History TearJerker / VoltesV

* Imagine being a young Japanese-American boy trying to fend for yourself in '90s California. You're in a country you're new to, your parents are dead and you can't afford housing. You get by doing odd jobs, and one day, you discover you have a skill for rodeo and make a successful career out of it. You form a close bond with your horse, the two of you winning several awards together. However one day, out of the blue, you're kidnapped to Japan, while your horse is taken away from you in the middle of a public rodeo championship tour. You don't know if you'll see her ever again, especially with how the entertainment industry treats animals once they're no longer profitable. You're also forced to undergo TrainingFromHell for years, for a reason you're never told until the Boazanian invasion happened. That's Ippei's life story.

* While Zambajil is a cruel bastard, if supplementary material is to be believed, he grew up as an outcast in society because he was the son of a [[SonOfAWhore concubine]]. If the nobles were cruel to Heinel for his own father being a traitor, one can only imagine what Zambajil went through. It's possible his desperation to clinch the throne came from a place of never wanting to be at the bottom again. In a way, it makes his treatment of Heinel even more tragic; he knew what it was like to be hated by society for something you couldn't control, yet still inflicted it on Heinel.

* Prince Heinel's entire life story. The Boazanian Empire ran on a FantasticCasteSystem where those born with horns live as nobles and those born without them are sentenced to be slaves. When Prince Gohl was born, he was hornless, but his family couldn't bear to lose their son to slavery, and decided to mask it by giving him prosthetic horns. Gohl frequently witnessed the cruel treatment his fellow hornless Boazanians went through, and dreamed of one day creating a society where the horned and hornless co-existed peacefully. On the day of his coronation, Gohl's cousin Zambajil, who desired the throne, exposed his horns as prosthetics in front of the public. As a result, Gohl was forcibly enslaved and separated from his wife Lozaria. Gohl spent months working in labour camps, and one day, he found out that Lozaria had died a long time ago in childbirth. Enraged, he used his skill in science and technology to manufacture weapons for slave rebellions against the horned nobles of Boazania. Gohl led multiple slave rebellions before escaping to Earth, as it became too dangerous for him to stay there. Unbeknownst to Gohl, while Lozaria died in childbirth, she delivered a horned baby boy, Prince Heinel. Growing up, Prince Heinel was scapegoated for the actions of a father he never met, and received constant abuse and disdain from those around him. In one of his flashbacks, fellow children pelted him with sticks and stones and physically abused him, and other nobles of Boazania claimed that he would grow up to be a traitor just like his father. Only his maternal grandparents showed him genuine love. Wanting to clear his name, Heinel vowed to one day bring honour to Boazania. He graduated as the top cadet in the Boazanian Institute of Military Sciences and Warfare, and was selected by Emperor Zambajil to command the Boazanian invasion to Earth. In the series finale, he finds out that he's been fighting against his half-brothers and father, which causes him to have a My God, What Have I Done? moment. He begs Zambajil to stop the war, but when Zambajil reveals himself to be a coward and blames Heinel for the invasion, Heinel tosses his dagger at him. This makes Zambajil drop his grenade, engulfing them both in flames. Heinel saves Kenichi from the fire, and his last words are "Father!" as he tearfully looks at La Gohl. Heinel lived a life full of pain, and it was only in death where he found peace. In the sequel manga ''Victory Five'', Heinel survives, but his body is plagued by an unnamed disease after he is resurrected by Barao. Though you can consider this non-canon since the manga wasn't written/approved by Tadao Nagahama.

* Prince Heinel's entire life story. The Boazanian Empire ran on a Fantastic Caste System where those born with horns live as nobles and those born without them are sentenced to be slaves. When Prince Gohl was born, he was hornless, but his family couldn't bear to lose their son to slavery, and decided to mask it by giving him prosthetic horns. Gohl frequently witnessed the cruel treatment his fellow hornless Boazanians went through, and dreamed of one day creating a society where the horned and hornless co-existed peacefully. On the day of his coronation, Gohl's cousin Zambajil, who desired the throne, exposed his horns as prosthetics in front of the public. As a result, Gohl was forcibly enslaved and separated from his wife Lozaria. Gohl spent months working in labour camps, and one day, he found out that Lozaria had died a long time ago in childbirth. Enraged, he used his skill in science and technology to manufacture weapons for slave rebellions against the horned nobles of Boazania. Gohl led multiple slave rebellions before escaping to Earth, as it became too dangerous for him to stay there. Unbeknownst to Gohl, while Lozaria died in childbirth, she delivered a horned baby boy, Prince Heinel. Growing up, Prince Heinel was scapegoated for the actions of a father he never met, and received constant abuse and disdain from those around him. In one of his flashbacks, fellow children pelted him with sticks and stones and physically abused him, and other nobles of Boazania claimed that he would grow up to be a traitor just like his father. Only his maternal grandparents showed him genuine love. Wanting to clear his name, Heinel vowed to one day bring honour to Boazania. He graduated as the top cadet in the Boazanian Institute of Military Sciences and Warfare, and was selected by Emperor Zambajil to command the Boazanian invasion to Earth. In the series finale, he finds out that he's been fighting against his half-brothers and father, which causes him to have a My God, What Have I Done? moment. He begs Zambajil to stop the war, but when Zambajil reveals himself to be a coward and blames Heinel for the invasion, Heinel tosses his dagger at him. This makes Zambajil drop his grenade, engulfing them both in flames. Heinel saves Kenichi from the fire, and his last words are "Father!" as he tearfully looks at La Gohl. Heinel lived a life full of pain, and it was only in death where he found peace. In the sequel manga ''Victory Five'', Heinel survives, but his body is plagued by an unnamed disease after he is resurrected by Barao. Though you can consider this non-canon since the manga wasn't written/approved by Tadao Nagahama.

* In Episode 2, Mitsuyo is so desperate not to lose her sons the same aliens that took her husband that, despite being heavily injured and needing medical care, she pilots a jet plane into a suicide attack. And to make this even more bitter? The blood is on the hands of Heinel, who's her husband's son from his first marriage, meaning that ''Kentaro created his wife's killer''.
** Mitsuyo's whole storyline is horribly depressing. She fell in love with a man and devoted her life to his dream of making a Super Robot that would defend the Earth, but their time together was abruptly thwarted when Zambajil called him back to Boazania. Hoping to negotiate with him, Kentaro left, despite Mitsuyo's cries for him to stay. After he was imprisoned, Mitsuyo spent years believing he was dead, and had to raise her three sons on her own. By the time Kentaro was freed and managed to escape to Earth, it was too late, Mitsuyo was already dead. She never got to see her husband take back the crown and liberate Boazania, and died believing that he would never return.

* A happy example: Even though all of Boazania hated Heinel, his grandparents were nothing short of loving and showered him with affection.
** Related: According to the ''Roman Robo Anime Climax Selection'', Katherine and Heinel became friends because as children, she witnessed Heinel being bullied and felt protective of him. Even as a small child, Katherine recognized that Heinel needed her empathy, and in the series, it literally saves his life on multiple occassions. Outside of his grandparents, Katherine was likely the best thing that ever happened to him, and her endearing love for him is what separates her from most Boazanian nobles - she cared about him because of who he was, not what position in the nobility he held.
* After Katherine gets shot, Heinel holds her body as she collapses and begs her to live. Katherine expresses happiness seeing Heinel make it prominently clear that he cares about her, and says she wishes it could be like this forever before she dies. Seeing his last remaining comrade go out leaves Heinel in a genocidal rage and motivates him to enter Godol and start attacking Voltes V relentlessly.
** Some ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' games make sure that Heinel and Katherine [[SparedByTheAdaptation have a happy ending]]. In ''[[VideoGame/ShinSuperRobotWars Shin]]'', [[spoiler: after the defeat of Zuhl and Skullrook, Heinel and Katherine decide to go on a journey, and Kazuya remarks that he thinks the two will be happy together]].

* When you think about it, each member of the Voltes team has lost someone they love (a relative like General Oka/Mitsuyo, or a mentor figure like Hamaguchi) in the conflict. That means that potentially, [[{{Tearjerker}} the only family they have left is each other]].
** It can explain why the Go brothers were quick to welcome Heinel, in spite of everything. He was still their brother, and they had already lost enough family members. ''And they lost him too''.

* Heinel and Katherine dying means that Dr. Go potentially lost a grandchild.
* Had Katherine lived, she actually would have gotten along really well with Gohl. Both have a mutual love for sciences, and Katherine could have used her research to help make the Earth a better place. While she is a [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]], she would have put her weapons down for the father of the man she loved. Had Katherine married into the family, she could have been a mother figure to the Go brothers since Mistuyo's demise, similar to how Heinel felt a BigBrotherInstinct towards them.

* Prince Heinel's entire life story. The Boazanian Empire ran on a Fantastic Caste System where those born with horns live as nobles and those born without them are sentenced to be slaves. When Prince Gohl was born, he was hornless, but his family couldn't bear to lose their son to slavery, and decided to mask it by giving him prosthetic horns. Gohl frequently witnessed the cruel treatment his fellow hornless Boazanians went through, and dreamed of one day creating a society where the horned and hornless co-existed peacefully. On the day of his coronation, Gohl's cousin Zambajil, who desired the throne, exposed his horns as prosthetics in front of the public. As a result, Gohl was forcibly enslaved and separated from his wife Lozaria. Gohl spent months working in labour camps, and one day, he found out that Lozaria had died a long time ago in childbirth. Enraged, he used his skill in science and technology to manufacture weapons for slave rebellions against the horned nobles of Boazania. Gohl led multiple slave rebellions before escaping to Earth, as it became too dangerous for him to stay there. Unbeknownst to Gohl, while Lozaria died in childbirth, she delivered a horned baby boy, Prince Heinel. Growing up, Prince Heinel was scapegoated for the actions of a father he never met, and received constant abuse and disdain from those around him. In one of his flashbacks, fellow children pelted him with sticks and stones and physically abused him, and other nobles of Boazania claimed that he would grow up to be a traitor just like his father. Only his maternal grandparents showed him genuine love. Wanting to clear his name, Heinel vowed to one day bring honour to Boazania. He graduated as the top cadet in the Boazanian Institute of Military Sciences and Warfare, and was selected by Emperor Zambajil to command the Boazanian invasion to Earth. In the series finale, he finds out that he's been fighting against his half-brothers and father, which causes him to have a My God, What Have I Done? moment. He begs Zambajil to stop the war, but when Zambajil reveals himself to be a coward and blames Heinel for the invasion, Heinel tosses his dagger at him. This makes Zambajil drop his grenade, engulfing them both in flames. Heinel saves Kenichi from the fire, and his last words are "Father!" as he tearfully looks at La Gohl. Heinel lived a life full of pain, and it was only in death where he found peace.
** In the sequel manga ''Victory Five'', Heinel survives, but his body is plagued by an unnamed disease after he is resurrected by Barao. Though you can consider this non-canon since the manga wasn't written/approved by Tadao Nagahama.
** [[Tearjerker/{{Animage}} Animage]] and [[Tearjerker/{{OUT}} OUT]] have some eye-watering tributes to Heinel.

** In the sequel manga ''Victory Five'', Heinel survives, but his body is plagued by an unnamed disease after he is resurrected by Barao. Luckily, he gets better.

* Jangal committing {{Seppuku}}. At the start of the series, he's portrayed as a fantastically racist warmonger, but he gradually grew to respect Kenichi and the Voltes team and did more to help them find their father than anyone else did. Jangal died knowing that his last moments were used to help someone as honourable and kind as Kenichi, who treated him like a fellow human. Sadly, he never got to see the Go brothers reunite with him.

* A meta example: In February 1980, the issue of Japanese magazine [[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%88%E5%88%8AOUT 月刊OUT]] featured a tribute to Heinel[[note]]With the approval of Toei[[/note]], along with commentary. The author themselves admit they break into tears thinking about the finale:
--> ''"Burning with anger, Heinel threw a dagger at Zambajil, and the grenade exploded. The floor rose and separated Heinel and Kenichi. At that moment, Heinel instinctively finds himself protecting him from the blast. What was going through Heinel's mind as he stared at Kenichi? A crack ran through his voice. "Brother" he said, as the flames burned. Heinel then turned to La Gohl. Then he whispered in a small voice, "Father!!!" This must have been the first word Heinel said since he was born... The flames burned more and more violently, and eventually enveloped Heinel...And on this day, the long dark age of Boazania came to an end, and the days of strong revival of people began towards a new history. How was it, the final episode that lives up to the name of a dramatic robot anime. I recapitulated the story, and even my eyes were full of tears... I'm stupid."''

* Heinel and Katherine dying means that Gohl potentially lost a grandchild.

** In the sequel manga ''Victory Five'', Heinel survives, but his body is plagued by an unnamed disease after he is resurrected by Barao.

* Imagine being a young Japanese-American boy trying to fend for yourself in '90s California. You're in a country you're new to, your parents are dead and you can't afford housing. You get by doing odd jobs, and one day, you discover you have a skill for rodeo and make a successful career out of it. You form a close bond with your horse, the two of you winning several awards together. However one day, out of the blue, you're kidnapped to Japan, while your horse is taken away from you. You don't know if you'll see her ever again, especially with how the entertainment industry treats animals once they're no longer profitable. You're also forced to undergo TrainingFromHell for years, for a reason you're never told. That's Ippei's life story.

** Related: According to the Roman Robo Anime Selection, Katherine and Heinel became friends because as children, she witnessed Heinel being bullied and felt protective of him. Even as a small child, Katherine recognized that Heinel needed her empathy, and in the series, it literally saves his life on multiple occassions. Outside of his grandparents, Katherine was likely the best thing that ever happened to him, and her endearing love for him is what separates her from most Boazanian nobles - she cared about him because of who he was, not what position in the nobility he held.

** In the sequel manga ''Victory Five'', Heinel survives, but his body is plagued by an unnamed disease after he is resurrected by Barao.

* Prince Heinel's entire life story. The Boazanian Empire ran on a Fantastic Caste System where those born with horns live as nobles and those born without them are sentenced to be slaves. When Prince Gohl was born, he was hornless, but his family couldn't bear to lose their son to slavery, and decided to mask it by giving him prosthetic horns. Gohl frequently witnessed the cruel treatment his fellow hornless Boazanians went through, and dreamed of one day creating a society where the horned and hornless co-existed peacefully. On the day of his coronation, Gohl's cousin Zambajil, who desired the throne, exposed his horns as prosthetics in front of the public. As a result, Gohl was forcibly enslaved and separated from his wife Lozaria. Gohl spent months working in labour camps, and one day, he found out that Lozaria had died a long time ago in childbirth. Enraged, he used his skill in science and technology to manufacture weapons for slave rebellions against the horned nobles of Boazania. Gohl led multiple slave rebellions before escaping to Earth, as it became too dangerous for him to stay there. Unbeknownst to Gohl, while Lozaria died in childbirth, she delivered a horned baby boy, Prince Heinel. Growing up, Prince Heinel was scapegoated for the actions of a father he never met, and received constant abuse and disdain from those around him. In one of his flashbacks, fellow children pelted him with sticks and stones and physically abused him, and other nobles of Boazania claimed that he would grow up to be a traitor just like his father. Only his maternal grandparents showed him genuine love. Wanting to clear his name, Heinel vowed to one day bring honour to Boazania. He graduated as the top cadet in the Boazanian Institute of Military Sciences and Warfare, and was selected by Emperor Zambajil to command the Boazanian invasion to Earth. In the series finale, he finds out that he's been fighting against his half-brothers and father, which causes him to have a My God, What Have I Done? moment. He begs Zambajil to stop the war, but when Zambajil reveals himself to be a coward and blames Heinel for the invasion, Heinel tosses his dagger at him. This makes Zambajil drop his grenade, engulfing them both in flames. Heinel saves Kenichi from the fire, and his last words are "Father!" as he tearfully looks at La Gohl. Heinel lived a life full of pain, and it was only in death where he found peace.

** Some ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' games make sure that Heinel and Katherine [[SparedInTheAdaptation have a happy ending]]. In ''Shin'', after the defeat of Zuhl and Skullrook, Heinel and Katherine decide to go on a journey, and Kazuya remarks that he thinks the two will be happy together.