UFO Robo Grendizer

I first saw UFO Robo Grendizer in the 1970s when I was living in France where it is called Goldorak. I'm pretty sure that I only saw episodes from the first season at that time. I had toys and sticker books related to the show when I lived in France but I no longer have any of them. I never forgot the show but it wasn't until I found a set of DVDs (mid-2010s) that I was able to revisit the show. I recall most of the characters from when I was younger but the stories other than the basic premise of the show don't bring back any memories for me.

According to my research, the show originally aired weekly from Oct 1975 to Feb 1977 in Japan. I can't find any evidence that it was divided into seasons at that time. The opening and closing credits change and a major character is introduced in what I have labeled episode 2.23. See notes below for more about that episode. My breakdown of the episodes into seasons is based on what I have found on French web sites.

Here are some resources I have found for UFO Robo Grendizer:
  • Wikirak - this is an extensive wiki for the show. It is written in French but there are ways to change the website so that it displays in a language of your choice. This is the best resource I have found to date.
  • One things to note about Wikirak and the French version of the show is that they changed the names of most if not all of the characters. (Need to add table showing French names of the characters.)
  • Wikipedia article (English)

Jan 23, 2024 - I just learned that there is a reboot of Grendizer planned called Grendizer U. It is due to be released later this year. It look like they are going to change a number of the story elements but they are at least going to maintain a number of the character names. There is even a character that looks like Lady Gandal as she was depicted in the first season of the original show. All four members of the Grendizer team from the original show are going to be in the reboot but it is unclear to me how similar they will be to the characters in the original show.

There is a teaser video or two out there. I have no idea at this time if this is going to be a movie or a TV show or how many episodes it will be if it is a TV show. It looks like they are going to incorporate elements of Mazinger Z, a show that was related to Grendizer but that I have not seen.


Viewing Schedule

2017
2023
2024

The titles for the episodes above are from the DVDs. Alternate titles can be found online and sometimes are quite different from the ones on the DVDs. 

Key Episodes - These are the episodes identified by Wikirak as the most important ones.
  • Season 1
    • 1 - introduction of all the characters including Kouji and his ties to the series Mazinger Z
    • 2 - Kouji learns about Daisuke's real identity and the first glimpse at the origins of Grendizer
    • 4 - Daisuke and Kouji finally put aside their differences and become friends
    • 7 - Blaki, worried that someone else will defeat Grandizer, stabs Captain Gorman in the back
    • 9 - explanation of the difference between the manned and unmanned saucer beasts
    • 11 - a weakness is revealed when the Vegans cause a solar eclipse; first appearance of the asporat ?
    • 15 - more background is presented on the Vegans and the lengths to which they are willing to go
    • 18 - Route 7, the first alternate exit used, makes its first appearance
    • 23 - Hikaru learns that Daisuke is from another planet
    • 25 - more background about Duke Fleed is presented when a friend from his childhood come to Earth
    • 26 - Professor Umon sends Kouji on a mission to build a space station orbiting Earth

  • Season 2
    • 1 - the TFO is destroyed in battle; Hikaru gets a blood transfusion from Daisuke; Blaki is killed
    • 2 - new look for Lady Gandal; Zuril introduced; Danbei finally realizes how dangerous the Vegans are 
    • 4 - Duke Fleed's childhood injury introduced; Kouji builds a new spaceship only to see it destroyed in battle
    • 9 - Double Spazer (Kouji's new spaceship) introduced
    • 10 - the Vegans discover one of Grendizer's vulnerabilities; Grendizer and Double Spazer combine for the first time
    • 11 - Kouji gets injured in battle; Hikaru takes his place aboard Double Spazer and saves the day
    • 12 - Hikaru pilots Double Spazer for a second time and helps Duke Fleed and Grendizer defeat a saucer beast
    • 13 - Hikaru uses the dune buggy and its armaments to help defend the Space Science Center from a Vegan attack; Daisuke agrees to let her join the team
    • 14 - Marine Spazer introduced 
    • 15 - Hikaru trains and eventually joins the fight (in Marine Spazer) to protect the Earth
    • 16 - Space Science Center gets upgraded defenses; Gandal joins the fight in a saucer beast
    • 19 - Drill Spazer introduced
    • 23 - Duke Fleed meets Grace Maria Fleed, his sister, for the first time in years
    • 24 - Maria joins the team and becomes the pilot of Drill Spazer
    • 26 - The planet Vega is destroyed. The Vegan emperor, Vega Daio, and his surviving armies move to Skull Moon Base and begin to plot the invasion of Earth

  • Season 3
    • 1 - Gandal and Zuril kill Dantus rather than see his plan succeed
    • 2 - Gandal and Zuril establish a secret underwater base and fool Duke Fleed and his allies into thinking they have destroyed it
    • 3 - Gandal sabotages Zuril's plans
    • 4 - The Grendizer team travels to Switzerland for a scientific conference to promote the use of satellites to monitor the Earth and protect it from the Vegan fleet
    • 14 - The Grendizer team discovers evidence of the Vegans secret undersea base
    • 15 - The Grendizer team destroys the undersea Vegan base 
    • 17 - 
    • 19 - The origin and the final appearance of the Red Eschar
    • 20 - The introduction (and death) of Princess Rubina and the death of Zuril
    • 21 - The introduction of Cosmo Special Spazer
    • 22 - The Vegans are finally defeated, Cosmo Special Spazer launches for the first time, the Fleed siblings leave Earth and head back to Planet Fleed

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