History Anime / SpaceRunawayIdeon

*** It got better in [[SuperRobotWarsAlpha Super Robot Wars Alpha 3]] too if you made the right choice in the later stages. Picking the other option though put you on one hell of a downer end, even more so when you realize that they drew EVERY single STMC(Gunbuster) to their location after they blew up Buster Machine 3. Good guys were screwed no matter what they did even if Ideon didn't explode.

* SuperRobotWars: Appears in [[SuperRobotWars4 FF]] and [[SuperRobotWarsAlpha Alpha 3]]. [[GuideDangIt Should the player not fulfill certain requirements]], Ideon's ending can kick into the story for Alpha 3, resulting in a DownerEnding.

* NamesToKnowInAnime: YokuShioya (Cosmo), HideyukiTanaka (Bes), KeikoToda (Karala), Creator/YouInoue (Sheryl), Rumiko Ukai (Kitty), Fuyumi Shiraishi (Kasha), BanjoGinga (Damdo)

!!'''Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon''' provides examples of:

* PrettyLittleHeadshots: Cruelly subverted with [[spoiler:Karala]] who takes three bullets in the face [[spoiler: from her sister Harulu]]; however, we [[TakeOurWordForIt don't see the results.]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: Many people say that this show is the "spiritual predecessor" to ''NeonGenesisEvangelion''. It uses many of the same themes and even has a kill-'em-all ending like ''Evangelion''.

''SpaceRunawayIdeon'' (aka Densetsu Kyojin Ideon, Legendary Giant God Ideon) was the project that YoshiyukiTomino worked on directly after ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam''. As with its sister series it had its run cut short, it was planned for 43 episodes but got pulled after 39. The last 4 episodes were made into the movie ''Be Invoked''. Due to its angsty and bizarre ending, it is often cited as close inspiration for ''NeonGenesisEvangelion''. Heck, it's probably best known today as the absolute heavyweight champion of the KillEmAll trope.

Compared to its immediate spiritual predecessor, ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', ''Ideon'' is a step back from RealRobot to SuperRobot (the trend was discontinued with ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]'' in the 80s) and as a result, features rather formulaic combat engagements. These usually follow the pattern of Buff Clan (later, Earth, too) presenting their newest strategy/technology/commander, engaging Ideon (which may or may not be in combined form at the time), and getting their asses handed to them in every single episode. The grand scale of the battles commonly seen in various Franchise/{{Gundam}}s is unattainable with a single robot and a CoolStarship, so don't look for it here. Another notable feature is the shameless PlotArmor of major antagonists, as it is not uncommon to see them escape with ease while Ideon takes out their RedshirtArmy. To be fair, however, the show isn't ''that'' bad, just a little monotonous and difficult to sit through. ''Be Invoked'', on the other hand, is a must for every anime fan out there. Otherwise, you miss out big time on how KillEmAll was done back in the days...

!!This show provides examples of:

* ApocalypseHow: In ''Be Invoked'' we see Class X-2, ''at the least''. We see the energy from the Ideon's destruction spread out and engulf the remaining planets in the system. And then it just keeps getting larger... and larger...

* ApocalypseHow

* KickTheDog: In episode 8, while begging Harulu to spare the Solo Ship and her crew, Harulu orders Guhaba to humiliate her by tearing off part of her shirt, then orders everyone else watching to laugh at her.

''SpaceRunawayIdeon'' (aka Densetsu Kyojin Ideon, Legendary Giant God Ideon) was the project that YoshiyukiTomino worked on directly after ''MobileSuitGundam''. As with its sister series it had its run cut short, it was planned for 43 episodes but got pulled after 39. The last 4 episodes were made into the movie ''Be Invoked''. Due to its angsty and bizarre ending, it is often cited as close inspiration for ''NeonGenesisEvangelion''. Heck, it's probably best known today as the absolute heavyweight champion of the KillEmAll trope.

Compared to its immediate spiritual predecessor, ''MobileSuitGundam'', ''Ideon'' is a step back from RealRobot to SuperRobot (the trend was discontinued with ''ZetaGundam'' in the 80s) and as a result, features rather formulaic combat engagements. These usually follow the pattern of Buff Clan (later, Earth, too) presenting their newest strategy/technology/commander, engaging Ideon (which may or may not be in combined form at the time), and getting their asses handed to them in every single episode. The grand scale of the battles commonly seen in various {{Gundam}}s is unattainable with a single robot and a CoolStarship, so don't look for it here. Another notable feature is the shameless PlotArmor of major antagonists, as it is not uncommon to see them escape with ease while Ideon takes out their RedshirtArmy. To be fair, however, the show isn't ''that'' bad, just a little monotonous and difficult to sit through. ''Be Invoked'', on the other hand, is a must for every anime fan out there. Otherwise, you miss out big time on how KillEmAll was done back in the days...

* HeyItsThatVoice: A lot of the MobileSuitGundam cast appear in ''Ideon''. See the NamesToKnowInAnime entry below.

* ShoutOut: Several of Buff Clan's mecha are modeled after the Martians' [[TripodTerror tripod]] from WarOfTheWorlds.

* DeadLittleSister: [[spoiler: Sheryl's younger sister, Lin]]

* CapuletCounterpart: Karala and Bes.

So, for those of you who seek a comprehensive plot summary of the series, here is one. A group of Terran colonists on a remote planet find a CoolStarship and three bulky starfighters that [[CombiningMecha combine]] into a [[SuperRobotGenre Super Robot]]. The ship and the robot contain the so-called Ide, a source of infinite energy, which a militaristic [[HumanAliens alien-but-actually-human]] civilization of Buff Clan is after. This results in a rather monotonous [[MonsterOfTheWeek Strategy Of The Week]] as Buff Clan (unsuccessfully) employs increasingly more devastating technologies and renowned military commanders to bring down the Solo ship and get their hands on Ideon. Along the way, [[AnyoneCanDie many folks die]] and the Solo ship screws up their relationships with other Terran colonies and the Earth itself, all of whom now want Ide for themselves. Towards the end of the series, [[BolivianArmyEnding every known army in the universe gangs up against the Solo crew]]. It also becomes apparent that Ideon has a will of its own and that it is displeased with the humans' wars and infighting. Enough so to completely wipe all of them out. That's where the series abruptly cuts. In TheMovie, Buff Clan stages the final assault on the Solo ship and Ideon, this time with a planet-destroying WaveMotionGun. [[GoneHorriblyRight And succeeds]]. Ideon explodes and destroys what's left of Buff Clan army, since even before that, it generates a swarm of meteors that [[EarthShatteringKaboom wreck]] Earth ''and'' Buff Clan homeplanet (destruction of other Terran colonies is HandWaved), so all sentient beings on both planets are destroyed. Cue the {{Mind Screw}}ing scene with the characters' spirits being somehow [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence reborn on a higher plane of existence]].

->''[[BlatantLies A merry robot action anime about protecting the peace of the world and your neighborhood]].''
-->--YoshiyukiTomino explains the show to his sponsors, ''GundamSousei''.

* NamesToKnowInAnime: YokuShioya (Cosmo), HideyukiTanaka (Bes), KeikoToda (Karala), YouInoue (Sheryl), Rumiko Ukai (Kitty), Fuyumi Shiraishi (Kasha), BanjoGinga (Damdo)

* HilariousInHindsight: Mechas called the Dogg Mack and [[ZeroWing 'Take off every Zigg Mack']].

* MemeticMutation: '''Ideon destroyed the universe!'''
** Which is kinda sad because it only destroyed the solar system it was in/that part of the galaxy it was in.
** Hey, look at the monitor to your left. [[FourthWallPsych *Stares at troper*]]
** Frequently, Doba's manly-tears-closeup near the end of Be Invoked is a standard [[ImageBoards imageboard]] reply to something awe-inspiring.

* GoodOldFisticuffs: The Ideon is rather fond of hand-to-hand combat, either [[BetterThanItSounds by choice]] or when the [[AppliedPhlebotinum Ideon Gauge 'is low']].

* CreatorCameo: Mr. Tomino is briefly seen as a crew member of the Solo Ship in ''Be Invoked''.

* HimeCut: Several females, like Kasha and Karala.

** If you believe a certain one-shot manga penned by Tomino, implying that the Universal Century of Gundam is the Universe that replaced Ideon's, and that [[spoiler: Judau, hero of GundamZZ, is actually Cosmo reincarnated]], then yes, things get a ''lot'' better.