Votoms Video, US Releases
This collection is a particularly fun one for me, because I helped to get them rolling and was invited to help produce them. Pretty much a dream come true, wouldn’t you say?
Subtitled VHS Releases
Central Park Media, 1997
The four-arc structure of the series allowed us to market it the same as Japan; four sets of tapes were designed (five volumes each with 2-3 episodes per tape) and I was asked to flesh out their titles, since Uoodo/Kummen/Sunsa/Quent had no meaning to those who didn’t already know what they were.
I came up with Uoodo City, Kummen Jungle Wars, Deadworld Sunsa, and God Planet Quent. Those were the names they traveled by for years afterward. I did a 16-page introductory booklet for the Uoodo City set and hoped I could do three more, but they stopped at one. Fortunately, it wouldn’t be my last opportunity.
There was a total of 20 tapes, also sold separately.
DVD Box sets
CPM / NuTech Digital Inc., 2001
This one is my personal favorite for many reasons, not least because it was the FIRST time Votoms was sold on DVD anywhere in the world. We even beat Japan by four years with this one. Second, Central Park Media subcontracted the production work to a company called NuTech and named me as the overseer of the project. This gave me complete creative freedom to design the packaging, both inside and out.
Not only did I draw and color the wraparound art for all four boxes, I also designed each disc sleeve (using art from Japan), the menu system (which put you inside an A.T. cockpit), and all the on-disc bonus features. Sort of the 1.0 version of the website you’re reading right now. It was a true labor of love, and the very best I could do for the show that fascinated me since I first laid eyes on it. You’ll need a lot of luck to find this edition now, but it’s worth the hunt.
See more of this set here.
See the animated menu I created here.
DVD “Ammo case” edition
Central Park Media, August 2006
Five years after the NuTech edition, CPM did it once more, this time in a uniquely sturdy package they called an “ammo case.” The video quality was upgraded and the number of discs reduced to two per story arc. These 2-packs were released bimonthly from February through August, but if you waited until the end you could get them all at once. If you DIDN’T feel like waiting, each set came with a proof-of-purchase card. If you saved all four, you could send them in and get all the goodies.
There was a bonus disc with a whole mess of extras: a trial-dub of the first episode, an on-camera interview with me, character and mecha guides, and complete PDFs of both the Votoms RPG (by R. Talsorian Games) and my Supreme Survivor graphic novel.
Then there was the Votoms Field Guide, a full-color 64-page extravaganza that CPM allowed me to create from start to finish. It was essentially an upgrade/update of my original Votoms Viewer’s Guide, packed to the limit with everything I’d learned since the whole adventure began. Don’t worry if you missed it, this website is now an upgrade/update of that book.
Blu-Ray sets
Maiden Japan, 2019-2020
I didn’t work on these English-language editions, but I was happy to see them happen since they finally added the OVAs to the party. Not just the 80s classics, but everything that came afterward with the sole exception of Armor Hunter Merowlink. We’re still waiting to see that one cross the ocean.
The one drawback – and it’s a big one – is that all the vintage content got slammed pretty hard by an encoding error that adds a stutter to every camera movement. If you’re like me, that makes it unwatchable. The good news is that this error was corrected on the Complete Collection, so order it here and you’ll be all set.
At least until the next video format comes along, anyway.
See an unboxing video for the Complete Collection here.