Jun 15, 2017
Disclaimer: This is a review of what I could find of the western adaptation of "Robot Teakwon V", Voltar the Invincible. which seems to be edited down and possibly incomplete, seeing as is under and hour and ends almost mid-sentence, though it does tell a complete story. There might be a spoiler though spoiler is an ambiguous term so its not my fault, nothing is.
Story: Billy Future is a karate champ who's dad is a robot scientist, and when the worlds put in danger by a former mad scientist colleague of his father, Billy pilots Voltar to stop the mad scientist
...
robot destruction. The story is as basic and typical as it gets and often stuff would just happen because why not. The only sorta notable part of the thing is Wondera's side story. Though its barely there and its also very stock ,to say anything more would spoil what little there is to Voltar the Invincible overall.
Art: A product of the time though even by 1974 it might have seemed dated, looking much like 1960s tv quality anime, Hanna Barbara or maybe even some of the old Fleischer Superman cartoons if famous studios had less money to worth with. So production values aren't high with this anime but theres still charm in the art style and animation. I like the crudeness in the rotoscoping or how Voltar moves while doing tkd along with the old style animation effects assuming you've seen the mentioned cartoons or the like.
Sound: The dub is good, it gets the job done. Its none of that terrible "anime" voice acting common in later dubs from the 2000s. The music has all been redone to fit in with the dubs 1985 release. So its mostly cheap syth and early electronica... but its pretty good actually, though there isnt much of it and it does get repetitive. It leaves the anime feeling like its proto-AdultSwim or Cartoon Network, back when they'd rework old cartoons with new sound.
Character: Hmm, does this anime have character? Yes, the anime it has plenty of character especially with the dub and cheesy then modern music... Though I guess I should explain the characters too. Characters, there isn't much to say as I don't think anyone has any character outside of a few. Wondera is hot, and then there was tommy, a boy who wears a tea pot on his head. Though he plays the typical kid pretend sidekick roll in these sorts of hero stories I suppose his design is neat as you could easily forget hes a human. Theres also Dr Manlee, who has a great a name and for no reason is also a tkd master. Everyone else much like the story are as stock as they come, I'd say even the notable characters are really typical filler.
Enjoyment: This is hard to explain because Voltar is enjoyable for a while, its almost in that so bad its good kind of enjoyable, except without and of the awkward, embarrassing, and cringe humor that usually comes with the so bad its good... genre. Like, it has lackluster animation music , along with its editing gives the anime this almost homemade feel. Its also kinda extreme with (and well appreciated)quick deaths, karate chops that explode robots, Wondera's everything. The voice acting is nostalgic somehow despite not having grown up in the 80s or watching old cartoons. Sadly and surprisingly ... Voltar the Invincible is not perfect. Honestly the novelty of it all wears off and the anime feels like exercise to finish. You'll find your self skipping through the final parts just to get it over with. It really doesn't do a good job keeping the viewer interested after all its cards are all the table.
Overall: Its a novelty and can be enjoyable it if, and pardon my language, the viewer isn't weeb.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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