Danguard Ace was a segment in the “Force Five” anthology series along with a few other Japanese animated offerings. What Shout Factory has to offer isn’t the full series, but is instead The Movie Collection on DVD. Originally 56 half-hour episodes, eventually they would get edited down and compiled into several movies, presumably for VHS.
Is it any good? Is this worth owning? The short answer to those two questions is yes, but there is a caveat.
While Danguard Ace isn’t going to win new fans to the “Animated Japanese Giant Robot Space Opera” genre, it is a solid offering within said genre that fans will not be disappointed. I wasn’t familiar with the series before putting this DVD in my player, but definitely was a fan of other Japanese offerings (Yamato, Ultraman, Johnny Sokko, The Space Giants, etc.) so I was looking forward to this.
The scenario is familiar, and while it may not be as original as some may want, it does offer its own take on things. Several characters look similar to others from different and unrelated series, but part of this is due to Japanese archetypes. The short bald comical looking scientist for example. the dashing young lead with something to prove. The token female and love interest. If you’ve seen much in the way of Japanese television animation you know what to expect.
A bit convoluted, the story for Danguard Ace is definitely Space Opera in a grand tradition. A new planet is approaching our solar system. Something goes wrong on the way to explore it and the evil Doppler heads to the planet and takes it, along with the resources it provides. What follows is a battle for the planet that spans the solar system and involves a survivor of that original tragedy as well as the son of the original mission’s commander going up against Doppler.
Of course added into the mix is a giant mecha-robot that transforms into a ship.
I would have preferred to have the whole of the series, but this is a good start. Over the course of five and a half hours you get a solid distillation of Danguard Ace. Hopefully we’ll eventually get the whole of the series available, as apparently even when it was broadcast here not all of the episodes made the trip over the Pacific.
This shouldn’t be your first forray into the “Animated Japanese Giant Robot Space Opera” genre, and thought it does blend a couple of genres (space opera, giant robot, etc.) – look, you probably know if you’re into this sort of thing or not. If you’re unsure, there are some great entry points. This isn’t one of them. It’s not some sort of “advanced” form of the genre, but it’s more for fans who are willing to dedicate the time to see this story through to completion. It’s a good story too, but definitely a product of its time. If you have any sort of penchant for this type of stuff, pick up Danguard Ace The Movie Collection.