History Anime / Salamander

* In the end, however, [[spoiler: his HeroicSacrifice convinces Lord British to declare him a hero, restore his family's good name, and allow any remaining family members to return.]]

* ArmorPiercingSlap - Stephanie delivers a well-deserved one to Lord British in part 1. Not only is it just the thing to get his head out of his ass, but since he'd never been struck before, he actually [[TooKinkyToTorture falls in love with her for it.]]

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething - The prince of Latis, Lord British. He owns and is not afraid to use his personal starfighter to assist the Gradius pilots, although it takes some doing at first to get his cooperation and friendship.

* WhatAnIdiot - '''Lord British''' throughout part 1. Even after the superstitious prophecy he refuses to believe in comes true, he still considers his high priest to be just a bumbling old fool and throws a fit when the man contacts Gradius for help. Also, when the Gradius pilots urge him to run his pilots through training simulations based on the imagery and specifications they collect on Salamander, he completely ignores them and sends his pilots straight to the fortress. After showing the pilots get mercilessly skewered by the first level of the game, the anime immediately cuts to Stephanie slapping him across the face for being such a moron.

The starfighters are also different from the games. Vic Viper model has a single fin design in the games, while the ships sport double fins on the OVA. Lord British has single fin and single front edge, just like in the games. The double fin design of the Vic Vipers on the OVA is from the Alpine model, which appears much later on arcade's 3D game ''Solar Assault Gradius'' (1997). MSX's ''Gradius 2'' starfighter ''Metalion'' had two fins, but single front edge.

The starfighters are also different from the games. Vic Viper model has a single fin design in the games, while the ships sport double fins on the OVA. Lord British has single fin and single front edge, just like in the games. The double fin design of the Vic Vipers on the OVA is from the Alpine model, which appears much later on arcade's 3D game ''Solar Assault Gradius'' (1997). MSX's ''Gradius 2'' starfighter ''Metallion'' had two fins, but single front edge.

The starfighters are also different from the games. Vic Viper model has a single fin design in the games, while they sport double fins on the OVA. Lord British has single fin and single front edge, just like in the games. The double fin design of the Vic Vipers on the OVA is from the Alpine model, which appears much later on arcade's 3D game ''Solar Assault Gradius'' (1997).

''''Part 3 - Salamander: Gofer's Ambition'''' (an adaptation of ''Gradius II'')

While the arcade games did not have much of a plot, the anime adaptation still manages to steer wildly away from them, incorporating signature elements from each game in strange, amalgamated, yet refreshing ways which focus on actual characters in addition to tense space battles. Also, notably, this was among Konami's first ventures into the OVA format ([[Anime/SkyGirls and not the last to feature Vic Viper, either.]]) They are completely different from the stories of the MSX games ''Gradius 2'', ''Salamander'' and ''Gradius - Gofer no Yabou - Episode II'', a sequel to arcade's ''Gradius II - Gofer no Yabou'' (''Gofer's Ambition'').

The starfighters are also different from the games. Vic Viper model has a single fin design in the games, while they sport double fins on the OVA. Lord British has single fin and single front edge, just like in the games. The double fin design of the OVA is from the Alpine model, which appears much later on arcade's 3D game ''Solar Assault Gradius''.

''''Part 2 - Salamander: Paula's Meditation'''' (an adaptation of ''Gradius'')

A prequel to part 1, explaining how Gradius first came into contact with Bacterion. After the elected leader of the planet goes missing, his daughter Stephanie investigates a strange space wreck alongside Dan and Eddy. Inside they find a beautiful woman named Paula, who claims to be the ship's sole survivor and warns the Gradian military about the Bacterion threat. Although Eddie trusts her and believes her psychic meditation to be of great help, Dan and Stephanie are less trustworthy of the woman, whose home planet has transformed into a bizarre, nightmarish landscape of what appear to be flesh and organs, aggressively steering itself toward Gradius.

''''Part 3 - Salamander: Gofer's Ambition'''' (an adaptation of ''Gradius II'')

While the games did not have much of a plot, the anime adaptation still manages to steer wildly away from them, incorporating signature elements from each game in strange, amalgamated, yet refreshing ways which focus on actual characters in addition to tense space battles. Also, notably, this was among Konami's first ventures into the OVA format ([[Anime/SkyGirls and not the last to feature Vic Viper, either.]])

* WhatAnIdiot - '''Lord British''' throughout part 1. Even after the superstitious prophecy he refuses to believe in comes true, he still considers his high priest to be just a bumbling old fool and throws a fit when the man contacts Gradius for help. Also, when the Gradius pilots urge him to run his pilots through training simulations based on the imagery and specifications they collect on Salamander, he completely ignores them and sends his pilots straight to the fortress. After showing the pilots get mercilessly skewered by the first level of the game, the anime immediately cuts to Stephanie slapping him across the face for being such a moron.

* YouDontLookLikeYou - Vic Viper is the name of not one, but three identical starfighters (piloted by Dan, Stephanie, and Eddy) sporting a unique, fin-adorned design not seen in any of the games. Lord British's fighter can be presumed to be the Lord British Space Destroyer of the games, although this adaptation only shares its red coloration and otherwise looks identical to the Vic Vipers.

''Salamander'' is a three-part [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVA]] miniseries created by {{Creator/PonyCanyon}} and {{Creator/Konami}} in 1988 on VHS and Laserdisc formats. The series focuses on the adventures of Gradius military pilots Stephanie, Dan and Eddy as they team up with the prince of Planet Latis, Lord British, to combat a mysterious but deadly bioform known as Bacterion, which threatens both of their worlds.

* WhatAnIdiot - '''Lord British''' throughout part 1. Even after the superstitious prophecy he refuses to believe in comes true, he still considers his high priest to be just a bumbling old fool and throws a fit when the man contacts Gradius for help. Also, when the Gradius pilots urge him to run his pilots through training simulations based on the imagery and specifications they collect on Salamander, he completely ignores them and sends his pilots straight to the fortress. After showing the pilots get mercilessly skewered by the first level of the game, the anime immediately cuts to Stephanie ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome slapping him across the face]]'' for being such a moron.

Unfortunately the OVA never found its way outside of Japan, and actual hard copies of it are very hard to come by. Also, despite the name, the miniseries is actually an adaptation of all three ''Gradius'' games at the time, not just ''Salamander'' alone.

AdaptationDistillation - An extremely loose and abridged adaptation of Salamander, Gradius, and Gradius II. Salamander in particular seems to be somewhat more influenced by the Famicom Salamander/NES Lifeforce than by the original arcade.

AnimatedAdaptation - of not just ''Salamander'' itself, but ''Gradius'' and ''Gradius II'' as well.

ArmorPiercingSlap - Stephanie delivers a well-deserved one to Lord British in part 1. Not only is it just the thing to get his head out of his ass, but since he'd never been struck before, he actually [[TooKinkyToTorture falls in love with her for it.]]

CannotSpitItOut - Despite all of Dan's preparations in Part 3, Lord British is still too shy to actually propose to Stephanie. He was in the middle of trying to tell her though, right before she got captured.

ChangedMyMindKid - Eddie bitterly turns his back on the plight of Latis about halfway through part 1, but then flies into the Salamander fortress at the last minute to come and save his comrades.

DidNotGetTheGirl - A bittersweet ending to part 3. Lord British gives up on proposing to Stephanie, convinced that she and Dan form a much better couple. He's not too sad over it though, as he laughs and tells his attendants he is confident he'll find someone else.

TheExile - [[spoiler: Eddie is revealed late into part 1 to have descended from Latis's original royal family.]] Due to some sort of misunderstanding, there was a coup and his family was exiled away. [[spoiler: Eddie]] deeply resents the current royal house for that decision and carries a bitter grudge against it. To give him credit, he was willing to put that aside and come to Latis to help Lord British, but refuses after he sees both the ruins of his old home and the prince's behavior, stating that he is, after all, technically banned from the planet.

HeroicSacrifice - The only way to destroy the dragon inside the Salamander Fortress, as it turns out, is from within its own stomach, even though this is guaranteed death. [[spoiler: Eddy]] volunteers to do the deed, saving their companions and all of Latis in the process.

NoExportForYou - The series never saw the light of day outside of Japan, and there are no known english dubs. However, subtitled versions of all three episodes can be found on Youtube.

OriginalVideoAnimation - One of Konami's first.

RedemptionEqualsDeath - Presented in an odd way with [[spoiler: Eddy]]. Only in the prequel part 2 are they seen to have foolishly ignored the orders of their superiors on a hunch, illegally removing a person authorities knew little about from quarantine and allowing the bacterion to invade Gradius. Thus, retroactively, their sacrifice in part 1 can be seen as an attempt to make amends.

RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething - The prince of Latis, Lord British. He owns and is not afraid to use his personal starfighter to assist the Gradius pilots, although it takes some doing at first to get his cooperation and friendship.

WhatAnIdiot - '''Lord British''' throughout part 1. Even after the superstitious prophecy he refuses to believe in comes true, he still considers his high priest to be just a bumbling old fool and throws a fit when the man contacts Gradius for help. Also, when the Gradius pilots urge him to run his pilots through training simulations based on the imagery and specifications they collect on Salamander, he completely ignores them and sends his pilots straight to the fortress. After showing the pilots get mercilessly skewered by the first level of the game, the anime immediately cuts to Stephanie ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome slapping him across the face]]'' for being such a moron.

YouDontLookLikeYou - Vic Viper is the name of not one, but three identical starfighters (piloted by Dan, Stephanie, and Eddy) sporting a unique, fin-adorned design not seen in any of the games. Lord British's fighter can be presumed to be the Lord British Space Destroyer of the games, although this adaptation only shares its red coloration and otherwise looks identical to the Vic Vipers.

* In the end, however, [[spoilers: his HeroicSacrifice convinces Lord British to declare him a hero, restore his family's good name, and allow any remaining family members to return.]]

->''Thousands of [[UnitConfusion light years]] in the future, when the gigantic dragon that was born and lives in a sea of flames awakens... ...an insane force will appear and Heaven and Earth will be swallowed up in darkness.''

TheExile - [[spoiler: Eddie is revealed late into part 1 to have come to Gradius from Latis as a child.]] Because his father was involved in an attempted revolution against the royal house of Latis, the entire family was punished for it and exiled away. Having done no actual wrong himself, [[spoiler: Eddie]] deeply resents the royal house for that decision and carries a bitter grudge against it. To give him credit, he was willing to put that aside and come to Latis to help Lord British, but refuses after he sees both the ruins of his old home and the prince's behavior, stating that he is, after all, technically banned from the planet.

WhatAnIdiot - '''Lord British''' throughout part 1. Even after the superstitious prophecy he refuses to believe in comes true, he still considers his high priest to be just a bumbling old fool and throws a fit when the man contacts Gradius for help. Also, when the Gradius pilots urge him to run his pilots through training simulations based on the imagery and specifications they collect on Salamander, he completely ignores them and sends his pilots straight to the fortress. After showing the pilots get mercilessly skewered by the first level of the game, the anime immediately cuts to Stephanie ''slapping him across the face'' for being such a moron.

HeroicSacrifice - The only way to destroy the dragon inside the Salamander Fortress, as it turns out, is from within its own stomach, even though this is guaranteed death. [[spoiler Eddy]] volunteers to do the deed, saving their companions and all of Latis in the process.

RedemptionEqualsDeath - Presented in an odd way with [[spoiler Eddy]]. Only in the prequel part 2 are they seen to have foolishly ignored the orders of their superiors on a hunch, illegally removing a person authorities knew little about from quarantine and allowing the bacterion to invade Gradius. Thus, retroactively, their sacrifice in part 1 can be seen as an attempt to make amends.

Despite the name, the miniseries is actually an adaptation of all three ''Gradius'' games at the time, not just ''Salamander'' alone.

''''Part 1 - Salamander'''' (an adaptation of ''Salamander/LifeForce'')

AdaptationDistillation - An extremely loose and abridged adaptation of Salamander, Gradius, and Gradius II. Salamander in particular seems to be somewhat more influenced by the Famicom Salamander/NES LifeForce than by the original arcade.

Although loosely based on the videogame of the same name, the miniseries is actually an adaptation of the whole {{Franchise/Gradius}} series at the time.

''''Part 1 - Salamander''''

YouDoNotLookLikeYou - Vic Viper is the name of not one, but three identical starfighters (piloted by Dan, Stephanie, and Eddy) sporting a unique, fin-adorned design not seen in any of the games. Lord British's fighter can be presumed to be the Lord British Space Destroyer of the games, although this adaptation only shares its red coloration and otherwise looks identical to the Vic Vipers.