History Anime / Zambot3

''Zambot 3'', or more fully, ''Invincible Super Man Zambot 3'', is a 1977-1978 anime series by long-standing mecha anime studio Creator/{{Sunrise}} and Creator/YoshiyukiTomino. It was Sunrise's first completely in-house production. Despite consisting of pretty standard SuperRobot fare, ''Zambot 3'' stands out for three things, with the first two coming out of the third. Firstly, it had somewhat of a DownerEnding. Secondly, it featured child abuse on an unprecedented level for a children's show. And thirdly, it was one of the earliest (if not ''the'' earliest,) attempts at a Deconstruction of the SuperRobot genre. The general story is that [[AlienInvasion Earth is being invaded by aliens known as the Gaizok]], which are chasing after the survivors of another planet they ruined, who came [[AlienAmongUs to live and hide on earth.]] However, these refugees left behind two weapons - [[CoolStarship King Beal]] and [[SuperRobot Zambot 3]], for their descendants to use. Cue MonsterOfTheWeek format.

Still, the show stands out because it isn't ''just'' 'MonsterOfTheWeek.' As our lead hero Kappei Jin and his allies fight the Gaizok, ''countless'' homes and towns are [[DestructiveSavior demolished in the process]], and whereas some later series such as, say, ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'' would just play it all for laughs, Zambot [[{{Deconstruction}} plays it all completely straight]], in which the people they're trying to protect see them as just as much as a threat to them as the Gaizok and despise them.[[note]]In other anime like this, either the heroes would find a way to fight in a place without causing collateral damage; or the people were as forgiving, citing that the towns can be rebuilt. In here? The Gaizok were relentless, the Zambot sometimes had to fight in the vicinity of the innocents without any other choice, and the people weren't as forgiving when the heroes wrecked their homes.[[/note]]. The results would have been a turning point for the HumongousMecha Genre had it caught on, with greater maturity and sophistication in the storytelling and a much darker atmosphere. [[ItWillNeverCatchOn But alas, this wasn't to be]], and it wouldn't be until a couple of years later when ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' was broadcast and the RealRobot genre was invented that the next big advance in the HumongousMecha genre would occur. (And both shows were directed by [[Creator/YoshiyukiTomino the same guy]] no less!)

Although the show has gained a well-deserved reputation as a game-changer in the robot anime genre, it, like its successor ''Gundam'', wasn't particularly popular at the time and has achieved that distinction retroactively. In addition, the show's dark themes hindered international distribution: to date, the series' only official release in the West has been in Italy, where the show aired in 1981, a year ''after'' ''Gundam'' (and even then, being shown only on a series of regional channels, never nationwide). However, the series is available for viewing online with English subtitles.

* BreakTheCutie: Might as well call this series "BreakTheCutie - The Anime". Kappei started out as an up and coming kid, even if he may be a bit of a jerk. Over the course of the series, he lost a lot of his positive outlook and became more jaded even if he would still fight to protect the Earth. Being shunned, losing friends and family, seeing how brutal the Gaizok could be while having to be a ChildSoldier too early for his age will do that to him. Goddammit, Tomino.

[[quoteright:303:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Zambot3.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:303:{{Destructive Savior}}s, child abuse, ''oh my!'']]

** Mecha Mooks also qualifies.

Still, the show stands out because it isn't ''just'' 'MonsterOfTheWeek.' As our lead hero Kappei Jin and his allies fight the Gaizok, ''countless'' homes and towns are [[DestructiveSavior demolished in the process]], and whereas some later series such as, say, ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'' would just play it all for laughs, Zambot [[{{Deconstruction}} plays it all completely straight]], in which the people they're trying to protect see them as just as much as a threat to them as the Gaizok and despise them.[[note]]In other anime like this, either the heroes would find a way to fight in a place without causing collateral damage; or the people were as forgiving, citing that the towns can be rebuilt. In here? The Gaizok were relentless, the Zambot sometimes had to fight in the vicinity of the innocents without any other choice, and the people weren't as forgiving when the heroes wrecked their homes.[[/note]]. The results would have been a turning point for the HumongousMecha Genre had it caught on, with greater maturity and sophistication in the storytelling and a much darker atmosphere. But alas, this wasn't to be, and it wouldn't be until a couple of years later when ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' was broadcast and the RealRobot genre was invented that the next big advance in the HumongousMecha genre would occur. (And both shows were directed by [[Creator/YoshiyukiTomino the same guy]] no less!)

* CoolShip

* CallingYourAttacks

* ChildSoldiers

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: In the final battle, Butcher asks Kappei why he is so determined in protecting the Earth despite the humans being ungrateful to the Zambot team, and mocks Kappei's heroism saying that Earth's doom has already been decided. [[spoiler: And then he dies for good.]]

* FantasticallyIndifferent: When Kouzuki finds out that Kappei and his family are aliens, he responds with a blase "Man... I knew it would be something like that."

* FinishingMove: MOON ATTAAACK!
* ForgottenPhlebotinum: The Gaizok create a material that can deflect absolutely any attack. One Mecha Boost is coated in this, then it is never reused.

* HumongousMecha

* KidHero

* LetsGetDangerous

* MadeOfExplodium

* MonsterOfTheWeek

* SleazyPolitician: Zig-zagged and then subverted. The politicians here are not malicious per se, but they were part of the UngratefulTownsfolk and thought at first it was a good idea to negotiate peace treaty with Killer the Butcher. That ended badly and they were made into target practice by Butcher while tied on a balloon. One of them, however, was saved by the Jin Family and changed his tune into a more honest, supportive politician that eventually worked behind the scenes to make sure that the show doesn't end in a complete DownerEnding (influencing people to accept the Jin Family and their heroism).
* SleepLearning: Which is only the start of the child cruelty.

* ThemeMusicPowerUp
* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse

* TransformingMecha

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Kids being pilots of a HumongousMecha can actually be psychologically straining, and immaturity can lead to deaths. Also, cities do not get magically repaired after getting smashed down during a battle between giant robots, and often the cast has to fight on the ruins of a city destroyed in an earlier battle.

* OffModel: Thanks to the reasons outlined above, this happened constantly.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Anime/{{Daitarn 3}}
** Though this is arguable, considering the two shows couldn't possibly be any more different, at least in terms of tone. ''Daitarn'' might be a successor, but not necessarily a spiritual one. One could make an equally strong or perhaps stronger case for Tomino's ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' and ''Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon'' as spiritual successors.

[[caption-width-right:303:{{Destructive Savior}}s, child abuse, and KillEmAll, ''oh my!'']]

* DestructiveSaviour: This series PERSONIFIES this trope. Yoshiyuki KillEmAll Tomino went to extreme lengths to show why it is not a good idea getting two HumongousMecha fighting in a populated area. Although [[KidHero the children piloting]] Zambot stop the [=MechaBoost=], they caused enormous amounts of damage, ([[HeroWithBadPublicity which does nothing to convince the Earth folks who hate them they are ON its side]]).

* KillEmAll: This work is granted Creator/YoshiyukiTomino his infamous moniker that named the trope. Beforehand, while he directed other robot anime, they were at most just tackling mature issues. In this series? A majority of named characters ''die'' and major protagonists are not exempt on this, [[spoiler:and this happens in the final episode at once, and just AFTER the biggest kill-happy douchebag (Butcher) has died, if you thought that his death is the flag for safety, [[HopeSpot boy how you'd be proven wrong.]] While the survivors imply that this could be just a case of AnyoneCanDie, the fact that many deaths of major figures happening in that one episode leers to this trope]].

* SleazyPolitician: Zig-zagged. The politicians here are not malicious per se, but they were part of the UngratefulTownsfolk and thought at first it was a good idea to negotiate peace treaty with Killer the Butcher. That ended badly and they were made into target practice by Butcher while tied on a balloon. One of them, however, was saved by the Jin Family and changed his tune into a more honest, supportive politician that eventually worked behind the scenes to make sure that the show doesn't end in a complete DownerEnding (influencing people to accept the Jin Family and their heroism).

* SuperRobot

* RealityEnsues: Kids being pilots of a HumongousMecha can actually be psychologically straining, and immaturity can lead to deaths. Also, cities do not get magically repaired after getting smashed down during a battle between giant robots, and often the cast has to fight on the ruins of a city destroyed in an earlier battle.

* InfantImmortality: Averted.

* KillEmAll: This work is granted Creator/YoshiyukiTomino his infamous moniker that named the trope. Beforehand, while he directed other robot anime, they were at most just tackling mature issues. In this series? A majority of named characters ''die'' and major protagonists are not exempt on this, [[spoiler:and this happens in the final episode at once, and just AFTER the biggest kill-happy douchebag (Butcher) has died. While the survivors imply that this could be just a case of AnyoneCanDie, the fact that many deaths of major figures happening in that one episode leers to this trope]].

* KillEmAll: This work is granted Creator/YoshiyukiTomino his infamous moniker that named the trope. Beforehand, while he directed other robot anime, they were at most just tackling mature issues. In this series? Every named character except the main protagonist ''die''.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: In one episode, Butcher captures a bunch of Japanese politicians and ties them to giant balloons floating in the sky in order to use them as target practice, making them fall to their deaths when he hits the balloons.

!!This show provides examples of:

* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: The BigBad is]] an alien super computer.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: In one episode, Butcher captures a bunch of japanese politicians and ties them to giant balloons floating in the sky in order to use them as ''target practice'', causing them to fall to their deaths when he hits the balloons. Can be also counted as BlackComedy.

* UngratefulTownsfolk: As part of the show's deconstructions, the Jin Family deal with this all the fricking time, being blamed that they brought the Gaizok with him and collaborated to destroy mankind when it was ''the other way around'', and until the end of the series, [[PoorCommunicationKills they just viewed the Jin Family's justifications as excuses.]]

Still, the show stands out because it isn't ''just'' 'MonsterOfTheWeek.' As our lead hero Kappei Jin and his allies fight the Gaizok, ''countless'' homes and towns are [[DestructiveSavior demolished in the process]], and whereas some later series such as, say, ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'' would just play it all for laughs, Zambot [[{{Deconstruction}} plays it all completely straight]], in which the people they're trying to protect see them as just as much as a threat to the Gaizok and despise them.[[note]]In other anime like this, either the heroes would find a way to fight in a place without causing collateral damage; or the people were as forgiving, citing that the towns can be rebuilt. In here? The Gaizok were relentless, the Zambot sometimes had to fight in the vicinity of the innocents without any other choice, and the people weren't as forgiving when the heroes wrecked their homes.[[/note]]. The results would have been a turning point for the HumongousMecha Genre had it caught on, with greater maturity and sophistication in the storytelling and a much darker atmosphere. But alas, this wasn't to be, and it wouldn't be until a couple of years later when ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' was broadcast and the RealRobot genre was invented that the next big advance in the HumongousMecha genre would occur. (And both shows were directed by [[Creator/YoshiyukiTomino the same guy]] no less!)