Gravion

Soldiers of the Gran Knights, Combine!

Chōjūshin (Super-Heavy God) Gravion is a 12-episode Super Robot series released in 2002 by GONZO (the animation studio, not the Muppet). Think GaoGaiGar loaded with maids instead of Hot-Blooded Autobot Expies.

The Earth's about to come under attack by an alien race called the Zeravire. However, a mysterious billionaire named Klein Sandman has prepared for the invasion with God Gravion, a Super Robot that uses the power of gravity to fight. The protagonist is Eiji Shigure, a young man who infiltrates Sandman's St. Germain Castle in search of his missing older sister Ayaka, and is recruited as part of the Gran Knights. The story is given a different slant: although Eiji is the main character, he's effectively The Lancer of this particular Six Man Band, piloting the G-Attacker, the God Gravion's right leg, rather than being the main pilot.

The series seems to come to an abrupt end, but is concluded in the 12-episode sequel Gravion Zwei, which answers many of the series' major mysteries and finally promotes Eiji to the actual lancer seat of the Sol Gravion.

Some of the characters make cameos in Dancougar Nova, the remake/sequel to Dancougar, and some viewers consider it to be the unoffical "third season" of the show.

Most definitely not to be confused with Gravitation.

Tropes used in Gravion include:

• Absolute Cleavage: Mizuki. All but one of her outfits reveal a copious amounts of cleavage, and the fact that she has a lot to show helps.
• Achilles in His Tent: Okay, being pissed at Touga for attempting to kill Cecile along with that Zeravire is understandable. But leaving the team to fight a more powerful Zeravire by themselves? What The Hell, Eiji?
• Ambiguously Gay: Jose, the Ambiguously Brown Dark-Skinned Blond who loves soccer, is somewhat flamboyant in his mannerisms.
• Ascended Fanboy: Sandman might as well be an older Ryuusei Date.
  • Alex Smith, recurring Mauve Shirt: He eats natto while dressed like Terry Bogard and fanboys Gravion. Then he turns out to be a Gran Trooper (who is absolutely thrilled to shake Gravion's hand).
• Attractive Bent Gender: Eiji and Touga looks pretty good in a dress; Alex unknowingly hits on them - Eiji twice - and the maintenance crew of the Minerva even tries to pick them up in Super Robot Wars Z.
• Badass: All bearers of the G-Factor, and those capable of wielding graviton energy.
  • Badass Crew: The Gran Knights, as well as the Gran Troopers of Zwei.
  • Cultured Badass: Sandman.
• Becoming the Mask: What happens when you put on Raven's mask.
  • Mizuki, sent to spy on the Gran Knights, truly starts feeling like she belongs there.)
• Bishie Sparkle: Sandman gets these a few times. Cue mass Squee from his Maid Corps.
• Blind Idiot Translation: The very first episode features the infamous "Status Clitical" emergency screen.
• Bridge Bunnies: The above-mentioned Maid Corps.
• Brother-Sister Incest: Hugi towards Lufira, his younger sister. The fact that it's a robot does not change the fact that he still made out with a fawning robot he created and programmed who looks exactly like his younger sister.
• Big Sister Complex: Eiji's search for Ayaka is what brings him to the castle.
• Bottle Fairy: Mizuki Tachibana.
• Boobs of Steel: The bustiest maid in the series is cookie, who is shown to have super strength and is head of the security division. The bustiest female member of the grand knights, by a wide margin is Mizuki, who is the only female grand knight shown to be proficient in any hand to hand combat.
• Cain and Abel: Hugi and Sandman.
• Calling Your Attacks: This is a Super Robot show.
• Chaste Hero: Touga, justified because his training didn't include socialization; the closest he gets to romantic intent is obliviously asking Eiji to "marry him."
• Chest Blaster: God Gravion's Graviton Arc and Sol Gravion's Sol Graviton Nova.
• Combining Mecha: Naturally, the Gravions.
• The Comically Serious: Raven.
• Death Seeker: Hugi and Sandman.
• Dojikko: Eina.
• Drill Tank: G-Driller.
• Dropped a Bridget On Him: Drops them on the audience surprisingly often.
• Eleventh-Hour Superpower: The Chōjūken in Gravion and Ultimate Gravion in Zwei.
• Expy: Compatible Kaiser and G Compatible Kaiser of the Original Generation sub-series bears striking similarities and attacks to the God Gravion and Sol Gravion respectively. It helps that Masami Obari, Gravion's director and character/mecha designer, was tasked by Banpresto to redesign the Kaiser.
  • Sandman is like taking Masaki Andoh, Shu Shirakawa, and Ryusei and smashing the result into a single character
• Fan Service: A signature of any work by Obari.
  • Just to give you an idea: The cover for the DVD release features the main female cast at the beach, with Faye and Luna taking each other's bikini tops off. God Gravion is faintly in the background, as if to assure you that this show is about giant robot fights.
• Form-Fitting Wardrobe: Ayaka as Raven, whose breasts are hidden by the top she wears as Raven.
• Gainaxing: In abundance.
• Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Raven snaps Sandman out of his BSOD; Eiji does likewise for Touga.
• Gratuitous English: Notably Faye Xin Lu's Catch Phrase: "Jack Off", which the dub mercifully avoided.
• Heroic BSOD: Touga, Leele... and Sandman.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Eina; she gets better.
• Hey, It's That Voice!: Chief among them: Hikaru Midorikawa, Kenichi Suzumura, Jun Fukuyama, Yuu Asakawa, Houko Kuwashima, Show Hayami and Michiko Neya among others.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Hugi manages to get multiple hoistings in the same scene: The failsafe device that shuts down the Genocidron System, upon seeing Leele, causes the core of Goma to stop functioning and get destroyed. His Ridiculously Human Robot clone of his Dead Little Sister stops him from killing Sandman due to Instant AI, Just Add Water, and since he was also plugged into Goma's core it weakens him enough for Sandman to cut him down. Add in the fact he revealed himself the Big Bad just to lure Sandman out to fight...
• Human Aliens: Sandman, Leele and Hugi, as well as the population of Selias and Llambias.
• Idiot Ball: Gravion episode 10. Hey, Eiji, you don't want to the captured Cecile to be killed when Gravion is forced to make it's attack? How about running in and getting her out of there instead of standing around and yelling for Touga not to attack? Okay, good, you've reached and freed her. Now it's time to run away as fast as--why the hell are you pointing a gun at Gravion?! Move! Get off the giant monster!
• Idiot Hero: Touga takes this to the point of Genius Ditz.
• JAM Project: Both openings - Nageki no Rosario and Kurenai no Kiba - and both insert songs, appropriately named Gasshin! God Gravion and Enkou Gasshin! Sol Gravion. They also sing Dangai no Tsurugi from the pachislot game.
• Latex Space Suit: All pilot's suits, which has Fan Service for both sexes.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Sandman is Leele's.
• Male Gaze: Other than pilot Alex, it's completely inverted; it's generally the girls who stare in awe at Klein Sandmann.
• Marshmallow Hell: When crowding in a narrow vehicle, Mizuki puts Eiji's head between her boobs.
• Mauve Shirt: EFA pilot Alex; the Gran Troopers.
• Maid Corps: And how!
• Meido
• Mid-Season Upgrade: Sol Gravion.
• Missed the Call: Faye missed the call, though not for lack of jumping; but Sandman chose Touga as Gran Kaiser pilot at the last minute.
• The Mole: Mizuki's actually a spy for the EFA.
  • Welcome Back, Traitor: Though admittedly, she's just broken Luna out of the EFA base.
• Motion Capture Mecha: Gran Kaiser and Gran Sigma.
• Ms. Fanservice: Mizuki.
• Mysterious Waif: Leele.
• Myth Arc: It takes all of both seasons for Eiji to finally find his sister Ayaka.
• Off-Model: Tragically there are quite a few, mostly involving Touga's face or Mizuki's boobs.
• Pigeonholed Voice Actor: Mizuki is a super busty Ms. Fanservice and is a variation of Tall, Dark and Bishoujo, so it's not surprising that her seiyuu is Yuu Asakawa.
• Power Crystal
• Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Sandman's at least 400 years old and implied to have lived for millennium.
• Redemption Equals Death: Played straight when Hugi dies and we find his excesses were powered by Cybernetics Eat Your Soul; subverted when Sandman tries it and gets talked down.
• Ridiculously-Human Robots: Eina and the present-day 'Lufira'.
• Robeasts: Warrior-class Zeravire.
• Rocket Punch: Gravion's Graviton Pressure Punch and Sol Gravion's Graviton Tornado Punch.
• Say My Name: Occurs often, but "Hugi-niisan!" probably takes the cake.
• Shower of Angst: Faye gets one.
• Shout-Out: Gravion is losing badly against an enemy, when a new robot piloted by a mysterious person comes out of nowhere and saves the day. Mecha fanboy Alex immediately nicknames the newcomer "Great Gravion", effectively pointing out the reference to the last episode of Mazinger Z.
• Sky Surfing: G-Gradius.
• Super Prototype: .Gran Sigma, though the God Gravion itself is a prototype.
• Super Robot Wars: Both seasons debut in Super Robot Wars Z, with Zwei returning for the sequel. Also, Obari did the redesign for the Compatible Kaiser in the Original Generation sub-series, and one of the Bridge Bunnies makes a cameo in the anime adaptation of the second Original Generation game (also directed by Obari).
• Spy Catsuit: Mizuki wears an extremely Stripperific version, particularly noticable in Zwei's OP.
• This Is a Drill: .G-Driller and Geo Javelin.
• Token Mini-Moe: This series has three of them. Anya is a genki Curtains Match the Window Fiery Redhead with Girlish Pigtails. Brigitta is just as genki and has Odango Hair as well as Purple Eyes. Cecile is a Raven Hair, Ivory Skin beauty, has Curtains Match the Window black eyes with elegant hair and acts proper if a bit shy. All of them are Meido in Sandmann's castle. And at least the first two are quite obsessed with Eiji's "physicals". Make of that what you will.
• Transformation Name Announcement: Sandman always wanted to do it once: He gets to.
• Transforming Mecha: The Gran Troopers get the jet/robot modes.
• Whip It Good: God Gravion's Graviton Viper.
• The White Prince: Touga. He even lives in a castle!
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Touga winds up in a dress more often than you'd think, and he never seems to mind.
• Wrench Wench: Thoria.