Getter Robo Go

Premise

In the year 200X, the mad genius Doctor Rando attempts to conquer the world from his Polar base using an army of Metal Beasts, super robots he developed, led by his genetically created officers. Conventional weapons prove ineffective against the Metal Beasts. Japan's Defense Agency requests assistance from NISAR, the Japan International Aerospace Corporation, which has developed a robot called the Getter Robo.

Dr. Tachibana, head of the Getter Robo project, is reluctant to deploy it for combat. Nevertheless, the Getter Robo, piloted by Go Ichimonji and later joined by Sho Tachibana and Gai Daido, manages to defeat a Metal Beast, though at the cost of the life of Dr. Tachibana's son, Shinichi. This event drives the improvement of the Getter into a transforming machine operated by three pilots, capable of overcoming the Metal Beasts and stopping Doctor Rando's conquest.

Media

The series was released on Laserdisc by Toei Video and later on DVD. The opening and ending themes were issued as singles and compiled in artist albums; the soundtrack is available on two CDs, one of which was re-released years later. Three manga versions accompanied the TV series. Two were drawn by Tatsuo Yasuda: one serialized in TV-kun and collected into a single volume, the other in Bessatsu Coro Coro Comic Special and also collected into a single volume, both published by Shogakukan.

A third version, written and illustrated by Ken Ishikawa under Go Nagai's supervision, ran in Tokuma Shoten's Shōnen Captain from February 1991 to May 1993, originally compiled in 7 volumes and later reprinted by Daitosha (5 volumes) and Futabasha (3 volumes). This manga was released in the United States by Viz Media in 1993 as 7 issues under the name Venger Robo, and in Spain by Planeta DeAgostini in 1995 as Venger Robot Go. In France, Dynamic Vision published 5 volumes from 1999 to 2001; a volume appeared in South Korea via Seoul Cultural Publishers; and in Italy the series was included integrally in the 12-volume Getter Saga series.

Did You Know?

• The manga version written by Ken Ishikawa is a direct sequel to the original Getter Robo manga and Getter Robo G, taking place sixteen years after the defeat of the Hundred Oni Empire.
• The iconic Shin Getter Robo makes its debut in the manga's 5th volume.
• The manga incorporates characters and storylines later adapted in the OAVs Getter Robo Armageddon and Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo.