Space Warrior Baldios

Lore & Background

The TV series begins on S-1 (Sol One), a futuristic world whose radiation and pollution has forced its occupants to live underground. Its emperor is assassinated by military fanatic Zeo Gattler and his followers, who frame the team of scientists who recently found a solution to their planet's environmental decay. Gattler loads the civilian population aboard a fortress, the Argor, and flies off to conquer a new planet. Protagonist Marin Reigan, the lead scientist's son, is caught in the Argor's warp drive system and a space disturbance, ending up on Earth's moon in the year 2100. He joins the military organization Blue Fixer Secret (BFS) and pilots the ship Pulsar Burn, which becomes the main component of the giant robot Baldios. The series is also based upon the love-hate relationship between Marin and Rosa Aphrodia, Gattler's first commander.

The conflict ends when Gattler and Aldebaran trigger a massive tsunami by melting Earth's polar ice caps with artificial suns, flooding the planet and killing millions. Marin and the Blue Fixers, Gattler, and Aphrodia realize that Earth resembles S-1 because it is indeed the same planet—they accidentally traveled back in time to S-1's ancient past. In the unfinished episodes, Aphrodia dies fighting her former soldiers, and the final confrontation occurs near Saturn. Baldios destroys the Argor, but nuclear missiles are accidentally activated, engulfing Earth's surface in explosions. The Earthlings survive and will one day evolve into the S-1 civilization, forming a closed loop. The film contains a similar final confrontation where Aphrodia shoots Gattler before collapsing and being carried by Marin.

Reader's Guide

Space Warrior Baldios is notable as a cancelled television series that received a feature film conclusion in 1981, distributed by Toei Company. The film incorporated both TV footage and newly animated material to resolve the story. The series is licensed in North America by Discotek Media and streams on Crunchyroll. It was released in Italy as Baldios - Il Guerriero dello Spazio and in Spain as Los guerreros del espacio. The series is considered a popular cult classic worldwide and universally regarded as one of the best works of the super robot mecha genre. Baldios made its video game debut in the Super Robot Wars franchise in 2008's Super Robot Wars Z for the PlayStation 2, and appeared in subsequent entries including 2nd Super Robot Wars Z and the 2015 mobile game Super Robot Wars X-Ω. For these appearances, Marin was voiced by Takumi Yamazaki, as his original voice actor Kaneto Shiozawa had died in 2000.

Did You Know?

• The TV series was cancelled, but a 1981 film provided a proper conclusion using both TV footage and new animation.
• The story involves a time loop: Earth in 2100 is revealed to be the same planet as S-1, the characters' original world.
• Marin Reigan's original voice actor Kaneto Shiozawa died in 2000; Takumi Yamazaki voiced him in later video games.
• The series debuted in video games with 2008's Super Robot Wars Z for the PlayStation 2.