Space Warrior Baldios Review: The appeal of classic robot anime and its influence on the modern era

Space Warrior Baldios: A Battle Across Time and Space

The animated feature film "Space Warrior Baldios", released in December 1981, is loved by many fans for its epic story and deep character portrayal. In this article, we will take a detailed look at the background of the film, the characters, the production staff, and its appeal. We will also introduce related works and recommended points, providing a guide to understanding "Space Warrior Baldios" more deeply.

Overview of the work

"Space Warrior Baldios" is an anime film directed by Nagayuki Toriumi and based on the original work by Akiyoshi Sakai. It was produced by Toei Central Film and released as a 120-minute feature film. The story depicts the young man Marine Reagan, who escaped from the radioactive planet S-1, fighting to protect the Earth.

story

Planet S-1 is contaminated by radiation, making it difficult to live on the surface. Gattler, who controls the military, launches a coup to invade and emigrate to habitable planets. A young man named Marin, whose father was killed by Gattler, challenges Gattler in his subspace fighter Palsavan, but gets caught in the fleet's warp and is sent to Earth in the year 2100 A.D., which is exactly the planet Gattler envisioned. To protect the beautiful Earth from the evil hands of invasion, Marin challenges the battle in the Blue Fixer's main mecha, Baldios. This feature-length film version reconstructs parts that were not fully depicted in the TV series, focusing on the episode with Aphrodia, a woman whose brother was killed by Marin and who continues to fight with a burning desire for revenge.

cast

The cast of this film is as follows:

• Marine Raygun: Kaneto Shiozawa
• Jack Oliver: Hideyuki Tanaka
• Hokuto Raita: Tesshō Genda
• Jamie Hoshino: Keiko Han
• Tsukikage Takeshi: Katsuyuki Hori
• Ella Quinstein: Aiko Konoshima
• Rosa Aphrodite: Keiko Toda
• Zeo Gattler: Hidekatsu Shibata
• Dr. Raygun: Masato Yamauchi
• David: Kazuhiko Inoue
• Negros: Shozo Iizuka
• Garo: Shojiro Kihara
• Degras: Makoto Terada
• Milan: Shigeru Chiba
• Laska: Daijiro Tsutsumi
• Rerun: Yuko Ochi
• Morgan: Teiji Omiya
• S-1 Star Emperor: Takemi Nakamura
• Bird Kingdom: Tamio Oki
• Emily: Tomiko Suzuki
• Amy: Nami Koyama
• Narrator: Katsuyuki Hori

Main Staff

The following staff members are involved in the production of this work:

• Planning: Toshihiko Sato, Juzo Tsubota
• Composition: Akiyoshi Sakai
• General Director: Toriumi Nagayuki
• Director: Kazuyuki Hirokawa
• Character design: Osamu Kamijo
• Mechanical design: Kamegaki Hajime
• Animation Director: Toyoo Ashida
• Art Director: Torao Arai
• Color setting: Yuri Nagae
• Sound Director: Shigeharu Shiba
• Director of photography: Norio Ogata
• Edited by Toshio Henmi and Shozo Yamazaki
• Music: Kentaro Haneda
• Planning Producer: Shuichi Onodera
• Producers: Yoshiaki Aihara, Hiroshi Kato
• Cooperation: International Film Company, Ashi Productions
• Produced by Toei Central Film

Main Characters

Let's take a closer look at the main characters of this work.

Marine ray gun

The protagonist of the story, an S-1 alien. He is a courageous young man who escapes to Earth and becomes the pilot of Blue Fixer's main mecha, Baldios, to face off against the Aldebaron combat corps led by Gattler. He becomes an ally of the Earthlings not only because of his desire for revenge against Gattler, who killed his father, but also because Earth is a planet with beautiful nature, something he has longed for since childhood.

Jack Oliver

He is a member of the Blue Fixer Squad and the lead pilot of the Valdy Prize. Although he has a calm and cool personality, he is very sweet towards his only sister. He also secretly has feelings for Jamie. He is from Downtown and grew up in poverty. He is a Christian who keeps the Bible by his bedside.

Raita Hokuto

He is a member of the Blue Fixer team who controls the Catarangers. He is a hot-blooded, large man who is impulsive and rather simple-minded. Because of this, he was quite hostile towards Marine at first. He is from Little Japan, an immigrant city on the moon, but his parents died when he was a baby in a spaceship accident.

Jamie Hoshino

A female member of the Blue Fixer team who still retains the appearance of a young girl. She mainly works as a sensing and analysis specialist at the Fixer Base and Valdi Prize. She is the first Earthling to open up to Marin, and although she loves him, her feelings are not reciprocated by Marin. It is revealed during the series that she is the daughter of the royal family of the country of Rainia.

Ella Quinstein

A beautiful and talented female scientist attached to the Blue Fixer base, she is effectively Blue Fixer's number two. Her intelligence is greater than that of a computer, and contrary to her elegant, quiet demeanor and polite way of speaking, she is a calm and collected person who prioritizes logic over emotion.

Tsukikage Takeshi

He is the chief executive officer of Blue Fixer. He plans and commands all tactical operations for Blue Fixer's war against Aldebaron from the Fixer Base. Although he has a gentle and kind personality, he is ruthlessly loyal to his duties and has a strong and reliable core, sticking to his own beliefs. He leaves behind a wife and child in Japan.

Zeo Gutler

He is a dictator who reigns as the leader of the S-1 planet people. He was originally a soldier, but he assassinated the emperor and took the position of president himself. He leaves the almost destroyed planet S-1 with all its people, and launches an invasion operation to make Earth, which he discovered by chance in the galaxy, his new home. He has a brutal side, but it is also true that he loves the S-1 planet people. He favors Aphrodite.

Rosa Aphrodia

She is a female officer who serves as the Supreme Commander of the Aldebaron military. She usually wears her hair up and sunglasses, but her true face is a breathtaking beauty. However, she is also a ruthless and cunning woman. When escaping from Planet S-1, her younger brother was killed by Marin, and ever since then she has burned with a desire for revenge against him, but after fighting him many times, she begins to accept Marin as a man and become aware of him.

Morgan

He is the head of the World Federation, which is the parent organization of Blue Fixer. He directly conveys decisions and orders from the World Federation to Director Tsukikage. He appears from episode 5.

Related Titles

"Space Warrior Baldios" has the following related works:

• TV series "Space Warrior Baldios": 30 minutes, 34 episodes

Appeal and recommendation points of the work

"Space Warrior Baldios" is a work that is attractive for its epic story and deep character portrayal. Below we will explain in detail its appeal and recommended points.

An epic story

The story of this film depicts Marin, who escaped from the radioactive planet S-1, fighting to protect the Earth. The fight against the invader Gattler and the fight to protect the beautiful nature of the Earth leave a strong impression on viewers. The movie version also reconstructs parts that were not fully depicted in the TV series, allowing viewers to enjoy a deeper story.

Deep character portrayal

Each character in this series has their own background and emotions. In particular, the relationship between Marin and Aphrodite begins with a desire for revenge, but they come to respect each other during the fight. The members of the Blue Fixer team are also unique, leaving a strong impression on viewers.

Beautiful mecha design

The mecha designs, including Baldios, are by Kamegaki Hajime, and are attractive for their beauty and functionality. In the battle scenes, the movements and attacks of the mecha are depicted realistically, providing a visual treat.

The appeal of music

Kentaro Haneda's music is an important element in enhancing the atmosphere of the work. The music, especially in the battle scenes, heightens tension and excitement, drawing the viewer into the story. The music in the scenes depicting the characters' feelings also expresses a wealth of emotion.

Recommended points

"Space Warrior Baldios" is a work filled with an epic story, deep character portrayals, beautiful mecha designs, and fascinating music. It is highly recommended for those who like robot anime and sci-fi anime in particular. In addition, compared to the TV series, the movie version includes episodes and new aspects of characters that are not depicted in the TV series, so it is also recommended for those who have already seen the TV series.

Conclusion

"Space Warrior Baldios" is a work filled with an epic story, deep character portrayals, beautiful mecha designs, and fascinating music. This work leaves a strong impression on viewers, and is a must-see for fans of robot and science fiction anime. Compared to the TV series, the film version features episodes and new aspects of characters that were not depicted in the TV series, so it is also recommended for those who have already seen the TV series. We hope you enjoy this work.