In the distant future of 2050, the Moon is struck by a massive quake that mysteriously terraformed the satellite into a habitable place, complete with Earth-like gravity and breathable air. Fifty years later, the Moon is now a place inhabited by humans and has also become a popular tourist destination. Rumors have also emerged of rabbit-eared creatures on the moon that can use magic.
11-year old Daichi Haruka wins a summer vacation to the moon, and he heads off to the moon by himself to see the rumored rabbit-eared creatures. During this, he meets an old witch named V-Mei and her granddaughter Guri Guri. Both are part of the Long-Ears Tribe, now endangered and at war with the evil Jadou Clan, who has sinister plans on taking over the universe. V-Mei also reveals to Daichi he is one of the chosen Madou Warriors destined to save the Long-Ears and their land, Rabiluna. To combat the Jadou Clan, V-Mei gives Daichi a a Madou Weapon, a gun that can be used to summon Granzort, the Madou King of Earth and Fire.
Along the way, Daichi, V-Mei, and Guri Guri meet the other two destined Madou Warriors: Gus Yamamoto, a kindhearted Pint-Sized Powerhouse martial artist, and Rabi, a top-spinner and a Long-Ear with an attitude and a mysterious past. Together, they embark on a journey toward Rabiluna to save the land from the clutches of the Jadou Empire.
This anime series provides examples of:
- 10-Minute Retirement: In episode 24, after getting sent back to the Moon's surface and with Granzort out of commission, Rabi finds no more motivation to continue with the group, and leaves them behind for the second half of the episode after getting into a fight with Daichi. He eventually returns to join the battle on after seeing Winzart struggling against the Monster of the Week, as well as to return the punch that Daichi gave him earlier on.
- 20 Minutes into the Future: The series takes place in 2100, where travelling to the moon has become commonplace. However, modern cellular phones don't exist here, as seen with Daichi writing letters to his mother to be sent by post.
- Actor Allusion: Megumi Hayashibara voices Guri Guri, a young and very Genki Girl with magical abilities who is part of the main cast of a mecha anime. Sounds familiar? Hayashibara also voiced Himiko from the Mashin Hero Wataru Series, which aired just before Granzort.
- Animal Jingoism: In episode 15, it's revealed that the Long-Ears tribe has developed an allergy towards the Kame-Kame tribe as a result of the latter winning against the former during an ancient race. The two tribes race again in the episode to resolve the conflict, with Rabi as the Long-Ears' contender. Eventually, the result is a tie between the two, even after a mecha battle interrupted the race.
- Adventure Towns: The world of Rabiluna consists of "areas" that are connected through pillars, and the series has the Madou Warriors venture through each area to restore the land while heading towards the holy temple Luna.
- Appeal to Familial Wisdom: Gus sometimes does this, often remembering and quoting the advice of his grandfather.
- Art Shift:
- Episodes directed by Akira Nakamura have a more rounded look for the characters, as well as downplaying Daichi's Forehead of Doom.
- Episodes 3, 7, and 16 featured glaringly Off-Model and flat-looking art that sticks out like a sore thumb from the other episodes in the series. Both episodes were directed by Masayuki Uchiyama, who would later become infamous for some of the worst-looking episodes in the Dragon Ball series.
- Badass Adorable: The main Kid Hero trio are cute to a various degree, them being young boys and all. They are also perfectly capable of kicking Jadou ass when they pilot the Madou Kings every episode.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Episode 23 has the Madou Warriors suffer their first defeat at the hands of the Jadou Clan, resulting in them being sent back to the Moon's surface. They eventually return to Rabiluna four episodes later.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: Averted for Enuma. She is one of the three Jadou Warriors that constantly antagonizes the heroes, and she also prides herself on being considered the most beautiful woman of the Jadou Empire, as well as the only character to be subjected to relatively tame Fanservice.
- BFS: Granzort has the Erdy Kaiser, a sword that is as long as its own body and is often used as the Finishing Move every episode.
- Big Eater: Gus mentions in episode 3 that he eats nine times per day. He also manages to eat an entire carrot that is twice his size on two occasions.
- Blow You Away: Winzart features wind-based powers and attacks.
- Bunnies for Cuteness: Guri Guri is this in spades, being a very adorable Genki Girl who is also a Long-Ear.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Dr. Bible is an insane Mad Scientist who is often prone to gunning down his lab and inventions, and speaks in a very screechy note while often ranting about his scientific prowess. Speaking of scientific prowess, he also is the lone engineer that has built every mecha of the Jadou Empire.
- By the Power of Grayskull!:
- The chant "Dohma-Kissa-Ramoon" is said by the heroes before summoning their Madou Kings and when using Madou Power, which is then followed by calling their attacks.
- On the evil side, the Jadou Clan chants "Jahha-Rahdo-Xeed" before casting their spells or summoning Jadou Gods.
- The chant "Jeek-Gai-Freez" is used when the heroes summon their signature weapon that they use for their finishing moves.
- After the Mid-Season Upgrade, the heroes yell out "Super Change" during the mecha summoning sequences.
- Calling Your Attacks: Every single battle that features the use of Madou Power will feature this.
- City on the Water: In episode 16, a village in Area 4 has its structures usually built to float on the ocean. The floating village is also built to survive the tsunamis that frequently ravage the area.
- Combining Mecha: Later on, Dr. Bible begins combining pairs of the original 9 Jadou Gods, as a result of the more powerful Jadou Kings causing Villainous RRoD on the Jadou Warriors.
- Cool Board: Daichi has the "jet-board", a rocket-powered skateboard that he built by himself. It's also his way to enter Granzort every time he summons him.
- Chromatic Arrangement: The three Madou Warriors have both their outfits and Madou Kings colored red, green, and blue based on their element.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: In episode 22, Enuma places a curse on Granzort that saps its energy, resulting in Hydram overpowering the Madou King. Aquabeat also doesn't stand a chance, and it took having to find the magic circle that Enuma emplaced for Granzort to take the upper hand.
- Dark Is Evil: The Jadou Clan uses Magic Circles of Darkness for their spells, and these magic circles has resulted in the various areas of Rabiluna getting messed up and requiring the help of the Madou Warriors.
- Deadly Upgrade: The three Jadou Kings have been proven to be formidable opponents against the Madou Kings, and also has the ability to self-repair. However, piloting them uses a lot of Jadou Power, and has often resulted in them needing to escape mid-battle and has one point put Shaman, Nabu, and Enuma out of commission for a while to recover.
- Debut Queue: Daichi, Gus, and Rabi, as well as Granzort, Winzart, and Aquabeat, are introduced individually by episode.
- Dishing Out Dirt / Playing with Fire: Granzort has powers and attacks based around the elements of earth and fire.
- Does Not Like Spam: Daichi practically has a phobia of carrots. The sight, touch, and taste of carrots is enough to make him freak out, and being surrounded by an entire race that has carrots as part of their main diet certainly doesn't help.
- Elemental Powers: Granzort, Winzart, and Aquabeat wield te power of fire/earth, wind, and water, respectively.
- The Empire: The Jadou Empire is hell-bent on awakening the Great Lord of Darkness in order to take over the universe while trying to take out the Long-Ear Tribe that is opposing them along the way.
- Evolving Credits: Starting from episode 27, the opening now features the Mid-Season Upgrade of Granzort, Winzart, and Aquabeat, as well as some updated and tweaked animation.
- Everybody Do the Endless Loop: The ending sequence consists of a looping animation of Guri Guri, and later the main cast, dancing.
- Expy
- Guri Guri is clearly based on Himiko from the Mashin Hero Wataru Series. They even have the same voice actress, Megumi Hayashibara.
- On topic of Wataru expies, the true form of Salamandra and Tamara is strikingly similar to the spirit of Kuujinmaru as shown during Ryuohmaru's transformation sequence.
- Flaming Sword: The Erdy Kaiser, espesially when it's Super Granzort using it.
- Field Power Effect: A disadvantage that is frequently encountered by the Madou Warriors. Granzort can only be summoned in flat ground, Winzart can only be summoned when there is wind, and Aquabeat can only be summoned in a sufficiently large body of water.
- Finishing Move: Pretty much the standard formula of an episode after the introduction of the Erdy Kaiser.
- Forehead of Doom: Daichi is drawn with a notably large forehead. This is downplayed in some episodes, depending on the animation director.
- Free-Range Children: No one seems to bat an eye at the fact that an eleven-year old boy went to the Moon all by himself with no guardian in sight.
- Gadgeteer Genius: This is one of Daichi's strongest traits. He has built his jet-board all by himself, helped build the Madou Weapons out of its parts with V-Mei, and has made various gadgets throughout the story.
- Genius Bruiser: Nabu has a very stocky and muscular build, and can hold himself in battle pretty well. He is also noted to be among the smartest of the Jadou Clan.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: After getting sent back to the Moon's surface, Rabi rejects being a Madou Warrior and insists on leaving the group, causing Daichi to lose it and ending up slugging Rabi in the face. Rabi eventually returns to the group later in the episode, but not before returning Daichi the favor.
- Gratuitous English: Every instance of Calling Your Attacks is also this.
- Gratuitous Rap: The insert song "Do-da" features Shinobu Adachi as Rabi rapping in the pre-chorus.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In order to return to Rabiluna, Winzart and Aquabeat gives up their energy for Super Granzort to use on the magic circle. This successfully returns Daichi, Gus, Rabi, and Super Granzort to Rabiluna while putting the two Madou Kings out of commission for a while.
- Homage: A lot of the story elements in this series are homages of Mashin Hero Wataru Series. Both series feature young boy protagonists, a tiny Genki Girl voiced by Megumi Hayashibara, and Super-Deformed super robots in a fantasy setting that is divided by levels.
- Human Aliens: The Long-Ear Tribe pretty much are indistinguishable from Earthlings, aside from their rabbit ears and ability to do magic.
- Humongous Mecha: All the Madou Kings, as well as the Jadou Gods and Kings, fall under this.
- Hunger Causes Lethargy: Gus sometimes suffers from this. Conveniently, Guri Guri is often there to summon giant carrots for Gus to munch on, so this isn't too much of a problem.
- Idiosyncratic Wipes: The anime occasionally uses a transition that involves carrots with faces spamming the screen.
- Instant Costume Change: Every time the kids enter their mecha, they magically change into their Madou Warrior clothes.
- Irony: Rabi is a Long-Ear, a race that cannot swim in water. His Madou King, Aquabeat, also happens to have water-based attacks.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Rabi is first introduced as a loner and jerkass who often acted rude towards the team, especially towards Daichi. As the series goes on, Character Development sets in and he learns to open up to and become friends with the team.
- Kid Hero: The Madou Warrior trio are all 11 years old.
- Kids Hate Vegetables: Daichi's irrational dislike of carrots also counts as this, as he is eleven.
- Leitmotif:
- The Madou King summoning sequences all have the same dramatic leitmotif. Granzort also has it's own specific leitmotif both used in its summoning sequence and when delivering the Finishing Move in the form of the Erdy Kaiser.
- The summoning sequences of all Jadou mecha also have their own leitmotif.
- Daichi's music box is used as a leitmotif that also significant to the plot in-universe.
- Limited Wardrobe: Every member of the cast pretty much wears the same outfits throughout the series.
- Lunarians: The Long-Ears, as well as the Jadou Clan and the other races within Rabiluna, counts as this.
- Magic Music: Daichi's music box contains a melody that is not only significant to the people of Rabiluna, but also causes the parts that made up the Madou Weapons to react in episode 1.
- Making a Splash: Aquabeat has water-based powers and attacks.
- A Mech by Any Other Name: The heroes' mecha are referred to as Madou Kings, while on the evil side, the mecha piloted by the minions are referred to as Jadou Gods.
- Mid-Season Upgrade / Next Tier Power-Up: In the form of Super Granzort, Super Winzart, and Super Aquabeat.
- Momma's Boy: Daichi and his mother is implied to have a very close bond, with him frequently writing about his adventures to her. As a result, Rabi often accuses Daichi of being this.
- Monster of the Week: For most of the series, every episode involves the Madou Warriors battling against a Jadou mecha.
- Moon Rabbit: The fact that the Long-Ear Tribe, a race of Human Aliens with bunny ears, live on the Moon explains itself.
- Ms. Fanservice: Enuma provides pretty much the only fanservice in the entire show, and even the fanservice is tame due to this being a Kodomomuke series.
- Nice Guy: Gus is the most mellow of the three, despite his prowess at martial arts.
- On The Next Episode Of Catchphrase: "We're gonna have some magical fun!"
- Orcus on His Throne: For the majority of the series, Lord Agramant only gives orders to the three Jadou Warriors and their minions and never gets directly involved with the heroes.
- Parent Service: Enuma is shown bathing in at least 2 episodes, providing the only fanservice in the series.
- Power Trio:
- The Madou Warriors, consisting of Daichi, Gus, and Rabi, along with their Madou Kings Ganzort, Winzart, and Aquabeat, resepectively.
- The Jadou Warriors: Shaman, Nabu, and Enuma, along with their respective Jadou Kings: Wyburst, Harbyzan, and Hydram.
- Pretty Boy: Shaman clearly has a classic villainous Bishounen design.
- Previously on…: The first 30 seconds of each episode is dedicated to this, narrated by Daichi. These narrations are also addressed to his mother.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Daichi and Rabi respectively have this dynamic. They even wear their respective color to boot.
- Rule of Cool: The series frequently uses names and symbols from Jewish and gnostic mysticism, often with no plot significance and just for the sake of this. For one, most magic circles has the Star of David emblazoned in the center. Dr. Bible's name also explains itself.
- Running Gag: Anything involving carrots will drive Daichi absolutely nuts. Being surrounded by the carrot-loving Long-Ears does absolutely nothing to help him.
- Shonen Hair: Rabi has big, rather spikey, and messy blonde hair. He is however, not really a Hot-Blooded person.
- Shout-Out:
- Wataru is briefly seen in Daichi's screen in episode 1.
- Tetsuo and Himiko can be seen on the bus in episode 26.
- In the same episode, a poster with a picture of Toraoh, Himiko, and Wataru can be seen on the security office.
- Stock Footage: All animations of the summoning sequences and attacks are reused throughout the series.
- Super-Deformed: Downplayed, compared to the Mashin Hero Wataru Series. All humans, including the Long-Ears, with the exception of Miniature Senior Citizens, have more conventional proportions, while all mecha have various levels of deformation.
- Super Mode: The Madou Kings gain this upgrade midway through.
- Team Pet: Happi, an adorable ball of fluff who is Guri Guri's pet. Happi can also detect the presence of someone from the Jadou Clan.
- Total Eclipse of the Plot: A solar eclipse becomes an important plot point in episode 23. During the eclispe, V-Mei temporarily loses her magic powers, and the Jadou Warriors use this to their advantage by using the shadow being casted on their magic circle to defeat the Madou Warriors, forcibly sending them back to the Moon's surface.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Most Long-Ears love carrots, much to the disgust of Daichi.
- Transforming Mecha:
- The Madou Kings are summoned in their "face" mode, and only transform to their humanoid form once their pilots enter inside them.
- The Jadou Kings have an ability to shapeshift to a more beastly figure in battle.
- Two Guys and a Girl: Among the three Jadou Warriors, Enuma is the only woman.
- Unusual Eyebrows: Daichi has eyebrows that aren't only fairly thick, but also look fiery as well.
- Verbal Tic: Guri Guri always ends her sentences with "guri", guri.
- Villain Opening Scene: The first episode opens with the moonquake and an ominous figure of the Jadou Clan is seen rising from the cracks.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Nabu spends the entire series wearing anything but a top to cover up his muscular body.
