I was saddened to learn about the recent death of Sato Tatsuo, director and writer of Martian Successor Nadesico. It was an anime I first watched in my high school days, and it was very formative to me as a young otaku. I remember just rewinding VHS tapes to watch my favorite scenes over and over, and finally getting the whole series on DVD was a dream come true.
The series is a riff on the mecha genre and a genuinely good science-fiction drama, as well as an insightful commentary on the way human beings view and interpret media, warts and all. The pale, blue-haired Hoshino Ruri was also one of the most popular characters of the period, playing off the Ayanami Rei trope and giving her a bit more of a biting edge. If I were to describe her using more recent characters, she was like Ram and Rem from Re:ZERO fused together, a mix of gentle and sardonic.
Though I’ve never looked into this, I get the sense that Nadesico might have even been an introduction to 1970s giant robot aesthetics for many newer anime fans through the show within a show, Gekiganger 3. I remember finding it really hilariously hokey back then, but I could feel myself become more fond of it as I shed my immature perception of super robots.
Many years later, there were murmurs of a potential sequel to Nadesico after The Prince of Darkness and the games, and I recall Sato mentioned that something happened that prevented it from getting off the ground. I can’t seem to find the old news articles about it, though, so my memory might be off.
It’s also unfortunate that Sato died this year, when multiple figures of Ruri have been coming out and 90s nostalgia is riding high. Goodsmile even made a retro website for their release! It could have been the opportunity to revel in and celebrate his most famous work. In the meantime, I’m going to sign off with one of my favorite anime songs of all time, from ThePrince of Darkness.
Earlier this month, the Soul of Chogokin King Exkizer (from the anime Brave Fighter Exkizer, aka Brave Exkaiser) went up for pre-order, over a decade after the line’s release of King of Braves Gaogaigar. Given the clever engineering that always goes into these figures, I assumed there would be some fun discussion about where it falls on the “toy fidelity” vs. “anime faithfulness” spectrum. But what I’ve since learned is that trying to achieve that balance is remarkably difficult, and the question of what to prioritize in an Exkizer figure is actually a point of contention among fans.
As someone who’s never watched Brave Fighter Exkizer outside of a handful of episodes, I don’t have any real personal skin in the game. My interest in this, aside from a general love of mecha, is mostly because the struggles of translating imagination into physical reality is something I can explore forever. With that in mind, I decided to write about this for a couple reasons. First, I want to prevent these conversations from simply being lost to fleeting social media. Second, I want to convey all this to an audience who might not be familiar with Exkizer, and thus wouldn’t easily understand why there’s a bit of a controversy in the first place.
So let’s begin!
The Myriad Inconsistencies of King Exkizer
Generally speaking, shows about giant robots take creative freedoms when adapting designs. Limbs bend in angles impossible for toys, parts pop out of nowhere or disappear, proportions are made to look less silly, and there’s just a bit of “cartoon magic” applied overall. Combattler V the toy has tank treads on its back that are always visible, but Combattler V the anime robot sees its treads pop in and out of view depending on what the show needs. Devastator from Transformers will have a different head design depending on the episode. Deluxe versions that try to thread the needle of toy vs. show will do things like “make the tank treads removable” or “provide both heads and allow the owner to choose.”
However, King Exkizer presents a number of major challenges.
In the anime, Exkizer is a large robot who can turn into a car. To fight greater threats, he summons King Roder, a bigger vehicle that transforms into a humanoid frame which Exkizer can enter to become King Exkizer. It’s essentially a matryoshka-esque combination reminiscent of Gordian and Baikanfu.
Not surprisingly, there are differences between the original toy and the animated representation of the robot. But within the show Brave Fighter Exkizer itself, the size relationship between Exkizer and King Roder is also wildly inconsistent.
When Exkizer executes his “Form Up” to become King Exkizer, King Roder is portrayed as a kind of power armor relative to Exkizer’s size. If the shots in this combination sequence are to be trusted, the vehicle form of King Roder should be a little less than 1.5 times as long as Exkizer’s car form, which is the case with the original toy. But the official data says King Roder is over four times longer than Exkizer (22.4 meters vs. 5.5 meters), and no amount of reconfiguration or bending of parts can reconcile this incongruity. To add to the headache, the official lineart shows King Roder to be about 2.5 times the length of Exkizer as automobile, and the anime can’t keep this consistent, even within a single shot in the opening!
Exkizer in car mode attached to King Roder: Original toy vs. Anime production lineartvs. Anime opening
Now, it’s incredibly common for giant robots to not match their official sizes in all shots. That’s just part of anime. Are they taller than the buildings or are they shorter? Depends on the shot! And there are plenty of instances of robots magically changing size as part of the lore, like when Megatron in Transformers turns into a gun, or how the car in Braiger grows bigger for no reason when becoming the robot. The tricky thing in King Exkizer’s case is the fact that the relative sizes of the two robots affect how they’re supposed to join up. As a result, the conflicting info about size ratio between the component pieces can’t be squared away or easily ignored; it’s basically impossible to make all of them work in one toy. And even if you hand-wave away every one of those problems, even the appearance of King Exkizer changes from one shot to the next during his combination, and then those don’t necessarily match up with how he looks when posing for his special attacks.
These issues are so significant that Bandai Spirits released a 12-minute video recounting some of the struggles the designers went through in creating it. That is unprecedented!
Did you know the project actually started eight years ago, and that multiple people in charge of it tried to figure out a solution but failed? A young designer named Fujiki Yuuya (who was a fan of the Brave series born in 1999, after the franchise had essentially been over) was eventually assigned to make a version of King Exkizer for the Metal Build line, only for him to hit a dead end as well because the toy’s mechanisms became increasingly complex. It took advice from the SoC Gaogaigar lead Terano Akira to keep playability in mind and look at the SoC Tryon 3 for inspiration, as well as suggestions from the Tryon 3 project’s Mizuno Masahiro, to help bring it to the finish line.
So, presented with these design roadblocks, how does the Soul of Chogokin King Exkizer strive to overcome them and reach a solid compromise?
The Answer, According to Bandai Spirits
First, rather than try to match the animation depicting the Form Up sequence, they decided to make the scale and proportions relatively accurate to official stats for both the vehicle forms and the combined King Exkizer (Exkizer in car mode might even be a bit too small). However, rather than abandoning the combination concept entirely, Exkizer is still made to nestle into King Roder, albeit in a way that looks different from the anime. The result is something reminiscent of Arc Guren-Lagann inside Super Galaxy Guren-Lagann.
Exkizer Combining with King Roder (Soul of Chogokin)
In contrast, a previous King Exkizer figure from the company Toyrise did not even attempt to make this work, instead opting for Exkizer to enter King Roder from the back as a solid block. An even earlier toy, the Masterpiece King Exkizer, somewhat more faithfully captures the combination sequence proportions at the expense of the vehicle size ratios and overall body proportions of King Exkizer, and the Exkizer inside is still noticeably smaller than the anime’s. The same can be said of another upcoming version of King Exkizer, from Shokugan Modeling Project.
Second, King Exkizer actually has a couple of swappable inner parts: a “form-up” frame that more faithfully lets Exkizer enter King Roder fully intact, and an “action” frame that allows for greater poseability. A lot of previous entries in the SoC line were made to go in one direction or the other, but in the case of Brave Fighter Exkizer, the combination sequence and the Obari Masami–esque poses are such iconic parts of the anime that they both appear to have been deemed necessary. This is accomplished by having the limbs of Exkizer split up and stored in different parts of King Exkizer’s body when using the action frame.
Form Up Frame vs. Action Frame
Fan Reaction
The actual final form of the figure looks good and seems to generally have the polish and articulation one expects out of the SoC line. Social media shows plenty of positive feedback too. The reason this figure is the subject of debate comes down to the fact that fans disagree about the most important aspects of King Exkizer to preserve.
They might consider the “power armor” aesthetic (and the proportions needed for it) more important than keeping the official sizes of Exkizer and King Roder. Or they might find that the use of different frames to prioritize different types of play over-complicates things. Or they might even deem the Obari-faithful poseability and limbs to not be worth the other sacrifices. Ultimately, it seems impossible to please everyone, and the fact that it feels like a damned if you, damned if you don’t scenario makes me wonder if that was a factor in delaying the project.
It’s tempting to point to fellow Brave Robot Gaogaigar and ask why they couldn’t do something similar to its SoC. Yet one has to remember that not only is the King of Braves just a bulkier design in general with fewer displays of extreme poseability, but the extremely intricate Final Fusion combination is such a defining part of Gaogaigar that it has to be the #1 priority. King Exkizer’s Form Up doesn’t compare.
The Devil in the Details
In thinking about all the hurdles Soul of Chogokin King Exkizer encountered, one thing that comes to mind is that most classic of combiners: the original Getter Robo. In its anime, the vehicles form the main robot in a manner that is literally impossible to replicate with physical materials. Body parts just magically appear out of nowhere, and the overall shape shifts like a blob to accommodate things. The Soul of Chogokin line never even bothered with making combining toys of Getter Robo, and attempts to create one have been awkward at best.
While King Exkizer seemingly shows none of those Play-Doh qualities, it’s not that far off. In isolation, each depiction of an exciting mechanical detail trick viewers into thinking that it all makes sense, but when you take the whole of it in, you realize it’s basically tossing aside overall consistency in favor of Rule of Cool. That works just fine in animation, but it’s clearly a conundrum for toy makers.
In essence, King Exkizer in animation is like having incomplete versions of 10 jigsaw puzzles, all of which are depicting the same general image while also having subtle differences in size, number of pieces, and other finer details. The premium toys and figures are, in turn, attempts to combine them into one cohesive image that can satisfy everyone. It’s an impossible task, and yet the fans and designers alike keep hoping that a real solution is out there. Whether the Soul of Chogokin rendition is the right move really is in the eye of the beholder.
I recently took the opportunity to see the theatrical 4K screening of the feature-length Gundam Wing:Endless Waltz Special Edition in theaters. It was preceded by two short works from the world of Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans, and those are what I’ll be focusing on.
First up was Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Urdr-Hunt Special Edition: The Path of the Little Challenger. The title is a real mouthful, and that’s because it’s a compilation work consisting of animated shorts from the Urdr-Hunt mobile game, which is set in the Iron-Blooded Orphans universe. It centers around a boy from Venus named Wistario Afam, who enters a mysterious stellar scavenger hunt called the Urdr-Hunt.
The conceit of the story is clearly derived from the source material’s game-esque elements, and the shorts themselves are a little disjointed, with the in-game elements meant to glue them together seemingly replaced by narration and possibly other bits of animation. The main cast of Urdr-Hunt does not include any established characters from the anime, but a number of side characters do make appearances. Given that the presentation is inherently flawed—it feels less like it’s about creating a cohesive work, and more about having an established version of the animations in a format that doesn’t require you to play a game that is no longer available—I ultimately don’t begrudge it being a bit of a slog to watch.
My main takeaways come in two parts: First, I enjoyed the way it expands on the woefully under-explored setting of Iron-Blooded Orphans, such as the appearance of more of the Mobile Armors from the “Calamity War” that is so essential to the backstory. Second, as the only Gundam series explicitly in favor of polyamory, I could tell that this element was still very much present in the main “love triangle.” Nothing is conclusive or happens outright, but it isn’t fooling anyone.
Following Urdr-Hunt was the Iron-Blooded Orphans 10th anniversary short, Wedge of Interposition. It takes place between seasons 1 and 2, and shows the Tekkadan crew transitioning to a new stage in their lives now that they have some real notoriety, with particular focus on Orga as the leader having to learn how to interact with more “civilized” bigwigs by doing things like “learning to read and write.” I found the short to be a brief yet heartwarming look at the group’s camaraderie, which I realize is quite rare among Gundam entries. Sure, there are plenty of stories about people being brought together in war, but any sense of unity usually comes from severe growing pains.
And then the ending credits are filled with shirtless pictures of Orga, Mikazuki, and the rest. Truly, they know their audience.
The conclusion I came to in watching both of these is that I certainly wouldn’t mind a prequel or sequel to Iron-Blooded Orphans. While I really like the animeoverall, one of the more disappointing things in the end was not getting to see more of the worldbuilding. What we have with these two short pieces is decent, but I think there’s plenty more stories to tell.
When talking about the mecha genre, omitting the merchandise component often tells an incomplete story. Most shows are historically also toy commercials, and sometimes decisions can be traced to bottom lines more than creative choices by a director or writer. But what about a giant robot that, for the most part, was only ever a toy?
That’s the story of Gattai Robot Atlanger, a robot from the 1970s that didn’t have a cool and dramatic TV series to excite the imagination and endear itself to an audience, yet still managed to find success by looking cool, being affordable on a kid’s allowance, and having lots of playability. And my goal in writing this article is to provide an informative but not comprehensive look at Atlanger to help others who are curious.
Background
My interest in Atlanger (sometimes known as Atranger or Atlanjer) started a few years ago, though I don’t remember what was the catalyst that prompted me to look for more information. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the idea that there exists a beloved hero from the golden age of super robots that often doesn’t get included because of an accompanying anime or tokusatsu title. However, when I tried to find English websites, articles, or anything that talked about it at length, I kept coming up short.
So I decided to give it a try myself. I’m nowhere close to being an expert on Atlanger, but I wanted to have something out there for English readers. I also wasn’t a kid in 1970s Japan and I haven’t collected any of the toys or other merch, so everything I know is just second- or even third-hand knowledge. Hopefully, those who lived through it, or are perhaps bigger toy and model enthusiasts, can hopefully expand on what I have here.
Before I get into things, a few notes:
First, a special thanks to long-time robot fandom comrade VF5SS for pointing me towards a book released in Japan all about the company behind Atlanger: Outsider Plamodel Art -Aoshima Bunka Kyozai Co.’s Unusual Power of Imagination-. It’s been the biggest boon in this endeavor, though it means there are likely a number of biases that come from working mainly off of one resource. I’m also grateful to the YouTube channels pokopokoMyTube, Robo-Labo J, and Arisa Honda for providing detailed looks at many of the products and releases I discuss below.
Second, a lot of name spellings below are unofficial and are my best guesses.
And last, while the word “successful” is used in various resources, it’s not entirely clear what defines a success. Outsider Plamodel Art gives some sales numbers, but they’re for Aoshima as a whole, and not just Atlanger by itself. At least in terms of overall profit, the company made hundreds of millions of yen throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Aoshima and the Birth of Atlanger
Aoshima Bunka Kyozai began in 1918 by selling model kits of airplanes, and the company still makes model vehicles today, including for the racing manga and anime series Initial D. The story of Atlanger’s specifically, however, begins in 1975. The company had previously released a Mach Baron toy, but that year saw something of a super robot drought, with supercars being the hot new thing. In this environment, the staff at Aoshima decided they would take matters into their own hands, and the third-generation company president, Aoshima Masao, went about personally designing their first original robot.
According to its lore, Atlanger is a robot originating from Atlantis 8,000 years ago. Made up of the alloy orihalcon discovered by the scientist Picard (Pikaru), it was created by the Atlantean prophet Palou (Paruu) to defend the Earth against an invasion from the Dark Planet Gloustar (Ankoku Sei Guroosutaa). Atlanger is actually assembled by combining four vehicles: the Grand Tiger, the Mighty Bird, the Red Clipper, and the Target Carrier. When fully formed, it strikes an impressive figure thanks to its Mazinger-like aesthetic and its golden yellow highlights (especially its bird-like chest plate), as well as its four major armaments. Those would be the Broken Cutter sword, the Miracle Defender shield, launching fists called Rocket Clippers, and the flight-granting Red Wings.
This name and backstory were created after the robot was already designed, and some details appear to have changed or gotten fudged over time. For example, later versions would state that the pilots of Atlanger were fighting in the year 2500 CE after a second invasion from Gloustar. Aoshima would also introduce other allies like the robot Dryger; a Grendizer Spazer-style flying vehicle that can combine with Atlanger called the Tiger Shark; and the large battleship Gattai Kyokan Yamato, which has its own mecha on deck called Gattai Robot Musashi.
Atlanger within Mecha History
The fact that Atlanger is composed of vehicles that join together cleanly might feel pretty run-of-the-mill today, but it was no small deal at the time. 1975 was after Getter Robo introduced its “smash ’em together” gattai sequences but before Combattler V and its detailed combination that could be replicated nicely in toy form. While the Atlantean robot’s design wasn’t as elegant as Combattler’s, it was a bridge between the more logic-defying approach of the former and the more realistic one of the latter. And unlike Aoshima’s Mach Baron (which had a similar feature but which didn’t reflect its presentation in the Super Robot Mach Baron TV show), this was “official.” Atlanger was also fairly novel in its concept, being a robot with a fantasy angle similar to Reideen—which coincidentally came out the same year and is also from a lost continent (Mu).
This timing and relative originality is part of the reason Atlanger found a place in the toy market, but another major factor was price. Aoshima’s complete robots were sold in supermarkets and dagashi shops for 1,000 yen (around 2,115 yen adjusted for 2025 inflation), but individual vehicles were also available for 500 yen each. While kids might not be able to afford the whole thing, they could also settle for a part and maybe hope to get the rest down the line. The toys were also often cross-compatible, so you could take parts of one robot or vehicle and attach them to another. A battleship could have heads and arms sticking out of it. There were no rules, like seen in this absurdly and decidedly non-canon Ideon vehicle called the “Ideon Colossus.”
One of the reasons why the Aoshima kits like Atlanger (and Mach Baron before it) were so relatively inexpensive is that they were made entirely of plastic, unlike the diecast metal toys seen elsewhere that were often twice as expensive. In this sense, they could also be considered precursors to the Gunpla craze, with Gundam predecessors like Zambot 3 and Daitarn 3 even getting Aoshima versions. Atlanger and pals were also much simpler to construct.
Aoshima would later create smaller kits more proportionally in line with Gundam model kits. Although Aoshima’s kits were slightly more expensive (400 yen vs. 300 yen), they were also larger and more colorful.
Yet, despite (or perhaps because of) Atlanger’s affordability, it wasn’t immune to economic hardship. One curious thing about the aforementioned Broken Cutter is that the sword is so unusually short that it’s practically a dagger. Japan was still feeling the effects of the 1973 oil crisis, and this was one way to save on manufacturing expenses.
Keeping Up with the Times, or At Least Trying
Atlanger comes from a specific period of time, but as Aoshima’s flagship mecha, it has been updated in numerous ways over the decades.
When the company started making those smaller and vaguely Gunpla-esque kits through its Mini Gattai line, they introduced “New Atlanger” in 1981, a version with a more angular design and elements very reminiscent of Gundams and other real robots.
Years later, they would release Hattenkei (Successor) Robo Atlanger, which looks a lot more like a 90s Sunrise/Takara Brave Robot.
In 2012, Evolution Toy released a premium poseable figure in its Dynamite Action Series. One interesting feature of this toy is the fact that it comes with two versions of the Broken Cutter: a longer one and a shorter one. The former is more aesthetically pleasing and what you expect out of a super robot’s sword weapon. However, the latter has history, calling back to the original toy and its material circumstances. I find it funny and charming that the stubby Broken Cutter is so iconic for Atlanger that they bothered to include it as an accessory.
Most recently, 2021 would see a new model kit called the ACKS Gattai Atlanger, and it again made a move to modernize. However, while it indeed sported a “modern super robot” aesthetic, the real feature that spoke to the times was the fact that it came with an additional figure: a cute and sexy anime girl named Hotaka Atori, who wears an outfit reminiscent of Atlanger. This girl figure could even attach some of the robot parts to become a mecha musume of sorts.
Actually, There Is an Atlanger Anime, But…
I went through the majority of this article emphasizing that Atlanger-related narrative media wasn’t really a factor. That technically isn’t true, though there is an important caveat: It’s always been in service of the toys themselves to a degree that exceeds even the merchandise tie-ins of other mecha.
Aoshima’s products, including but not limited to Atlanger-related toys, were portrayed in manga form through the 1970s and 80s, first in children’s magazines by Shogakukan focused on individual elementary grade levels, and then in their own Aoshima Comics. However, these were primarily short promotional comics meant to show how cool the toys are, not unlike the pack-in comics that came with He-Man products in the US.
Then, in 2011, Aoshima released a one-episode 15-minute OVA titled Gattai Robot Atlanger at Winter Comic Market 81. Its purpose was to celebrate Atlanger, but also to coincide with a figure release: the 2012 Evolution Toy version mentioned above.
The plot sees Atlanger on the eve of a retirement ceremony after decades of service in the fight and eventual stalemate against the aliens from the Dark Planet. When a new attack occurs, it’s up to Asuka Ken (one of the old pilots of Atlanger) to jump in the cockpit once again. This time around, he’s joined by a group of young co-pilots who are skeptical about the effectiveness of this outdated machine, but the classic robot proves to still have what it takes in battle. At the climax, Atlanger showcases its ability to split into four vehicles, as well as its combined form with the Tiger Shark, to win the day—all while a theme song is performed by tokusatsu and anime music legend Kushida Akira (Gavan, Xabungle). Overall, the OVA is a love letter filled with nostalgia. There’s even a meta commercial for the old 1975 toy included!
(Curiously, this wasn’t Atlanger’s first anime appearance. That would be, bizarrely enough, a very brief cameo in the opening of Episode 8 of Oreimo in 2010. The same studio, AIC, worked on both.)
An Atlanger manga then debuted digitally in 2021. GattaiAtlanger was published on the Dengeki Hobby website, coinciding with the ACKS model kit release and featuring multiple cute moe girls. In this version, Atlanger was a sentient guardian deity robot who fought against a threat to humanity called Shadow (not Gloustar). After a cataclysmic battle, the AI for Atlanger was sent back across time and space, meeting schoolgirl Hotaka Atori, who becomes capable of transforming magical girl–style and even summoning Atlanger in super robot form. This manga ran for six chapters, with the ACKS kit version of Gattai Robot Musashi also showing up.
In every case, the merch ends up being the true center of attention. Atlanger is simply a robot that happens to have an anime, rather than being an “anime robot.”
Concluding Thoughts
Gattai Robot Atlanger began as an affordable robot toy first and foremost, with any media tie-ins being ancillary at best, and somehow still found success. This spirit has persisted, defining the presence and memory of Atlanger over the course of four decades.
Without a defining anime/manga image at its core, the aesthetics of Atlanger shifted from one iteration to the next. The 70s super robot toy made way for the 80s real robot–adjacent model kit, and each later release saw more and more changes that fluctuated based on how much they were trying to call back to the original and how much they were trying to modernize.
But even in terms of tapping into nostalgia, Atlanger hasn’t been able to get what most other mecha receive when they’re made into premium robot figures. High-quality lines like Soul of Chogokin, Masterpiece Transformers, Master Grade (or higher) Gunpla, and even Evolution Toy’s Dynamic Action Series all try to close the gap and find a compromise between the physical objects, the visual media, imagination, and nostalgia. Alternative designs like Hajime Katoki mobile suit variations or the Amakuni Kizin line might re-think or exaggerate certain elements or proportions while staying pretty close to this idea. But because “fidelity to the original” isn’t really a factor, there is no “platonic ideal” to aim for in this case. In a way, that’s perfect for Atlanger.
But eschewing faithfulness to source material isn’t telling the whole story. In an essay in Outside Plamodel Art, quintessential mecha designer Okawara Kunio (Gundam, Zambot 3, many others) talks about the degree to which the “combining” aspects of Aoshima’s licensed toys paid little attention to how a robot was portrayed in their own media. This wasn’t uncommon at the time (see the original Clover Gundam toys), but Okawara believes that while other companies were always trying to create new ideas and gimmicks for toys, Aoshima was more about providing “teaching materials” that could foster learning in kids. To me, it sounds like Okawara is saying that Atlanger and company were like a halfway point between action figures and Legos, and thus occupied a unique position on store shelves.
So while Atlanger won’t ever have the powerful politics of Mobile Suit Gundam, the iconic status of Mazinger Z, the dozens of variations of Super Sentai, or the challenging introspection of Evangelion, it does emphasize something special: a primary devotion to play, where “messages” and “themes” are secondary to imaginative, hands-on exploration by the young and the young at heart.
Mono Monet, a VTuber from the agency V4Mirai, recently revealed herself to be a Genshiken fan.
What’s more, I was directly involved in this reveal! During a chat about a different topic, I was specifically called out by Mono for having “Ogiue” in my name. It spurred her on to start talking about the series, and the possibility of doing a Genshiken watchalong at some point.
This is the second time I’ve seen a VTuber explicitly express a fondness for Kio Shimoku’s title. (The first was when FUWAMOCO from hololive sang “Kujibiki Unbalance.”)
The above clip is over 20 minutes long because Mono talks about not just her love of Genshiken itself, but also Evangelion and what she looks for in fiction. It’s quite interesting overall, and Mono is just full of good takes, particularly when it comes to the appeal of flawed and messy characters.
Anime NYC 2025, held from August 21 to 24, was the second time since the New York–based convention moved its dates to take place in the summer. The decision allows it to use more of the Jacob Javits Center, but comes at the cost of being stuck in a crowded con season, as well as the risk of unpleasant heat and humidity. Luck was in Anime NYC’s favor this year, however, as the weather was pretty much ideal despite the weeks prior being pretty dire.
As always, the convention is very concentrated on its Exhibit Hall and its events. There are plenty of panels featuring industry insights and announcements of upcoming plans, but they tend to be geared more towards promotion, with a few less business-focused gems here and there. For me, because Anime NYC has become a big event for VTubers, I’ve found myself dedicating more attention in that direction.
The Takahashi Yoko Concert
I don’t always attend the concerts at Anime NYC, which require an additional ticket purchase. But there was almost no price that would keep me from seeing Takahashi Yoko, the singer of the Neon Genesis Evangelion opening. The series has been such a part of my life over the course of decades that I jumped at the chance to hear her sing live.
Curiously, her tickets didn’t sell out that quickly, and there were plenty still available even after a small group purchase. I could see people not making the connection between Takahashi and the evergreen “Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” or that we’ve hit a point where Evangelion is considered more history than anything else among newer generations of anime fans. More for people like me, I guess.
Takahashi performed songs found in Eva such as “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Soul Refrain,” but her set was not just limited to music from the franchise. She was also accompanied by two young backup dancers, who were quite impressive. A part of me hoped that Hakos Baelz, the hololive VTuber who specializes in dance and was in NYC at this time, was in the audience and could see them. Naturally, Takahashi capped off the concert “Cruel Angel’s Thesis.”
There were some issues with the audio that took time to resolve. The acoustics of the main event space aren’t ideal for concerts in the first place, and there was something about the setup that drowned out her voice to a degree. I brought ear plugs, but had to take them out at first because I couldn’t hear her well enough with them in. There was also a tech flub on one song that forced them to restart it. In spite of all that, Takahashi’s voice was simply sublime; it sounded even better in person.
During the concert, Takahashi gave a speech in English, reading from some prepared notes. She talked about how she basically grew up with music and was going down the path of the classically trained, but various issues kept her working as a session musician. She was initially hired to sing one of the versions of “Fly Me to the Moon” for Evangelion, knowing nothing about it. At her first recording, she was accompanied by just one bespectacled man in a sweatshirt and sweatpants—Anno Hideaki. After this, she was asked to sing the opening as well.
Takahashi described her relationship with Evangelion as a complicated one, but also something she’s overall grateful for. It boxed her in, but without it, she would not have been able to achieve such success or have so many opportunities. She talked about how her favorite episode of Eva is actually 26 because of one scene in particular: In the “abstract sketch” space seen in the finale, Shinji is shown floating through an empty void with total freedom, but the lack of any boundaries makes it intimidating. He is then drawn a ground, limiting his freedom in one way. However, the boundary that exists now allows Shinji to do what he couldn’t before, which is walk and find a way. Takahashi basically feels the same way about Eva.
hololive
The VTubers of hololive have become a staple of this event. Returning to the Exhibit Hall was the large booth featuring convention-exclusive panel streams, as was the hololive World Tour (more on that later). Curiously, while past Anime NYCs have also included a big hololive panel as well, that wasn’t the case this time around.
The Booth
One big change from previous years was that the panels were spaced further apart on the schedule, which I found very welcome. It gave me an opportunity to check out other things, and helped mitigate the potential fire hazard that forms with the enthusiastic crowds. I didn’t attend every panel, but every one I did see was fun in its own way.
I’m a fan of all the holoX ladies, so I really wanted to see Takane Lui. She did not disappoint, especially when it came to karaoke, but the antics of her panel partner, Shirakami Fubuki, made it even better. The fox would bust out a 2D Yagoo mask and a pair of muscular arms on occasion, which culminated in their fitting presence during the song “Onegai Muscle” from the anime How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?
The Tombstone panel, so named because Calliope Mori is a grim reaper and Koseki Bijou is a living gemstone, had them answering “Would you rather” questions related to New York City. The NYer heavy crowd naturally had a lot of opinions, and it was entertaining to hear the VTubers try to twist logic to suit their choices.
I also went out of my way to see the hololive Indonesia karaoke relay, which had Kobo Kanaeru, Airani Iofifteen, and then Pavolia Reine. You could tell that people really love Kobo’s singing because the normally boisterous crowd was almost pin-drop silent as she covered “Mayonaka no Door,” “Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” and other tunes. Kobo was going to sing “Dragostea Din Tei” too, but a technical mishap prevented her from finishing it. Iofi amazed me by singing “Do You Remember Love?” and I even got noticed by the camera when she was looking around for holo merch.
If I had any big complaints, it would be that standing on concrete for extended periods is really tough on my feet, even though I have good shoes. It’s possible to have better flooring for a booth, and I think Cover Corp can afford it.
The World Tour
Anime NYC was selected as one of the stops on the world tour, which is officially titled ‘hololive STAGE ‘25 World Tour -Synchronize.” This is not to be confused with the hololive EN 3rd Concert, All for One, which took place the same weekend. You can read my review of that here.
The different lineup from last year brought a different energy that was less “pop diva.” With Calliope Mori, IRyS, Nerissa Ravencroft, Momosuzu Nene, and Kureiji Ollie on stage, you had a combination of dedicated singers and all-out entertainers. Personal highlights included the covers of “Shijoshugi Adtruck” and “Don’t Say Lazy,” as well as the world tour official song, “Live It Loud!” which I think does a good job highlighting the strengths of each performer.
I do have a few complaints. The first two are ones I’ve already mentioned, namely the whole “standing on concrete for hours” thing like at the booth, and the iffy acoustics of the Main Events hall. The third is what I’d consider a very mild gripe: a good amount of the songs performed were also at Breaking Dimensions last year. However, I know I pay a great deal of attention to the musical performance side of hololive, and this is less of an issue for those who watch events less often.
Each stop includes two additional guests, and New York City’s were Natsuiro Matsuri and Haachama, aka Akai Haato. Matsuri is a nice middle point between singer and entertainer, and I’m a big, big fan of Haachama in general. I was a little sad that I couldn’t see the entirety of Haachama’s panel last year at Anime NYC, and I consider myself very fortunate that I managed to purchase a ticket to Synchronize. I even brought my Haaton wearable head towel so I could represent, and spotted other Haatons (i.e. Haachama fans) while waiting in line. For the concert, she performed her first original, “RED HEART,” and its simplicity is something that goes back to the very core of VTubing in a way I enjoy immensely.
The Stamp Rally and Other Merch
There was a great deal of hololive-related goods available at the con. They had very visible representation in the Artist Alley, and the official booth gave away a con-exclusive trading card featuring the participants of the world tour, as well as a card for a stamp rally. The prize for completing the rally was a sticker set with all the ambassadors from hololive MEET ‘25, the general umbrella for conventions and other events around the world. However, it required participants to make purchases at specific booths, and if you got there on later days like I did, it meant making more expensive purchases. This is exactly why I ended up caving and getting the Hakos Baelz hoodie from Ohmonah. I had been eyeing it since July, and the quality and comfort (on top of the stamp for the rally) was too much for me. It’s so good, man.
Other VTubers
Likely because of hololive’s presence every year now, Anime NYC has also become a focal point for VTubing on the east coast. Merch-wise, big names like Sameko Saba, Nimi Nightmare, Dooby3D, Mint Fantôme, Dokibird, and Shylily were all over the Artist Alley. Ironmouse and CDawgVA also had a panel promoting a new game.
Additionally, the Exhibit Hall had a couple booths featuring Meet & Greets with smaller VTubers all weekend long. I used this opportunity to talk to Pillowdear, and complimented her for doing fun and creative ASMRs like her Easter stream. This was my second ever Meet & Greet, and I found it fascinating that you really get the gamut of participants. I saw someone who was clearly a dedicated fan of Pillow, but also people who literally had no idea about or even VTubing in general. I guess I fall somewhere in the middle.
There was also a Phase Connect karaoke event that I ended up not attending, but I did finally buy coffee from their booth. I got the Ember Amane beans, and while I also wanted Dizzy Dokuro’s, I foolishly forgot to take into account that her blatantly shilling-oriented original song made it a hot commodity. (Expect an Ember coffee review at a later time.)
Other Panels
Tsuda Kenjiro and Yu-Gi-Oh! 25th Anniversary
I attended the Yu-Gi-Oh! 25th anniversary panel, which featured the Japanese voice of Kaiba Seto, Tsuda Kenjiro. These days, Tsuda is everywhere, but this was basically his first really big role. For those who grew up on the English dub, I still think it’s worth listening to his portrayal of Kaiba, because it gives a similar yet different flavor to the character. For the panel, he did a live reading of a scene from the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie The Dark Side of Dimensions.
There were a few stories Tsuda told that I found particularly interesting:
Back when Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters was airing, the voice of Yugi (Kazama Shunsuke) was still in high school, and he would sometimes come to the recording studio in his school uniform.
When Tsuda recorded a voice-over for a Yu-Gi-Oh! video game, he saw a lot of comments online about how “Kaiba sounds so old now.” This made Tsuda want to show that he could still voice the character, and when he was asked to come back for Dark Side of Dimensions, he relished the chance.
Tsuda talked about how unlike most other shounen series, where the characters get amped up and then calm down, Yu-GI-Oh! characters are basically dialed up to max at all times. It makes recording for other series way easier by comparison.
One-Punch Man and JAM Project
I could not attend the entire One-Punch Man panel due to having to leave for All for One, but I do want to make sure story in particular is told for posterity. The guests for the panel were the members of JAM PROJECT, who do the One-Punch Man openings. In recounting the creation of the first opening (“THE HERO!!”), leader Kageyama Hironobu recalls going to his bandmates and vaguely humming the lines of the first verse without any lyrics, including the part that would eventually go Nandatten da? Frustration!/Ore wa tomaranai!—which Kageyama recreated as a series of ambiguous squeals and yells. Apparently, the other members looked at him funny and basically replied, “Are you serious?” I later found out that they played “SKILL” from Super Robot Wars in addition to One-Punch Man music. I wish I could have been there, but alas.
The Food Is Too Expensive
Like so many other convention centers, the Jacob Javits has never been cost friendly when it comes to food options. For anyone looking to save money, I never recommend anyone eat the con itself, and I do it because I see trying out different overpriced meals to be part of the experience—kind of like gambling in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. However, even I felt that the prices were getting beyond ridiculous this year. Things were close to if not exceeding $20 when they weren’t that way last year, and I will definitely bring food with me next year. Moreover, there were certain options available last year that weren’t present for 2025: Korilla and its Korean dishes were sorely missed, as was the Indian section in the food court area.
If I had to recommend one place, it would have been the BentOn stall in the Exhibit Hall. While the prices are still not great, the bento options (fish or fried chicken) are the best bet for getting a well-balanced meal at Anime NYC.
Cosplay
Final Thoughts
Anime NYC has long been trying to be the Anime Expo of the east coast, and it has succeeded in essence. It gets big guests from Japan and around the world, has a major industry presence, and it looks and feels big. If you want to attend events and see things you wouldn’t be able to otherwise, this con is generally a good place to be. However, that comes at a price, in that it can sometimes feel overwhelming the same way one might get bombarded by neon signage. The difference is that Anime NYC is like a less extreme AX, where there are fewer good things (AX being on the west coast gets it a lot more opportunities for interesting guests) but also fewer bad things (Anime NYC almost never has the really bad crowding issues of AX).
I think this is why I’ve come to enjoy the VTuber side of Anime NYC so much. While it’s definitely part of the “corporate” presence due to hololive (and other VTuber companies to a lesser extent), that side still feels very fan driven. I would like to see some of that spirit and energy on the anime and manga side as well.
Gundam GQuuuuuuX is a work that has a lot to potentially talk about, especially because it both utilizes and deviates from a lot of established Gundam lore. This is a followup to my overall review of the series, where I now want to take the time to put forth what I consider my biggest GQuuuuuuX theory as a result of the show’s final episode: The Gundam QuuuuuuX mobile suit is possessed by the spirit of the original Amuro Ray. And by original, I mean original.
Before I elaborate, I want to make two notes. First, there will be MASSIVE SPOILERS.
Second, I’ll be discussing the actor Furuya Toru, the original voice of Gundam protagonist Amuro Ray, someone who’s become persona non grata due to revelations of adultery and domestic abuse. While I myself have soured on him because of this and am deeply disappointed by his actions, he still played a role in the finale that I think is meant to have greater implications than just being a fun callback. Thus, the analysis below takes into account what I believe is the effect of his inclusion.
With that, let’s begin.
In the final episode, as Machu in the GQuuuuuuX is fighting Shuji in the original-design RX-78-2 Gundam, the GQuuuuuX unlocks the true form of its Omega Psycommu. Within the rush of the kaleidoscopic “kira kira” Newtype space, the voice of Furuya Toru speaks to Machu and Shuji and says, “I can’t bear to see the Gundam taking Lalah’s life again.”
One would assume that this is the Amuro from “Rose of Sharon” Lalah’s universe, but here’s the catch: Lalah never died there. While extremely similar, the Lalah we see in the Elmeth is established to be different from the Lalah in the original 1979 anime and the film trilogy. In her world, Char dies instead of her, and the shock causes her to slip into alternate timelines where he survives. In fact, according to Shuji, more often than not it’s Char who dies instead.
This is why I believe that this is “our” Amuro Ray, the one we saw go through Mobile Suit Gundam and on. And on top of that, I think this was his fate after the end of Char’s Counterattack.
Additionally, while not a direct reinforcement of the above point, I want to point out the significance of the true name of the Omega Psycommu that’s inside the GQuuuuuuX. Challia Bull reveals that it’s actually called the Endymion Unit, and those familiar with Furuya’s voice roles might find that it sounds familiar. This is because Prince Endymion is the original name of Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon before he reincarnated as Chiba Mamoru, and Furuya plays this character in the 1990s anime. In other words, the Endymion Unit is a reference to a character played by Amuro Ray’s actor—one who failed to save his lover and was reborn into a watchful protector who helps guide Sailor Moon. Even if only meant to be a fun reference, the thematic parallels are hard to ignore.
Also, the way the GQuuuuuX looks when the Endymion Unit is unleashed is very reminiscent of Neon Genesis Evangelion, where the EVAs themselves contain the souls of other characters who (for the most part) watch over their pilots.
One thing that GQuuuuuX also does is imply that the vaunted esper-like abilities of Newtypes are quantum in nature, in that they can see multiple possibilities and choose the right one, somewhat like the Doctor in Doctor Who. Perhaps Char’s Counterattack Amuro ascended to a higher level of this, and in spirit form traversed alternate universes to find the Rose of Sharon.
If all this were to be true, that leaves me to wonder about something else: If the GQuuuuuuX houses the spirit of the original Amuro Ray, where is the original Char Aznable? Could it be that the Red Gundam, i.e. the RX-78-2 of the GQuuuuuuX world, is actually possessed by Char? When the GQuuuuuuX Char pilots it, does that mean we’re getting Double Char? Were that to be the case, this would mean Amuro and Char have decided to work together to save this Lalah from living through endless tragedy.
I prefer to review shows after they’ve finished, so my plan has always been to wait until the end of the TV series to give my more complete thoughts. However, the way Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX fueled speculation every week with every reveal means that it’s hard to separate it from the hype train surrounding its broadcast. One question I have to ask myself is simply, to what extent do I judge the show removed from the moment when that energy was so important to its release?
Complicating all this is the fact that I can’t pretend that all the nudges and winks at the fandom weren’t up my alley. To that end, this ends up being less of a review and more the ramblings of a long-time Gundam fan who tries not to care too much about the nitty gritty of lore but still gets excited about it nevertheless, especially when GQuuuuuuX is built heavily around that world building.
The Beginning (Literally)
My introduction to GQuuuuuuX was through the movie from earlier in the year. I went in knowing nothing beyond a few promotional images and one curious spoiler that had me more confused than anything, and I figured Gundam GQuuuuuuX: The Beginning was some new franchise entry. Then an all-too-familiar narration began accompanied by an iconic colony drop deliberately made to evoke a simplistic cel animation, and by the time Char Aznable stole the Gundam, it was clear that we were not working with an alternate universe so much as an alternate timeline.
Coming out of the theater, my #1 thought was “The world’s biggest Challia Bull fan must have waited decades to pull this off.” The Beginning actually takes a one-off character from the original TV series and turns him into one of the biggest badasses around, a decision that could only come from some incredibly hardcore fans at the helm. To then also make it a show that establishes an alternate history where a Zeon victory during the One-Year-War creates a whole host of different consequences in the lives of characters both new and old, both famous and obscure? That’s some kind of fever dream only a complete nerd could create, and I mean that in a good way.
With GQuuuuuuX, you have a work that clearly anticipated the whole spectrum of Gundam fandom as an audience. Its what-if nature is catnip for old-school Gundam fans, the female protagonist and other setting elements resemble the wildly popular Witch from Mercury in some ways, and it would only be natural to assume at least some new viewers curious about this Gundam thing or who are perhaps drawn in by the characters and aesthetics. My own love for the franchise runs nearly the full gamut, and this bringing together of generations only made things better in my eyes, especially because that clash of eras is also reflected in the characters themselves.
A Gathering of Generations
When I say the characters are of different generations, it’s not just about some being older than others, or a reference to the fact that the character designs suddenly take on the classic Yoshikazu Yashuko aesthetic when the story jumps from the year UC 0085 back to 0079 and the One Year War. The younger characters feel reflective of our current times in the year 2025, and they behave differently from not just the older vets surrounding them but also the teenage characters of past Gundam series. The main heroine Amate “Machu” Yuzuriha looks for meaning and self worth through illegal mobile suit matches (“Clan Battles”), starts a close yet adversarial friendship with the other major heroine Nyaan (a refugee on the run from the law for illegal entry), navigates a complex love triangle she wants desperately to believe her supernatural psychic connection to the boy Shuji is unique to her, and desperately hopes other characters she meets won’t be trapped by her circumstances. I can’t fully describe why, but the way she takes to the unfamiliar world of mobile suits and Newtypes, excelling in some areas and being frustrated by others, just reminds me of modern-day teenagers and the challenges they face.
The alternate history helped propel a lot of the speculation that accompanied GQuuuuuuX. Every week, more and more characters from Gundam history would make appearances and get people abuzz. Some are fairly well known side characters, like the Black Tri-Stars (fighting in Clan Battles), Basque Ohm (still formidable but with less power and influence), and Sayla Mass (who seems to have become the ace of the Federation in the absence of Amuro). But then you have extremely minor faces show up, like Cameron Bloom (Mirai Yashima’s fiancee) and Gates Capa (a Zeta Newtype), and even figures who are original to GQuuuuuuX but have threads connecting to other figures, like ace pilot (and popular mom character) Shiiko Sugai and Cyber Newtype Deux Murasame. Additionally, undergirding all this is the persistent presence of the distinct refrain of “La…la…” heard whenever Newtype characters experience a psychedelic vision. This sound is all too familiar to old Gundam fans, and the very possibility that this is a series connected to Lalah Sune, the tragic Newtype girl who loses her life trying to protect both Amuro and Char from each other, is uniquely appealing. GQuuuuuuX is brimming with fanservice, and it’s the kind where the fans they’re servicing are often those Gundam otaku running the entire ship.
Overflow
So here we have an anime packed so tightly with storylines and character threads that it can be difficult to see how all this can all fit into 12 episodes. The answer is that it kind of doesn’t, and that there are potentially many untold or unfinished stories that could spring out of GQuuuuuuX. Also, the shifting emphasis between new and old characters could make it difficult to figure out who the audience should concentrate on the most. Amate, Shuji, and Nyaan are clearly the main trio, but their story gets partly subsumed in the end by the focus on the “Rose of Sharon” and the older characters. The result is that Amate and the others feel as much observers of a greater world as they do individuals with their own agency.
I do feel that the increasing emphasis on old Gundam lore is less surprising to me because I first watched the movie, since it front loads all the flashbacks to the One Year War. I suspect that starting with the TV series might have made this more jarring. Nevertheless, the speculation was fun and allowed imaginations to run wild. And I don’t mind that the anime ended differently from everyone’s expectations, including my own.
Conclusion
I struggled a lot writing this review (if you can even call it that), but I have come to think of this as a good thing. GQuuuuuuX is a messy work: a 5000-piece jigsaw puzzle where the manufacturer made a few pieces too big, a few too small, and threw in a handful from another box entirely. It doesn’t quite fit together to create a picture-perfect image, but that incongruity is beautiful in its own way. If they ever decide to make more, that’s fine, but I’d be quite happy if they just left it alone and allowed us fans to keep speculating.
Stay tuned for a future follow-up to this review, where I get into all the spoilers and nerd out over all my GQuuuuuuX theories.
A couple of episodes of the magical girl anime You and Idol Precure has an enemy henchman named Cutty forcibly transformed into a giant robot called Cuttinda. As a fan of both giant robots and magical girls, I felt the need to write about Cuttinda, particularly its appearance and the way it draws from three different works from the mecha genre.
The first robot referenced is Mazinger Z, based on the red plate on its chest. Normally, those shades are part of the Monster of the Week’s face, but here, they’ve specifically been placed in a way similar to the Mazinger line.
The second is Gaiking. The limbs, particularly the design of the wrists and the red sections of the legs, are really reminiscent of the monster-chested robot.
The third is Giant Robo. Cuttinda’s head, like Giant Robo’s, resembles that of a pharaoh or the Sphinx.
I think Cuttinda being the way it is comes from the fact that Precure is a Toei franchise, as all three of these mecha are also by Toei. Mazinger Z and Dino Mech Gaiking are both anime, while Giant Robo is a tokusatsu series.
WIll we ever see Cuttinda merch? Probably not, but I wouldn’t mind getting a silly robot.
Kio was at Gallery Zenon and the Rakuen cafe. He went with manga author Tsuruta Kenji.
Kio founded the Madarame Cream Soda to be really fizzy, capturing the viewpoint of the manga. The gelatinous bits also make it dangerous to talk while drinking it.
Kio lays out his vision of what he wanted to see in Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 7 [SPOILERS KIND OF?]:
Machu and Shuji start the Clan Battle as MAVs -> Nyan deals with the money -> Deux goes berserk because of the kira kira -> The Psycho Gundam does severe damage to the colony -> The Military Police gets wiped out -> The Psycho Gundam reaches the building where Kycili and Machu’s mom are -> Machu and Shuji can’t stop it -> Xavier’s Gyan and Shallia’s Kikeroga arrive in style -> The Hambrabi is shot down -> The Psycho Gundam is pushed back, leading Deux to go Newtype berserk even more -> Zeknova -> The Red Gundam vanishes -> Xavier is shot down -> Challia and Machu form an impromptu MAV combo and destroy the Psycho Gundam -> Machu leaves her cockpit to find Shuji -> Machu’s identity is exposed by the broadcast -> She goes with Challia because he knows about Zeknova -> Nyan fails to procure the money and flees -> She runs into Xavier after he crashed -> Nyan goes to Zeon.
OGIUE MANIAX 