Ask John: How Much Machine Robo Anime Exists?

Question:
How much Machine Robo anime is there? Why wasn’t all of Machine Robo: Revenge of Chronos series released?

Answer:
Detailing exactly how much Machine Robo anime exists is a little more complex than one may imagine because the Machine Robo anime franchise actually consists of several different, very loosely related franchises.

The Machine Robo franchise began with a short pilot film used as the basis for the 44 episode Machine Robo: Chronos no Daigyakushu (Machine Robo: Revenge of Chronos) television series, which premiered on July 3, 1986. Some of the robot characters from this original series were exported internationally by Tonka under the name “GoBots,” even spawning a successful 66 episode American cartoon series titled “Challenge of the GoBots,” produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions.

The original Machine Robo anime series was continued in two OVA series. In the three episode Leina Kenrou Densetsu (Leina: Wolf Sword Legend) series from 1988, protagonist characters Rom and Leina Stol transformed from humanoid robots into literal human beings. The Lightning Trap – Leina & Laika OVA, released on May 23, 1990, co-starred the human Leina Stol, and bore virtually no recognizable similarity to the original Machine Robo robot anime series.

A month after the original Machine Robo television series ended, the 31 episode Machine Robo: Butchigiri Battlehackers television series began. Butchigiri Battlehackers was a loose sequel that carried over some of the supporting characters from the first television series.

After the Butchigiri Battlehackers series ended in December 1987, the Machine Robo anime franchise went on hiatus until it was revived by the January 8, 2003 premier of the Shutsugeki! Machine Robo Rescue (Sortie! Machine Robot Rescue) television series, which aired 53 episodes and ended in January 2004. The Machine Robo Rescue series revived some of the robot character designs from the earlier anime, but established an entirely new continuity unrelated to any of the prior Machine Robo anime.

Software Sculptors released the first ten episodes of the original Machine Robo television series on subtitled American VHS tape in 2002. Central Park Media re-released those episodes, along with episodes 11-15 on three subtitled domestic DVDs in 2003 and 2004. Both of these attempted American releases were obviously targeted at a niche market of hardcore American fans, but there has never been enough interest in Machine Robo anime from even America’s most hardcore fans to sustain a complete release of the series. Licensing disputes or some other similar circumstance may have hampered the domestic release of the Machine Robo anime. But the most logical and obvious explanation for the absence of a complete American release is simply lacking American consumer interest in the franchise.

Article revised June 11, 2008