The iconic Volt-In sequence, perfectly recreating the original shot-by-shot with enough mechanical details that would make even Shoji Kawamori proud, with the famous theme song nearly every Filipino knows playing over the entire scene. Doubly awesome for older fans of the 1970s original and its 1990s to 2000s reruns.
Just like with Mitsuyo Go's sacrifice in episode two of the original anime, Mary Ann Armstrong's sacrifice in episode 17, "Rise, Armstrong Brothers", and the subsequent No-Holds-Barred Beatdown of the Legacy version of Voltes on Vaizanger also makes you want to cheer as Steve, Big Bert, Little John, Mark, and Jamie avenge the matriarch of the Armstrong Family, blood or otherwise. Voltes shrugging off Vaizanger's punch is a nice touch too.
Though your mileage may vary, many fans might prefer the robotic version of Gardo over his anime version of a Boazanian giant because of how Yoshimitsu-like and complex his swordsmanship is.
Also, Steve even did the technique for real with his own sword for good measure to prove that the first time wasn't a fluke.
Finally, the Voltes Team defeated Gardo realistically, catching him off-guard and unarmed for a few seconds, so even if he did get his sword back, he couldn't properly focus enough in time to counter Voltes V's "Laser Sword".
On the other hand, the Blade Lock between Voltes V and Gardo is an amazing sight to behold, followed by a powerful shockwave from the clash of swords. Especially when the Laser Sword breaks through Gardo's sword and body.
The wheeled Beast Fighter almost even finished the super robot off with a spiked Rolling Attack had Voltes not countered with the ChainKnuckle.note Legacy used more team-based tactics to transfer power to the right arm of Voltes to free it versus the anime version, where Dainegu just happened to roll to the side of the immobile Voltes instead of feet-first or head-first, thus the Chain Knuckle counter was more of a happy coincidence than something tactical.
After Dainegu's defeat, the Boazanian generals schemed and came up with a new plan: They built Bombos as a deliberately weak Beast Fighter with the purpose of drawing out Voltes V and scan their Volt Machine components. They explained as much to Zardoz, who was unimpressed at first.
Even though Bombos was easily defeated after its deployment to attack a city where the conference meeting between General Robinson and the world leaders was held there, the seventh Beast Fighter succeeded in scanning the Volt Machines in the Volt-In Sequence into Voltes V to send them to Zuhl for study.
Despite being deliberately made weak, Bombos manage to put up a brief fight against Voltes V after completing the scanning instead of running away like its anime counterpart did. To fool Voltes Team and Camp Big Falcon in not suspecting its true purpose other than being another Beast Fighter attack.
Thanks to the scans obtained by Bombos before its demise, the Boazanians create Namazuka who is outfitted with an Anti-Ultra-Electromagnetic Energy device made with the purpose to disrupt the Volt-In Sequence.
Namazuka becomes the first Beast Fighter to avert the Transformation Is a Free Action trope from the Voltes Team and did so twice before knocking them out of the sky with their Volt Machines seemingly falling to their doom.note Fortunately, Dr. Smith orders Chief Kelly to set the Volt Machines into autopilot and bring the unconscious Voltes Team back to Camp Big Falcon.
During a fight against Namazuka, Steve uses the late Gardo's slash attack through Voltes V's Laser Sword to deflect away Namazuka's mouth cannon attack before firing the Knuckle Missiles in turn.
Unlike Namazungo in the animenote which exploded after an unceremonious double foot stomp to the head from Voltes V, the more insectoid/crustacean Namazuka in Legacy died with more dignity by getting slashed with the Laser Sword instead of fellow kaiju Gamenza.
Mark Gordon and Big Bert manage to take down Gamera by firing their respective Volt Machines' weaponry at the turtle-like Beast Fighter's Chest Blaster mid-charge (as strategized by Jaime), causing Gamera to explode by its own weapon to the face.
It makes the defeat of Gamera more humiliating compared to its counterpart Gamenza in the anime because it didn't get taken down by Voltes V at all.
When Android Ned chokes Little Jon like he did when he killed Dr. Smith, Steve arrives and intervenes with the assistance of Mark Gordon, Jamie Robinson, and Big Bert. The Voltes Team then takes down the android imposter together and keeps him from triggering the bomb inside the Volt Frigate.
Dr. Hook has his own Big Damn Heroes moment as he does his Unflinching Walk into Camp Big Falcon while it was under siege. He then assumes command to bring the base's shields back to full operational capacity and disable the Boazanian bomb hidden inside Volt Frigate in short notice.
Even though Little Jon eventually broke formation after he cannot handle it, the "Spin Fly" technique performed by Voltes Team under Dr. Hook's Training from Hell routine was marvelous as the Volt Machines created an ultra-electromagnetic tornado at hypersonic speeds in the skies.
The way Voltes V does the V-Slash on the triceratops tank that is Zairus. The Super Robot slashes the Beast Fighter mid-leap once with the Laser Sword and it's cut in twain, forming a V of its own as its two halves slide off each other.
The sleek appearance of Zoru as Zoldier in glorious 3D. The Knight in Shining Armor Beast Fighter is among the coolest anime-to-live-action translations that Riot Productions has done, with every detail intricately rendered from its armor to its Mechanical Unicorn.
Because Zoldier was too powerful to attack from the front, Steve did a Defensive Feint Trap, had Zoldier and Geru charge too far, and then made Voltes V attack them from behind, where they were more vulnerable.
In "Deadly Consequences", the Voltes Team fall for the Boazanians' obvious trap. "Why don't you just shoot them?" shenanigans aside, the team show off their mettle in a Tokusatsu-like showdown between them and the Boazanian grunts that they made short work out of. This includes an impressive Takedown Headscissors from Jamie to one of the soldiers.
Also in "The Strongest Metal", Little Jon Armstrong pulls his own Big Damn Heroes moment by hacking the teleportation console with the assistance of OCTO-1 to rescue the rest of the Voltes Team from the Boazanian trap.
While easily handling them in close range, OslakNo Sells the blaster fire of Boazanian soldiers and the axe strike from Draco with his armor made of Maxingal Alloy that he had created. He impresses Prince Zardoz with his demonstration before offering him a new armor upgrade using the same material to their newest Beast Fighter: Okozenia.
Before meeting up with Zardoz and his generals, Oslak dropsseveral meteors in his entrance to Terra Erthu at Camp Big Falcon, which raised its shield to protect everyone inside. He reveals to the prince that the fragments of the meteor shower can disrupt the radar system of Camp Big Falcon, rendering them blind to an unsuspecting new Beast Fighter attack in the form of Okozenia. Although it was somewhat foiled by the Voltes Team, who cleared the debris away with their Volt Machines' weapons, it was still an ingenious tactic on Oslak's part.
In "Savior Returns", the first meeting between Desler and Voltes V was quite action-packed and full of suspense. Mark had just returned after his 10-Minute Retirement, the Armored Beast Fighter is still normally resistant against the Laser Sword, and they were testing the "Ultra-Electromagnetic Ball" for the first time.
After the Mechanical Eagle's timely assist, Voltes V uses the Voltes Bazooka and literally blasts Desler's head off. Voltes then delivers the Coup de Grâce on the decapitated Beast Fighter with a perfunctory V-Slash.
In "Ned's Plan" or one of the best episodes of Voltes V: Legacy so far, Voltes got its Mid-Season Upgrade and finally accomplished delivering the full version of the "Ultra-Electromagnetic Ball" to a resurrected Desler.
There was still quite a bit of suspense built up by the episode thanks to the introduction of Desler's series-originalenergy absorption shield. It allowed the series to briefly tread unknown waters to excite avid fans of the original anime.
Initially, the shield worked in sapping Voltes V's power after its first Energy Ball attempt failed but when it got its Equipment Upgrade from the Mechanical Eagle per the specifications of Ned Armstrong, the full version of the technique was able to overcome the shield, with the original canon prevailing.
In "Steve vs. Zardoz", Steve and Zardoz finally have their fated sword fight in the live-action series like in the anime. The circumstances behind it are similar too, with Zandra trying to engage the Voltes Team in combat and Zardoz rescuing her by having a duel with Steve. However, this time the fight happened in a nearby park instead of a cold tundra. Also, Steve wins undeniably against Zardoz versus the draw the two had in the original.
In "Commander Robinson", after the titular Oscar Robinson died in the hands of General Oslak, the makers of the show truly maximized the drama of losing a parent without any distracting events that take the invested viewer out of the moment. Their decision to not include a Beast Fighter in the end kept the impact of the loss gritty, dramatic, and real as well.
In "Conquer", Arisa delivers a sternly worded speech of defiance to Zardoz moments before she and Takeo are executed for treachery.
Arisa: We don't fear you. You may kill us, but the will of the warriors who are finding justice inside and outside Boazan will never die. You may kill us, but I will not die as a slave, but as a warrior who was given dignity, not from the likes of you, but from those whom you perceive as enemies, Voltes V, whom I hope and pray will prevail over you all!
In "Betrayal", Voltes V finishes off the four-headed hydra Zunaizer by delivering a V-slash to each of its heads, which explode one by one before the rest of it blows up in one final blast.
In "Infiltration", Jaime escapes Voltes V's entrapment by volting out and then destroying the energy staples binding the super robot down. They also dig underground to attack the base from within like in the original.
In "Honor", Draco ends up battling against the entire Voltes Team in a more action-packed scene compared to the original anime, but both Rui Jangal and Draco end up sharing the same fate of honorable suicide.
In "World Destruction", the Solar Bird arrives just in time to save Voltes V and the Earth from complete destruction care of a Neutrino Bombnote (in the original, it was a Magmite Bomb) left by the traitorous General Oslak and Count Xander/Zander just like in the original.
In "Domination", Voltes V's tank mode finally makes its television debut as the show closes in on its Grand Finale. It allows Voltes V to attack from below while the Boazanians were distracted in defending the skies. The tank mode has only been seen previously in games and comics. It's a mode that's also available in toy form.
In the penultimate episode "Never Surrender", Voltes V engages in an epic final battle against the ultimate Beast Fighter, Shugoshin Godornote (which looks like something out of a PlayStation 4 game cutscene), and its pilot, Prince Zardoz. The fight takes on a grander spectacle than the anime version, upping the stakes by having Voltes V lose an arm and Mark's vehicle take grievous damage, eventually revealing Godor's massiveseries-onlyback cannons that sprout out of its back like a pair of demonic wings.
The final fight is juxtaposed with a swordfight duel between Hrothgar and Emperor Zambojil, finally ending with Hrothgar finishing off the tyrant with a sword to the gut. Or so he thinks...
In the aptly-titled ''One Epic Finale", a comparatively somber duel occurs between two half-brothers who don't know they're brothers yet. After suffering setback after setback, particularly a previous humiliating swordfight where Steve unequivocally bested him in battle, the desperate and vengeful Zardoz finally gets the upper hand, only for him to learn the truthnote (care of Hrothgar revealing what truly happened after discovering that Zardoz's heirloom dagger bears his coat of arms) that Emperor Zambojil had tricked him to go against his own flesh and blood.
Unlike the anime where Heinel retreats into the flames in shame of what he had done to the Gou Family and their home planet, the dying Zardoz was able to make amends with the Armstrong Brothers and his father before his demise. Special shout-out to OCTO-1 who used Deflector Shields in the nick of time to protect everyone else from the blast of Zambojil's bomb.
In the ending scenes of the episode, Hrothgar becomes the new Emperor of Boazan, the Voltes Team goes back home to Earth using the warp drive of the Solar Falcon, then they return more or less to their previous lives before the invasion occurred. Big Bert now has a girlfriend in Judy, Little Jon is back to training with dolphins in a special facility, Mark returns to being a Samurai Cowboy, and Steve celebrates with Jamie their new status as a couple with The Big Damn Kiss.
to complete its Death Trap.