Votoms Bibliography, Part 1
There’s no better word for it; the number of books published on Armored Trooper Votoms is simply staggering (which is what you’ll do if you try to carry them all at once). It was a slow start when the TV series debuted in 1983, but picked up steam over the following decades as the Votoms world was steadily enlarged by OVAs, models, toys, games, and spinoff stories.
Part 1 of the Votoms bibliography covers what I’ll call “primary books,” which focus on the anime and various products. Manga, game books, novels, and other categories will fill up later parts. As far as I know, nothing is missing from my collection. But I would love to be wrong about that.
Japanese titles are provided for online search purposes.
Armored Trooper Votoms
Let’s Fight With Scopedog!
“Fun Kindergarten” TV Picture Book 114
「たのしい幼稚園」のテレビ絵本
装甲騎兵ボトムズ スコープドッグでたたかうぞ！
Color, 18 pages
Kodansha, Aug 1983
Armored Trooper Votoms TV Book
Eikosha TV Book 22
装甲騎兵ボトムズ 栄光社のテレビえほん
Color, 16 pages
Eikosha, date unknown
As with many early 80s anime, licensors were still trying to figure out who the audience was. This confusion led to some amusing misfires, like clearly juvenile products based on VERY mature programming. Votoms put both war and nudity on the screen in the first half of the first episode, but that didn’t stop books like these from becoming the first you could buy. Needless to say, they strike a completely different tone and have almost nothing to do with the show itself. Their real attraction is as evidence that the medium was still finding its way even in 1983.
Armored Trooper Votoms
Anime Library 28
装甲騎兵ボトムズ アニメ文庫
The TV series was still on the air, entering its fourth and final arc when this paperback came out. It wasn’t the first place you could see production art (Dual Magazine broke that ground), but it still did a great job of rounding up and organizing a lot of it in one place, even if it didn’t cover the entire series. Also included were early toy and model photos, and some parody manga.
B&W with some color, 136 pages
Sonorama, Jan 1984
Armored Trooper Votoms
TV Magazine Anime Special 3
装甲騎兵ボトムズ テレビマガジン アニメスペシャル
TV Magazine was one of many early anime/manga periodicals for young readers, and this paperback was part of a series that focused on individual SF mecha shows. It was the first published after Votoms ended its run, and thus became the first to cover the entire story in a single volume. Extensive color stills and manga art shared pages with extensive production designs.
Color and B&W, 194 pages
Kodansha, May 1984
A.T. Votoms Memorial Book
装甲騎兵ボトムズ メモリアル・ブック
This was a bonus booklet with The Anime magazine, split evenly between color stills and black & white production art. Short and sweet with a few staff comments.
Color and B&W, 36 pages
Kindai Movie Co., May 1984
Joint Book: Chirico/Misa
A bonus booklet with Animage magazine, pairing Chirico Cuvie with Macross sweetheart Misa Hayase. Both characters had won a popularity contest with Animage readers, so they were given equal time in this short booklet; color stills and text features.
Color and B&W, 48 pages
Tokuma Shoten, June 1984
Armored Trooper Votoms Roman Album
Roman Album Extra 63
ロマンアルバム・エクストラ63 装甲騎兵ボトムズ
This is where the serious coverage begins; The Roman Album packed the maximum bang for the buck with just about everything you wanted to know about the TV series. A huge collection of stills and production art, unequaled by anything that followed. Consider this one a must-have for your collection.
Color and B&W, 138 pages
Tokuma Shoten, Sept 1984
Nippon Sunrise Anime Festival pamphlet
日本サンライズ アニメフェスティバル
In the summer of 1985, Votoms, Vifam, and Dirty Pair all got their first OVA releases, and Sunrise put together this promotional pamphlet for the three of them. It’s exactly the kind of publication you’d get at a movie theater, but I have yet to find evidence that any of these were shown theatrically. Either way, it was the first place to get print info on The Last Red Shoulder.
Color, 24 pages
Sunrise, 1985
Votoms Odyssey
ボトムズ・オデッセイ
OUT was the first anime magazine run by fans for fans, and when they started publishing standalone books, nobody did it better. This one is a masterpiece, loaded with both series/OVA coverage and a substantial volume of original art accompanying an extensive backstory written exclusively for this book. Highest recommendation.
Color and B&W, 154 pages
Minori Shobo, Nov 1985
Armored Trooper Votoms
Hobby Japan Modeler’s Material Series 6
装甲騎兵ボトムズ ホビージャパン別冊
モデラーズマテリアルシリーズ 6
An explosion of model kits and garage kits made Votoms a frequent subject in Hobby Japan magazine, enough to collect into a volume of its own in 1986 that would become the first of many. The Big Battle OVA was brand new at the time, and this became the first book to offer support material, both production art and model kit photography.
Color and B&W, 102 pages
Hobby Japan, Aug 1986
Complete Data Collection, A.T. Votoms
完全版資料集 装甲騎兵ボトムズ
As extensive as previous books were, none was big enough to hold ALL the production art between two covers. That’s where this one came in, a visual catalog of every model sheet from every TV episode, The Last Red Shoulder, and Big Battle. Most of the images are pretty small and the printing could have been better, but it’s cool to have them all at your fingertips.
B&W with some color, 122 pages
Movic, Feb 1987
The Tale of Blue Knight Berserga
BLUE KNIGHT 青の騎士ベルゼルガ物語
ホビージャパン別冊
Color and B&W, 150 pages
Hobby Japan, Feb 1987
The Tale of Blue Knight Berserga II
in the Three Dimensional World
BLUE KNIGHTⅡ 青の騎士ベルゼルガ物語
ホビージャパン別冊
Color and B&W, 134 pages
Hobby Japan, July 1988
Blue Knight was a mini-phenom back in the early days, a side story that debuted as a novella in Dual Magazine and spawned a series of four novels and a series of garage kits. Hobby Japan picked it up from there with these two special issues. The first is a phenomenal collection of art and story with a glance toward custom modeling. The second flips the balance and is almost entirely occupied with modeling. Together they represent the largest body of work on the series. The first book also contains an illustrated script that was likely an attempt to develop a Blue Knight anime.
Entertainment Bible 5
Votoms Encyclopedia
装甲騎兵ボトムズ ボトムズ大図鑑
The Entertainment Bible series was essentially a spinoff of Bandai’s B-Club magazine, digest-size compendiums on specific subjects. The Votoms volume contained some original art and text features, but was largely a collection of production art for the TV series and first three OVAs.
Color and B&W, 146 pages
Bandai, Oct 1989
Armored Trooper Votoms
Perfect 3D Book
Hobby Japan Special
装甲騎兵ボトムズ パーフェクト3Dブック
Hobby Japan‘s second special was thicker than their first, mainly a collection of articles from the magazine. It also contained staff interviews and a large collection of high-quality production art that went through the TV series and OVAs, and provided an overdue look at Armor Hunter Merowlink (which came out four years earlier).
Color and B&W, 150 pages
Hobby Japan, Nov 1992
History of A.T. Votoms
ヒストリーオブ装甲騎兵ボトムズ
This book is comparatively short, but presented the first print material on the Shining Heresy OVA series and the then-new Super Famicom game The Battling Road. The rest of the pages were taken up by TV series, OVA, and Merowlink coverage.
Color and B&W, 80 pages
Keibunsha, March 1994
Armored Trooper Votoms Book
the Shining Heretics
装甲騎兵ぼとむず本 赫奕たる異端達
This oddball paperback wasn’t sold in stores, only with pre-orders of The Shining Heresy on home video. It was created as a jam project by the animation staff with cartoons and comments from inside the studio, which makes it a unique time capsule for that production.
B&W with some color, 98 pages
Sunrise, Nov 1994
Armored Trooper Mechanical
Setting Material
Armored Trooper Mechanical 設定資料集
Volks Hobby shop set a record in 1995 with a massive 1/8 Scopedog kit, and this book was published to commemorate it. It contains the largest published images of every A.T. seen in the anime (including all OVAs and Merowlink) and some minimal character art.
B&W, 130 pages
Volks, Nov 1995
Kunio Okawara Art Collection 2
Votoms Art Works
大河原邦男画集2
Mecha designer Kunio Okawara came back time and time again for every Votoms production and most of the high-end product packaging. This book collects paintings from across the spectrum, though half the book collects similar artwork from Dougram and SPT Layzner. Incidentally, it’s “Collection 2” because “Collection 1” was devoted to Mobile Suit Gundam.
Color, high page count
Movic, Dec 1998
Kunio Okawara
Dougram & Votoms Design Works
大河原邦男 Dougram & Votoms Design Works
Two years after the previous collection, this one offered up a huge library of A.T. design drawings that wisely avoided the standard fare to cover early development and then jump forward to the many video game A.T.’s that had appeared in the late 90s.
B&W with some color, 98 pages
Movic, April 2000
Document Votoms
the World of Ryosuke Takahashi’s Anime
ドキュメント ボトムズ 高橋良輔アニメの世界
Scholarly books like this one often begin to turn up when a popular anime franchise moves into multigenerational territory. Mostly text, it presents substantial analysis of Votoms (and other Ryosuke Takahashi productions) from multiple angles, including extended staff interviews.
B&W with some color, 264 pages
Sanichi Shobo, May 2000
Votoms Alive
The Library of Otakuology Vol. 4
ボトムズ・アライヴ
This was definitely a by-fans-for-fans project, split between an in-universe prehistory, a lengthy analysis of Chirico’s exploits, and wide-ranging interviews with the makers of both the anime and the many model kits. Mostly text, but with a lot of original artwork not seen elsewhere.
B&W, 320 pages
Ota Publishing, August 2000
A.T. Color Materials
装甲騎兵ボトムズ AT カラーマテリアルズ
This is exactly what it sounds like, a catalog of Armored Trooper art, essentially the color version of Volk’s book from six years earlier. Most of the Merowlink designs weren’t included, but a complete collection of game-only designs handily makes up for the oversight.
Color, 70 pages
Wave Corporation, Feb 2001
A.T. Votoms Complete Record
Collection 1, Votoms Bible
ボトムズ バイブル 装甲騎兵ボトムズ 全記録集1
Color and B&W, 226 pages
Kisousha, Sept 2001
A.T. Votoms Complete Record
Collection 2, Votoms Archive
ボトムズ アーカイヴ 装甲騎兵ボトムズ 全記録集2
Color and B&W, 240 pages
Kisousha, June 2002
It took an event horizon to make these books possible; two impressively in-depth encyclopedias covering just about every aspect of the franchise from design to story to history to world building. They’re packed full of art and analysis, including the first CG-assisted dig into Armored Trooper technology. This particular side of the Votoms phenom would expand greatly in subsequent books. Highly recommended.
A.T. Perfect Establishment Data
装甲騎兵ボトムズ AT完全設定資料集
The title sounds like another collection of Armored Trooper design art. It is another robot roundup from anime and game projects, but it doesn’t stop there; it’s also an overview of all the mecha in the Votoms universe, including vehicles and spaceships with some space given to characters and locations.
B&W, 128 pages
Studio DNA, Feb 2005
Making of the Scopedog in Votoms
1/1 Scopedog Production Diary
タタキツクルコト 1/1 スコープドッグ制作日誌
In 2005, metal sculptor Kogoro Kurata captured imaginations around the world when he created a no-foolin’ 1/1 scale Scopedog just because he thought it would be cool. It appeared in several public events afterward, and this book is a unique photojournal of its creation with a visit from the primary anime staff.
Color, 144 pages
Infoburn, May 2005
A.T. Votoms Scopedog Actic Gear Special
装甲騎兵ボトムズ スコープドッグ
アクティックギアスペシャル
Actic Gear was the name of a 1/48 action figure line from Takara, a series of A.T.s with minimal assembly that took off with fans and expanded to include several vehicles that couldn’t be manufactured at larger scales. Half of this short book examines the Actic Gear products that were current at the time (others followed afterward) with the other half devoted to anime coverage.
Color, 80 pages
Mediaworks, July 2006
A.T. Votoms Field Guide
This is my own entry into the Votoms library, released with a DVD box set in 2006 (the “ammo can” edition). It’s essentially a digest-size version of my Votoms Viewer’s Guide, updated to include info on many more spinoff projects and merchandising. It was very satisfying to create, and made me think I should put that effort into a website someday. So here we are.
Color, 64 pages
Central Park Media, 2006
Votoms Perfect Guide
装甲騎兵ボトムズ パーフェクトガイド
2005 was the year the Votoms finally migrated to DVD in Japan, so this book showed up in its wake to make the TV series its primary focus with episode-by-episode color coverage not seen since the Roman Album. Limited space was also given to OVAs and merchandising. Also included was a cut-out card battle game to create your own A.T. fights.
Color, 162 pages
Nikkei BP Mook, Sept 2006
A.T. Votoms Real Toy Collection
装甲騎兵ボトムズ リアルトイコレクション
The giant world of Votoms model kits got plenty of coverage in their own books; this one focused entirely on toys. It’s sort of a companion volume to the Actic Gear Special, produced by the same publisher but expanded to examine A.T. toys in all scales from all manufacturers. Well worth having as a substitute for all the toys you don’t have room for.
Color, 96 pages
Mediaworks, Dec 2006
A.T. Votoms • A.T. Complete Report
装甲騎兵ボトムズ AT完全報告書
With the arrival of the Pailsen Files OVA series came the “Scopedog 21C” (for 21st Century), refined for CG animation and new products. This book (a spinoff of Great Mechanics magazine), examined the entire refining process, which covered every part from head to toe. There’s also another extensive A.T. catalog and a general anime/game overview.
Color and B&W, 148 pages
Futabasha, June 2007
A.T. Votoms Dengeki Data Collection
装甲騎兵ボトムズ 電撃データコレクション
Another digest-size compendium of TV series coverage with color stills and lots of production art in color. A publication of the now-defunct Dengeki Hobby magazine.
Color and B&W, 96 pages
Mediaworks, Feb 2008
Votoms Models
Dengeki Hobby Magazine Special
装甲騎兵ボトムズ モデルズ
Bandai released a highly-refined 1/20 Scopedog around this time, igniting new photo features in hobby magazines. Dengeki collected and augmented them in this special, also revisiting classic kits from the 80s to preserve context.
Color, 142 pages
Mediaworks, April 2008
Pailsen Files Visual Book
Hobby Japan Mook 259
装甲騎兵ボトムズ ペールゼン・ファイルズ Visual Book
The first and only book devoted entirely to Pailsen Files, this Hobby Japan special was evenly split between color coverage of the 12-episode OVA series and A.T. modeling articles from the magazine, all of which brought the newest designs to 3D.
Color and B&W, 138 pages
Hobby Japan Press, Sept 2008
Scopedog 21C Master Book
装甲騎兵ボトムズ スコープドッグ21C マスターブック
A super-deluxe examination of the design work that went into the refined Scopedog 21C, along with a photo-feature of a custom-built model and a high-quality collection of A.T. designs from anime and games.
Color and B&W, 128 pages
SB Creative, Oct 2009
Votoms Festival pamphlet
ボトムズ フェスティバル パンフレット
Starting in late 2010, a series of three new OVAs got theatrical releases in Japan: Case Irvine, Votoms Finder, and Alone Again. This is the program book that was sold in theaters, so far the only print media to cover them.
Color, 36 pages
Sunrise, Nov 2010
Votoms Perfect Models 01
Hobby Japan Mook 433
ボトムズ パーフェクト モデルズ 01
Unbelievably, a full 20 years had passed since Hobby Japan last released a Votoms special, but they made up for lost time with two prodigious collections of articles from the magazine. The first volume focused on very high-end builds of A.T.’s from the TV series.
Color, 130 pages
Hobby Japan Press, March 2012
A.T. Perfect Establishment Data II
装甲騎兵ボトムズ AT 完全設定資料集2
Strangely, this followup to the previous volume took seven years to appear and came from a different publisher than the first, but there’s nothing whatsoever to complain about. It’s a massive compendium of production art from Commando Vorct all the way through Phantom Arc and the 2010 OVAs, and even includes a rare look at designs from a contemporary pachinko game.
B&W with some color, 192 pages
Ichijinsha, June 2012
Votoms Perfect Models 02
Hobby Japan Mook 487
ボトムズ パーフェクト モデルズ 02
The second volume in this series from Hobby Japan expanded on the first with model builds based on OVA and game projects, from the 80s all the way through later years with Commando Vorct, Case Irvine, Votoms Finder, and more.
Color, 138 pages
Hobby Japan Press, Feb 2013
Master File Armored Trooper
ATM-09-ST Scopedog
マスターファイル アーマードトルーパー
ATM-09-ST スコープドッグ
The gimmick behind the Master File series is to choose a lead robot from a popular anime series and give it a thorough in-universe examination with research articles, sophisticated CG graphics, and illustrations that explore its function and technology to the limit of the printed page. Highly recommended.
Color, 128 pages
SB Creative, Feb 2015
A.T. Votoms
Philosopher on the Battlefield
装甲騎兵ボトムズ 戦場の哲学者
Ryosuke Takahashi returned to Votoms in 2016 with a novella titled Philosopher on the Battlefield, and this book is a huge “fleshing out” of the story. Heavy illustrated and blessed with a fresh round of mecha design by Kunio Okawara, it’s akin to an art book for an anime series that never existed. More’s the pity.
Color and B&W, 128 pages
SB Creative, Nov 2016
A.T. Votoms Side Story • Blue Knight
in the Three Dimensional World
Hobby Japan Mook 1089
装甲騎兵ボトムズ外伝 青の騎士ベルゼルガ物語3D
Amazingly, the 2010s brought us revival of the first-ever Votoms side story from the 80s, Blue Knight Berserga, in the form of elaborate 1/35 and 1/24 scale model kits. The kind we would have gotten if it had actually made it to anime, which it still hasn’t. Nevertheless, Hobby Japan covered them over many issues and collected all the articles into this handsome standalone volume. Let’s hope it’s not the last.
Color, 98 pages
Hobby Japan Press, June 2021
Votoms Archives
ボトムズアーカイヴス
Published to mark the 40th anniversary, this photobook from Model Graphix magazine collects big, shiny articles spanning from 2005 to 2021. Order it here.
Color, 96 pages
Dainippon Kaiga Co. Ltd., Sept 2023
A.T. Votoms 40th Anniversary Exhibition
Program book
This pamphlet accompanied an exhibition that took place in September 2023, featuring art and model displays to mark the 40th anniversary of the debut. The content alternates between coverage of the various anime projects and interviews with key staff members.
Color, 48 pages
Sunrise/Bandai Namco, Sept 2023
Votoms 40th Anniversary Exhibition
Diorama Works
装甲騎兵ボトムズ40周年展 ディオラマ作品集
Recognize that cover? It’s a recreation of Kunio Okawara’s new 40th anniversary painting that appeared on the program book, but made with model kits. Hobby Japan published this book as a photo-document of the elaborate dioramas that were displayed at the 40th Anniversary Exhibition, each of which recreates a scene from anime. Order it here.
Color, 98 pages
Hobby Japan Press, Dec 2023
The pictures for Votoms Perfect Models 01 and 02 are switched.