What an incredible anime. In few other works can I feel the passion of the creators overflowing in each episode. Gekiganger... I mean, Nadesico finally comes to a close. It all began on Mars... but in the end, all that's solved is what happens to the relationship between Yurika and Akito... Truly, a show where anything goes. The only tidbit I can offer is that Ruri says "baka" a total of 26 times in 26 episodes (not necessarily one per episode), although one of them is only attempted (Yukina beats her to it).

In any case, Nadesico certainly spent an exorbitant amount of time and effort on an appendage like Gekiganger (so much that there's a script for an entire episode of Gekiganger, along with an entire fictional story about how it was "created" in the future). And the creators enjoyed every minute of it. The oldies mecha/robot shows were the fundamental roots of anime, and they were the shows that enticed the current leading animators and directors into joining the industry.

I'm sure that everyone knows of shows that he or she watched as a kid that causes him or her to feel fondness and excitement. There was the kind of excitement that made you want to shout the maneuver names (Shiiiiining Fingaaaa!!!!!) and sing along with the opening. They may be Transformers or Voltron or even Gaiking. The recent craze over Super Robot Taisen F (Playstation) and the release of the oldies on DVD and what not reminded me of the shows that I used to watch, and I just wanted to add them to the list of vaguely recognizable anime names. They are the shows that succeeded each other in the mid-to-late 70s (Does that reveal my age? I swear I saw them on reruns.): The Hero Raideen, Super Electromagnetic Robot ComBattler V ("vee"), Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltess V ("five"; go figure. There's no 1-4, to be sure.), and Battle Commander Daimos.

An interesting point is that Raideen and ComV have Yoshikazu Yasuhiko as the character designer, who went on to design the Gundam saga characters. However, their plots are all pretty similar. Some evil organization/alien race is trying to conquer Earth, and some old engineer/scientist creates a super-robot for which he needs a team of teenagers to pilot. He always has a daughter, who serves as the main character's love interest and sometimes as a pilot in the multi-mecha shows. ComV and Voltess are 2 of the bajillion shows in the late 70s that had 5 transforming machines that come together to form the complete robot. Looking back, the plot devices were formulaic, but back in those days, the formulas were being created for the first time. It was up to the directors' talents to play up the uniqueness of each show. I can remember only one episode of Raideen, but to be remembered so well after what must be over 15 years, that episode must have had a tremendous impact on my young mind. It meant more than a formula. It made me an anime fan.

Gekiganger is reminiscent of them all. They took a little bit from practically every super-robot show and conglomerated them into one show. But who can blame them? You can never choose just one.