Psycho Armor Govarian

Psycho Armor Govarian (サイコアーマー ゴーバリアン, saiko āmā gōbarian, also romanized as Psycho Armor Gobarian and Psychoarmor Govarian) is a Japanese anime television series created by Go Nagai. It was produced by Knack Productions and TV Tokyo. The series was originally broadcast from July 6, 1983 (1983-07-06) to December 28, 1983 (1983-12-28) in Japan.[1][2] Besides Japan, it was also broadcast in South Korea in 1988 by MBC[3] where it was known as 사이코아머 고바리안 or 싸이코 아머 고바리안. It is also known as 海王星戰士 in Taiwan and 超能裝甲哥巴里安 in Hong Kong. The anime is considered a mix of Genma Taisen, Mazinger and Gundam.[4]

Psycho Armor Govarian
Front cover of the EP Psycho Armor Govarian - Lonely Journey, King Records 1983
サイコアーマー ゴーバリアン
(saiko āmā gōbarian)
GenreMecha
Anime television series
Directed bySeiji Okuda
Written byYoshihisa Araki
Music byTatsumi Yano
StudioKnack Productions
Licensed by
Original networkTV Tokyo
Original run July 6, 1983 – December 28, 1983
Episodes26
Manga
Written byGo Nagai
Illustrated byTatsuo Yasuda
Published byShogakukan
MagazineYoiko
DemographicChildren
Original runAugust 1983 – February 1984

Story

The Garadain Empire has exhausted the primary resources of their native planet, so they send different space expeditions to find a new world where to live. One of their main objectives is planet Earth. However, Zeku Alba, an alien scientist, decides to rebel against the imperial rule and flees towards the Earth, where he gathers a group of youngs gifted with the power of "psychogenesis", an ability that consists in creating solid matter from mental energy.

The most gifted of the squadron is Isamu, a young orphan whose family was killed in the first attack of the Garadain Empire. He is able to generate the powerful robot Govarian, an armor with which he can battle the alien monsters and is able to regenerate thanks to the psychic energy of the pilot. Helped by two other robots created by his teammates, Isamu, aboard the robot Govarian, defends the Earth in the long war against the alien invaders.

Characters
  • Isamu Napoto (イサム・ナポト, played by Yoshikazu Hirano)
  • Lisa Achika (アチカ・リサ, achika risa, played by Masako Miura)
  • Kurt Buster (クルト・バスター, kuruto basutā, played by Naoki Tatsuta)
  • Hans Schultz (ハンス・シュルツ, hansu shurutsu, played by Kenyu Horiuchi)
  • Layla Swani (ライラ・スワニー, raira suwanī, played by Miyuki Muroi)
  • Karim Atlas (カリム・アトラス, karimu atorasu, played by Hideki Fukushi)
  • Pike (ピケ, played by Runa Akiyama)
  • Puke (プケ, played by Chiaki Tachikawa)
  • Tongari (トンガリ, played by Mikako Ohara)
  • Michie (ミッキー, mikkī, played by Naoki Tatsuta)
  • Zeku Alba (ゼクー・アルバ, zekū aruba, played by Kazuya Tatekabe)
  • Ordon (オルドン, orudon, played by Naoki Tatsuta)
  • Nekoban (ネコバン, played by Mikako Ohara)
  • Meria (メリア, played by Mikako Ohara)
  • Christo (クリスト, kurisuto, played by Kazuhiko Inoue)
  • Domson (ドムゾン, domuzon, played by Hirotaka Suzuoki)
  • Emperor Garadain (ガラダイン皇帝, garadain-kōtei, played by Toshiya Ueda)

Mechas

Main mechas
  • Psycho Armor Govarian
Length: 13 meters
Weight: 47 tonnes
Pilot: Isamu Napoto
  • Psycho Armor Raid (サイコアーマーレイド, saiko āmā reido)
Length: 11 meters
Weight: 43 tonnes
Pilot: Kurt Buster, Hans Schultz (after the death of Buster)
  • Psycho Armor Garom (サイコアーマーガロム, saiko āmā garomu)
Length: 11 meters
Weight: 63 tonnes
Pilot: Karim Atlas

Garadain mechas
  • Flynger (フラインジャー, furainjā): The basic flying infantry mecha.
  • Baranger (バランジャー, baranjā): The basic walking infantry mecha.
  • Genocider Guringa (ジェノサイダーグリンガ, jienosaidā guringa): Mecha used by Meria
  • Genocider Zarius (ジェノサイダーザリウス, jienosaidā zariusu): Mecha used by Meria
  • Genocider Bobal (ジェノサイダーボーバル, jienosaidā bōbaru)
  • Genocider Batam (ジェノサイダーバタム, jienosaidā batamu)
  • Death Gander Doguros (デスガンダードグロス, desu gandā dogurosu): The most powerful mecha, controlled by Christo. Kurt Buster dies trying to destroy it. After Buster's attack, it's modified and later it is finally destroyed by Meria in a suicide attack.

Episodes
#TitleScenarioOriginal airdate
01"honō no naka senshi tanjō" (炎の中戦士誕生)Yoshihisa ArakiJuly 6, 1983 (1983-07-06)
02"chōnōryoku senshi fāsuto fairu" (超能力戦士ファーストファイル)Yoshihisa ArakiJuly 13, 1983 (1983-07-13)
03"josenshi meria no atsui nikushimi" (女戦士メリアの熱い憎しみ)Yoshihisa ArakiJuly 20, 1983 (1983-07-20)
04"senjō no kaiten mokuba" (戦場の回転木馬)Hideki SonodaJuly 27, 1983 (1983-07-27)
05"wanpaku sōko no merodī" (わんぱく双児のメロディー)Katsuhiko Taguchi
Yoshihisa Araki		August 3, 1983 (1983-08-03)
06"uchū no bōsō raidā" (宇宙の暴走ライダー)Yuji WatanabeAugust 10, 1983 (1983-08-10)
07"ore tachi no tatakai" (俺たちの戦い)Yoshihisa ArakiAugust 17, 1983 (1983-08-17)
08"niji ni kie ta basutā" (虹に消えたバスター)Hideki SonodaAugust 24, 1983 (1983-08-24)
09"ai to nikushimi no famirī" (愛と憎しみのファミリー)Katsuhiko TaguchiAugust 31, 1983 (1983-08-31)
10"atorasu no seishun" (アトラスの青春)Yuji WatanabeSeptember 7, 1983 (1983-09-07)
11"akūkan saizensen" (亜空間最前線)Hideki SonodaSeptember 14, 1983 (1983-09-14)
12"tsuigeki domuson gundan" (追撃·ドムソン軍団)Yuji WatanabeSeptember 21, 1983 (1983-09-21)
13"gekisen supēsu koronī" (激戦·スペースコロニー)Yoshihisa ArakiSeptember 28, 1983 (1983-09-28)
14"gaika demon dosu dai bakuhatsu" (凱歌·デモンドス大爆発)Sayumi MizunagaOctober 5, 1983 (1983-10-05)
15"you jigen garadain shiro" (妖次元·ガラダイン城)Hideki SonodaOctober 12, 1983 (1983-10-12)
16"dasshutsu! nokosa reta ai" (脱出!残された愛)Hideki SonodaOctober 19, 1983 (1983-10-19)
17"kyodai yousai daingarāmu" (巨大要塞ダインガラーム)Yuji WatanabeOctober 26, 1983 (1983-10-26)
18"aika senjō no kanata" (哀歌·戦場のかなた)Yoshihisa ArakiNovember 2, 1983 (1983-11-02)
19"tsuki jigoku no honō" (月·地獄の炎)Masato NishioNovember 9, 1983 (1983-11-09)
20"ankoku desu macchi" (暗黒デス·マッチ)Yoshihisa ArakiNovember 16, 1983 (1983-11-16)
21"getsumen bakuha daingarāmu" (月面爆破·ダインガラーム)Tsukasa TakahashiNovember 23, 1983 (1983-11-23)
22"yōma no toride guron desurōmu" (妖魔の砦グロン·デスローム)Hideki SonodaNovember 30, 1983 (1983-11-30)
23"jigen shinryaku yōsai" (次元侵略要塞)Yuji WatanabeDecember 7, 1983 (1983-12-07)
24"shitō kyokuten no burizādo" (死闘極点のブリザード)Hideki SonodaDecember 14, 1983 (1983-12-14)
25"saishū sakusen kaishi meria tai kurisuto" (最終作戦開始-メリア対クリスト-)Yoshihisa ArakiDecember 21, 1983 (1983-12-21)
26"kaimetsu? chikyū jigen idō" (壊滅?地球次元移動)Yoshihisa ArakiDecember 28, 1983 (1983-12-28)

Source(s)[1][5]

Staff & production notes
  • Airtime: Wednesday, 19:30-20:00 hrs.
  • Network: TV Tokyo
  • Production: TV Tokyo, Knack
  • Original work: Go Nagai, Dynamic Planning
  • Planning: Seiichi Nishino (Knack)
  • Producer: Hyota Ezu (TV Tokyo), Hirofumi Toida (Knack)
  • Series organization: Yoshihisa Araki
  • Series director: Seiji Okuda
  • Animation director: Gen Fukuda, Yuki Kinoshita
  • Script: Hideki Sonoda, Katsuhiko Taguchi, Yuji Watanabe, Tomomi Minahaya, Masato Nishio, Tsukasa Takahashi
  • Original character: Go Nagai
  • Character design: Gen Fukuda
  • Mechanic design: Sawaki Tateba
  • Art director: Morishige Suzuki
  • Photography director: Yoichi Shimizu
  • Music: Tatsumi Yano
  • Theme song performance: Neverland

Source(s)[1][2]

Theme songs
  • Opening theme: "Lonely journey" (孤独の旅路~LONELY JOURNEY~, kodoku no tabiji Lonely Journey), lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Neverland & Hiroki Harada (chorus), song by Tomoaki Taka.
  • Ending theme: "Lullaby" (ララバイ, rarabai), lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Neverland, song by Tomoaki Taka.
  • Insert song: "It's LOVE" (It's LOVE ~それは愛~, It's LOVE ~sore wa ai~), lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Tatsumi Yano, song by Tomoaki Taka. This theme is used in the last episode.
  • Insert song: "Yuhi no Omoi" (夕陽の想い, Yūhi no Omoi, translated as "Thought of the sunset"), lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Tatsumi Yano, song by Tomoaki Taka.

"Lonely Journey" and "Lullaby" have been used in several music collections in arranged versions sung by Hironobu Kageyama.

Media

Home video

The series was released in VHS format during the 1980s in 6 volumes.[6] In 2006-03-25 a DVD-box set containing the whole series was released by the company Japanese company BM3 with the standard number OHK-27.[7][8] During Otakon 2018 on August 12, Discotek Media announced a 1-disc SD on BD release of the entire series for a future release.[9]

Picture books and manga

Besides the main TV series, two series of picture books were released, one by Shogakukan and the other by Asahi Sonorama.[10] Also a short manga serialization, with the art of Tatsuo Yasuda (another pen name of Tatsuya Yasuda), was published in the children's manga magazine Yoiko published by Shogakukan from August 1983 (1983-08) to February 1984 (1984-02).[10][11]

Soundtracks

Four vinyl records were released during 1983 by King Records. The first one, an EP called Psycho Armor Govarian - Lonely Journey, contains the opening and ending theme, both of them performed by the Japanese group Neverland.[12] The second EP, called Psycho Armor Govarian - It's LOVE, contains the themes "It's LOVE" and "Yuhi no Omoi". Also performed by Neverland, both themes have lyrics by Tomoaki Taka, composition by Shunji Inoe, arrangement by Tatsumi Yano and are sung by Tomoaki Taka.[13][14] The last two are full LP album containing the BGM of the series and the opening and ending themes.[15][16][17][18]

TitleTypeArtistStandard numberRelease date
Psycho Armor Govarian - Lonely journeyEP recordNeverlandK07S-3052July 1983 (1983-07)
Psycho Armor Govarian BGM Vol.1LP albumTatsumi YanoK22G-7144September 1983 (1983-09)
Psycho Armor Govarian - It's LOVEEP recordNeverlandK07S-3063October 1983 (1983-10)
Psycho Armor Govarian BGM Vol.2LP albumTatsumi YanoK22G-7173December 1983 (1983-12)

Appearances in other media

Besides its series related media, Govarian has appeared in other media. The most prominent is its appearance in the Dynamic Super Robots Soshingeki!! (ダイナミックスーパーロボット総進撃!!, dainamikku sūpā robotto sōshingeki) clips that were included at the end of the DVDs of Shin Getter Robot tai Neo Getter Robot. Govarian appears alongside Great Mazinger, Venus A, Getter Robot G, Kotetsu Jeeg, God Mazinger and Groizer X to rescue Mazinger Z and Aphrodite A, but are defeated and in turn saved by Shin Getter Robot and Grendizer just before the arrival of Mazinkaiser.

The opening and ending songs of the series are included in several CD compilations of anime series.

TitleLabelStandard numberRelease date
Nagai Go Hero Densetsu: Kotetsu Majin HenFirst Smile EntertainmentFSCA-10204January 17, 2002 (2002-01-17)
Nagai Go Hero Densetsu: Kijin Sugosen HenFirst Smile EntertainmentFSCA-10210February 20, 2002 (2002-02-20)
Super Robot Tamashii The Best Vol.1: Super Robot HenBe! SmileBSCH-30001/2October 22, 2003 (2003-10-22)
Super Robot Tamashii The Best Vol.2: Super Robot Hen 2Be! SmileBSCH-30003/4November 19, 2003 (2003-11-19)
Getter Densetsu + 10: The Legends of GETTERBe! SmileBSCH-30013March 10, 2004 (2004-03-10)
Kageyama Hironobu Best & LiveBe! SmileBSCH-30014April 7, 2004 (2004-04-07)
Super Robot Tamashii The Instrumental: Super Robot & Real Robot Hen Vol.1Be! SmileBSCH-30030December 1, 2004 (2004-12-01)
Super Robot Spirits Shudaika Best CollectionBe! SmileBSCH-30037July 6, 2005 (2005-07-06)
Nagai Go Dynamic!! The chronicleBe! SmileBSCH-30040December 21, 2005 (2005-12-21)
The Best!! Super Robot Spirits: Super Robot Studio RecordingsBe! SmileBSCH-30063/6July 11, 2007 (2007-07-11)
Super Robot Spirits: Non stop mix Vol.3Be! SmileBSCH-30086July 9, 2008 (2008-07-09)
The Best!! Super Robot Spirits: The Best Karaoke songsBe! SmileBSCH-30094/7December 10, 2008 (2008-12-10)

Merchandise

Some toys and action figures based in the robots of the series were released, including several South Korean bootleg versions.[19] The official figures were made by the company Poem.

Relationship to the Mazinger series

The head of the main mecha of the series, Govarian, is similar to the head of Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger. This was done on purpose by Go Nagai and Dynamic Planning in accordance with the demand of production company Knack. In South Korea, it was presented as being part of the Mazinger series along with Groizer X.[4] Other than that, Psycho Armor Govarian has no real relationship to any of the Mazinger series.

References
  1. "TV Hoei List" (in Japanese). Japan: The World of Go Nagai. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  2. "Psycho Armor Govarian - allcinema" (in Japanese). Japan: allcinema. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  3. "네이버 블로그 :: 포스트 내용보기 - 고바리안(Govarian)" (in Korean). South Korea. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  4. "BaronBlog - It's Psycho Armor Govarian DVD Box!!" (in Japanese). Japan: BaronBlog. 2006-03-26. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  5. "TV televising list" (in Japanese). www.geocities.co.jp. Archived from the original on May 6, 2009. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
  6. "Video recording contents" (in Japanese). www.geocities.co.jp. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
  7. "Psycho Armor Govarian DVD-Box product description" (in Japanese). Japan: Seven and Y Corp. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  8. "Psycho Armor Govarian DVD-Box product description" (in Japanese). Japan: Amazon.com, Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  9. "Psycho Armor Govarian is coming to SD-BD! It's from Knack Productions… the Chargeman Ken people! Which means you're in for a great time! This series is one of two super robot TV series that Go Nagai created after leaving Toei". Twitter. August 12, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  10. "Picture book". Psycho Armor Govarian (in Japanese). Japan. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  11. "Kokusai Kodomo Toshokan e". Go Hon Tankyu Nisshi (in Japanese). Japan: Go book quest. 2003-08-19. Archived from the original on 2012-09-29. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  12. "Psycho Armor Govarian - Anison Generation" (in Japanese). Japan: Anison Generation. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  13. "Psycho Armor Govarian - It's LOVE" (in Japanese). Japan: Anison House. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  14. "Psycho Armor Govarian (It's love) - Anison Generation" (in Japanese). Japan: Anison Generation. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  15. "Psycho Armor Govarian BGM" (in Japanese). Japan: Anison House. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  16. "Psycho Armor Govarian". Yano Tatsumi - Ongaku e no Tabidachi (in Japanese). Japan. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  17. "Psycho Armor Govarian BGM Vol.1 - Anison Generation" (in Japanese). Japan: Anison Generation. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  18. "Psycho Armor Govarian BGM Vol.2 - Anison Generation" (in Japanese). Japan: Anison Generation. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  19. "Psycho Armor Govarian / CollectionDX". CollectionDX.com. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
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