, popularly known simply as Voltes V (pronounced as "Voltez Five"), is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Company and animated by Nippon Sunrise (now known as Bandai Namco Filmworks and formerly known as Soeisha). It is the second installment of the Robot Romance Series created by Sabuo Yatsude. It is directed by Tadao Nagahama and produced by Yoshiyuki Tomino with character designs by Yuki Hijiri. It aired on TV Asahi and its affiliates from June 4 1977 to March 25 1978.
Voltes V grew into a cultural phenomenon in the Philippines since its airing in the country in 1978, and had achieved popularity as well in Indonesia and Cuba. A Philippine live-action adaptation, Voltes V: Legacy, premiered on GMA Network in May 2023; it was preceded by the film Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience, which compiled its initial few episodes, in April 2023.
Plot One day, a massive horde of flying saucers appears out of the depths of space and launches an invasion of the planet Earth. Despite the best efforts of the world's militaries and the Earth Defense Force under the Japanese Commander Oka, simultaneous deployments of the invaders' fleets of well-armed and highly mobile flying saucers devastate key strategic targets around the world and completely overwhelm the defenders. The invaders are aliens from the imperial planet Boazan, fighting under the command of the Boazanian emperor's ruthless nephew, Prince Heinel. With their victory all but assured, the Boazanian commanders retire to Castle Heinel, a secret underground citadel constructed by their agents in preparation for their conquest, and deploy the massive bio-mechanical "Attack Beast Knight Dokugaga" to destroy humanity's last bastion of resistance.
Unbeknownst to the Boazanians, however, are the efforts of Japanese scientists Mitsuyo Goh and Professor Hamaguchi, who have been working alongside Oka on a plan originally created by Mitsuyo's vanished husband, Dr. Kentaro Goh. Having forced her children, Kenichi, Daijiro, and Hiyoshi, to undergo a grueling training regimen alongside the American rodeo champion Ippei Mine and Commander Oka's daughter, Megumi Oka, it is revealed that all of their efforts up to this point were secretly meant to prepare Earth for this very eventuality. The scientists take the children to a top-secret base on the hidden island of Ootorijima known as "Big Falcon", where they reveal to the five Kentaro Goh's greatest life's work and humanity's last remaining hope for survival: the Super-Electromagnetic Robot, "Voltes V". Though it takes them some time to adjust to the controls, the five are able to work together and save the EDF from total destruction by finishing off Dokugaga with their powerful Heaven Sword, or Tenkuu-ken.
The Boazanians continue with a variety of strategies, attempting to defeat Earth's robust new robot, ever constructing new Beast Knights based on different animals. The Voltes team train to improve their teamwork and skill, learn more about the nature of the Boazanians and the Goh siblings' missing father. Professor Goh is revealed to have disappeared on a diplomatic mission to the planet Boazan itself, hoping to stop their impending invasion. Imprisoned by the Boazanian empire the entire time, he escapes from their control and attempts to return to Earth with several allies, but is waylaid by a breakaway force and taken prisoner by Heinel's traitorous science officer, Zuhl. Much of the second half of the series revolves around the Goh siblings desperately searching for their father, while he in turn works to oppose the invaders in secret.
Aside from its technological advancement, the planet Boazan is in fact very similar to Earth, and the native Boazanians are so like humanity that the two races can even healthily interbreed. The planet is wholly governed by an oligarchic monarchy with a cruel caste system: Boazanians born with horns are highly regarded and form an aristocratic elite, while the hornless are forced into slavery and worked to death on physically demanding tasks such as mining and construction. During a succession dispute between the highly-revered Chief Science Minister La Gour, son of the late emperor's brother, and Zu Zambajil, an illegitimate son of said emperor, it was discovered that despite La Gour's noble birth, he had been born hornless and had hidden the fact with prosthetics. Taking advantage of this fact to further his own quest for power, Zambajil had La Gour imprisoned and exiled his wife Rosalia, causing him great despair. After learning that Rosalia died while he was forced to work as a common slave, La Gour joined a band of hornless dissidents and subsequently led a daring insurrection against the empire, only to be easily thwarted by their vastly superior military. With no other options available to him, La Gour was forced to escape on a flying saucer and flee across the galaxy until he found himself on the faraway planet of Earth. Upon crash-landing, he was discovered by a Japanese scientist, and they fell in love. To blend in on Earth, La Gour exchanged his name for a Japanese one: Dr. Kentaro Goh. Thus, Dr. Goh's powerful technological advancements and knowledge of the oncoming alien invasion suddenly make sense, for he was once a native of that very planet himself.
Knowing that Zambajil's ambition was to rule a galactic empire, Goh quickly set into motion his plans to protect Earth from their eventual attack, and moreover, to someday finish what he started by returning to Boazan and liberating its oppressed underclass. Yet when Zambajil threatened to invade the earth unless Goh returned to work under him, Goh had no choice but to abandon his family. Refusing to work for the tyrannical ruler, Goh was once-again imprisoned and nearly executed, only to be saved by the remnants of the rebel army he had created right before his exile. It is here that he met the rebel General Dange, an aristocrat who cut off his horns to join the rebellion, and they left for their ill-fated return to Earth. Just when everyone else believes them to be dead, it is revealed that Goh and Dange have been working on the creation of a massive spaceship known as the Solar Bird, with which they hope to return to Boazan to topple its oppressive government once and for all.
Characters Voltes Team
The leader of the Voltes Team. Born on June 22, he is an 18 year old marksman, a motocross champion, an ace pilot, and the eldest of the three Goh brothers. During his younger years, Kenichi used to behave like a typical playful child and was prone to mischief, but the long absence of his father molded him into a more responsible son and older sibling. Stern and selfless, he is rarely one to indulge in personal pursuits that might be detrimental to their cause and he often decides on the best course of action in most of the team's numerous predicaments. Due to his headstrong temperament and unwavering resolve, Kenichi often clashes with the more cynical Ippei which often results in fierce fisticuffs but the two share no ill will and eventually get along better. Aside from his exceptional marksmanship and formidable barehanded fighting skills, Kenichi is also quite adept with the use of swords (he can hold his own against Heinel, an accomplished swordsman). His uniform is red and he pilots the (Head).
Born on November 24, Ippei is an 18-year-old rodeo champion, who was orphaned while still a young boy. His mother died trying to save him from a pack of wolves. After his mother's death, he grew bitter, aloof, but cool under crisis. He learned how to live in the streets and perform odd jobs. This kind of life strengthened his personality. Upon joining the rodeo, he learned to ride horses and how to use a whip. He found his greatest friend in a white stallion known as . The two, man and beast, became inseparable. He won two rodeo championship contests with Eiffel as his horse. Then one day, the Earth International Defense Force asked Ippei to join the team. When he refused, he was taken forcibly, so for the first time, Ippei and Eiffel were separated. Dr. Hamaguchi has Eiffel brought to Big Falcon early in the series and he has a rivalry with Kenichi. His uniform is blue and he pilots the (Arms).
Born on November 18, Daijiro is the second oldest of the Goh brothers and a 17 year old defense tactician. He was once a playful child, but Daijiro's outlook in life suddenly changed when his father disappeared. Alarmed by this change in his personality, Mrs. Goh sent him to live in the country where a martial arts master taught him different fighting styles and forms of meditation. Upon rejoining his brothers, Daijiro was already a master of different hand-to-hand fighting styles. The Bō became his favorite weapon. Together with Kenichi and Hiyoshi, Daijiro started training as a member of the Voltes V Team. His uniform is dark green and he pilots the (Body and Chest).
Born on October 20, Hiyoshi is the youngest of the Goh brothers and a 10 year old a genius in inventing automatons. He has been interested in learning mechanics, robotics, and electromagnetism since a very young age. He was considered a genius by many university professors. He even created a funny little octopus-robot called Tako-chan/Octo-1, but to his big brothers, Kenichi and Daijiro, Hiyoshi will always be a little brother, a child who never felt the warmth and love of a real father. He also excels in swimming and diving. Because of his exceptional talents, Hiyoshi was asked to join the Voltes V Team as a technical handyman, specifically for repairs during field operations. His uniform is light green and he pilots the (Legs).
Megumi is a 16 year old kunoichi and the 18th heir of the Kōga-ryū ninja. Born on May 17, Megumi received special training during her childhood. By the age of 13, she already possessed extraordinary skills and lightning reflexes. She also learned gentle arts from her mother. Through her mother's guidance, Megumi became a person with a calm yet alert disposition. Joining the Voltes V Team, she was the voice of reason among the male members, especially whenever Kenichi and Ippei were about to clash during personal conflicts. Her cool demeanor and uncanny skills qualified Megumi as the fifth (and only female) member of the Voltes V team. Her uniform is yellow with pink accents and she pilots the (Feet).
Allies /
The father of the three Goh brothers and a former Boazanian aristocrat. Being the son of the then reigning emperor's brother, La Gour was a privileged high-ranking royal-blooded Boazanian nobleman but had the great misfortune of being born without horns. Due to this perceived abnormality, La Gour's parents had him secretly outfitted with imitation horns in order to avoid stigma, scandal, and a life of forced labor. His aging uncle was not able to produce a legitimate male heir so despite La Gour's undisclosed imperfection, the latter was still groomed to be next in line to the Boazanian throne. The horned elites' extreme prejudice and severe maltreatment of the hornless slaves struck a chord in young La Gour's psyche; he began devoting his life into quelling societal discrimination in order to foster peace and equality between the two classes. Gifted with an extremely brilliant scientific mind, La Gour's academic excellence and unwavering work ethic eventually earned him the peerless title of Boazan's Chief Science Minister; majority of the planet's technological advancements (particularly in regards to the military sciences) can be attributed to his efforts. A horned noblewoman named Lozaria was married to La Gour and during their honeymoon, the latter reluctantly decided to be completely honest with his new wife by revealing his fake horns. Despite fears of being rejected, Lozaria's affections toward La Gour never wavered then reassured the latter that horned or hornless he was still the man that she chose to love; the couple enjoyed marital bliss for a while.