By the time Votoms first hit the airwaves in April 1983, systems and patterns for mecha anime merchandising were in full swing thanks to big success stories like Gundam and Dougram. This meant Votoms would have a healthy lineup of model kits, toys and other products to support its broadcast....

by Kouji Akimoto In a previous installment, I curated and translated an apocryphal Votoms manga titled Excellent A.T. by artist/writer Kouji Akimoto. It was originally published in Volume 2 of an anthology from Bandai titled Cyber Comix. As it happens, he returned in the very next issue (Volume 3, August...

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Shin Ueda Art Collection Character Mechanic Sunrise Edition 上田信画集 キャラクターメカニック・サンライズ編 144 pages, color and b&w Dainippon Kaiga, 2016 Box art and package art for 1980s Sunrise mecha products including Gundam and Votoms (order here) Back to the hub

Hobby Japan #239, April Uchusen Vol. 47, April Gunhed is in good shape for its July release. Here, we present an interview with Shoji Kawamori, who was in charge of the design of the main mecha Gunhed. Interviewer: At what point did you get involved in the planning of Gunhed?...

Soundtrack CD, July 1989 I collect anime and film soundtracks by the ton, but very few get spun as often as this one. It’s like another main character in the movie, so pitch-perfect that if the world of Gunhed was a musical instrument, this is the sound it would make....

PC Engine Game Hudson Soft, 1989 Released shortly before the film, this game was a vertically-scrolling shooter for PC Engine that would later be exported under the name Blazing Lazers in 2007. It was set many years after the movie and included some of the characters, but otherwise didn’t have...

Introduction People are always looking for a hero. And the times have always given birth to such heroes. This work is a live action SFX film with the heavily armored mobile robot Gunhed, the ultimate in high technology, as the main character. It is an unprecedented experience, exactly what we...

No. 37, November 1988 James C. Bannon (age 35) Lives in Los Angeles and Hollywood. A promising young scriptwriter in the American film industry. He has been involved with Japanese movies for a long time, having worked on the American version of the robot anime. He is a language genius,...

As a primary licensor of the movie, Kadokawa got a big jump in pre-release publishing. Along with Bandai, they released several books leading up to the July 1989 premiere and a few in its wake. As far as I’m aware, this is the entire Gunhed library. Japanese titles are included...

Movie posters Movie flyer Yuji Kaida, NewType magazine Yuji Kaida, B-Club magazine Cover art for B-Club NO. 44 by Kazuhisa Kondo Poster by Kia Asamiya, NewType magazine Painting by Masahisa Suzuki Art by Hiroyuki Hataike Art by Hiroyuki Hataike Art by Hiroyuki Hataike Book illustration by Kiyomi Tanaka This “action...

This one-shot manga, set some time before the movie, explores a moment in time in which Gunheds were deployed in a wartime scenario. It was published in B-Club magazine No. 44 in July, 1989. The artist/writer is Kazuhisa Kondo, best known for his many Mobile Suit Gundam side stories. His...

April issue Title page for Chapter 1 of Kia Asamiya’s manga May issue Title page for Chapter 2 of Kia Asamiya’s manga June issue Title page for Chapter 3 of Kia Asamiya’s manga July issue Cover art by Kia Asamiya Painting by Yoshiyuki Takani Title page for Chapter 4 of...

First cyborg trooper design concept by Steve Krueger. Very similar to my dream image. I told him it had tiger stripes on its armor. Additional design work by Steve Krueger Ad concept Logo ideas. The final logo was designed by Steve Krueger. Cover concepts Cover concepts Continue to sketch script...

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