Shout Out / Dairugger XV

Here are the shout-outs from Armored Fleet Dairugger/DaiRugger XV.

Galveston Empire

Real-Life Inspirations

• Planet Galveston itself is in reference to the real-life Galveston Island, Texas.
  • Galveston Island was a base for piracy and slave smuggling during the early 1800s.
  • It's also infamous for the Great Galveston Hurricane back in 1900 that practically wiped out all life on the island.
• Emperor Corsair gets his name from the French word corsaire (pirate, privateer), from the Medieval Latin word cursārius (pirate), and from the Latin word cursus (course, a running; plunder, hostile inroad).
• The scheming power-hungry Galveston leader is named "Al Caponero" or "Al Caponello".
• The two peace-loving Galveston leaders, Teles and his father Tes, come from the "Socrat" family.
  • Teles is named after Teles of Megara, a Cynic philosopher from Ancient Greece.
  • Tes Socrat or Socrat Tes is named after the Greek philosopher Socrates .
• Commander Luciano is named after Italian-American mobster Lucky Luciano.
• Captain Drake is named after Sir Francis Drake, an English privateer who carried out the second circumnavigation of Earth in a single expedition.
  • Roche, Drake's second-in-command, is named after Roche Braziliano, a Dutch pirate who operated in Brazil and Jamaica during the mid-17^th century.
• Captain Lafitte is named after Jean Lafitte, a French pirate who operated in the Gulf of Mexico during the early 19^th century. He was a French privateer who lived a life of piracy and spying in North America.
• Captain Barataria is named after Barataria Bay, a bay in Louisiana known for being Jean Lafitte's base during the early 19^th century.
• Captain Marius is named after Simon Marius, the German astronomer who discovered the four major moons of Jupiter before Galileo Galilei.

Anime & Manga

• The Galveston Skull Ship harkens back to Voltes V and its more esoteric-looking Skull Rook mothership.
• The aliens of Galveston are very similar to the ones from the Gamilas Empire from Space Battleship Yamato, particularly when it comes to their strange skin complexion but not so much their bloodshot eyes.
• Planet Galveston being a doomed planet, thus pushing its inhabitants to conquer planets outside their galaxy is the same plot point found in Combattler V and its Planet Campbell or Daimos and its Planet Baam.
• Sirk, the highly trusted adjutant and sister figure of Teles, is likely based on Erika from Daimos. Both are alien women whose brother figures want to invade the Earth, but they are kind-hearted and want peace with the humans instead.
  • In turn, Teles is a variant of your typical Super Robot anti-villain commander of the invading alien force^note cut from the same cloth as Garuda from Combattler V, Prince Heinel from Voltes V, and Richter from Daimos. He's possibly even one of the first Char Clones directly modeled after the Mobile Suit Gundam character, although he does lack that signature mask to hide his identity.
• General Caponello's war-mongering ways while he himself is a Dirty Coward is highly reminiscent of the role played by General Sakamori Miwa in Daimos.
• Emperor Corsair's death by assassination is similar to the bloody nature of Emperor Zambajil's death in Voltes V, with him being assassinated by Teles and his sympathizers like how Heinel ultimately killed the Boazan Emperor.
• Unlike Hazar in Vehicle Team Voltron, Teles is left to die a martyr on the doomed planet Galveston at his request while his loyal adjutant Sirk is left to lead the rest of the Galveston people to a new home. This is highly referential to the ending in Daimos, where Erika, not Richter, becomes the new leader of the Baam people. The flames that engulf Teles are similar to Prince Heinel's redeemed death in Voltes V.

Movies & Television

• In episode 12, when the Battle Machine emerges from the city ruins, it emits a roar similar to that of Godzilla.
• Among the most famous Star Trek villains, the Galvestonian military is most reminiscent of the insular Romulans (instead of the war-hawk Klingons).
  • Teles, his father, and the peace-loving Galvestonian rebels are, in turn, more reminiscent of the methodical Vulcans or the half-human, half-Vulcan Spock.

Terran League (Galaxy Alliance)

Real-Life Inspirations

• A character in the show is named Captain Dick Asimov. As in he's named after Isaac Asimov of I, Robot fame.
• The name "Rugger" is a reference to rugby, which the team plays in episode 39. There are 15 players on a rugby team.
• The Rugger Guard starship indirectly references the real-life Japanese battleship Yamato by being inspired by Space Battleship Yamato or the Yamato in SPACE!
• Dairugger is modeled after, or at least inspired by, a samurai warrior—from the look of its head to its reliance on swordsmanship.

Anime & Manga

• Coincidentally, like with Akira Kogane from GoLion, Manabu Aki is also nicknamed "Chief" by his crew.
• Like with the Super Robots of Combattler V and Voltes V, DaiRugger is composed of airplanes, submarines, and land vehicles multiplied by three.
  • However, they're more like the all-purpose vehicles of Voltes that can move in land, sea, or air, only this time the Air Team, Land Team, and Sea Team refer to each team's specialty terrain.
  • The samurai-looking Dairugger XV is also reminiscent of Voltes V without the mouth guard. Or Daimos with samurai armor.
• Without the giant robot and multiple teams, the crew of the Rugger Guard looks like they belong in a spin-off or remake of Space Battleship Yamato a la Space Carrier Blue Noah.
  • A good description for this anime is that it's Yamato with SUPER ROBOTS! or Star Blazers with VOLTRON!

Movies & Television

• Patty Ellington's name is a combination of Patty Duke of The Patty Duke Show fame and Duke Ellington, renowned jazz pianist and band leader. So she's basically Patty "Duke" Ellington but without the "Duke" part.
• Some of the DaiRugger XV vehicles—particularly the head and chest plate—look a lot like the Thunderbird craft.
• The themes of war, peace, diplomatic missions, exploration, invasion, immigration, rebellion, and piracy in "The New Frontier" present in Dairugger XV is highly reminiscent of the themes played with by the original Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica.
  • The three planetary races of the Tri-Planet Alliance or Terran League (Galaxy Alliance) are the Earthlings of Planet Earth, the Salans of Planet Sala, and the Mirans of Planet Mira^note (blessed with precognition). They're somewhat reminiscent of the three major races of Star Fleet in Star Trek^note (Humans, Vulcans, and Klingons).
• Like with Star Wars, the Terran League ships fire white or blue-white beams while the Galveston ships fire red beams.
• Goggle Robo from Dai Sentai Goggle Five and (even more so) Dyna Robo from Kagaku Sentai Dynaman look a lot like DaiRugger XV (they all sport vehicular feet and legs as well as a docked upright airplane for the head).

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