Getter Robo Armageddon - Power Pack (Vols. 1-4)
The originalGetter Robo(1974) aired in the U.S. asStarvengers,  part ofForce Five(1980). A number of sequels were produced over the  years, including the 1998Change Getter Robo, which A.D. Vision is  releasing asGetter Robo Armageddon. The series purports to pick up  where the original left off, after the death of Professor Saotome, the  inventor of the Getter Robots, and the conviction of heroic pilot Ryoma for  his murder. The artists try to recapture the look of the original series, but  many characters are so ugly, they don't look human. Although they were  defeated years earlier in the Moon Wars, the Invaders, nasty aliens that  consist largely of eyes and fangs, are attacking humanity, and only the Getter  Robots can defeat them. The story is notoriously difficult to follow: the  characters are underdeveloped, are difficult to distinguish, and have the  unnerving habit of returning from the dead. Director Ukata Sato complicates  matters by cutting to seemingly unrelated actions at a breakneck pace. The  dubbed dialogue, which the actors tend to scream out, often fails to mesh  with the subtitles. In one episode, Ryoma says, "No, he wouldn't make such a  beast!" but the subtitle reads, "I don't know what he's planning to do with  that thing." Fans ofNadesicomay have trouble watching this sci-fi  epic with a straight face, as it was clearly one of the inspirations for the  mecha spoofGekiganger 3. (Rated 15 and older: grotesque imagery, often  graphic violence, tobacco use)--Charles Solomon