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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9780739600122 Format: Animated, Box set, Color, EP, NTSC ISBN: 0739600125 Label: Parade Video Languages: Manufacturer: Parade Video Number Of Items: 4 Publisher: Parade Video Release Date: November 16, 1999 Running Time: 240 minutes Studio: Parade Video Theatrical Release Date: March 28, 1975 Editorial Review: Amazon.com: For the 1980 syndicated program Force Five, producer Jim Terry bought the rights to five series from Toie Animation that originally ran from 44 to 90 episodes and recut each one into a 26-chapter adventure. A different series ran each day of the week, allowing viewers to follow the different continuities as they chose. This collection offers two episodes apiece from four of the series, Spaceketeers, Starvengers, Grandizer, and Gaiking; for some reason Dangard Ace is omitted. The stories have been edited and reworked to the point where it's impossible to judge their original quality. In their present form, the storytelling is leaden, with hammy vocal performances and repetitious dialogue. The very simple character designs exhibit a stronger American Saturday-morning influence than later anime. In her miniskirted pink space suit, Princess Aurora, the heroine of Leiji Matsumoto's Starzinger, looks like a cross between Maetel of Galaxy Express and a Barbie doll. Many of the robots, including the Minotauresque Grandizer, mark the beginning of the flowering of mecha design. Although Starvengers was the most popular of the series, some viewers may object to the Colonel Fuerer character, who looks like a caricature of Adolph Hitler with longhorn steer's horns. Those curious to know more about the history of anime (and particularly Gekigangar III, which is spoofed in the popular series Martian Successor Nadesico) will find these tapes a useful reference; nostalgic Gen-Xers may remember Force Five fondly. Although the program was not a huge success, it helped to create an audience in the United States for the giant-robot series that would cross the Pacific in the next few years: Voltron in 1984, followed closely by others. But the stilted animation, cornball dialogue, and giant-robot characters became a cliché that still causes many Americans to pooh-pooh anime, just as the uninspired series cranked out by Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, Ruby-Spears, and DIC during the '70s and '80s led them to dismiss animation as mindless children's entertainment. The set contains these episodes: 1. "Aurora Accepts the Challenge" and "The Invincible Warrior" from Spaceketeers; 2. "Who'll Fly the Poseidon" and "Dragon Formation... Switch On" from Starvengers; 3. "Robot Back to Action" and "Beware the Red Moon" from Grandizer; 4. "Aries Joins the Team" and "Right Down the Middle" from Gaiking. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up; cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Not Bad, but VHS Tracking is TerribleI bought this box set because I had seen these episodes when I was very young and really like them at the time. Turns out that they voice acting on these videos is absolutly terrible. The inflection and traslations are very juvenile, much more so than I remembered. But then again, I was quite young last time I watched it. The biggest problem that I ran into was the tracking. I have two VCRs with auto tracking and tried them on both and at least twice per episode the tracking would get ... Read More Rating:  - PLEASE FIND JIM TERRY AND HAVE HIM RELEASE THIS ON DVD!!!!!!!!!!!This (along with STARBLAZERS and TRANSFORMERS) was HANDS DOWN my favorite cartoon series when I was a kid in the 80's... I think that this was only shown locally in the Northeast... This is where it's at for CLASSIC anime... it's hilariously quirky, has great plotlines, and an AWESOME funky soundtrack. PLEASE RELEASE FORCE FIVE ON DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rating: - GrendizerI haven't seen this box set, but I have been fortunate enough to see the complete show of Grendizer. So, I'm not commenting on this box set, but I'm providing information only on the UFO Robot Grendizer, which was created by Go Nagai the creator of Mazinger. Grendizer appeared for the first time in Arab World at the 80's as a complete two-season Arabic dubbed show. It gained a huge popularity among the Arab children in the 80s, especially because dubbed cartoons are very rare at that time. ... Read More Rating: - Best of 70's Old SchoolWhile Robotech, Starblazers, Speed Racer and Kimba are all great old school anime, many have forgotten that the 70's was the sprouting decade for mecha anime. Now, the best of anime from the 70's is now chroincallized in this four tape set. Originally airing as a week block of animation called Force Five, these tapes are mega old school. Spaceketeers. Directed by the famous Leiji Matsumoto (Starblazers, Galaxy Express 999) and then just forgotten by all because it seems this wasn't the high ... Read More Rating: - BEST ANIME BOX SET EVER!!!Well, something close to it, at least. It really is worth your money. First, you get two episodes each of Gaiking and Grandizer. The storylines, dubbing, and editing are stinky, sure, but that only added to my viewing enjoyment. They're giant robots, for Christ's sake. They can't be cool AND intelligent. As for the two episodes of Starvengers, they're okay, but only really watchable thanks to the bad fake British accents of the voice actors. But the star of the set is Spaceketeers. In case you didn't ... Read More |
