Chōdenji Robo Combattler V
Combattler V, full name , is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Toei Animation and animated by Nippon Sunrise that aired from 1976 to 1977. It is the first part of the "Robot Romance Trilogy" of Super Robot series created by Saburo Yatsude and directed by Tadao Nagahama. The robot's name is a portmanteau of "combine", "combat", and "battle", and the V is intended both as an abbreviation for "victory" and in reference to the five component machines that form the robot, as well as its five pilots. The V is pronounced as the  letter V, unlike in the spiritual successor, "Voltes V", where it is pronounced "five". The show follows the adventures and battles of the Battle Team, a group of young pilots, as they battle against the Campbell Empire from outer space. Story. Thousands of years ago, the people of the planet Campbell decided to leave their planet and seek out new worlds to inhabit. One group, led by the scientist Oreana, landed on Earth, but was delayed from their mission. In the early 21st century, Oreana's group reawakens and begins their plan to conquer the Earth. The only effective defense  against the Campbellians' giant bio-mechanical slave beasts is the super-electromagnetic robot, Combattler V and its pilots. The entire series follows the then-standard monster-of-the-week format, with the first season featuring Garuda sending various mecha to defeat Combattler V. His tactics range from brute force to cunningness and taking hostages. He even duels Hyouma in a sword fight with their feet chained together; though just as Hyouma is about to kill him, he is saved by Oreana. As the series moves on, his trust for Oreana lessens. Garuda eventually discovers that he is in fact a  cyborg, and uncovers a robot specifically designed for him. In the final episode of the first season, he defeats Oreana, and duels Combattler V, which eventually leads to his defeat. The second season features Empress Janelor and her generals Dungele and Warchimedes. The way the second season is structured is quite similar to that of the first, but involves more serious plot points such as the taking of hostages and plots to kill the team. Eventually, the entire base of the Campbellian empress is deployed, and only through the help of the airborne Nanbara Connection Base is Combattler V able  to destroy it. However, Janelor manages to deploy an "Earth Bomb" which is supposed to destroy the Earth. Notably, the team is not dispirited, but are quite calm and instead happy for having the chance to fight to protect Earth. Just as it looks as though Earth will be destroyed, the "true" leader of the Campbellians, Deus, riding in a golden wagon, informs the team of the coup d'etat at Campbell, and stops the bomb seconds before it burrows into the core of the Earth. Production. The series (along with the later two shows) was created by Saburo Yatsude, who  would later go on to create Golion (best known to American viewers as the "Lion Force" half of Voltron). "Saburo Yatsude" is not a real person, but a pseudonym which refers to the collective staff at Toei (the main office, rather than the animation studio; the series was animated by Soeisha and produced by Toei Company). The series was animated by Sunrise on Toei's behalf. A sizable portion of the staff that worked on the earlier show Yuusha Raideen also worked on Combattler V. However, according to Tadao Nagahama, there were still efforts to sell a continuation to Raideen  even when it looked to be clearly ending, ignoring the demands of Combattler's producer, Takashi Iijima. In the end, right at the point where creating the new program would have been at the last second, Nagahama rejected the continuation of Raideen and its staff finally went over to work on Combattler, putting pressure on their schedule. Getter Robo also largely influenced the design of Combattler V itself, as toys made of the former were unable to replicate its three-state combination abilities to an extent that satisfied consumers. Thus, Combattler V was designed in such a way that toy  makers would be able to include this function more easily. The same concept would later go on to be used in Voltes V and in the Super Sentai series. Media. Combattler V ran for 54 episodes from April 17, 1976 to May 28, 1977. Various manga adaptations were released both during its airing and afterwards. Many toys were also produced. The anime itself was brought to the Philippines and dubbed in Tagalog, Cebuano and Hiligaynon. The series saw sequels in both Voltes V and Daimos and is the first show in Nagahama's "Robot Romance Trilogy". Combattler V appeared the  United States was in the late 1970s as a part of Mattel's Shogun Warriors line of imported Super Robot toys under the name of 'Combattra', and as such was one of the three Super Robots in the Marvel Comics companion series. In addition, Combattler V and its storyline have appeared in many entries in the Super Robot Wars franchise of video games. Themes. All lyrics are credited to Saburou Yatsude (the pseudonym for the production studio), while the songs were composed by Asei Kobayashi and arranged by Hiroshi Tsutsui.