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Story by Hiroshi Yamaguchi Art by Fumiaki Shibata Read Act 1 here Originally published in Cyber Comix Vol. 36 (Bandai, October 1991) Back to the hub

To understand what a big deal it was for Bandai to get involved with Armored Trooper Votoms, it’s necessary to know some anime geneology. Back in the early 80s, when the SF mecha boom was at its peak, two major companies backed anime production: Bandai and Takara. There were also...

Plastic model kits were the original fuel in the Votoms engine. That’s what got the show made in the first place, the prospect of turning cool 2D mecha designs into cool 3D mecha plamo. But it’s a sign of true popularity when the characters in a show make that same...

In case you didn’t know already, it is my pleasure to inform you that you share a planet with not just one, but TWO life-size Scopedogs. That’s one of the nice things about the original design; it’s small enough to actually build at full scale (a bit under 14 feet...

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To welcome new readers, Robert and I teamed up to create a 7-page backup feature that introduced everyone to the world of Captain Harlock. Click here to read it in a PDF. Villain lineup I had it in mind to include some Leiji Matsumoto art samples in the article, but...

Even if you’re not a gamer, the playable elements in Votoms assert themselves almost immediately with mecha designed for street-level combat, not to mention the Battling arena. In fact, Battling was such a killer app that analog games based on the concept appeared while the anime series was still on...

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Welcome to the opening salvo of a unique manga from the Votoms library. One reason for its uniqueness is that it’s a spinoff of a spinoff, featuring Kiek Karadyne (from Armor Hunter Merowlink) as the main character. Another is that it was written by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, who contributed scripts to...

Moriyasu Taniguchi (animation director) Moriyasu Taniguchi (animation director) Unknown Masami Watanabe Aibo Tanaka Aibo Tanaka Yoshiyuki Takani Yoshiyuki Takani Yoshiyuki Takani Yoshiyuki Takani Yoshiyuki Takani Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Jun-ichi Nakamura Jun-ichi Nakamura Hiroyuki Hataike Toru Yoshida Takahito...

Votoms Odyssey was published in November 1985 by Minori Shobo, the home of OUT (the first monthly anime magazine). It occupies an important position in the history of Votoms by being the first book to expand the world beyond the anime, The purpose of this conversation was to reunite directors...

There’s no doubt that the quickest and cheapest way to get a Votoms story out into the world is in manga form. This simple equation has led to a LOT of Votoms manga from big publishers and DIY fanzines alike. Cyber Comix fit somewhere in between those two categories, handled...

If your mind works a certain way, the first thought that occurs to you when you lay eyes on Kunio Okawara’s brilliant Scopedog design is, “That could actually kinda work IRL.” In fact, that was the whole point of it. After previous experiences designing anime mecha, Okawara set out to...

It’s 1985. You’ve watched all of Armored Trooper Votoms, spinoffs are in the air, and you’ve built every model kit Takara, Union, and Kabaya have to offer. But the gaps in the lineup are endlessly frustrating. Why did some models get released in one scale, but not the other? Why...

These products first entered the market in 1993. Kotobukiya also specialized in garage kits for Blue Knight Berserga. Resin kits 1. Scopedog Turbo Custom 2. Ecrevisse 3. Diving Beetle 4. Fatty ground type 5. Berserga 6. Bloodsucker HG metal kits Scopedog Marshydog Conversion parts for Scopedog Red Shoulder Custom and...

Volks is a seller and distributor of garage kits with their own storefronts. The actual creation of their Votoms models takes place at a studio named Zoukei-mura [Sculpture Village]. They debuted with the record-breaking 1/8 Scopedog in December 1995 and continued with a lineup of 1/24 resin kits. Read all...