A thrilling announcement greeted fans last Saturday as the beloved UFO Robo Grendizer franchise by Go Nagai is set to return with an exciting television anime series titled “Grendizer U,” scheduled to premiere in 2024. This upcoming anime is described as a nostalgic reboot of the original 1975-1977 classic.
Bringing together an impressive team, Mitsuo Fukuda (known for Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Gear Fighter Dendoh, and Future GPX Cyber Formula) takes the helm as the chief director at GAINA, while Go Nagai himself serves as the project’s executive director.
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Overseeing the series scripts is the talented Ichiro Okouchi (famous for works like Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury). The character designs are in the expert hands of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (renowned for Neon Genesis Evangelion, Wolf Children, and Gunbuster 2: Diebuster), and the captivating music will be composed by Kōhei Tanaka (known for works like One Piece, Sakura Wars, and Dirty Pair).
The anime’s official Twitter account has also unveiled captivating character designs for the iconic figures Duke Fleed, Koji Kabuto, and, of course, Grendizer.
Excitement for this project has been building since the Mazinger franchise teased a new endeavor for UFO Robo Grendizer back in August 2022, with the promise of an official announcement in 2023.
キャラクター紹介①
— TVアニメ「グレンダイザーU」2024年放送予定 (@grendizer_anime) August 5, 2023
デューク・フリード グレンダイザーの搭乗者
#グレンダイザーアニメ #grendizer pic.twitter.com/d3LENfqXHF
UFO Robo Grendizer originally served as the third installment in Go Nagai’s esteemed Mazinger giant robot series (following Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger). Debuting in 1975, the anime and manga captivated audiences worldwide, even reaching the United States as part of Jim Terry’s Force Five project. The enduring popularity of the series inspired three anime films and left a lasting impact on the anime scene.
In France, the anime was aptly titled “Goldorak” when it first aired in 1978, contributing significantly to the surge of anime’s popularity in the country.
The franchise’s widespread appeal extended into the gaming world, with French publisher Microids (formerly Anuman Interactive) and Dynamic Planning announcing an action-packed game in 2021. Developed by Endroad, the UFO Robot Grendizer: The Feast of the Wolves action game is set for release on November 14 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, with the Nintendo Switch version launching in 2024.
It’s worth noting that Go Nagai didn’t just rest on past successes, as evidenced by the launch of the Grendizer Giga manga in September 2014, published in Akita Shoten’s Champion RED magazine. The manga presented a full reboot of Nagai’s UFO Robo Grendizer tale and celebrated its 40th anniversary with an animated promotional video in April 2015, coinciding with the release of the first compiled manga volume.
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With such a rich and storied history, the return of Grendizer U promises to be an event fans won’t want to miss, rekindling the spirit of the original series while introducing a new generation to the timeless charm of the legendary giant robot adventure.
Sources | Grendizer U anime’s website, Animation Business Journal (Tadashi Sudo)
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