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Monday, November 28, 2022

Dangaioh Volume I

Haja Taisei Dangaioh 破邪大星ダンガイオー Artmic (1987)

Haja Taisei Dangaioh is a three part OVA released in 1987 featuring anime power houses Toshihiro Hirano as Character designer, Mecha designer Shoji Kawamori and Masami Obari as director.

The story begins when a young girl named Mia Alice awakens and finds herself being instructed to proceed to a hanger to find and board the "Dan-Mechanics" before the planetoid they are on explodes.

While being threatened by a menacing looking robot, she is saved by Roll Kran, a boy who seems to gather great amounts of destructive energy by running towards his opponents.

Hammer time!!!

As the two introduce each other they find about the only thing that the two can remember are their names.

The pair run to escapes trying to avoid the sentry robots that act as obstacles to their escape. The voice tells them that he is Professor Tarsan, their creator and that this is an evaluation test.

Along the way they meet a young girl Named Lamed Lamba Nom, who has the ability to release energy blasts through her fingers.

Together the trio run into the fourth member of their band Pai Thunder, a young woman possessing incredible strength.


Mia Alice


Roll Kran


Lamba Nom


Pai Thunder


When all four members manage to reach the hanger they are surrounded by group of heavily armed robots blocking the way. With Lamba  low on energy, Roll not having the running room, Pai urges Mia to use her abilities which have not yet come to light. 

As the mechanical menace nears the quartet Mia's power activates. She manages to generate an explosive repelling field taking out the enemies while the whole team escapes with seconds to spare.












Later all four are gathered in the presence of Professor Tarsan and his assistants, Yoldo, Deela and Gil Berg on his ship.

The Professor explains that the four are the products of his creation, and refers to them as his children. Pai is taken aback, but the professor explains that they were newly created and touts them as being his most powerful weapons.


Professor Tarsan

When Pai asks if that makes them robots, the Professors states that they are more like augmented humans.


Deela and Yoldo


Gil Berg


As the Professor is explaining how he intends to sell them to a gang of Space Pirates called The Bunker, Mia experiences a psychic flashback of her past. She recalls being born on Earth and realizes the Professor's story is a lie.

She is called back to reality when the Professor yells at her to pay attention. Gil notices the flashback as he too has a psychic connection. Tarasan tells them that they are on their way to the Space Pirates location and dismisses the group.

While Mia lies in her quarters she is visited by Gil. He reveals to Mia that he  is a cyborg and that he wishes to be the one to be chosen by the Bunkers as their new weapon.














He puts her in a choke hold and then tells Mia to report her findings of her memory recall to Professor Tarsan so that he can do a memory purge and he take her place.

Mia has no intention of being a weapon or having her memory purged so she refuses. This angers Gil and he tightens his grip but she manages to use her powers to throw him back against the wall rendering him unconscious.

The rest of the group gather and decide they need to escape. they board the Dan-Mechanics and make a run for it.

The professor Panics and sends Deela and Yoldo to capture them.

In the meantime he realizes that his merchandise is gone and that he needs Gil to act as a substitute for the escapees.

The professor's ship flies towards an impressive fleet owned by the Space Pirates.

As the Dan-Mechanic team escapes the Professor, along with Gil meets with Captain Garimos of the Bunker Space Pirates.

Bunker Space fleet

When asked about the new weapons Tarsan admits that they have escaped. This does not please Garimos. Tarsan assures them that they will be captured and returned and Gil offers the Pirates his services in lieu of the four youths.

Captain Garimos

Garimos spares Tarsan's life, but asks Gil what assurances they have that he will not betray them. Gill shows his loyalty by ripping out and crushing his biological eye. Impressed they take him into their service.

Before he is dismissed Tarsan is asked by the Captain if the girl was one of the four traitors. He admits that the memory purge that was supposed to enhance their esper powers didn't work.

This leaves the captain in a VERY bad state.


Elsewhere, Gil is making plans to go to Earth in order to draw out the four espers, especially Mia Alice.

Captain Garimos face reveal

Deela and Yoldo manage to find the four youths over an alien world and try to subdue them. 

Deela and Yoldo's ship

The team decide to try to link their fighters up but find that they're unable to link properly. Mia clips her fighter on a statue and damages the ability to sync together. A well placed shot from the pursuers ship puts most of the other fighters out of action.














Roll manages to take himself out of the fight by running towards the enemy ship and missing.

The pursuers take advantage of the the grounded mechs and Yoldo deploys himself to take on the three remaining espers.

Pai takes on the giant with her brute strength and urges Mia to activate her powers. Mia is still reluctant as she is busy trying to revive the unconscious Roll.

Yoldo manages to get a hold of Pai, but as he starts to tighten his grip she receives a vision and suddenly remembers who she is. she then breaks free of his hold and delivers a devastating blow.


















Deela, angered over the death of her comrade decides to deploy a hyper napalm cannister, Mia activates her power to shield her friends and also tries save her enemy in the process.



Pai is galled that Mia has saved her foe but she insist that she does wish to be a killer. Deela  in a change of heart tells the team that they are not Tarsan's creations, and each of them were kidnapped from different planets. Lamba tries to get her to say where she's from but she dies before she can divulge anything.

Meanwhile Gil arrives on Earth and starts causing havoc in the hopes of goading Mia to come to him.


Pai decides to leave. She feels she no longer has any use for this team and Mia's pacifist attitude. She feels it is her duty to fight and leaves to head out to the Bunker Pirates departing from Mia and Lamba but taking Roll in tow.

To keep from being followed Pai disables the fighters for Lamba and Mia.

As Mia and Lamba are left stranded on the planet they are picked up by Professor Tarsan and the two girls force him to take them to the Bunker Pirates.



Pai makes her way to see Captain Garimos where she acknowledges him as her father. he addresses her by her real name Varius. garimos asks why she deserted Tarsan and she claims that it was because of the mind purge. Garimos states that a traitor cannot be trusted and sets up a test.

He asks her to kill Roll as a show of loyalty.

As she picks up the sword she starts to ruminate over how her only purpose is to be used as a tool, that her father sees her as nothing but a weapon and she remembers Mia's words about how she had no desire to be a killer.

She decides that she is Pai Thunder and No longer Varius. Garimos declares her a traitor and Mia and Lamba burst in just in time to for all four to escape.

Garimos laughs as he watches the Team escape as he knows they are heading for Earth to confront Gil.

On Earth Gil is causing havoc aboard his mech the Bloody One. He sees the four Dan-Mechanics heading his way and prepares for battle.

The team finally realize that in order to be effective they must fight as one. Four minds and four hearts must be as one. Mia calls out"Cross Fight Dangaioh!! They sync up and combine into the giant mecha. 

























Having formed the Mighty Dangaioh, the four are dismayed to find that only Roll has control of the mech.

Gil engages in the Bloody One, and makes his advance. Roll decides to counter with Dangaioh's Booster Knuckles (rocket fists) and when that fails he deploys the Dangai-Beam (head laser).
































Gil's mech is damaged so he deploys Bloody Two, a smaller robot hidden in the main mechs head, he ables to land a blow but Dangaioh manages to a surprise counter move.













































Gil retreats to dock back with Bloody One. Roll suggests the four of them pool their powers and launches a Psychic Wave which paralyses the enemy mech. Dangaioh then finishes by cleaving the other robot with his Psychic Sword. Gil dies cursing Mia.





The team says farewell to Mia but she declines to leave stating that they cannot form the Dangaioh without her. Tarsan shows up and offers to repair the Dangaioh and jokingly says that he has decided to sell them to the space force.

The team then separates and fly off with Tarsan in pursuit. 

While the anime itself is a very basic story line and plot it is the artwork and production values that are the standout for this feature.


Screen shots:




































In the anime world this show is very polarizing, people either love it or hate it and there's very few if any, in between.