "Ramrod Equalizer Unit" (or simply just Ramrod) that has the ability to transform from a spaceship into a powerful robot that can fight the Outriders on equal terms.

Review: Man, how I used to love this series!!!.
A few hours ago me and some friends of mine had a talk about the cartoons we were watching when we were kids...
And Saber Rider was one of those everyone agreed was really AWESOME!!
Here in Greece, this series used to be EXTREMELY popular when I was a kid back in the late 80's - early 90's (like most things back then, it took a couple of years for it to make it here).One of the things I remember most distinctly is the theme..
Man, especially when the narrator tells the summary of the episode and there is that guitar solo on the background...
Fantastic!
One of our friends even remembered certain plots, such as the one with Jessy Blue and the covalt cannon (those who remember, know exactly how much that trouble that guy brought to our heroes)!Anyway, to all anime fans out there I recommend this with all my heart.
Surely, those giant-robot elements aren't very original (but served quite well for the times of giant-robot comparisons back in the age of innocence :p) however you're really going to enjoy it a lot.
Pick a few episodes up, especially if you can from the later seasons and take a journey to the worlds of the New Frontier....
Totally awesome!.
this is one of the series that i loved the most as a kid.
and i'm really surprised that there is only one comment on it so far even though this on par with classics like Captain Future and Bravestar.
if u get the chance to see this on tv or anywhere else then TAKE IT!
it's action-packed and the story never lets you down!
a definite fav!the theme song is pretty cool and memorable as well.
Voltron vs Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.
I do not agree with you man !
I think that this animated series were super fun for me when I saw it for the first time.
I saw it even before Voltron.
Yes it was always the same but at least was fun to watch and not that annoying as Voltron.
In Voltron we had the same thing every episode, but here at least there's more action and every attack is not concentrated on the planet Earth.The mixed characters were great and the English accent of Saber Rider was great idea.The cartoon was made for kids but even now I very much enjoy it, but it's hard to find.
I think that Saber Rider is better in every way then Voltron!.
Saber Rider was an amazing, albeit obscure television cartoon show when I was a kid - I remember watching it when I was 9 years old or so, and I wish I could find it to this day just for the nostalgia alone.It was unlike any other action cartoon show of the day, and they actually managed to throw in "real" violence via a twist to the story line, and get away with it.I don't know much of the show's production history, but judging from the art and animation it looks as if it was anime inspired, perhaps an embryo in the slow but steady culture shift, the infusion of anime and western culture's fascination with it.But I prattle on.If you can find it, get it, watch it..
Different and amazing, if you take the time to scratch the surface..
I was one of the lucky people who became interested in this show while it was still on the air.
At first glance, it may look like just another giant robot show, and a silly one at that with cowboys and the like, but if you look closely, there is more to this show.
Great Action, amazing soundtrack, character depth, and a solid series plot.World Event Productions (http://www.wep.com/) have finally released some episodes of the show on DVD (I just ordered my copy) and I wanted to share that with others.
Its worth checking out if you've never seen the show, and those of you who are already fans, this is a great chance to relive the memories, and maybe even convince WEP to release the complete series on DVD..
One of the few anime dubs I love..
Yes, there were some severe "alterations" during the English adaptation of this short anime series, but nothing so serious to detract from the action sequences and the good/evil rivalry.
The story itself became quite intriguing as the series progressed, and the action sequences became more varied and extravagant as the budget increased after its first season (1984) in Japan.
I especially enjoyed the music and themes, however I will be the first to admit it's no Macross.
Mind you, I'd choose Saber over watching Robotech any day.
;-)Only 3 video tapes were ever released to market (by Fries Home Video), with 2 episodes each, and all from early in the first season.
Sadly, if you didn't develop a fondness for it during the late 1980's syndication, you may never know the real adventures that took place out in the New Frontier..
Forgot About This, Glad I Stumbled On To It. This show was aired by STN or some other Pakistani network way in the past, I should to adore this, I mean I really, really loved it.
It was just amazing.
It was just amazing.
The ship, the characters, everything was perfect.
I would sing the theme song and I can easily recall few key episode scenes.I think this was one of the best cartoons I ever saw when I was kid.
The action was amazing, the robots and the whole cowboy look was grand.
Not to mention the story.I am on a quest to find this series again.
I will re-watch all the episodes, it's part of my childhood that I want to relive.
I have been watching some recent anime and cartoons but nothing comes close to this.
I can still feel the excitement that I had when I was a kit, just be listening to the theme song.Highly recommended!
www.totseans.com.
"Voltron Meets the Wild West" Good but Repetitive just like Voltron..
This cartoon/anime was a weird one.
It had futuristic robots, weapons, and vehicles in a wild west setting.
The Star Sheriffs was also a strange blend of characters types.
Saber was the leader spoke with a british accent and carried a sword instead of a gun.
Colt was the typical cowboy type complete with accent and layed back attitude (and his own theme song).
April was the female member who was skilled with computers, and Fire-Ball was the race car driver who had a quick temper.
The Sheriffs main enemies were called Vipers and they came from another dimension.
When the Vipers got shot they didn't die, they were transported back to their dimension.
That was something I didn't like about this cartoon/anime.
The Vipers should die when they get shot and to allow them to keep coming back again is pretty lame especially for an anime cartoon.At the climax of each episode the Star Sheriffs would pilot a Giant robot named Ram-Rod and would do battle with a giant enemy of some sort.
This cartoon is very similar to Voltron and is almost as repetitive.
If you liked Voltron, you'll like this one.
If you can find it that is, I've never seen this cartoon repeated on TV since it came off in the late eighties.Lets get one thing straight, Saber Rider is NOT in Robotech's League, not even close.
Robotech raised the bar for cartoons when it came out in 1985.
I have yet to see a cartoon/anime series that EXCEEDS it terms of character and plot depth and development..
Colonizing space, the Wild West way.
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Adapted from the original Star Musketeer Bismark created by Pierrot in 1984, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs got a new identity in the U.S. The invading (and mortal) Deathcula aliens turned into Outriders (beings from another dimension, that were vaporizing and returning back to their dimension once deadly wounded).Even with severe censorship over any death, drinking or sex scene, the show still managed to keep its Wild West feeling.
While in the original show people colonized Jupiter's satellite Ganymede and everything happens there (that is why we keep seeing a Jupiter-like planet in the background), the US version turned the Solar System into the New Frontier, populated with exotic planets, with names like Pecos, New Wichita or Alamo.
World Events Production did some extra episodes to cement the American script, but exactly those are the ones that really turn the story into a child fantasy (indians, buffaloes and space highlanders), instead of the more realistic Japanese episodes.
The leader of the team is the Scott, Saber Rider, unlike the Japanese version leader - Shinji Hikari (turned into Fireball in the US).Even the grand finale has something unexpected that comes out of the final battle between the humans and the outriders (I'll let you discover it yourselves).
While the US version shows the battle is for planet Alamo and its moon, in the Japanese version, the outriders are destroying our Moon and challenge for Earth!
So no, this is not your typical big robot Japanese show.
Worth watching.