Gekiganger 3

"Let's Gekiga In!"

A Show Within a Show to Martian Successor Nadesico, Gekiganger 3 is an affectionate pastiche of Super Robot anime of the 1970s and 1980s. An OVA was released in 1998 which compiled all the Gekiganger 3 clips seen in Nadesico in chronological order and included a Short Anime Movie.

The ancient Super-Paleolithic people predicted that the alien Kyo'akk empire would invade the planet and left behind plans for a Super Robot, Gekiganger III, to stop them. Professor Kokubunji builds it, and Hot-Blooded pilots Ken Tenku, Joe Umitsubame, and Akira Daichi take it into battle against the mecha monsters of Prince Akara and his overlord, Emperor Hyperion. Midway through the series, Joe is killed and the Gekiganger III is destroyed only to be replaced with Gekiganger V and new pilot Tetsuya Ryuuzaki.

Sounds exactly like every other Super Robot series out there, right? Good, that's the point.

The OVA movie (with the Framing Device of the Nadesico cast seeing the movie in a theater) features the return of the Super-Paleolithic people, who attack both the humans and the Kyo'akks in an attempt to reclaim the world. Akara must temporarily join forces with the Gekiganger team to stop them.

Title completeness aside, not to be confused with Juken Sentai Gekiranger.


This Show Within a Show includes examples of:

Anime series that receive a Shout-Out in Gekiganger 3 include:

  • Combattler V and Voltes V: The villains are similar to those of these series; Gekiga Jet, Marine, Tank = Combattler V's Battle Jet, Marine, Tank; Gekiganger V's name comes from Combattler V and upon its appearance performs the same pose; Gekigan Sword = Voltes V's Tenkuu Ken, which also gave its name to Gekiganger's hero. And "Let's Gekiga In" is a play on Voltes V's "Let's Volt In".
  • Daitarn 3: the logo for the show is very similar in the design for the "3"
  • Devilman: Gekigan Cutter = Devil Cutter.
  • Getter Robo: the three-machine/three-robot system; the character archetypes of the pilots and supporters; Gekigan Vision = Getter Vision; one of Rikuganger's finishing moves is named for Musashi; the death and replacement of a main character (though not the same archetype); the final pose in Gekiganger's transformation sequence is the same as that of Getter Robo G; Cowboy Johnny/Texas Robo = Jack King/Texas Mack.
  • Mazinger Z: Gekigan Fire, Gekigan Punch, Gekigan Beam = Breast Fire, Rocket Punch, Koshiryoku / Photo-Atomic Beam; "Gekiganger Dies In Flames!" = "Kouji Kabuto Dies In Lava!"; The movie has a similar plot to one of the Mazinger Z movies and begins with a similar opening sequence. The Gekigan Sword is also deployed from the side of the knee, just like the Mazinger Blades. Joe's Big Damn Heroes moment at the end of the series is similar to Tetsuya and Great Mazinger's introduction in the Mazinger Z movie as well.
  • Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The Hero and The Lancer are Ken and Joe, respectively. And Joe dies and returns...
    This article is issued from Allthetropes. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.