8 /10 1 Votes
8.3/10 First episode date 4 June 1977 Number of episodes 40 | 7.5/10 MyAnimeList 8.1/10 TV Music by Hiroshi Tsutsui Final episode date 25 March 1978 Program creator Saburo Yatsude | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Written by Yoshitake SuzukiMasaaki SakuraiMasaki TsujiKatsuhiko TaguchiYumiko Tsukamoto Characters Megumi Oka, Prince Heinell, Ippei Mine, Ken'ichi Gō Cast Similar Chōdenji Robo Combattl, Tōshō Daimos, Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3, Mirai Robo Daltanious, Gaiking |
Chōdenji Machine Voltes V (Japanese: 超電磁マシーン ボルテスV, Hepburn: Chōdenji Mashīn Borutesu Faibu, lit. "Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes V") is a Japanese anime television series which first aired on TV Asahi on June 4, 1977. It was created by Saburo Yatsude (a pseudonym referring to a committee within Toei Company) and directed by Tadao Nagahama. Voltes V is the second part of the Robot Romance Trilogy of the Super Robot genre which includes Chōdenji Robo Combattler V and Tōshō Daimos. Like Combattler V, the series was animated by Sunrise and produced by Toei Company. The series was animated by Sunrise on Toei's behalf. This super robot along with the other two aforementioned super robots first appeared the USA as a part of Mattel's Shogun Warriors line of import toys, released in the late 1970s.
Contents
- Plot
- The Voltes V Team and Allies Protagonist
- The Boazanian Nobility Antagonist
- Original Japanese Cast
- Philippine Cast 1970s In English then in 1999 In Filipino Cebuano Hiligaynon Ilocano and Bicolano
- Voltes 5 Evolution Cast redubbed Filipino version in 2005
- Airings and release
- Toys
- Legacy
- References

Plot
An armada of horned humanoid aliens known as Boazanians invade earth and launch their "beast fighters" all over the world, defeating most of the world's armed forces including the US military. Their first humiliating defeat from the hands of Super Electromagnetic Machine, Voltes V brings the invaders to focus their attacks on Japan. Voltes V was designed by Professor Kentaro Gō (Doctor Ned Armstrong), his wife Professor Mitsuyo Gō (Doctor Mary Ann Armstrong) and their trusted colleague, Professor Hamaguchi (Doctor Richard Smith) and built by large scale construction effort backed by United Nations Earth Defense Force and General Oka (Commander Robinson). Voltes V is a robot composed of five "Volt Machines", and each are themselves formidable weapons. Each machine is piloted by Ken'ichi (Steve), Daijiro (Big Bert), and Hiyoshi (Little John): the three sons of Kentaro and Mitsuyo Gō, along with the only daughter of General Oka; Megumi (Jaime Robinson), and Ippei Mine (Mark Gordon), an orphan cowboy.

Voltes V's home base is Camp Big Falcon, a fortress situated on a bird-shaped island along the coast of Japan. Voltes V's enemies are the Boazanians; namely Prince Heinell (Prince Zardoz), Katharine (Zandra), Jangal (Draco), and Zuhl. The series focuses on the struggle against the Boazanian invaders, and the Gō brothers' search for their long-lost father, Kentarō Gō. As the series progresses, four major characters — Professor Mitsuyo Gō, Zuhl, General Oka and Professor Hamaguchi — die. Zuhl and Hamaguchi are replaced by General Bergan and Professor Sakunji (Doctor Hook), respectively. Later in the series, the brothers learn of their unique heritage of being half Boazanian. The characters deal with their identity's impact on their own lives and that on both their close friends and bitter enemies.
The Voltes V Team and Allies Protagonist

The Boazanian Nobility Antagonist

The emperor of Boazania. He was extremely racist, cruel, and selfish, but ultimately a coward, typical characteristics of super robot villains of the time. The bastard son of the previous emperor and his mistress, he overtook the throne when he revealed the "hornlessness" of his cousin, La Gour. Driven by greed and the desire for conquests, he ordered his people to create beast fighters as a tool to expand his empire further. His ambition knew no bounds: Under his rule, horned and hornless alike who dared oppose him were imprisoned, enslaved, and executed. He sent Prince Heinel, the son of La Gour, to Earth, as a means of removing a perceived threat to his rule. As time wore on, he sent others to pretend to aid Heinel while spying on him. When Voltes V and the Big Falcon reached Boazan, the people rebelled against him and the few still loyal to him turned against him and fled. He met his end when, while trying to escape with a wagonload of riches, he was found by Prince Heinel, who killed him in repayment for betraying his planet and people.
The half-brother to the Gō brothers at their father's side. He was born the son of a traitor, bitter and more of the noble villain. As a child, he had a rough time being called a traitor's son, with no memory of his parents and only loved by his grandparents. He wanted to clean the stain, but being a possible heir makes his second-degree uncle Zambajil hate him secretly and was hesitant to appoint him. Though first shown as a villain and using dirty tactics, he is later seen to be having noble qualities like playing fair at times in contrast to most of his comrades who prefer to use cheating methods like most super robot princes that would eventually succeed him. Graduating as best student at the Institute of Military Science and Warfare, He has a high sense of honor, like most warriors and regards himself more of a soldier than a prince. Due to his repeated failure, his second degree uncle Zambajil removed him from duty. Prince Heinel sought to restore Boazania to glory; after all, he was only a scapegoat. He would rather die in battle than die a loser. He later realized that he was fighting against his own father and his own half-siblings. His mother was Lozaria, the Boazanian wife of La Gour/Kentaro Gō who died after giving birth to him. When he saw Zambajil try to escape, he threw a dagger (which came from his mother) to kill the despotic Emperor to redeem himself. In the end, he died a redeemed man, peaceful, enjoying a few moments of peace having saved his younger half-brother Kenichi's life.
Prince Heinel's aide and would-be lover, Born on May 5. Motivated by love, she remained loyal to her prince until the end, when she took a sniper's bullet, saving his life. As she died, she confessed her love to him, and he realized that he loved her, too.
The three-horned General sent to Earth with Prince Heinel and Katharine. Fiercely loyal to Heinel while also a wise strategist, he is the one who convinced Heinel, and himself, that the Gō Brothers are actually part Boazanian. He later chose death over surrender to the Voltes team.
The one-horned, aged, hunchback, toothless scientist, one of Prince Heinel's original aides. His invention of the Anti-Super Electromagnetic Device nearly destroyed Voltes V. Cunning and contemptuous, he discreetly captured Prof Go just before he returned to Earth and attempt to use him for his plans to kill Heinel and Voltes V. Eventually, his attempt to betray Heinel failed and he was executed.
The second general sent by the Emperor, sent by Emperor Zambojil to keep an eye on Prince Heinel and kill him if necessary. He kept his identity concealed most of the time with a blank mask. Upon arrival, he created a combat beast with a special alloy called Maxingal, the same alloy used for his armor, which was supposedly impervious to Voltes V's weapons and sword. Using this alloy, he intended to defeat Voltes V and take over Heinel's position, but lost and became Zuhl's replacement under Heinel. Since his arrival, all beast fighters constructed has Maxingal as standard armor but they're still no match when Voltes V upgraded its sword with the Chōdenji/Superelectromagnetic Ball. Along with Gururu, he betrayed Heinel and attempted to blew up Earth with a Magmite Bomb. During the battle to liberate Boazan, he died when the starship he and Gururu were on was destroyed by Voltes V.
The head of the Boazanian Military and the last commander sent to Earth. He re-captured Lagour/Prof Gō and betrayed Heinel with Bergan. Overconfident, he was killed during the liberation of Boazan.
The chief inspector of Emperor Zambajil, and one of few who knew about Zamabajil's betrayal to Lagour and the Boazanian throne. He is well known to deliver bad news to the emperor from his scouting, thus many executions ordered by the Emperor was a result of his reports. Zambajil sent him to Earth to report on Heinel's progress, but discreetly wanted him to ensure Heinel's death at the hands of Voltes V. He plotted with Zuhl to have Heinel pilot a beast fighter, while at the same time leaked information to Big Falcon about the beast fighter's weak points. His plan backfired when Katharine overheard the plot. Heinel ordered Zuhl to reinforce the weak points, and in mid battle the beast fighter destroyed Zaki's nearby ship with him inside.
Original Japanese Cast

Philippine Cast (1970s; In English, then in 1999; In Filipino, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano and Bicolano;)

Notable: Kim Atienza revealed in a TV show in GMA 7, that he was Steve Armstrong's second dubber when Voltes V was dubbed for the first time in Filipino.
Voltes 5 Evolution Cast (redubbed Filipino version in 2005)
The following names replaced the original voice actors in the redub version on Hero TV.
Airings and release
Voltes V was broadcast in Japan by TV Asahi from June 4, 1977 to March 25, 1978.
In the Philippines, since May 5, 1978, an English-language dub of Voltes V was first aired on GMA-7, which was shown every Friday (6:00 pm) and lasted for a year until 1979. In 1979, shortly before the series finale, then-president Ferdinand Marcos issued a directive banning Voltes V and other similarly-themed anime series due to concerns about "excessive violence". The directive also led to speculations at the time that the series was also taken off the air due to its aforementioned revolutionary undertones. In 2012, Marcos' son Bongbong defended his father's decision to ban Voltes V, stating that parents before were worried about the excessive violence in the show, so Marcos pulled the show and other robot-based animated series from television to appease their demands.
An American English dubbed version was released in North America in 1983 by 3B Productions as Voltus 5. It was a condensed version of the first three episodes of the series. The English dub used the character names of the Philippine English version.
In 1986, the series was aired in PTV-4 then on ABS-CBN from 1986–1987 then on RPN-9 from 1988–1989 and on IBC-13 from 1989 (brief Tagalog dub Episodes 1 -11) and 1994 (English reruns Episodes 1 - 31), and on GMA in 1999 which was shown in English & later in Tagalog and Cebuano. The latter's popularity spurred numerous homages and pastiches, namely the Ang Dating Doon parody religion sketch in Bubble Gang. In 2005, the cable channel Hero, owned by the ABS-CBN Corporation, released Voltes V as Voltes V Evolution. However, the voice cast was different from the GMA version. In an attempt to promote the show to a younger audience, the network had Jett Pangan, Sandara Park, Dennis Trillo and other Filipino celebrities re-dub the characters' voices.
Toys
During the series' run, Popy released a diecast metal toy of Voltes V. The toy was available either with the five Volt Machines sold separately or in a gift set known as the "Volt In Box". Aside from the Volt Machines combining to form Voltes V, the toy also transformed into Voltank mode (an alternate vehicle mode wherein the robot lied down face-first with the Volt Panzer and Volt Lander's wheels on the ground). Voltank mode never appeared in the series, but was a unique feature of the toy. The boxed set was re-released in 1982 before being repackaged as part of Bandai's Godaikin line for the international market in 1983. Popy also released a Jumbo Machinder version of Voltes V. Standing at over 24 inches in height, the toy featured firing projectile fists and could transform into Voltank mode, which small children could ride on.
In 2006, Bandai released a newer, smaller Voltes V toy as part of their Soul of Chogokin line. This toy is more detailed and more poseable than its Popy diecast predecessor. In 2008, the toy was re-released as a special edition called "Respect for Volt In Box", which pays homage to the original toy in both color scheme and packaging. In addition, this version has been retooled to transform into Voltank mode.
Legacy
In the Philippines, Voltes V has embedded itself in Filipino pop culture. The debut album of the Filipino rock band Eraserheads is titled Ultraelectromagneticpop!, a reference to the "Ultraelectromagnetic Top" used in the series. A thirteen-foot sculpture made by Toym Leon Imao called at the time Last, Lost, Lust for Four Episodes was displayed in front of the Palma Hall at the University of the Philippines Diliman from September 20 to 28, 2014, consisting of brass, fiberglass, and galvanized iron. The sculpture was made to represent "the anger felt as a 10-year-old when Voltes V and the other robots were summarily removed from television."