Line #22 Anime/UFOWarriorDaiApolon


1	[[quoteright:314:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dai_apolon.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:314: AintNoRule that says HumongousMecha can't play football!]]
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4	''UFO Warrior Dai Apolon'' [[note]]alternately known as ''UFO Senshi Dai-Apolon, UFO Soldier Dai-Apolon, UFO Robo Dai-Apolon, Daiapolon,'' and ''Shadow World''[[/note]] was a [[SuperRobotGenre Super Robot]] anime series co-produced by Creator/{{Eiken}} [[note]] formerly Television Corporation of Japan Co.,Ltd. (TCJ) of ''Anime/Tetsujin28'' and ''Anime/SazaeSan'' fame [[/note]] and Creator/StudioLive [[note]] the studio's founder, the late Toyo'o Ashida was the character designer for this show [[/note]]. It debuted on April 1976 with Creator/TBSTelevision airing the first 26 episodes before [[ChannelHop moving to]] Creator/TVTokyo for the final 21 episodes.
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6	The story begins with Takeshi, a teen ward of the Blue Sky orphanage who recently started an American football team with his friends. On the day before his sixteenth birthday, the caretaker produces a letter that was with Takeshi when he arrived. It tells Takeshi that the author would be returning for him when he turned sixteen, and the news sends him running away in fear.
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8	Takeshi arrives at the football field, pursued by his friends, when a giant green crystal falls from the sky and stabs him in the chest. It emits a blinding light that knocks everyone out, whereupon a UFO appears and beams them aboard. When he wakes up, Takeshi is greeted by Rabi, a royal advisor from the planet Apolon. Rabi reveals to Takeshi that he is the last prince of Apolon, spirited away to Earth to avoid death at the hands of General Dazaan. As a member of the royal family, Takeshi can use the "Key Energy" crystal in his chest to control Dai Apolon, the world's guardian robot.
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10	The series proceeds from there, following Takeshi and his friends as they use the robots to defend Earth against the Dazaan army, retrieve the stolen Energy Heart, and avenge the death of his father. Takeshi controls Dai Apolon, which is formed by [[CombiningMecha combining three separate super robots,]] while his friends operate various [=UFOs=] to provide support and cover fire. As Dai Apolon, Takeshi can use his Key Energy powers to grow and merge with the mecha, "wearing" it like cybernetic armor.
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12	Dubbed versions were broadcast in parts of Europe. Five episodes were combined and dubbed in English to create a CompilationMovie called ''Shadow World''.
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15	!!Dai Apolon demonstrates the following tropes:
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17	* AdaptationExpansion: The anime is derived from the manga ''Galactic Warrior Apolon'' by Tetsu Kariya and Shigeru Tsuchiyama, but adds the HumongousMecha and American football aspects
18	* ColorCodedCharacters: Takeshi and his friends wear football jerseys with distinct colors:
19	** Takeshi - Red
20	** Miki - Pink
21	** Matsuo - Yellow
22	** Goro - Blue
23	** Hideki - White
24	* CombiningMecha: Not only is Dai Apolon made out of three robots which combine into the titular mecha, it also came with three UFO support craft which can also combine with the individual robots.
25	* CompilationMovie: ''Shadow World'' was created from five disparate episodes.
26	* CulturalRebel: ''Dai Apolon's'' use of American football as a motif is a form of this trope, given that the sport was barely recognized as an amateur sport in Japan in the mid 1970s; it may have been done to add variety to the show. In-story, Takeshi and his friends frequently play football, while Dai Apolon has a football-helmet-shaped head and uses the "Apolon Ball," a football-shaped double-bladed knife.
27	* DubNameChange: ''Shadow World'' changed the setting to California and gave the protagonists American names.
28	* ElementalShapeshifter: Takeshi's ability to control Dai Apolon was vaguely described as this, where he turned into electricity and combined with its circuitry. However, outside of this singular case, Takeshi exhibited no other [[ShockAndAwe electricity-based powers.]]
29	* HumongousMecha: Dai Apolon and its individual component mechs qualify.
30	* ManInTheMachine: Takeshi invokes this trope when he uses his energy powers to grow and merge with the Dai Apolon mech.
31	* MonsterOfTheWeek: A staple of each episode.
32	* PoweredArmor: From a certain point of view, Dai Apolon becomes this for Takeshi.
33	* {{Sizeshifter}}: When Takeshi merges with Dai Apolon, stock footage shows his muscles growing to enormous size to fit inside the mech's form.
34	* StockSoundEffects: [[Creator/SoundRing E&M Planning Center]] handled the sound effects, so expect to hear sound effects from other series like, ''Anime/MazingerZ'', ''Anime/BraveRaideen'', ''Anime/KotetsuJeeg'' and the ''Anime/RobotRomanceTrilogy''.
35	* SuperRobotGenre
36	* ThemeNaming: The three individual robots that form Dai Apolon are named "Header" (which forms the head), "Trungur" (which forms the trunk/torso), and "Legger" (which forms the legs).
37	* TransformationIsAFreeAction: Averted in one episode, when the MonsterOfTheWeek brings miniature flying robotic bugs to block the combination ports of the individual robots. When they try to combine, the bugs explode, interrupting the combination sequence.
38	* TransformationSequence: Seen each time Dai Apolon is formed.

Context Anime / UFOWarriorDaiApolon