Armored Fleet Dairugger XV

Story

The Rugger Team is an exploration, planetary survey, and defensive force. Planet Earth is in a time of prosperity. The president of the Terran League launches a mission to explore the galaxy and build a complete map of the stars. Soon after commencing the mission, the Rugger Team and their starship, the Rugger Guard, are attacked by the Galveston Empire. Dairugger, the super robot, must defend the Rugger Guard and its fleet as they attempt to continue their mission. When Galveston repeatedly refuses to accept peaceful coexistence, their mission turns to finding the Galveston homeworld, liberating its people from their despotic Emperor, and helping them find a new planet before their world collapses.

Concept

The Rugger Team is made of three smaller teams of 5 members each: Air, Sea, and Land, referred to alternately as Aki Team, Keats Team, and Walter Team after each team's leader. Aki is the overall leader of the Rugger Team. Each of the 15 parts is referred to as Rugger, and can combine into larger machines as separate teams called Kurugger (Air), Kairugger (Sea), and Rikurugger (Land), as well as together to form the super-robot Dairugger. The 15 separate Rugger units as well as the name come from the sport of rugby, since 15 players are required to form a rugby union team.

Staff

Dairugger pilots

Aki Team uniforms are dark blue and white.

Keats Team uniforms are black and aqua.

Walter Team uniforms are white and red.

Dairugger specifications

Dairugger is made of 15 vehicle parts, and is 60 meters tall.

Episodes

1. Galactic Clash
2. The Isolated Regiment
3. Farewell, Achilles
4. Rescue Mission To Hell
5. Battle of the Experiment Planet
6. Fall to the Meteor Shower
7. Annihilation of the Reinforcement Fleet
8. Specters of the Binary System
9. The Glorious Suicide Corps
10. Sneak Attack on the Space Fortress
11. A Momentary Truce
12. Legend of the Space Forest
13. The Enemy Within the Mind
14. The Earth Fleet's Counterattack
15. Breakdown of the Space Talks
16. The Two Rebellions
17. Orders For Asimov's Return
18. A Touch and Go Situation
19. Red Moon Rising
20. Desperate Struggle for Planet K
21. Arise Galaxy Garrison
22. Ex-Commander Teles
23. The Mission to Recapture Planet K
24. Riot on Galveston
25. Bitter Struggle on the Planet of Light
26. The Snare of the Hell Planet
27. Storming the Space Fortress
28. Eldora's Plea
29. Uprising of the Space Fort
30. Earth's State of Emergency
31. Locate Enemy Headquarters
32. Destruction of the Front Line Base
33. The New Allied Fleet to the Rescue
34. Planet of the Burning Cave
35. Get Yourself Together, Mutsu
36. A Desperate Undersea Combining
37. Air Rugger Vanishes
38. Emma, the Female Captain
39. The Tears of a Rugby Player
40. The Boy Denon and the Elk
41. Discovery of the New World
42. Impending Crisis on the Inhabitable Planet
43. Teles and Asimov
44. Aki Team Gets Caught
45. Defend the Third Planet
46. The Fall of the Survey Base
47. The Invisible Super Weapon
48. Get Past the Tenth Planet
49. Entering the Final Zone of Defense
50. The Struggle for Galveston
51. Fierce Battle in the Underground City
52. Galactic Dawn

Merchandise

In the early 1980s, the original ST Dairugger toys were released by Popy Pleasure under the toy release number of GB-72, as part of the Chogokin label, and constructed of high-quality die-cast materials. A GB-73 would follow, with a transforming DX Dairugger, which could separate only into the three larger combined vehicles. A larger version of Dairugger XV was also released, which did not contain die-cast materials, as the metal content was too heavy for the design and for the friction motors installed in many of the vehicles. The smallest non-transforming ST Dairugger and the fully transforming plastic Dairugger XV would be resold in the US as part of the Voltron series by Matchbox, entirely under the Voltron name. However, the Popy version came with a sword, missiles, and stickers that the Matchbox version did not.

Because Dairugger had 15 pieces, and was a highly playable figure compared to many of the other fixed-state super robots of the early '80s, there were many imitations and bootlegs of Dairugger. Some are cheap plastics, some do not assemble well, some have neon-glowing colors dissimilar to the show. Even approved brands such as Big Bear were spawned to rejuvenate the toyline. However, no version is identical in quality, packaging, or comes with all the pieces as does the Japanese original.

DVDs

The entire series, in 3 volumes, has been released on DVD in region 1. Collection 1 was released on February 23, 2010, Collection 2 on May 25, 2010, and Collection 3 on January 4, 2011. All three volumes are now out-of-print.

Changes for Voltron version

Note: names in parentheses are Voltron names

Korean version

There is a South Korean knockoff anime of Dairugger XV called Super Titan 15 (슈퍼타이탄15). It also cribs characters and vehicles from Galaxy Express 999.

Appearances in other media

The show was spoofed on an episode of Robot Chicken. Dairugger's Voltron incarnation is called to action by an outpost being attacked by a Robeast, but the Vehicles take too long to combine. By the time Dairugger gets there, most of the crew is dead, and the sole survivor shoots himself when he realizes it's not the Lion Voltron."