Starbirds aka Daimos...
I discovered Starbirds aka Daimos in a rental store some time in the late 80s...
I came across Starbirds sometime in the late 80s on dubbed VHS. I'm not sure why I even bothered with this feature, but, it's probably a contributing factor in my general disdain for the giant robot genre in anime. I gave Starbirds a 0 out of 5.
According to the Anime Bargain Bin...The Brahmins, the people who are known for their angel wings, have lost their home and have come to Earth in peace. What they seek is a treaty with the Earth people that would allow them refuge and a second home. Brahmin conspirators find an opportunity to seize power from their current king and systematically assassinate two great leaders during a Brahmin-Earth conference. The confusion that follows causes a tragic war between the Brahmins and the Earthlings, forcing Earth to unleash its secret weapon -- The Fighting King Daimos. Meanwhile, Daimos' pilot Ryuzaki Kazuya finds himself falling in love with a girl he rescues from a battle scene. Little does he know that Erika, the beauty who has effortlessly stolen his heart with her charming innocence, has a secret that would cause so much pain and suffering...
In 1982 several of the episodes were edited together into a 70 minute movie for TV and video distribution by New Hope Entertainment. The production duties were handled by Bunker Jenkins, ... with the same cast and crew that worked on his other anime adaptations...There are a few notable changes in the US version (there may be others)...
Piecing together footage from episodes; 01 ("Victory will be Ours Forever), 02 ("The Mysterious Girl Erika") and 06 ("Wipe Away Your Tears and Rise") with parts of the later additions comprising the climax. As usual character names are changed, now we have Kelly Hunter fighting off the Volarian invasion, led by Roderick, using his mighty robot Dynamo.
This movie, entitled Starbirds, was first seen in the U.S. where it was aired on the SHOWTIME network throughout the early 1980's... It wasn't until 1987 that the Bunker Jenkins version reached American stores from Hi-Tops Video the same distributor that had released Shadow World a year earlier. It has been long out of print although at some point it has been re-released on $1 DVD.
- Brahmin have had their names changed to Volarians.
- The Brahmin conspiracy has been removed from the story-line.
- The story has been changed so that the war can start immediately.
- Daimos has had its name changed to Dynamo.
- The opening theme has been removed.
I came across Starbirds sometime in the late 80s on dubbed VHS. I'm not sure why I even bothered with this feature, but, it's probably a contributing factor in my general disdain for the giant robot genre in anime. I gave Starbirds a 0 out of 5.
