Trivia / Chōjinki Metalder

• Acting for Two: A lot of the voice actors do several roles, as necessitated by the sheer number of Neros' combatants. Akira Senoo also plays both Ryuusei and Tatsuo, for obvious reasons.
• Promoted Fanboy:
  • Akira Seno was a fan of Ken Uehara, who played Doctor Koga, having watched him on TV a lot when he was younger. He was reportedly very nervous about not slipping up around him, and was even heard to remark "I really wish I were a robot" on account of the pressure he felt he was under.
  • Uehara himself often watched Toku programs with his child, and thus vowed to do his best with his role.
• Troubled Production: Although everyone seemed to enjoy working on it, that doesn't mean there weren't hiccups...
  • The Neros monsters all being present in the first episode led to the production team having to prepare 40 suits in a short amount of time, with some even calling it "hell".
  • Head writer Susumu Takaku was unavailable to write the additional two episodes were added onto the series, so secondary writer Kunio Fujii was brought in to script them instead.
• What Could Have Been: Metalder being Cut Short from 52 to 39 episodes has resulted in quite a lot of unused concepts.
  • Top Gunder was originally intended to be a member of the Armored Army, not the Battle Robot Army. He also wasn't planned as being Metalder's rival, but after the director took a liking to the design, Top Gunder was brought over to the Battle Robot Army and given a much bigger role.
  • After the series was Cut Short, the original plan was for it to end at 37 episodes, hence why the climactic battle in the Ghost Bank takes place two episodes before the finale. It was extended to 39 episodes after Jiraiya's production ran into delays.
  • The original plan for the final two episodes was to have Coolgin (the real Coolgin, not God Neros in disguise) and Balsky vie for power over the remnants of the Neros Empire.
  • Top Gunder's death would have been different in the original draft of the ending. He would have been grievously wounded by the Armored Army in the Final Battle and had Metalder Mercy Kill him with his own rifle.
  • The ending would have also been an even bigger Downer Ending than what we got and would have seen Springer accompanying Metalder in his final attack on the Ghost Bank and the two perishing together in its explosion. The last scene would have been the bodies of Top Gunder and various members of the Neros Empire washing up on a beach, with the final shot being the spirits of Metalder and Springer floating over the ocean.
  • Had the show gotten its full 52 episode run, it would have been revealed that Neros was actually a pawn for an even greater evil than him. The biggest hint remaining of this is whenever Gozo Kirihara used "the Darkness of the Night" in order to transform into Neros. This unrealized plot point would be alluded to in a novelization of Metalder released by series writer Susumu Takaku.
  • Before deciding to adapt it into what would become VR Troopers, Saban Entertainment considered bringing Metalder to the West with a Gag Dub titled Metalhead. Reportedly, one episode was actually produced in this fashion as a pilot before it was decided a Power Rangers style adaption would be more profitable.
• Working Title: Was Shinjinki^note Rookie Machine Bikeroid.

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