Galactic Whirlwind Sasuraiger
| Galactic Whirlwind Sasuraiger | |
 Japanese promotional art for the 1983 anime Sasuraiger | |
| 銀河疾風サスライガー (Ginga Shippū Sasuraigā) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Mecha |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Takao Yotsuji |
| Music by | Joe Hisaishi |
| Studio | Kokusai Eiga-sha |
| Original network | TV Tokyo |
| Original run | April 5, 1983 – January 31, 1984 |
| Episodes | 43 |
Galactic Whirlwind Sasuraiger (銀河疾風サスライガー Ginga Shippū Sasuraigā) is an anime series that aired from 1983 to 1984 in Japan. There were 43 episodes aired. Other loosely translated names include Galactic Gale Sasuraiger, Galaxy Whirlwind Sasuraiger and Wonder Six. It is the sequel to Baxingar and is the final member of the J9 Series.
Original Story
The year is 2911 and the solar system consists of 50 planets. I.C Blues, a gambler, makes a bet with the boss of a criminal syndicate known as Bloody god that it is possible to navigate to all 50 planets within the space of one year. Taking up the challenge of I.C Blues is the JJ9 team, made up of Rocky, Beat and Birdy, who have purchased a super robot capable of transforming into a train from the space merchant D.D Richman. This robot is Sasuraiger.
As Blues and the JJ9 team start the challenge, it soon becomes evident that the Bloody Syndicate will do anything to ensure the JJ9 team loses the bet. Sasuraiger will become the JJ9 team's best defense as they adventure across the stars.
The original concept was adopted from the novel Around the World in Eighty Days. The names have a noticeable western influence.
The anime was available in Indonesia in the form of VHS and Betamax with the title "Wonder Six". The name referenced the six characters who were on the adventure.
Toys
The Sasuraiger toy was released under the name Fast Track in the Convertors toy line in the U.S.
Staff
- Creator
Yuu Yamamoto - Director
Takao Yotsuji - Additional Directors
Jouhei Matsuura
Hideki Takayama - Character Design
Kazuo Komatsubara - Mecha Design
Hiroshi Ohnishi
Characters
| Name | Nickname | Voiced by | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blues Carl Bernstein | IC Blues | Kazuyuki Sogabe | The leader of the JJ9 team controlling Sasuraiger. |
| Rock Anlock | Nukiuchi Rock | Kaneto Shiozawa | A marksman who was recruited by Blues to control Sasuraiger's weapons. Because of typos done by Animator Japan, the character name was occasionally written as "Lock". |
| Beat MacKenzie | Otoboke Beat | Katsuji Mori | A lover of racing, he was assigned to be the pilot and occasionally doubled as a mechanic. |
| Birdy Shaw | Moody Birdy | Yōko Asagami | The daughter of the famous novelist Vincent Shaw. |
| Jimmy Kenjo | Yoku Shioya | The technician. | |
| Suzy Chang | Masako Miura | Suzy helped in the kitchen, though she and Jimmy were a teenage couple who joined Sasuraiger to look for a planet that permitted under-age marriage. | |
| D. D. Richman | Jōji Yanami | Being the original owner of Sasuraiger, he hoped Blues and his friends would make money for him. | |
| Inspector Organ | Kan Tokumaru | The police officer that relentlessly pursued the team, suspecting them to be bank robbers. |
Robots
- TV-83X Sasuraiger (J9-III go)
- Cosmo Shanker
- PRETTY-1 (Spiral Gyro)
- PRETTY-2
- PRETTY-3
- VI-C5 Birdrun
Merchandise
The toy was originally called Batrain when released by Takatoku. The Batrain stickers on the model could be removed to reveal Sasuraiger stickers underneath.
Video games
The robots have been featured in Super Robot Wars GC along with Braiger and Baxingar. However, unlike its predecessors, none of the enemies from the anime appear in the game.
External links
- Ginga Shippu Sasuraiger (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- CollectionDX