Grendizer U

 Giant Robot Grendizer, or as we Europeans tend to call it, Goldorak, is back!

So of course there wasn't a single strain of hair on my head that refused to watch this, as soon as it aired, I dug in!

This is more then nostalgia, this is one of the Club Dorothee anime's that formed my childhood and personal tastes as I was a kid.

 

And this is produced and directed by, hold your mecha-hat, the creators of: Code Geass, The Witch from Mercury, SEED Destiny and Neon Genesis Evangelion!!!!!!!

 

Duke Fleed is a survivor of planet Fleed, escaped to Earth as a young man.  Here he is raised by Dr Umon as his adoptive son, Daisuke Umon.  But when King Vega and his army approach to conquer Earth, he and his friends decide to fight back using the mightiest weapon at his disposal, the almighty Grendizer. 

As soon as he is found, others try to catch him with Dr Hell's minions, but he is saved by Sayaka and Koji Kabuto in another big robot, the Mazinger Z.  Daisuke starts remembering his past as the alarms go off, and what happened to his planet and family.  He returns to the crash site, retrieving the Grendizer.  Koji tries to defend from the invaders in the Mazinger Z, but Earth weaponry is  barely sufficient against the large numbers.  When a large enemy mecha engages, he meets his match and is pushed back, but in a reckless move manages to stop it never the less.  

But more arrive, causing Daisuke to activate the Grendizer as the Mazinger is smahed apart.  Making short work of the enemy robots, he freezes in the control room of Grendizer, remembering shards of his past and panicking.  He takes off, with Koji stowed away inside the flying saucer.  But the enemy leader, Commader Gandal, has tracked him down to Earth.  He tells Koji what he remembers, that everyone is dead including princess Rubina.  

When Paris is under attack by the Vega forces by his old rival Kasado, he takes Grendizer and in his rage attacks the civilians as well and accidentally killing Rubina, sending him so far over the edge he destroyed the whole planet.  Koji and Fleet find a cave with old writings and an idol to Grendizer.  Koji promises to keep Fleet under control should he lose control again as they fly towards the enemy.  He faces Kasado, as a huge reinforcement fleet arrives to hold Grendizer back.  He overcomes Kasado, only just regaining his composure from killing him and stopping a huge orbital weapon.

He returns to the base of the Mazinger Z, meeting with the professor and his team.  Daisuke comforts Koji for his heavily damaged robot, as Kasado asks for his escape with Naida, as he tells them why the Great Vega, a being of legend, is set out to obtain Grendizer.  Naida crashed on Earth, Daisuke recognizing her.  While Sayaka is suspicious, Koji sees no harm in Naida and Daisuke spending all their time together.  But Naida tries to assassinate him, only saved by Hikaru arriving.

As Naida fights the Vega mind control, but they force her to continue her mission.  She confronts Daisuke, attacking him and wounding him as the Vega fleet returns with a massive ship.  Naida is stopped at the last moment after confronting Daisuke and the crimes she blames him for back on Planet Fleed.  Daisuke stops her, but the mind control device tortures her, but her memories break her free.  As Daisuke falls unconscious from the stabwounds, Naida wants to sacrifices herself to stop the Vega vessel, and telling him on the radio that Rubina is still alive before blowing herself up with the enemy vessel.  

Vega troops try to arrest Maria Grace Fleed, but she escapes their clutches, joining up with Daisuke and Koji.  During a shopping trip, a saucer has tracked Fleed, guided on by a shapeshifting secret agent of the Vega forces.  Kasado breaks from his jail, but runs into Hikaru.  The intelligence agent confronts Maria, but is accidentally trampled by the monster saucer, just as Grendizer arrives and takes it out.  Rubina swears in orbit to Tirona that she will personally end Duke Fleed, her ex-fiancee.

Duke tells Maria he came to see Earth as his second home, and why he shares Grendizer's secrets with them.  Tirona herself lands on Earth for an attack, but gives the inhabitants of Tromso the chance to evacuate as Rubina ordered that no people of Earth should be caught in the crossfire to capture Grendizer.  He tells the story what happened to her, and as he holds back she briefly bests him and Grendizer.  He almost convinces her when a strange vessel intervenes, as Rubina reveals herself to Daisuke, retrieving Tirona and withdrawing from the battle with her.  

In the prophecy cave, they notice strange runes depicting auxiliary vessels for Grendizer.  Hikaro calls Maria to her, asking her the same question if she is good or bad.  Duke engages a large monster in Grendizer, forced to fight underwater, where he is at a disadvantage against the beast created with aquatic specifics.  Maria finds the cave with the additional vehicles, called Spazer's.  Forcing Kasado, he and Maria come to Duke's aid, defeating the monster.  

Porfessor Umon build a new Mazinger, about a tenfold so strong as the original thanks to Daisuke and Grendizer.  Sayaka also gets to test her Spazer, as Rubina uses a saucer monster to send a message to Daisuke to meet in private.  But the Vega forces shadow her to see if she will betray them.  Blaki and his agents attack, trying to take Rubina and her aid out as well, but Koji and the others intervene.  But Rubina takes her leave.  Daisuke is imprisoned by the professor for meeting the enemy though, but when the Vega forces attack their base, the Spazers of Maria and sayaka are the line of defence.  Blaki and the Vega forces assault the base, infiltrating it.  Kasado joins the battle, and as Daisuke is freed out of his cell, he launches in Grendizer.  Tirona though is waiting for him, to continue their duel from before.  Kasado though wants his revenge, attacking Grendizer and finally getting to pilot it.  Koji launches in the new Mazinger to aid the Spazers, as Kasado is stopped by Hikaro, who banishes him as he tries to attack Daisuke even after he reaches him the hand.

Rubina confronts Daisuke and later discusses it with Tirona, realising he didn't kill the king and queen.  She sends a message to daisuke to arrange a place for their wedding ceremony.  He marries her, but then it turns out to be Tirona instead, who wanted to prove he was unworthy for her sister.  In the meantime, as Berlin is destroyed, the others want to take Mazinger in orbit, something that can be achieved Hikaro tells them by combining the three Spazers.  

Together with Grendizer they launch into space, where the Vega forces are planning to use a solar flare to destroy Earth.  On top of the Vega Cannon, a huge spacestation, the battle begins.  In the station, Daisuke confronts Rubina and Tirona.  Rubina takes a shot from Blaki that was meant for Daisuke, and as she dies in his arms amidst a field of roses she finally has Tirona admit she loves Daisuke as well.  

 

 

This causes Daisuke to go in rage, unleashing the destructive power of Grendizer like what happened when he accidentally destroyed his homeworld.  The Vega Cannon is destroyed and crashes into the moon, but Daisuke keeps fighting on.  This means Koji and the others need to stop him before his wrath destroys Earth and even the universe.  

 

Koji manages to reach out to him, as he is heart broken inside the cockpit of Grendizer, cradleing Rubina's body.  He cools down, and breaks the destructive cycle of Grendizer.   Together, they destroy the Vega mothership once and for all, driving them off and saving Earth.

Okay, so while this was not the best of mecha anime around, as for that there was to much filler, it was pure nostalgia and great to see Goldorak back on the screen in a modern touched up style.  So if you, like me, grew up with Club Dorothee, this is a MUST watch!!!!