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Armored Trooper Votoms

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Armored Trooper VOTOMS (装甲騎兵ボトムズ, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu) is a Japanese military science fiction mecha anime series produced by Nippon Sunrise, created and directed by Ryosuke Takahashi and featuring mechanical designs by Kunio Okawara. Following directly in the footsteps of Takahashi's previous series, Fang of the Sun Dougram, VOTOMS continued the trend towards hard science in the mecha anime subgenre.

Armored Trooper VOTOMS
Cover for the third DVD Box Set, with an illustration of the ATM-09-ST Scopedog done by Kunio Okawara.
装甲騎兵ボトムズ
(Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu)
Genre
Created by
Anime television series
Directed byRyōsuke Takahashi
Written by
Music byHiroki Inui
StudioNippon Sunrise
Licensed by
Original networkMegaTON (TV Tokyo)
Original run April 1, 1983 – March 23, 1984
Episodes52 (List of episodes)
Manga
Written byMinoru Nonaka
Published byKodansha
MagazineComic BonBon
Original runMay 1983 – April 1984
Volumes4
Original video animation
The Last Red Shoulder
Directed byRyōsuke Takahashi
Written bySōji Yoshikawa
Music byHiroki Inui
StudioNippon Sunrise
Licensed by
  • NA: Maiden Japan
ReleasedAugust 21, 1985
Runtime50 minutes
Original video animation
The Big Battle
Directed byRyōsuke Takahashi
Written byMasanori Hama
Music byHiroki Inui
StudioNippon Sunrise
Licensed by
  • NA: Maiden Japan
ReleasedJuly 5, 1986
Runtime60 minutes
Original video animation
The Red Shoulder Document: Origin of Ambition
Directed byRyōsuke Takahashi
Written bySōji Yoshikawa
Music byHiroki Inui
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
  • NA: Maiden Japan
ReleasedMarch 19, 1988
Runtime60 minutes
Original video animation
Leechers Army Merowlink
Directed byTakeyuki Kanda
Written by
  • Ryōsuke Takahashi (story)
  • Hiroshi Yamaguchi (screenplay)
Music byHiroki Inui
StudioSunrise
Released November 21, 1988 – April 28, 1989
Runtime25 minutes (each)
Episodes12 (List of episodes)
Original video animation
Brilliantly Shining Heresy
Directed byRyōsuke Takahashi
Written bySōji Yoshikawa
Music byHiroki Inui
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
  • NA: Maiden Japan
Released March 21, 1994 – December 21, 1994
Runtime25 minutes (each)
Episodes5
Original video animation
Phantom Arc
Directed byRyōsuke Takahashi
Written byFuyunori Gobu
Music byYasuaki Maejima
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
  • NA: Maiden Japan
Released March 26, 2010 – October 27, 2010
Runtime25 minutes (each)
Episodes6
Original video animation
Case; Irvine
Directed byShishō Igarashi
Written byTakuya Satō
Music byYoshihiro Ike
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
  • NA: Maiden Japan
ReleasedNovember 6, 2010
Runtime50 minutes
Original video animation
Votoms Finder
Directed byShigeta Atsushi
Written byMasafumi Nishida
Music byKōtarō Nakagawa
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
  • NA: Maiden Japan
ReleasedDecember 4, 2010
Runtime50 minutes
Original video animation
Alone Again
Directed byRyōsuke Takahashi
Written byMasashi Ikeda
Music byTetsuro Oda
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
  • NA: Maiden Japan
ReleasedJanuary 8, 2011
Runtime50 minutes
Original video animation
Games
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The series was supplemented by numerous original video animation releases and also inspired several spin-off works whose media ranges from serialized light novels to video games. The TV anime was originally licensed by the now-defunct Central Park Media, which released the series on DVD and VHS. Currently, it is licensed by Maiden Japan, a unit of Section23 Films,[3] which has also released all OVAs other than Leechers Army Merowlink.

Plot

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Main article: List of Armored Trooper Votoms episodes

In the Astragius Galaxy, the Gilgamesh and Balarant nations had until recently been locked in a century-old galactic war whose cause was long ago forgotten. Now, the war is ending and an uneasy truce has settled. The main weapon of the conflict is the common Armored Trooper, a mass-produced humanoid combat vehicle piloted by a single soldier. Both the Armored Troopers and their pilots are also known as VOTOMS (Vertical One-man Tank for Offense & Maneuvers). However, since Armored Troopers have extremely thin armor, and use a highly combustible liquid in their artificial muscle, their pilots have a very low chance of survival and are commonly referred to instead as "Bottoms", the lowest of the low ("Votoms" and "Bottoms" are written and pronounced the same way in Japanese).

The series follows a main character named Chirico Cuvie, a special forces Armored Trooper pilot and former member of the Red Shoulder Battalion, an elite force used by the Gilgamesh Confederation in its war against the Balarant Union. Chirico is suddenly transferred to a unit engaged in a suspicious mission, unaware that he is aiding in the theft of secrets from what appears to be his side. Chirico is betrayed and left behind to die, but he survives, is arrested by the Gilgamesh military as a traitor, and is tortured for information on their homeworld. He escapes, triggering a pursuit extending across the entire series, with Chirico hunted by the army and criminals alike as he seeks the truth behind the operation. He is especially driven to discover the truth of one of the objects he was assigned to retrieve in that operation: a mysterious and beautiful woman who would become his sole clue to unraveling the galactic conspiracy.

Development

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Ryōsuke Takahashi conceived of VOTOMS after watching the film Junior Bonner, in which the main character travels across towns performing rodeo shows, which gave Takahashi the idea of creating a story in a post-war setting, with mechs fighting each other for sport.[4] Although several authors have noted similarities between Chirico and Steve McQueen,[5][6] who played the main character in Junior Bonner, Takahashi stated that Chirico was not modeled after anyone in particular.[4]

Anime

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Armored Troopers VOTOMS (TV series)

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A 1983 52-episode anime television series.

Cast

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The Last Red Shoulder

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Armored Trooper Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder (装甲騎兵ボトムズ ザ・ラストレッドショルダー) is a 50-minute OVA released on August 21, 1985.[7] The storyline takes place after the Woodoo storyline in the TV series.[5] It details Chirico meeting with his old comrades in his old military unit, and their plan to get revenge on General Pailsen.

The Big Battle

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A 1986 60-minute OVA. Takes place near the end of the series. The storyline features Chirico and his comrades participating in a mecha gladiatorial match.

The Red Shoulder Document - Origin of Ambition

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Armored Trooper VOTOMS: The Red Shoulder Document - Origin of Ambition (装甲騎兵ボトムズ レッドショルダードキュメント 野望のルーツ, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Reddo Shorudā Dokyumento Yabō no Rūtsu), released as just Origin of Ambition by Maiden Japan, is a 60-minute OVA released in 1988.[8] The storyline serves as a prequel to the main series and especially The Last Red Shoulder. It details Chirico's time in the Red Shoulder elite military unit and his encounters with General Pailsen.

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Leechers Army Merowlink (機甲猟兵メロウリンク, Kikō Ryōhei Merourinku) is a twelve episode anime science fiction action OVA series spinoff of Armored Trooper Votoms. It premiered on November 21, 1988.[9] It takes place in the same universe (and time, and in some episodes, almost the same places) as Votoms, but the two stories are entirely independent of each other.

Merowlink is the story of a soldier whose unit is sacrificed on the battlefield for reasons unknown. Although he was not meant to survive, the main character, Merowlink Ality, manages to survive only to be framed for a crime he did not commit. Merowlink escapes his captors and begins hunting down his former commanding officers, both to avenge his dead platoon members and to find out the nature of the conspiracy that led to their deaths.

While the official English title of the series is Leechers Army Merowlink according to the text seen on multiple video and music software releases, it is commonly referred to as Armor Hunter Mellowlink in English. This translation dates from issue 5 of the now-defunct English-language anime magazine Animag and has been repeated in various fan sources over the years. However, the Mellowlink spelling is contradicted by text appearing in the animation itself. The meaning of "Leechers Army" is explained by how the armor hunters depicted in the series are soldiers who have lost their Armored Trooper combat vehicles and must depend on traps and tricks in order to survive, even going so far as to boobytrap the corpses of their own comrades. For this reason, they're considered "leeches of the battlefield", sucking on the blood of soldiers. "Armor Hunter" reflects a more faithful translation of the Japanese 機甲猟兵 (Kikō Ryōhei, lit. "Armor Hunter")

The series is available for download on Bandai Visual's official website and the Japanese DVD box set was released on December 6, 2006. The series was previously issued twice on laserdisc, once as six individual volumes, and once as a three-disc box set along with the two soundtracks. It was released on Blu-ray as part of the Perfect Soldier Box on February 25, 2021.

Brilliantly Shining Heresy

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Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Brilliantly Shining Heresy (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 赫奕たる異端, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Kakuyakutaruitan) is a 5-episode OVA series released in 1994.[10] It is a sequel to the original TV series.

Pailsen Files

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Main article: Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Pailsen Files

Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Pailsen Files (装甲騎兵ボトムズ ペールゼン・ファイルズ, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Pēruzen Fairuzu) is a 12-episode OVA series that was released from October 26, 2007 to August 22, 2008.[11] It was also released as a feature film on January 17, 2009.[12] It is a prequel to the main series and a sequel to Origin of Ambition.

Phantom Arc

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Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Phantom Arc (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 幻影篇, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Gen'ei-hen), released as Genei ~ Phantom Arc by Maiden Japan, is a six-part OVA series that was released from March 26, 2010 to October 27, 2010. It is a sequel to the original TV series and Shining Heresy.

Case; Irvine

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Armored Trooper VOTOMS Case;Irvine (ケース;アービン), an OVA that follows the story of Irvine Lester, a repairer of the tank-like robotic Armored Trooper (AT) mecha in the VOTOMS story world.

Votoms Finder

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Votoms Finder (ボトムズファインダー), an "alternate universe" OVA that centers around Aki Tesuno, a Bottoms guard for scrap salvagers and a pilot of a robotic mecha called an At or Altro (as opposed to VOTOMS' trademark Armored Trooper mecha).

Alone Again

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Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Alone Again (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 孤影再び, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Koei Futatabi), released as Chirico's Return by Maiden Japan, is a 2011 50-minute OVA that serves as sequel to the Shining Heresy and prequel to the Phantom Arc.

Games

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Video games

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VOTOMS has appeared in numerous video games since the series' original airing.

  • X68000: Dead Ash
  • PC8801: Black Unicorn
  • PC-9801: Votoms: The Real Battle
  • Super Famicom: Votoms - The Battling Road
  • PlayStation: Blue Sabre Knights
  • PlayStation: Armored Trooper Votoms - Uoodo and Kummen
  • PlayStation: Brave Saga (as a guest character)
  • PlayStation: Armored Trooper Votoms Lightning Slash
  • PlayStation: Armored Trooper Votoms Steel Force
  • PlayStation: Brave Saga 2 (as a guest character)
  • Dreamcast: Sunrise Eiyuutan (as a guest character)
  • PlayStation 2: Sunrise Eiyuutan 2 (as a guest character)
  • WonderSwan: Harobots (as a guest character)
  • Game Boy Color: GB Harobots (as a guest character)
  • Game Boy Color: Brave Saga Shinsou Astaria (as a guest character)
  • PlayStation 2: Soukou Kihei Votoms / Armored Trooper Votoms
  • PlayStation Portable: Super Robot Wars Z2: Hakai-Hen (as a guest character)
  • PlayStation Portable: Super Robot Wars Z2: Saisei-Hen (as a guest character)
  • PlayStation Portable: Super Robot Wars OE (as a guest character)
  • PlayStation 3/PlayStation Vita: Super Robot Wars Z3: Jigoku-Hen (as a guest character)
  • PlayStation 4/Nintendo Switch: Super Robot Wars T (as a guest character)

For a limited time, the Armored Trooper Votoms - Uoodo and Kummen game included a Red Shoulder Custom model. Chirico also figures in the Sunrise Eiyuutan (Sunrise Heroes) game for the PlayStation 2.

Role-playing

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VOTOMS was a direct inspiration for the Heavy Gear role-playing game.[5] VOTOMS also has its own official role-playing game, Armored Trooper VOTOMS: The Roleplaying Game, developed by R. Talsorian Games and using the Fuzion system.

References

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  1. ^ Barder, Ollie (February 28, 2019). "'Armored Trooper VOTOMS' Blu-Ray Review: One Of The Most Influential Mecha Anime Ever Made". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Top 7 Classic Anime on HIDIVE". HIDIVE. January 7, 2021. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 5, 2018). "Maiden Japan Licenses Maria Watches Over Us, Hataraki Man, Basquash!, Yumeiro Pâtissière, Votoms, Ideon, Xabungle, Human Crossing Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Anime Interviews: The First Five Years of Animerica Anime & Manga Monthly (1992–97). Caddence Books. 1997. pp. 165–166.
  5. ^ a b c The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917, Revised and Expanded Edition. Stone Bridge Press. 2006. pp. 712–713.
  6. ^ Anime Interviews: The First Five Years of Animerica Anime & Manga Monthly (1992–97). Caddence Books. 1997. p. 170.
  7. ^ "メディア芸術データベース". Mediaarts-db.jp. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  8. ^ "メディア芸術データベース". Mediaarts-db.jp. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  9. ^ 機甲猟兵メロウリンク (1988～1989) (in Japanese). allcinema. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  10. ^ "メディア芸術データベース". Mediaarts-db.jp. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  11. ^ "メディア芸術データベース". Mediaarts-db.jp. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  12. ^ "メディア芸術データベース". Mediaarts-db.jp. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-07-11.

Further reading

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