Wayback Series - Mashin Hero Wataru

1st Anniversary Post! But beware of Ryujinmaru's stare...

Foreword and Author's Note: Galleria de la Guardia is now turning one today! To all the readers who visited the blog, in which I hereby dedicated today as the 'Home of the Wayback Series', I want to thank each and every one of you who support this blog. Anyways, starting today, I will take a hiatus break from my photog career (meaning that I won't be attending photoshoot events and I won't cover some cosplay events) due to family matters and my job as a parishioner in Cainta, because my friends are needing me. Again, thank you for making my blog the ultimate 'Throwback' site for retro anime!

Okay, the 'Ber' months is now finally here, and if you dust-off your Christimas decor to dress up your house in anticipation of the holiday season. If you ever heard about this anime though, I would like to talk about the series, 'Mashin Hero Wataru'.

Also known for the title, 'Mashin Eiyuden Wataru', this anime is a comedy/adventure multimedia franchise that is originally consisting of 45-anime episode series (the first series) created by Sunrise that is first aired on April 15th, 1988 (days after my brother is born on the 10th) to March 31st, 1989, replacing the timeslot (5:00 to 5:30 PM or 17:00 to 17:30) that is used in Transformers: The Headmasters. The studio credited Hajime Yatate* for the storyline, and it was directed by Shuji Iuchi, who is also responsible for directing Crush Gear Turbo. The anime is partially well-known for employing a kinetic visual gag style, often employing some characters running with their feet over their shoulders derived from 'Choriki Robo Galatt'. After the first season ended, the first OVA (entitled Wataru Majinzan) aired on August 5th, 1989 to September 5th of the same year with two episodes. The second season of the anime is aired on March 3rd, 1990 to March 8th, 1991 with a total of a whopping 46 episodes, and after the end of the second season, a second OVA (entitled Mashin Hero Wataru: Warinaki Toki no Monogatari) is aired on October 1st, 1993 to February 1st, 1994 with three episodes. The third and final installment of the series, Cho Mashin Hero Wataru, is aired on October 2nd, 1997 to September 24th, 1998 with a grand total of 51 episodes.

We get to meet a boy named Wataru Ikusabe, a 9-year old boy who magically transported to a magical realm called Soukaizan by a dragon, in which Wataru is supposed to save from an evil, demonic ruler. The anime has elements of a role playing game (or RPG for short) which includes quests for mystical objects and yes, dungeon levels. The Soukaizan realm itself is represented in the series as tiered platforms each floating above the one beneath it in a rough pyramid shape. The show's heroes must complete some task on the one beneath in order to progress to the next tier where Wataru will meet the ultimate villain of the series, but in addition to these he will have to defeat the ruler of each level of the tier along with many henchmen, and each level that he completed, it rejuvenates one color of the gray rainbow over the Soukaizan realm. Wataru managed to transform a clay sculpture into a somewhat small and autonomous Super Robot named Ryujinmaru (aka Dragonbot in the Tagalog dub). He also befriends the natives of the realm, and later forms some very strong bonds of friendship. Here's a trivia for you: The term Souzaikan can be broke down into three parts: 'Sou' (creation), 'Kai' (meaning space, world or universe), and 'Zan' (mountain or a hill), that represents the pyramid shape of the world's level.

Mayumi Tanaka, who is known for her career roles in Mega Man Legends (as MegaMan Volnutt), YuYu Hakusho (as Koenma), Nintama Rantaro (as Kirimaru), and One Piece (as Monkey D. Luffy), plays the main hero Wataru, who took control of Ryujinmaru, who is voiced by the legendary Tessho Genda (Optimus Prime in Transformers and Suppaman in Dr. Slump). Before she could land her role as Aki in Tekkaman Blade and Opacho & Anna Kyoyama  in Shaman King, Megumi Hayashibara plays the role of Himiko Shinobibe. Tomomichi Nishimura, who is known for his legendary roles in Black Lagoon (as Tsugio Bando), Fresh Pretty Cure (as the evil Moebius), Slam Dunk (as the Shohoku coach Mitsuyoshi Anzai), and Classroom Crisis (as Seigo Sasayama) plays the role of the weapon master Shibaraki Tsurugibe. Kurama Wataribe is voiced by Koichi Yamadera, who is known for his career roles in Machine Robo: Battle Hackers (as Drill Crusher), Neon Genesis Evangelion (as Ryoji Kaji), Cowboy Bebop (as Spike Spiegel) and Dragon Ball Super (as Beerus). Genryusai Shinobibe, who is related to Himiko, is voiced by the legendary Kenichi Ogata, who is known for his roles in Ranma ½ (as Genma Saotome), Kirby of the Stars (as King Dedede), the Ganbare Goemon series (as Ebisumaru), and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (as Shamisen). Kazue Ikura, who known for her voice acting career in Sakura Wars (as Leni Milchstrasse), City Hunter (as Kaori Makimura), The Three-Eyed One (as Sharaku Hosuke) and All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku (as Natsume Ryunosuke). And finally, Umihiko is voiced by Urara Takano, who is known for her roles in Konjiki no Gash Bell!! (as Zeno), HeartCatch PreCure! (as Sasorina), Hetalia: Axis Powers (as Belarus), Oh My Goddess! (as Marller) and Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness (as Mary Miyabi). 

Other voice actors starred in the show that includes Minoru Inaba, Shozo Iizuka, the late Daisuke Gori, Shigeru Chiba, Unshou Ishizuka, Shigezou Sasaoka, Kozo Shioya, and many more.

Let's go on an RPG-style adventure with Wataru and friends! And happy first anniversary to the Galleria!!

- A.S. Andaya, the Curator

* - a pseudonym for the collective contributions of Sunrise's animation staff.