Released and Relinquished Part 2: GaoGaiGar

There is a convention in a couple weeks near me known as Nekocon, me and my friend Digitalboy applied to run a panel there. Our idea is “Released and Relinquished.” We will talk about great shows that were released on DVD in the US only to be totally ignored. Some are shows that faded from attention fast, and some are shows that posted such miserable sales that you can still find copies everywhere simply because no one can get rid of the stock!

So we decided that in order to test the waters and get things ready for the panel we are going to run a series of crossover blog posts on all the shows we will be talking about. There are going to be 8 shows in total, which comes down to 4 posts a person. Be sure to check out his first post right here on The SoulTaker. And without further ado let's talk about my first show GaoGaiGar!

The Cover of Volume 1 of GaoGaiGar

If you have listened to any of the podcasts here on The Gaming Dungeon you will know that GaoGaiGar is one of my personal favorite shows. It is a epic story filled with old school super robot action. GaoGaiGar is the story of two characters: Mamoru Amami who was left by the robot Galeon with foster parents and seems to have some sort of mysterious powers, and Guy Shishioh a former astronaut who was injured and was saved by Galeon. Guy was turned into a Cyborg after his injury is given the ability to fuze with Galeon and form GaiGar. After Guy and Galeon fuze they are able to perform what is know as a Final Fusion with other machines in order to form the ultimate robot, GaoGaiGar.

The story of GaoGaiGar follows these two as they battle a parasitic race of aliens known as Zonders who are hell bent on turning the entire planet into Zonders. The story isn't the most engrossing at first but once it latches into you it will not let go until you finish. There is a huge cast of characters including all of Mamoru's classmates a from school and a set of super advanced robots that are a ton of fun to watch.

There is a warning that must be put on this show. The first half while good is actually quite monster of the week. Some people do struggle with it at first but the payoff for doing so in great. The second story arc is where the real meat is and it is one of the most awesome stories out there. You get a taste of what is really happening in the first half but the second half is when everything starts to really come together and the reality of it all starts to really sink in. If you are a fan of shows like Gurren Laggan and enjoy that hotblooded attitude it is highly recommended to stick with it because you will not regret it come the end of the story.

The most tragic thing about GaoGaiGar is how poorly it sold when it was first released. Media Blasters made a questionable decision at first to release the show in singles and dub it. It was essentially a huge flop when it first came out. Thankfully they decided to give the show another chance and re-released the first part in a boxset a few months after the singles. It did well enough that they released the second half, though the second half was not dubbed like the first. Things seem to be looking up and the chances of us getting GaoGaiGar FINAL, which is the sequel, in the US seem to be half decent now but the more people that go out and buy the show the better that chance is. The two sets are still in print and easy to find at most online DVD retailers.

Thank you for your time and be sure to check out part three at Fuzakenna tomorrow.

Comments

[ElliotPage]

As someone who imported both box sets to the uk (and incurred hilarious shipping charges doing so) I applaud this post and encourage readers to buy this show right now.
I marathoned the last 20 episodes in one awesome arm-pumping, attack-screaming and
tear shedding session. Magnificent.

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