Brave Raideen


Brave Raideen is a super robot anime series. Produced by Tohokushinsha, Asahi News Agency and Sunrise, it aired on NET from 4 April 1975 to 26 March 1976, with a total of 50 episodes. The official name being Raideen the Brave, it is mainly known as "Brave Raideen" or "Heroic Raydeen". A series called Raideen the Superior was broadcast from 1996 to 1997 on TV Tokyo, and another series called Reideen was broadcast in 2007 on WOWOW.

Story

After a slumber of twelve millennia, the Demon Empire awakens to seize control of the Earth. Raideen, the giant robot-like protector of the lost continent of Mu, senses the evil presence and awakens within its golden pyramid. A young Japanese boy, Akira Hibiki, is alerted about the Demon Empire by a mysterious voice and rushes to the pyramid. It is soon revealed that Akira is a descendant of the ancient people of Mu who must help Raideen save the Earth. Akira enters the robot by accelerating his motorcycle to a high speed and then throws himself upward, allowing a beam from the robot to pull him into the robot's head and into an internal cockpit from where he assumes control of Raideen. Akira is aided by Mari Sakurano, who happens to be the daughter of a prominent scientist, and his friends from the soccer club. Half way through the story the Demon Empire's master, Barao, is released from his statue prison and intends to finish what he started twelve thousand years earlier.

Mecha

Raideen

Raideen turns into an eagle-like jet for faster flight and often used for Raideen's finishing attacks.
A fighter that assists Raideen early into the series. It is armed with a variety of weapons.

Poindar

First premiers in episode 21 and is piloted by Araiso and the children of the series. Powers include an extendable boxing glove, claw hands for bashing, can be used as a submarine, a slingshot in the torso, and explosives attached to balloons.

Demon Empire Forces

The leader of the Demon Empire and appears in every episode starting with episode 2. He is an 800 meter tall demon from the Underworld that sought the power of the Star of Ra Mu and used his minions, primarily of dromes and demon robots, led by the demon brothers Gohrai and Gekido, and Baragon leading the fossil beasts and colossal monsters. If Kibango's origin in episode 24 indicates anything during these events it is that Barao had successfully kept at war with the Mu for at least two thousand years. Eventually the Mu managed to use the Star of Ra Mu to defeat Barao by imprisoning him in a statue until the events of the series and created Raideen to slay any future members of the Demon Empire that would eventually return; however, Raideen would require the control of someone half Mu and half human in order to operate to handle its power. Upon reawakening from his statue prison, Barao had lost his memories of Ra Mu, but still managed to recollect memories of his empire and those who served him. In episode 41 he begins to regain his memories due to the resurrection of Princess Lemuria.
For the first half of the series his powers included instilling life into rocks to create fossil beasts and eye heat rays when he was in his statue form until episode 27. Upon being released his powers included forming an entire island in a matter of seconds dubbed Demon Isle, psychically freezing weapons in mid air, seeing into other dimension, causing fissures, fusing colossal monsters together, manipulation of the elements, hand lightning bolts and energy beams, mouth flames that create flaming tornadoes, purple horn energy bolts and balls, a bow and arrow, a barbed boomerang, summoning flames from the middle cave of his island, a giant scythe, blade resistance, levitation, constricting roots from the lower half of his body, and a pair of broadswords with hidden saw blades.

Fossil Beasts

Raideen the Superior

A 38 episode remake aired as Raideen the Superior in 1996. This series was directed by Toshifumi Kawase. Five seemingly ordinary teenagers are actually superheroes called "Raideens" and their mission is to fight their enemy the so-called "Super Devils." This series was notably different than the original, more akin to a Super Sentai series or Tekkaman Blade than the original Raideen and was designed to attract a female audience akin to Gundam Wing, Samurai Troopers and Dagwon.

Reideen

On January 2007, a twenty-six episode series, simply titled Reideen, produced this time by Production I.G., began transmission. In this remake, Saiga Junki, a high school student with a gift in mathematics, learns that his archaeologist father, who disappeared years earlier, has died. When going to claim his remains at a pyramid dubbed "Japan's Pyramid," a meteor falls from the sky containing an evil life-form that seeks total destruction. Just as Saiga is put in danger by this life-form, the bracelet that his father left him reacts to the pyramid, and the titular robot is activated. It is now up to Saiga and Reideen to defend the Earth against the mysterious invaders.

International Release

Brave Raideen is considered the first super robot anime to reach a large U.S. audience directly. It was first broadcast in Honolulu, Hawaii on KIKU TV-13, which ran the series with English subtitles created and produced in-house. The series first hit the mainland in March 1976, Friday nights at 6:00 P.M. on Los Angeles's KWHY TV-22 and at 8:00 P.M. on San Francisco's KEMO TV-20. Later in 1976, Brave Raideen began running on KMUV TV-31 in Sacramento, California, as part of the station's Japanese-American programming. The series also aired similarly in Chicago, as well as broadcast as part of the Japanese programming on New York City's WNJU TV-47. The Stateside push was sponsored by Honolulu/Los Angeles-based Marukai Trading Co., Ltd., who distributed a large line of Japanese-produced merchandise to local retailers in localities airing Brave Raideen—including Popy's Jumbo Machinder, according to author August Ragone.

Merchandise

The original toy figures of Raideen were introduced to the mainstream U.S. market as part of the Shogun Warriors toyline during the late 1970s under the Mattel brand, as well as the Marvel Comics book based on said toyline.

Cultural Impact

In December 1994 police found a pamphlet at the headquarters of Aum Shinrikyo that included a song called "Sarin the Brave," a parody of Brave Raideen.