Gekigangar III

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Gekigangar III is a "meta-anime" of the anime series Martian Successor Nadesico that plays a critical part in the plot thereof. Initially, only Gai Daigoji and Akito Tenkawa are depicted as enjoying the series. After Gai's death, then Hikaru becomes the other resident anime fanatic.

It is often debated how Gekigangar is actually spelled. In the series, many times is it seen on posters or otherwise as Gekiganger, despite the Kana for the title saying "Ge-ki-ga-n-gaa" (both the ER and the AR sound are represented with the Kana for the letter A, followed by a dash to represent the stressing of the sound).

The story is as follows. Many years ago, the Super Paleolithic Empire resided at some point on Earth, and foresaw the coming of the Kyo'Akk Empire's troops from the Dark String Universe. As a defence measure, they left behind designs for a super robot in a cave deep beneath the Earth in the form of a rock carving. Years later, Professor Kokubunji, and a team of archaologists (which included some students) found this cave, and using these designs, built the super robot Gekigangar III, which was to be piloted by three students: Tenku Ken, Umitsubame Joe, and Daichi Akira.

Each one of them pilots one of the three lesser machines (Gekigan Jet, Gekigan Marine, and Gekigan Tank respectively) that combine into one of three different forms depending on their configuration. Whoever pilots the head section is usually the one in dominant control. With one person

The most powerful form, Gekigangar III, is formed with Jet as the head and torso, Marine as its waist and upper legs, and Tank as its lower legs. This form specializes in air combat.

Umigangar, the fastest yet weakest form, is formed with Marine as the head and torso, Tank as the waist and Jet as the legs. Most proficient in undersea combat, or any situation in which speed is a necessity.

Rikugangar, the slowest yet strongest form, is created with Tank at the head and torso, Jet as the waist and Marine as the legs. Used when superior firepower or melee strength is needed.

Eventually the Kyo'Akk Empire's demonic mecha monsters attack at the order of Emperor Hyperion, with the evil Prince Akara at its head, with his own Super Robot, the Big Akara Special, and his sidekick, Mii-e Mii-e, who is hopelessly in love with him.

And so, the constant war wages, with the Gekigangar team fighting more and more unusual mecha monsters every episode, with the group facing other challenges in their personal lives outside of the combat. For example, near the beginning of the series, Nanako, Professor Kokubunji's granddaughter, seems to have feelings for Ken, and vice versa, but later on it is seen that she falls in love with Joe.

At first, Ken and Joe find it hard to sit in one another's company, and eventually exchange fisticuffs on the beach after another fight against the Kyo'Akk. When they compliment each other on their fighting skills, they stop fighting and develop a friendship.

In one episode, Joe finds out that he's actually an alien from another civilization when he and the team go up against another robot sent by the Dark String Universe. The pilot of this robot, Sapphire, used to be a part of that civilization until it was conquered by the Kyoakk. She falls in love with Joe during the course of the episode, and eventually self-destructs rather than destroying Gekigangar as was ordered, so that Joe may live.

In another episode, Prince Akara, disguised as school student Akara Ginji, enrolls into the Gekiganger 3 team's school, and discovers that humans have emotions, and know how to love. In this same episode, Mii-e Mii-e attacks the city with another monster hidden by Akara, which results in her death at the hands of Gekigangar. Akara, now realising his love for her, vows revenge upon Ken and Gekigangar. In the next episode, after a dramatic duel between the two, he is killed. One of the most quoted lines in Nadesico from Gekiganger is spoken here by Ken: "Had we been born at another time or place, we may have been friends."

Come episode 27, the Kyo'Akk army has been taken over by General Masaka, and he succeeds in heavily damaging Gekigangar to a great extent, and his final attack impales Gekigangar through the waist, directly through Joe's cockpit and him. With his final breath, he orders Ken to use Gekigan Flare, which defeats Masaka. In the episode's final scene, Ken is seen holding Joe in his arms, and both he and Akira weeping in mourning, with the setting sun behind them. A faint image of Joe is seen on the horizon, showing the viewer that he will always be alive in spirit.

With Gekigangar heavily damaged, and one of the team members lost, it is dangerous to linger as the Kyo'Akk forces make their advance. With the newly built Gekiganger V, and a new pilot Ryuzaki Tetsuya, they continue to show that justice and passion prevail over all.

As Nadesico progresses, we find that the very reason the Jovians (who are really humans) are attacking Earth is because they believe their cause to be just and they idolize the Gekigangar anime series. Toward the end, even Captain Yurika is a Gekigangar otaku. In the end, the Gekigangar series becomes a lesson on why people should not let anime become their moral code.

Trivia:

The various Gekigangar clips that were shown throughout the Nadesico series were later compiled together into an OVA.

The title, Gekigangar is a parody name with Gekiga and "-er" combined meaning "people of/from serious manga".

Gekigangar, created as a parody of the early Super Robot genre, shares a great many similarities to some of the most well-known titles from that era. At the onset of the series, Gekigangar III is almost a clone of Go Nagai's Getter Robo. The combination of the three machines into three different robots is the most obvious testament to that effect. Each main character also follows the visual and personal archetype of a character from Getter Robo. The death of Joe and subsequent recruitment of Tetsuya runs parallel to the events at the end of Getter Robo and the beginning of Getter Robo G (they replacing Tomoe Musashi and Kuruma Benkei, respectively.) After this, Gekigangar is redubbed "Gekigangar V," an homage to two of the three works in Nagahama Tadao's "Romance Robot Trilogy" (Combattler V and Voltes V.) Similarly, many of Gekigangar's attacks are synonimous with other famous super robot special moves, such as:

Gekigan Punch - Rocket Punch (Mazinger Z); Gekigan Cutters - Shoulder Boomerang (UFO Robo Grendizer); Gekigan Beam - Kyoshiroku Beam (Mazinger Z); Gekigan Flare - Shine Spark (Getter Robo G)

Name Meanings: Tenku Ken (A pun on the Martial Art, as well as the name of Voltes V's sword), Umitsubame Joe (Umitsubame = Sea Swallow) and Daichi Akira (Daichi = Earth). Ryuzaki Tetsuya is a combination of the names of two Super Robot pilots, Ryuzaki Kazuya from Tosho Daimos and Tetsuya Tsurugi from Great Mazinger.ja:ゲキ・ガンガー3 zh:激鋼牙3