Line #33 Anime/VoltesV


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/voltes_v_imdb.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Top left: [[AlienPrince Prince Heinel]].\
3	From left to right: [[CombiningMecha Voltes V]] and the Voltes Team ([[CoolBigSis Megumi]], [[TheLeader Kenichi]], [[TheBigGuy Daijirou]], [[TheLancer Ippei]] and [[TheSmartGuy Hiyoshi]]).]]
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5	->'''"V TOGETHER!! LET'S... VOLT... IN!!!"'''
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7	''Voltes V'' (formally, 超電磁マシーンボルテスV or ''Choudenji (Super Electromagnetic) Machine Voltes Five'') is the second of Creator/TadaoNagahama's ''Anime/RobotRomanceTrilogy'' of SuperRobot series, premiering in 1977. It was preceded by ''Anime/CombattlerV'' and followed by ''{{Anime/Daimos}}''. As with its predecessor ''Anime/CombattlerV'', the "V" is for the CombiningMecha's five constituents, [[FiveManBand their five pilots]], and the traditional V for Victory.
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9	Considerably DarkerAndEdgier than ''Combattler V'', ''Voltes V'' chronicles the Voltes Team and Big Falcon's defense of Earth from the invading Boazanian Empire, [[MonsterOfTheWeek Beast Knights]] by [[{{Robeast}} Beast Knight]], as well as a simmering civil war within planet Boazan itself, long under the brutal caste-system rule of Emperor Zambajil, between the horned elite and the hornless commoners.
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11	It has an official [[SequelSeries sequel]] [[Manga/VictoryFive manga]], which the fandom would rather pretend [[FanonDiscontinuity doesn't exist]]. On the other hand, they ''love'' the games - expect ''Voltes V'' to show up frequently in the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' series.
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13	Because of [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff its popularity in the]] UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}}, a live-action series adaptation entitled ''Series/VoltesVLegacy'' is produced by Creator/GMANetwork and Riot Inc. Post Production under the supervision of Creator/{{Toei\|Company}} with a Philippine-wide release on May 8, 2023.[[note]]This will use the English names used in the Philippine English dub.[[/note]] Any ''Legacy''-related tropes need to be placed on that page.
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15	See Literature/RomanRoboAnimeClimaxSelection for [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary information]].
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17	Please keep tropes related to the characters on the [[Characters/VoltesV characters page]].
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19	!!'''Anime/VoltesV''' provides examples of:
20	* The90s: WordOfGod is that ''Voltes V'' takes place in 1990.
21	* AbandonedLaboratory: Episode 12 features one of these used by Prof. Hamaguchi, Gen. Oka, and Profs. Gō around 7 or 8 years ago for researching anti-Boazanian weapons. The former two pay a visit in order to gather data on installing Ultramarcons on all the Volt Machines. The Boazanians back on their home planet discover it too after torturing the information out of Prof. Gō (which is itself suspect), and Prince Heinel himself leads the expedition to the lab, eventually capturing the humans. Hamaguchi and Gen. Oka manage to not only escape, but have the lab self-destruct, forcing the Boazanians to retreat as well.
22	* AllThereInTheManual: The Literature/RomanRoboAnimeClimaxSelection and ''[[Literature/TadaoNagahamaRobotRomanceAnimationChronicleInfobook Tadao Nagahama: Robot Romance Animation Chronicle Infobook]]'' have got you covered.
23	* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IJ3opLKygg Italian opening]] of ''Voltes V'' was sung by Loriana Lana and Daniele Viri.
24	* AnyoneCanDie: Downplayed. With Kill 'Em All [[Creator/YoshiyukiTomino Tomino]] involved as one of the episode directors and producers, there were MANY casualties amongst the good and bad guys alike. But for the most part, the [[FiveManBand core cast]] remained intact and [[spoiler:while their target of rescue (father) survived, many of their mentor figures died]]. Most likely because Tomino wasn't in the director's seat... [[Anime/{{Zambot 3}} yet.]]
25	* AttackOfTheKillerWhatever: The Beast Knights or Juushi (獣士) are really earth animals that the Boazanians turned into giant robots. At least the ones after the first couple of episodes.
26	* AwardBaitSong: The end theme "Looking For Father".'' And we wonder who is the "father" they are searching for''.
27	* BarehandedBladeBlock: An entire episode was devoted to Kenichi learning this technique--called The Butterfly Return--when the eponymous Super Robot was fighting against an enlarged swordsman. He doesn't take very well to the training for the technique, so he decides to modify the process by doing a [[BeyondTheImpossible bullet catch using a pair of rocks]]. Earlier in that episode, Daijirou (who teaches Kenichi the technique) performs this against Megumi's blade after she had disarmed him of his staff earlier in a sparring session.
28	* BarelyChangedDubName: In Italy and Greece, the robot is known as ''Vultus 5''.
29	* BigDamnReunion: [[spoiler: When Voltes V comes to Boazania, the Go brothers, one by one, talk to Kentaro over the communication device. He cries tears of joy as he recognizes each of their voices. When they unite for real, the four of them cry, and even [[ActionGirl Megumi]] sheds tears]].
30	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The Gō brothers reunite with their father Gohl/Kentarou and the Boazanian civil war ends in victory for the rebels who, aided by the Voltes Team, overthrow the imperial government, indirectly stopping its own invasion of Earth which was largely driven by the search to kill Gohl, the rightful heir to the Boazanian throne usurped by his jealous cousin Zambajil, who ironically dies not at the hands of either the Voltes Team or the rebels, but by his own enforcer Heinel, furious at having been tricked into attempting to kill his own father and younger half-brothers (respectively, Gohl and the Gō brothers) before being thrown under the bus in a vain attempt at bargaining for his life. Unfortunately, a lot of the Voltes Team's allies had to die beforehand (including the Gō brothers' mother Mitsuyo, Professor Hamaguchi, and Megumi's father General Oka), Heinel sacrifices himself to save Kenichi from the rubble, and Gohl chooses to stay behind in Boazan instead of joining his remaining sons to Earth so he can help rebuild Boazanian society, though it's implied that with the space-warp technology they used to travel to Boazan in the last arc, travel between Earth and Boazan wouldn't take long and the Voltes Team can visit their father in the now peaceful Boazan anytime]].
31	* CharacterDevelopment: The characters are somewhat more fleshed-out than in the standard SuperRobot show, due it to being part of a trilogy meant to expand the formula beyond being [[MerchandiseDriven elaborate toy commercials]]. In particular, [[spoiler:Kenichi learned that he and his siblings are all half-Boazanians, and he struggled to keep his morals together and not let his origin of birth affect the reason he fights.]]
32	* ChildrenAreInnocent: Since one of the anime's central themes is ParentalAbandonment, this trope is played straight. Little Kenichi bawled with tears down his face as he begged his father not to go, but he had to do what he must to save them. There's also Prince Heinel's flashback of his childhood, that shows several nobles being cruel to a child over his heritage, and him trying to put up a front despite all their abuse.
33	* CompilationMovie:
34	** ''Voltes V'' was once partially dubbed and released in the U.S. as a single [[https://dubbing.fandom.com/wiki/Voltes_V Compilation Movie]] titled ''Voltus 5''. This version combined episodes 1 to 3 and 9 and 18 together.
35	** The last five episodes which previously went unaired following UsefulNotes/FerdinandMarcos' ban were edited and released by Creator/GMANetwork theatrically as ''Voltes V: The Liberation'', back when the network was hyping up the series' "second coming" in the late 90s.
36	* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Using the "Choudenji Ball" would drain all of Voltes V's energy, making it unable to move after the attack. Later it receives an upgrade to avert this.
37	* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to ''Anime/CombattlerV'', but not to [[Creator/YoshiyukiTomino extremes otherwise prevalent during the Super Robot Boom of the 70s]]. Interestingly enough, Tomino ''himself'' was involved in making this anime. Foreshadowing, perhaps?
38	** Another sign of this is when it appeared together with ''Anime/CombattlerV'' in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' series. Compare [[Anime/CombattlerV Hyouma]] who has a more daredevil, carefree attitude and a bit of [[IdiotHero idiocy]] with [[TheLancer his second-in-command, Juzo]] [[DeadpanSnarker snarking]] at him at times, while Kenichi tends to put more emphasis at the serious danger and intensity of the combat for his younger brothers and friends.
39	* DirtyCoward: Emperor Zambajil [[spoiler:kicked his older brother and legitimate heir, La Gohl, out of the throne for simply being a hornless nobleman]], held Boazan in an iron grip with a FantasticCasteSystem, and [[spoiler:manipulated La Gohl's first son Heinel into becoming his pawn]], yet he's quick to bail out once [[spoiler:the Voltes Team finally reach Boazan, the hornless Boazanians are turning the tide of the civil war in their favor, and Heinel discovers his true heritage]]. It's worth noting that the {{Big Bad}}s of the other Romantics, for all their [[ObviouslyEvil vileness]], have ''[[NobleDemon at least]]'' [[VillainousValor some dignity]].
40	* DoubleInLawMarriage: Narrowly avoided, and a non-marriage example: [[spoiler: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/VoltesV Concept art]] shows that [[CuteMonsterGirl Katherine]] was to have a little sister named Marlene, who would fall in love with Kenichi after defecting from the Boazanian's side. Katherine also has a crush on [[{{tsundere}} Heinel]]. Given TheReveal later that Heinel, Kenichi, Daijiro, and Hiyoshi are paternal half-brothers and that Kentaro Go and Prince Gohl are the same person, this trope would have been fulfilled had Marlene not been cut out in the final version.]]
41	* DubNameChange: [[DubNameChange/VoltesV Has its own page]].
42	* EnergyBall: The "Choudenji Ball" is an energy ball of the ultra-electromagnetic variety used to paralyze the enemy in place with electrocution while at the same time softening its hard maxingal metal shell, thus making it easier for Voltes V to cut them down with the "V-Slash".
43	* EverybodyWasKungFuFighting: If anyone is actively involved on the field long enough, chances are that they'll be proficient at close quarters combat. Even Professor Hamaguchi got in on the fun.
44	* ExpositoryThemeTune:
45	** The bleak opening theme talks about how the five ''[[TrueCompanions nakama]]'' are rushing forward to the maelstrom of battle to save the earth from certain doom, with the closing line being, "The earth's dawn is already near."[[note]]It's in stark contrast to the ''Combattler V'' theme tune, which names several of the weapons it has in its arsenal while showing them off onscreen.[[/note]]
46	** And the closing theme tune talks about how the Gō brothers [[spoiler:are searching for their missing father]]. Subverted, as it's really about the [[ MainCharacter Prince Heinel]] meeting his missing father for the very first time, and this is made especially clear when you properly pay attention to some of the lyrics of the ending song such as the line of why couldn't the baby bird meet his father's shadow at all and also asking if he was going to cry before ultimately choosing not to do so due to him being a man and pressing on. The animators drop the ball on that one and animate the three Go brothers running towards their father instead.
47	* FinishingMove:
48	** Voltes V summons the [[RetractableWeapon retractable]] [[{{BFS}} "Tenkuu Ken" (Sword of Heaven)]], has it absorb lightning like a lightning rod, and uses its super-charged ultra-electromagnetic blade to slice the MonsterOfTheWeek apart with the [[ZorroMark "V-no-Ji-Giri" (V-Slash or V-Mark-Slash)]]. Cue [[EverythingMakesAMushroom mushroom cloud explosion]] and Voltes posing against a shining V in the end.
49	** A MidSeasonUpgrade later, and Voltes V now blasts the [[EnergyBall "Choudenji Ball"]] at the Armored [[{{Robeast}} Beast Knight]] first to soften its hard outer shell before slashing it with the "V-no-Ji-Giri".
50	* FlyingBrick: Apparently trying to outdo Combattler: ''"You'll never beat this 600-ton Voltes!"''
51	* FusionDance: The Beast Knights in Episode 5 merge into one. While they do give Voltes V a harder time, when they eventually get beaten back, it means that once the FinishingMove is delivered, they both go down at once.
52	* GodzillaThreshold: In response to the Volt In Sequence getting disrupted, Prof. Hamaguchi is forced to resort to the Ultramarcon, an auxiliary Super Electromagnetic Generator designed by Prof. Gō, to get around the Beast Knight's special weapon. However, the risk is that it's never been tested, and could risk killing the pilots. And once it is used, it ends up destroyed from overload.
53	* HeroStoleMyBike: After escaping the secret lab, Prof. Hamaguchi and Gen. Oka borrow a ''nearby logging truck'' to get back safely. At least Hamaguchi yells at them to bill it in his name.
54	* IslandBase: [[spoiler: In Episode 19, Zuhl had a secret one even from Heinel where he held Kentaro in order to try probing his mind for secrets to defeat Voltes V. Daijirou ends up finding this base when he went AWOL in search of his father. This base is inadvertently destroyed when the Voltes Team end up luring the Beast Knight they were up against away from the city and towards it (thankfully, all named characters escaped before then, but Zuhl still managed to keep Kentaro in his clutches).]]
55	* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: Episode 14 begins with this in light of [[spoiler:Hamaguchi's death.]]
56	* LatexSpaceSuit: The pilot suits of the Voltes Team are form-fitting latex space suits.
57	* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: La Gohl/Kentarou is Prince Heinel's father from his deceased first (horned Boazanian) wife]].
58	** Which also makes [[spoiler:[[CainAndAbel Heinel the Cain to Kenichi's (also, to a lesser extent, Daijiro and Hiyoshi) Abel]].]] Unlike most cases of said trope, they have much in common, personality-wise.
59	* MasqueradeBall: In General Dange's flashback, the noble Boazanians have a ball, while the commoners are excluded and forced to work as slaves.
60	* {{Melodrama}}: The anime has this on both the heroes and villain's sides. It begins with the ParentalAbandonment of the three Gō brothers, Kenichi, Daijiro and Hiyoshi, who have no idea why their dad left and desperately want to see him again. Amidst an AlienInvasion by the distant Planet Boazania, they find out that there's a possibility he's alive and they can save him. Whereas the ConqueringAlienPrince of Boazania, a SourOutsideSadInside soul with a fractured sense of honour, finds out that his court isn't as loyal as he thought and the Emperor, his own uncle, doesn't trust him...but why?
61	* MilitariesAreUseless: Subverted. The military of Japan co-assists Voltes V into repelling the Boazanian Invasion and the daughter of the General is one of the CombiningMecha's five pilots. However, the [[SpaceElves Boazanians]] are a HigherTechSpecies and naturally have higher-quality weapons and elite militia in comparision.
62	* MonsterOfTheWeek: The {{Kaiju}}/Juushi/Beast Knights/[[DubNameChange Beast Fighters]] of the Boazans appear weekly or per episode. Sometimes, they come in pairs like in the case of Daiga and Neegu or Namazungo and Gamenza. Some of them appear multiple episodes if they're particularly tough or use a special upgrade.
63	* MysteriousProtector: They were being helped by someone flying in a jet shaped like a hawk (in the Philippines, it was instead referred to as a "Mechanical Eagle") in later episodes. [[spoiler:It's a friend of Prof. Gō, General Dange, a DefectorFromDecadence]].
64	* OncePerEpisode: Every episode the team yelled "Let's Volt In!" (preceded with Kenichi's initiation of 'V Together!' so everyone gets in formation first) to combine in Voltes V. And every episode they killed the MonsterOfTheWeek with the the Tenkuu Ken (most of the time with [[FinishingMove V Slash]], but lesser used moves pop up time to time).
65	* PieEyed: This is how the Voltes team are depicted in the short tie-in Creator/NoboruSakaoka manga.
66	* RealRobotGenre: Ironically, despite being a SuperRobotGenre show, it shows some elements of this as Voltes V is repaired and maintained by Big Falcon's facilities and large number of support personnel and MissionControl staff after every battle against a Beast Knight.
67	* RobotMe:
68	** In Episode 15, a version of [[spoiler:Kentaro Gō]] is sent by the Boazanian Emperor to deal with Voltes V. Interestingly, Prince Heinel wasn't aware of this nature and assumed that [[spoiler:Prof. Gō was turning on his children]]. He is offended, like Kenichi and Hiyoshi after TheReveal, that the emperor made a fool out of him once he found out the truth.
69	** In Episode 21, Zuhl tries to do a long con on Prof. Gō involving android versions of the Voltes Team and Prof. Sakonji so that he can unwittingly create another Voltes V. Unfortunately for him, Gō wised up to this after "Sakonji" was unable to properly keep up the charade and didn't notice a discrepancy the real deal would've spotted immediately, [[spoiler:and because their "Voltes V" during his "rescue operation" had escape pods, which he '''did not''' implement as it would make its pilots too dependent on being able to run from battle]].
70	** In the original run, the Boazanians were already using the term Beast Knight for their MonsterOfTheWeek.
71	* SavageWolves: Two major examples:
72	** [[spoiler:A pack of wolves attempted to attack Ippei's homeless family. Since Ippei was a child and his father was sick, his mother, the only able-bodied member of the family, sacrificed herself by using gunpowder to kill herself and the wolves for their safety]].
73	** Beast Knight Garus is a {{Robeast}} wolf that literally [[KickTheDog kicks the dog]].
74	* SelfFulfillingProphecy: [[spoiler: Since the anime started, Zambajil has been plotting, scheming, and sabotaging Heinel at every turn in the hope that he'd get killed for fear of being killed by him. All this despite Heinel treating him with nothing but respect. This then leads to Heinel killing him in the end, just as he'd feared.]]
75	* SteppingOutForAQuickCupOfCoffee: In episode 20, Professor Sakonji tells the Voltes Team that he can't authorize a mission to find the missing Kentaro Gō, saying that the odds of their current lead being a trap are too great... and then steps out to use the restroom, specifically declaring that he'll probably take a while. The team naturally launches without him, while a very much not-on-the-toilet Sakonji secretly watches and says to himself that he has no right to stop them.
76	* SuperRobotGenre: ''Voltes V'' has a (relatively) more realistic take on the Super Robot genre, but it still hasn't crossed the threshold of a RealRobotGenre series like ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' from 1979.
77	* SuccessionCrisis: What triggers the plot. After the Emperor dies and it's time to choose a heir to the throne, [[spoiler: the son of the Emperor's little brother, Gohl is chosen over the child of the Emperor and his concubine, Zambajil. Zambajil takes advantage of the FantasticCasteSystem in Boazania and exposes his cousin as hornless, thus condemning him into slavery. Gohl uses his knowledge of science and technology to help slave rebellions across the Empire, his spirit inspiring many to join him. However, he is eventually forced to flee Boazania as it's too dangerous for him, and settles on Earth where he has Kenichi, Daijiro and Hiyoshi with Mitsuyo. Zambajil eventually calls Gohl back to Boazania, saying that ever since he left, the technology of Boazania has weakened, and he will award Gohl with the status he had before he was exposed if he agrees to collaborate with him. Gohl rejects this and is subsequently enslaved. Spending years believing their father was dead, Kenichi, Daijiro and Hiyoshi are shocked to discover there's a chance he's alive, and strive to save him and liberate Boazania.]]
78	* TenderTomboyishnessFoulFemininity: The TokenGirl of the [[FiveManBand Voltes Team]], [[BadassAdorable Megumi Oka]], is a {{Tomboy}}ish {{Ninja}}, who wants to follow her dad into being a great ninja. However, the sole female member of the Boazanian's Earth Invasion Force, Katherine Rii, dresses in a FairytaleWeddingDress, dislikes engaging in combat, and is frequently called beautiful by other characters. Megumi also reacts to Ippei's crush on her with {{Troll}}ing or annoyance, but Katherine has an [[EveryoneCanSeeIt obvious]] crush on [[ConqueringAlienPrince Prince]] [[TheDragon Heinel]].
79	* TractorBeam: The Skull Ships have these for transporting people. Prof. Hamaguchi is abducted by one in Episode 13 while protecting Kenichi from it.
80	* TrainingFromHell:
81	** The Spin Fly Formation. It involved surviving centrifugal forces that tortured the Voltes Team.
82	** The beginning had the Voltes Team undergo this in their preparation of piloting Voltes V and the Boazan Army arrive, for one whole year. Worth noting that Hiyoshi, [[TheSmartGuy the smart kid]] of the team, is sent to fight off [[ThreateningShark a living shark]] with nothing but a knife.
83	* TransformationNameAnnouncement: '''VOOLTEEEESSSS FIIIVEEE!!!!!'''. Followed by extending arms to form a "V" and an AssKickingPose.
84	* TransformationIsAFreeAction:
85	** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] as one MonsterOfTheWeek was designed to neutralize Voltes V's super-electro-magnetic shielding during its transformation.
86	** Arguably subverted, since several Beast Knights manage to interrupt their formation before they can properly transform. Once the sequence from the title starts playing, though, it's usually rare for them to pull it off.
87	* VillainEpisode: Several episodes gave Heinel more screentime than the Voltes Team and actually developed him further as a character. This is one of the unique points of the series during its airing time, where the antagonist was shown to be more than a cackling villain that thinks on how to defeat the heroes, having his own dreams and honor (and outwitting other things aside of the Voltes Team), all while not wholly taking away the fact that he's supposed to be the antagonist.
88	* VillainousBSOD: Heinel went through these [[spoiler:when he found out La Gohl/Kentarou Gō was his real father, the Gō brothers were his younger half-brothers, Zambajil is just an usurping bastard, [[DrivenToSuicide and one could only guess what happened next]]]].
89	* VoiceChangeling: In Episode 13, Zuhl presents a voice modulating device he intends to use against the Voltes V pilots by pretending to be Professor Gō. He even demonstrates it by having Jangal speak through it, and come off with Katherine's voice, to her shock.
90	* WeHaveReserves: Emperor Zambajil does not care if his own troops get within range of his DoomsdayDevice, as long as Voltes V is defeated.
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Context Anime / VoltesV