It was because of this anime significant media and commercial success that:
-Audience from these countries became aware of what exactly is Japanese animation
-Some parents and some politicians had a negative prejudice over Japanese Animation (people can die? vilains can be good looking? characters can be ambiguous? that was too new to them in animation...)
- Nearly all the public and private TV channels enjoyed the opportunity and had broadcast almost everyday Japanese animation from the end of the 1970s and for more than a decade : until the middle of the 1990s (until the scandal of "hokuto no ken" Affair). So every children from these countries could see many Japanese animation daily far before the age of DVD or internet. This phenomenon also explains why many Japanese anime of this period were dubbed in Italian or French and sometimes Spanish or Russian but not in English.
Therefore, you understand easily that Grendizer/Goldorak had directly and indirectly a phenomenal cultural impact in those countries. Millions of kids were truly loving it. At that time, songs of Grendizer/Goldorak and themes specific for each country get on the charts and even get several Golden records!!
Nowadays, it still enjoys a cult status in many places.
Be as it may, what about the anime itself?
Created by Go Nagai (Mazinger, Cutey Honey), the anime is a classic super robot anime focusing on the adventure of a team of young heroes struggling against invaders coming from outer space. Sounds like a simple and dull plot full of manichaeism but it gives the opportunity to develop cunning ploys, funny robots design and original ideas for each episode...and...real tragedy : often the antagonists have understandable and relatable reasons to fight. When they meet their end, you really feel sad for them. That is exactly what dictatorship and wars lead : good people are simply fighting each other.
Ok Let’s face it, the art is rather outdated by today’s standards. It is fine with me but I do understand it could be an issue for a younger audience. But hey! This was the charm of the Seventies/Eighties! and still thanks to the work of Shingo Araki (Saint Seiya, Lady Oscar) who was the animation director and was involved in the character design, this anime have pretty good art, far better than some seventies or early eighties anime (like Harlock 78 or Ideon).
Because many songs was created for different countries’ audiences, depending on which language you speak, the songs could be very enjoyable: good pop/rock heroic style.
Good character development through the episode as we understand the ties between the heroes. It is easy to feel empathy with the characters even the evil ones as they may be victim of their political system : instrument of a dictatorship, martyr of their people, brainwashed children, idealists blinded by propaganda, traitors and even lovers…It truly shows you and make you wonder how a sick political system can turn nice people into soldiers fighting for a needless war.
French Dubbing involved a great deal of effort and voice talents (especially Michel Gatineau and Daniel Gall), and is very enjoyable. I also heard that the Italian one is very good. Maybe some Russians can tell us about the Russian Dubbing? I have no clue about the English one if any. Maybe some of you can tell us about it...
Overall, this anime is part of a cultural phenomenon in many countries and if you can overcome the aged art, then you will discover a great heroic adventure full of tragedy, optimism and charismatic characters and which have made a whole generation of children dream about future, space and hope for mankind…
