History Anime / MetalArmorDragonar

** Probably the biggest one is Episode 28. Up till then, the Dragonar team had met challenges they couldn't beat, but time, luck, or skill has gotten them out. This time? They're up against the [[FiveBadBand Stark Squad]], who utterly DECIMATE them. With their commander knocked out, and both Rose and Linda in the hands of Jin (who [[RapeAsDrama is rather clear with his intentions]], the episode ends with the machines totaled, in a ditch, while the town around them is being burned down. Dark. There's a reason the Stark Squad are [[ThatOneBoss noted for their difficulty in Super Robot Wars]].

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Gon Jem and his Stark Squad (see FiveBadBand above).

* FiveBadBand: The Stark Squad, a paramilitary force in China hired by the Giganos Empire:
** BigBad - Gon Jem
** TheDragon - Ganan (though this is a bit of a stretch)
** TheBrute - Gor
** EvilGenius - Jin
** DarkActionGirl - Min

* MidSeasonUpgrade: The [[MechaExpansionPack Lifter Packs], which allow the Dragonars to fly while in atmosphere and also come equipped with their own missile launchers.

* AmbiguouslyBrown: Min.

* FiveBadBand: The Stark Squad:

** HighHeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Min]]

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Gon Jem is "The Disgrace of Giganos".

** AcePilot Meio Plato is obviously based on [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Char Aznable]], to the point of having a pretty similar RedBaron nickname. However, personality-wise, he actually resembles [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Anavel Gato]] the most.

* AdjectiveNounFred

* ActionGirl: Min, who starts out as a DarkActionGirl.

If that sounded similar to ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' to you, you're quite right - this 1987-1988 series is, in fact, very similar to Creator/YoshiyukiTomino 's masterpiece. However, ''Metal Armor Dragonar'' is much LighterAndSofter than the series it parallels, not only keeping death to a minimum, but also engaging in refreshing comedic episodes which manage not to detract anything from the action and the development. People who liked ''Gundam'''s bleak setting might be somewhat put off by this, but ''Metal Armor Dragonar'' presents itself as a worthy alternative.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: ''Dragonar'' was envisioned as a successor to ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' without all the ContinuityLockout, and would have replaced it had it outperformed ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Gundam ZZ]]''. That's right, Dragonar was made for pretty much the same reason as the ''Gundam'' alternate universes - and half a decade earlier, to boot.

* CanonForeigner - The Falguen Custom, designed for ''AnotherCenturysEpisode 3'', which is a do-everything upgrade to Meio's AceCustom.

** The Dragonars themselves. D-1 is an obvious reference to the original RX-78, with beam sabers, a laser bazooka and a shield. D-2 is for the guntank with its shoulder-mounted turret cannons, while D3 is a more humanoid version of the Gunroller.

If that sounded similar to ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' to you, you're quite right - this 1987-1988 series is, in fact, very similar to YoshiyukiTomino 's masterpiece. However, ''Metal Armor Dragonar'' is much LighterAndSofter than the series it parallels, not only keeping death to a minimum, but also engaging in refreshing comedic episodes which manage not to detract anything from the action and the development. People who liked ''Gundam'''s bleak setting might be somewhat put off by this, but ''Metal Armor Dragonar'' presents itself as a worthy alternative.

* SmugSnake / TheStarscream: Dorchenov. He thinks he's a MagnificentBastard and a {{Badass}}, but in most cases, his plans either fails or only succeed due to overwhelming power or dumb luck.

** D-1, Kaine's Dragonar, is a JackOfAllStats, a cross between Fighter and Thief. It has the best speed among all three, is the only one with a dedicated melee weapon, but has less firepower and range detection. It can be outfitted with a MechaExpansionPack to provide it with more guns at the cost of looking ridiculous and reducing speed.
** D-2, Tapp's Dragonar, is a MightyGlacier, a cross between Fighter and Mage, being slow and with the heaviest firepower and defense.

* EnergyWeapons: Surprisingly sparsely used. Aside from [[LaserBlade Laser Blades]], most weaponry in the series is [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter kinetic-based]].

* MidSeasonUpgrade: The Lifter Packs, which allow the Dragonars to fly while in atmosphere and also come equipped with their own missile launchers.

* RealRobotGenre: Metal Armors. The Gilga-Zamune does straddle the line(it looks like a samurai, for one thing), however.

* AnAdventurerIsYou: The three Dragonars fulfill different roles.
** D-1, Kaine's Dragonar, is a JackOfAllStats. It has the best speed among all three, is the only one with a dedicated melee weapon, but has less firepower and range detection. It can be outfitted with a MechaExpansionPack to provide it with more guns at the cost of looking ridiculous and reducing speed.
** D-2, Tapp's Dragonar, is a MightyGlacier, being slow and with the heaviest firepower and defense.
** D-3, Light's Dragonar, is a SquishyWizard, having very few weapons but having the best navigational systems, range detection and hacking devices.

* EmpathicWeapon: The reason the boys have to join the army and pilot the Dragonars is that after they piloted it for the first time, it only responded to them.

->''[[GratuitousEnglish CHASER! Dead heat!]]''

The year is 2087, and mankind has started expanding into outer space, founding colonies on the Moon and advancing dramatically in technology and generally improving the living conditions for everyone. However, a dark shadow is cast over this future, as the Moon colonies, under the leadership of Marshall [[SpaceBattleshipYamato Iskandar]] Guiltorre, declare themselves independent under the collective name of Giganos Empire. After years of excalating tensions, brought on by the ever-growing discrimination against Earthlings on the Moon colonies, and by the construction of Giganos' Mass Driver, war finally breaks out, with Giganos Empire in an overwhelming advantage thanks to its technological superiority and the use of anthropomorphic HumongousMecha called Metal Armors. A few months in the conflict, already 70% of Earth is under Giganos' dictatorship, and the Earth Federation is getting desperate...

Fortunately for the Federation, three new-model Metal Armors codenamed Dragonar are captured by an Allied fleet during transportation. Unfortunately, the Giganos forces immediately start pursuit, with the order of taking them back at all costs... and in the whole mess, the Dragonar end up being [[FallingIntoTheCockpit boarded and piloted by three teenagers from the neutral colony of Arcadia]], which Giganos attacked to take back their prototypes. Of course, much mayhem ensues, and Kain, Tapp and Light find themselves forcibly enlisted into Federation army because [[EmpathicWeapon their mechs' AIs will only allow them to pilot it]], fighting an almost hopeless war against extremely bleak odds as they try to keep Giganos Empire from reclaiming the Dragonar.

* [[AnAdventurerIsYou An Armor Is You]]: The three Dragonars fulfill different roles.

Fortunately for the Federation, three new-model Metal Armors codenamed Dragonar are captured by an Allied fleet during transportation. Unfortunately, the Giganos forces immediately start pursuit, with the order of taking them back at all costs... and in the whole mess, the Dragonar end up being [[FallingIntoTheCockpit boarded and piloted by three teenagers from the neutral colony of Arcadia]], which Giganos attacked to take back their prototypes. Of course, much mayhem ensues, and Kain, Tapp and Light find themselves forcibly enlisted into Federation army because [[EmphaticWeapon their mechs' AIs will only allow them to pilot it]], fighting an almost hopeless war against extremely bleak odds as they try to keep Giganos Empire from reclaiming the Dragonar.

* EmphaticWeapon: The reason the boys have to join the army and pilot the Dragonars is that after they piloted it for the first time, it only responded to them.

Fortunately for the Federation, three new-model Metal Armors codenamed Dragonar are captured by an Allied fleet during transportation. Unfortunately, the Giganos forces immediately start pursuit, with the order of taking them back at all costs... and in the whole mess, the Dragonar end up being boarded and piloted by three teenagers from the neutral colony of Arcadia, which Giganos attacked to take back their prototypes. Of course, much mayhem ensues, and Kain, Tapp and Light find themselves forcibly enlisted into Federation army, fighting an almost hopeless war against extremely bleak odds as they try to keep Giganos Empire from reclaiming the Dragonar.

** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] now that the series is fully subbed.

* ChekovsGun: [[JustForPun Lt. Chekov indeed has a rather large gun, and the two episodes focused around him have him using it somewhat frequently.]]

* [[spoiler:EngineeredPublicConfession: In the next-to-last episode, Min pulls a BatmanGambit on Dorchenov that results in the villain unknowingly confessing his murder of Marshall Guiltorre to the whole Giganos army.]]

* MoodWhiplash: The two episodes with PunchClockVillain Lt.Chekov. Also the end of episode 13.

* VideoGame/SuperRobotWars: Appeared in [[VideoGame/SuperRobotwarsAdvance A]], [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsMX MX]] and [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsGC GC]]. Sadly, [[spoiler:Min does not do her HeelFaceTurn in the latter.]]

* TheCameo: [[MobileSuitGundam Ramba Ral]] appears in episode 11 dressed in a blue suit. Approaches on ShoutOut courtesy of ShownTheirWork, since Ral's referred to as the "Blue Giant."

* AnotherCenturysEpisode: All three games, with elements of plot in each (though 3 has Meio leading a group of former Giganos soldiers in cahoots with [[CharsCounterattack Char Aznable's Neo Zeon]].

* ShoutOut: Kaine's jacket in episode 9 resembles that of [[BlueCometSPTLayzner David Rutherford's jacket from the Ru Kain 1999 arc]].