by The main character’s robot explodes into flames!
The anime Getter Robo, created by Go Nagai, Ken Ishikawa, and Dynamic Productions, has a groundbreaking three-body combination system and became the origin of the later “combining and transforming robots.” This year marks the series’ 50th anniversary and is known for having enthusiastic fans.
Many children were excited to see the Getter Robo machines operated by three unique pilots, Ryuma Nagare, Hayato Jin, and Musashi Tomoe, combine and transform into Getter 1 for the air, Getter 2 for the ground and underground, and Getter 3 for the sea, and take on the Mechasaurus of the Dinosaur Empire. However, the final episode, “The Day the Dinosaur Empire Falls,” aired in May 1975, was tragic. Not only did Getter Robo not play an active role, but Musashi was killed in battle in a “kamikaze attack.” Why did Musashi have to make a “kamikaze” attack? Even before the final episode, the Saotome Laboratory, which has the Getter Robo, and the Dinosaur Empire, led by Emperor Gol, were engaged in a fierce battle to destroy each other’s bases.
The Great Demon Yura, the true ruler and superior of Emperor Gol, had appeared, so even though he was called “emperor,” Gol and his subordinates, General Bat and Director Galilei, had a sense of despair like middle management in a black company. In episode 50, “Emperor Gol: Desperate Counterattack,” Yura, fed up with Gol’s repeated failures, lends him the giant Mechasaurus “Invincible Battleship Dai.” Compared to Getter 1, which is 38 meters tall and weighs 220 tons, Dai is 530 meters long. It weighs 2.5 million tons (figures from “Getter Robo Encyclopedia” published by Futabasha), making it enormous. Getter 1, which is about the same size as a tank and a figurine, is no match for Getter 1. Moreover, the concentrated fire left the command machine’s Michiru Saotome seriously injured and near death.
This is the final episode. Getter Robo somehow escapes the predicament, but Dai continues his advance, destroying Tokyo with a bombing raid by strategic bombers. At the Saotome Laboratory, Ryuma urges the Getter Robo to attack, but Dr. Saotome rejects it, saying that the difference in strength is too significant. Musashi agrees with Ryuma, but Dr. Saotome is blunt. “So, what do you mean? Musashi-kun, are you saying we should charge in with the Getter Robo like a kamikaze squad?” “In some cases, it can’t be helped!” You can see that the conversation between the two foreshadows the end. Meanwhile, the Invincible Battleship Dai has settled in the center of Tokyo (where the former Paradise Stadium used to be) and built a base.
Dr. Saotome and the Getter team devise a plan to launch a triple rocket bomb into the bomber’s launch route, which is not under anti-aircraft fire. However, the plan fails due to Musashi’s piloting error, and all three Getter Machines explode and burst into flames. The main robot is also destroyed in the final episode of “Mazinger Z,” but this was a very untimely end. The first episode also depicts Musashi’s piloting error (Shozo Uehara wrote both scripts).
