This is a page about the characters appearing in the Manga turned Anime UFO Robo Grendizer. Just as a warning, this page probably contains spoilers.
The Space Science Laboratory
Daisuke Umon/Duke Fleed
(Voice) Actor(s): Kei Tomiyama (series), Yoshimasa Hosoya (Grendizer Giga advert), Kenyuu Horiuchi (Super Robot Wars Complete Box), Kōichi Yamadera (Super Robot Wars series, Impact onwards)
Duke Fleed (デューク・フリード, Dyūku Furīdo) is UFO Robo Grendizer main character. Details about his back-story vary depending not only on the version (manga or anime) but also between the original series and the Maceckred adaptation, but this is the gist:
Duke was the Crown Prince of planet Fleed, a peaceful, idyllic world. His peaceful, comfortable life ended when the invading forces of King Vega attacked his planet. Fleed lost the war, the royal family was murdered, and the planet was bombarded with radioactive bombs and turned into a toxic wasteland. Duke managed to seize Grendizer and fled the planet. Grendizer's navigational computer searched a planet with an atmosphere similar to Fleed's, and Grendizer crashed onto Earth, near the Space Science Laboratory. Doctor Umon found Duke, took him in like a son and gave him a new name: Daisuke Umon (宇門大介, Umon Daisuke).
Duke began to work in the ranch his adoptive father owned, under the orders of Danbei Makiba. A while later he had adapted to his life on Earth and his old psychological scars were beginning to knit, when reports of alien saucers scouting Earth started arriving to the Laboratory, and Kouji Kabuto arrived Makiba Ranch...
Duke has several traits on common with the other two male heroes of the Mazinger trilogy, but like Tetsuya was a different character than Kouji, Duke is his own character. He is older than them; therefore he is more mature and nicer. Duke is still hot-blooded when he is riding his mecha or fighting, but the remainder time he is calm and even quiet… unless something sets him off. Then he unleashes his Large Ham tendencies (usually reminding him of the Vegan invasion and Fleedian genocide effectively accomplishes this).
Despite his calm and controlled outwardly appearance, he feels troubled about many things. He is hurt and psychologically scarred about his family’s murder, the destruction of Fleed and the slaughter of its inhabitants. He feels immensely guilty for running away from his homeworld, in spite of knowing he could not do anything. He feels torn because he is a pacifist by nature and hates fighting and killing, still he must fight the Vegans as he would be unable to bear running away again and he does not want Earth to suffer the same fate as Fleed. And later in series he feels conflicted after learning his fiancée, Rubina, is alive.
He treated Hikaru Makiba with all respect and care like a sister. She loved him but was a love from one side only. Duke feels it is his duty to return to Fleed and help to rebuild it, whereas Hikaru continues living on Earth.Duke was engaged to Rubina, he loved her after being introduced to her through their families. It was mutual love and attraction. Their love story tragically got disrupted by wars between their nations.
Duke is a mainstay in Super Robot Wars games, even though he –and Grendizer- have showed up fewer times than other characters of the trilogy. He's good friend with Rom Stoll, provided they are both in the game. They have also featured in some Crossovers: CB Chara Go Nagai World, Super Robot Retsuden, Go Nagai Heroes e-manga…
Tropes:
- 10-Minute Retirement: He was going through one at the beginning of the series, when Kouji met him. After losing his planet, family and people, he had settled on Earth, planning on leading a peaceful life. It lasted until the Vegans mini-saucers shot Kouji down.
- '70s Hair: He has shoulder length brown hair.
- Ace Pilot: Duke is an accomplished pilot, able to control the Grendizer with relative ease and has been shown to pilot vehicles like a motorcycle and ride a horse named “Silver”.
- Alien Invasion: He suffers through TWO of them. The first time, Duke fled from the enemy (Heh. Fled). The second time he kicked all of their butts.
- And This Is for...:Duke: [while Grendizer rips the saucers off a Saucer Beast] This is for my friend!
Duke: But Gandal! It was your mistake coming here! For my parents... And for all citizens of Fleed... I will kill you! - Powerof Love: Rubina
- Badass Biker
- Badass Pacifist: Normally Daisuke avoids the fight if there not is a good reason. In an episode Goro gets angry with him because he refuses to fight with Banta, but Daisuke makes him understand that fighting is not always the right choice.
- Bash Brothers: With Kouji. Unfortunately, Kouji got relegated to sidekick, so they could not show their full potential, but the Grendizer versus Great Mazinger feature showed how overwhelming and devastating a Mazinger-Grendizer combined attack can be.
- Berserk Button: Barados in the Nagai episodes.
- Beware of the Nice Ones: He may be very destructive when he is angry. The “ripping giant robots apart with his bare hands, slash alien starships and cleave enemies in half” kind of destructive.
- Big Damn Heroes: His first battle happened when he went to save Kouji from the Vegans miniufos.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: They are pretty thick.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In the Nagai Heroes e-manga
- Calling Your Attacks: DOUBLE HARKEN! ANTIGRAVITATORY STORM!
- Captain Obvious: As he is intercepting a Vegan raid, a Saucer Beast attacks him.Duke: Is that a Saucer Beast?
- Combat Pragmatist
- Combination Attack: Double Lightning Buster, Triple Mazinger Blade and Final Dynamic Special
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Out of all male leads of the Mazinger Trilogy, he was the most mature and the less prone to put his foot in his mouth or let his temper taking over his brains.
- Conveniently an Orphan: His parents died during the war.
- Cool Bike: He usually drive a red motor trike with passenger seats that Duke use for personal transport at times. It is equipped with projectile fan-like blade to launch at enemies.
- Cool Helmet: His gray knight-like helmet that features red spiked decorations with yellow a mask and green visor that covers his face.
- The Determinator: Slightly subverted because he ran away with Grendizer instead of staying and fighting, realizing the war was lost. Later, though…
- Dub Name Change: In Spain he was named Daniel. In continental Europe and Quebec, he was named Actarus. In the Philippines, he was named Bryk. In the Force Five dub he was called Orion Quest.
- Expy: From one character of the same name of the Uchuu Enban Daisenso feature.
- Falling into the Cockpit: This trope’s treatment depends on the version. In all versions he manages to sneak into the cockpit and run away. In the original manga he even managed to fight two Vegan Beasts were chasing him. In the anime series, he just ran away, and Grendizer’s computer guided him to Earth. In the Gosaku Ota manga, it was hinted Grendizer was sentient, and it acted on its own to save Duke. Since Grendizer was built by Fleedians and it was the embodiment of their god of war, it is not an implausible scenario Duke got some previous knowledge of how handling it.
- Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Duke fell into this sometimes, but he was not so bad of an offender like Kouji or especially Tetsuya.
- Good Is Not Dumb: He is actually pretty smart. Kouji tried to pilot Grendizer in one episode, and he said the controls were too complicated for him.
- Gratuitous English: Melt Shower! Spin Saucer! Grendizer Break Up!
- The Hero
- Heroic BSoD: He suffered one after seeing his entire homeworld burning. He is still recovering from it. And he also suffered another after being told the Saucer Beasts were powered with the minds of friends and relatives of his.
- Hidden Depths: When you meet him he comes across like an enigmatic, -even creepy-, soft-spoken, quiet boy. However he is a war survivor and refugee is trying to getting over his trauma and beginning a new life in a new place. He also likes working in the ranch, riding horses, playing guitar and go camping because he enjoys remembering how his planet was before the war.
- Hot-Blooded: He uses to be calm and quiet -even more melancholic- when he is out of Grendizer, but when he gets on his Humongous Mecha... yes, he is hot-blooded like you would not believe.Narrator (Go Nagai Manga): “The rage from having his close friend Brunhild murdered burned throughout Duke, igniting his will to fight!”
- In a Single Bound: He is superhumanly agile. After watching leaping several meters upwards, Kouji figured out he was not human.
- Instant Costume Change: Duke is able to generate a pilot suit from his own body in order to pilot Grendizer. The suit also provides protection from different types of hazards, such as lasers.
- Large Ham: Definitely.Duke: Damn it! You use who you can... And kill them when you are done! I won't forgive you! Vegans! I'll avenge my friend with Grendizer!
- Manly Tears: Often. One of the most memorable times was when he wept straight after of killing Emperor Vega, muttering the nightmare was at last over.
- My Death Is Only The Beginning: A rare, heroic example. In the Go Nagai episodes, a Saucer Beast cornered him and Blackie demanded he revealed Grendizer’s hiding. He refused talking and assured his friends would go on the fight:Duke: Hahaha... Just kill me! Just like my closed friend, Brunhild... If I die, my friends on Earth follow after me... And defeat you with Grendizer!
- Nice Guy: Unlike Kouji or Tetsuya, he is mostly nice.
- No Indoor Voice: When he is piloting. Everywhere else he can be pretty silent –and even soft-spoken and taciturn-… unless you get him angry or mad.
- Parental Abandonment: He is an orphan.
- Reason Before Honor: He understands when a battle is lost and the value of fleeing to fight another day.
- Red Is Heroic: His Latex Space Suit.
- Riches to Rags: Before the Vegan invasion, he was Crown Prince of a whole planet. When Kouji met him, he was a farm boy.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: When he gets real, REAL angry, he decimates armies.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: He is a prince that fights back the Vegan invasion, and later he returns to his planet to rebuild it.
- Say My Name: Duke is prone to shout Kouji's name whenever his friend is in danger.Duke: KOUJI-KUN
- Secret Identity: He tried it, but he was not very good at it. Kouji immediately suspected he was the pilot of that mysterious robot showed up all of sudden. And it did not spend a lot of time before Makiba family figured it out.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Seeing My Death Is Only The Beginning quote above.
- Sibling Team: With Maria.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Duke and Rubina
- Rubina and him. Duke and her father’s empire are waging war against each other. Her father sooner would get her daughter married to one of his commanders than engaged with Duke. Duke thinks he is not the same person Rubina knew and loved, and he does not know if he can forget what the Vegans made to his homeworld.
- Survivor Guilt: He suffers a great loneliness of being the only survivor of Planet Fleed and fighting in a strange land. Thankfull turn out that he is not the only survivor.
- Third-Person Person: Sometimes he falls into this when he is REAL fired up as fighting.
- This Is Unforgivable!:Duke: Barados, You alone... You alone... I cannot forgive!
- You Killed My Father: The Vegans murdered his parents.Duke: Damn you! For my father!
Hikaru Makiba
(Voice) Actor(s): Chiyoko Kawashima
Hikaru Makiba was the eldest daughter of Danbei Makiba, the farmer helped Dr. Umon to run his ranch. She was joyful, enthusiastic. She occasionally helped his father to run the ranch and loved riding horse.
One day, Dr. Umon introduced his son, Daisuke, to her family and asked her father left him to stay and work in the ranch. Daisuke was a person quiet and reserved, even enigmatic, but he a good worker and a cute, nice boy also loved horses. And Hikaru could not help to feel attracted to him.
A while later, an alien fleet attacked Earth. For some reason, many of their raids and attacks on Japan seemed focusing on the vicinity of the Umon Ranch and the Space Science Laboratory. Shortly after Hikaru found out Daisuke in reality was an alien prince was fighting the invaders back. At the beginning of the series she played several times the damsel-in-distress role until she got sick of it, and she trained to become a pilot and help to Duke. She piloted the Marine Spacer, a device combined with Grendizer to let it fight underwater.
Hikaru was cheerful and outgoing, and has no troubles knowing and saying her own mind. She bluntly stated Duke she was interested in him. When later he told he had reserves about her becoming a pilot, she replied she would fight alongside him, whether he wanted or not.She loved Duke but he always treated her with care and respect like a sister. Duke’s emotions were still tied to Rubina.
She liked riding horses, spending time with Duke –much to her father’s chagrin-, listening while he played guitar or listening when he vented about whatever was bothering him. On the other hand often she got annoyed with the antics of his overprotective, ufo-obsessed father (that was obsessed with meeting aliens) and her pesky, little brother (that loved poking his nose where it did not belong and making remarks nobody had asked for).
She favoured to wear light clothes (skirts, blouses, and she constantly donned a cowboy hat) at the beginning, but after being in more battles she started wearing shorter skirts and pants frequently.
Tropes:
- Adrenaline Makeover: First, she wore flowing skirts. Later, she switched to miniskirts. And in the end, she began putting on more jeans.
- Calling Your Attacks: The weapons of the Marine Spacer.
- Composite Character: In Grendizer Giga, she is actually Honey Kisaragi in disguise. Also, her design and a few elements of personality are based off of Kikunosuke Abashiri from Abashiri Family.
- Distressed Damsel: At the beginning. She got fed up with it soon, and she decided to do something about it.
- Dub Name Change: Hillary in the Spain dub, Venusia in the French dub and Brenda Morgan in Force Five (with a Texas accent).
- Expy: From Hikaru Makino from Uchuu Enban Daisensho. Ironically, that Hikaru had Girlish Pigtails and was a Tsundere.
- Falling into the Cockpit: Daisuke was struggling through one fight, but Kouji was bedridden and could not sortie in the Double Spacer to help him. To save Daisuke, Hikaru sneaked into the cockpit, started the flying vehicle in spite of having not previous piloting experience, led it to the battlefield, and after several failed attempts, she managed combining with Grendizer and save Daisuke's life. Daisuke not knowing she was piloting it did the moment was a mixture of heartwarming, awesome and funny.
- She realized that Duke was still in love with his fiancee Rubina. Duke was listening to the last words of Rubina, half-crying, she left quietly, in spite of she also was on the verge of crying. She realized that Duke was still in love with Rubina. Hikaru had no spot in Duke’s heart
- Lovely Angels: Maria and herself.
- Loves My Alter Ego: Subverted. She fell in love with Daisuke long before she knew about his real self.
- Missing Mom: Her mother either is deceased or left her family.
- The Reliable One: Even if she was not The Lancer.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: She is the girly half of the Trope.
- Took a Level in Badass: She started the series like a farm girl. For the end she was piloting mechas and blowing up alien warships.
Kouji Kabuto
Voice Actor: Hiroya Ishimaru
Koji Kabuto (Kabuto Kôji), also written as Kouji Kabuto, is a fictional character featured in the works of manga artist Go Nagai. He is the main character of the Super Robot series Mazinger Z and pilots the title robot. He reappears in the sequel Great Mazinger and helps battle the Mikene Empire. He also features in Grendizer as Duke Fleed's friend and sidekick/The Lancer.
Kouji was a Ordinary High-School Student who lived with his little brother Shiro and his grandfather Juzo after their parents’ death. All of it changed when he was sixteen and his grandfather was murdered by Dr. Hell. Dr. Kabuto revealed Mazinger Z to him and requested him to save the world from Dr. Hell. Kouji vowed he would avenge his grandfather’s death and fulfil his last wish.
After the end of Mazinger-Z, Sayaka and he travelled to USA to learn about UFO technology. They returned at the end of Great Mazinger to help to defeat the Mykene Empire. After managing to design and build the first UFO build on Earth, and hearing about plenty reports of ufo sightings, Kouji returned to Japan to join the Space Science Laboratory. He dreamt with being the first human being to make a First Contact, and help to establish a peaceful relationship between Earth and other planets.
Back on Japan, he met Dr. Umon, his son and the Makiba family. Dr. Umon and Daisuke tried to hint the aliens *might* not be friendly, but he did not listen. After being rescued by Grendizer and learning about Daisuke's true identity and past, he vowed to support him.
Kouji was an atypical main character back then: although he was a mostly good person, he could be rude, insensitive and even somewhat of a jerkass when he was angry, sexist and the poster boy for Idiot Hero given his tendencies to be loudmouthed, talking without thinking, acting BEFORE and INSTEAD of thinking and being very hotheaded and stubborn. However he was also compassionate, caring, friendly, self-sacrificing, cared greatly for his friends and fought for them –even though he constantly teased Sayaka and Boss- and he was utterly hot-blooded.
His character evolved and developed somewhat along the series. His blatant sexism and his impulsive tendencies mellowed down a bit (it is telltale in Great Mazinger he was the one recommended using planning and strategy for fighting the Mykene when Tetsuya wanted nothing else than blowing them up to pieces). He also grew up and matured, and his main motivation to fight Dr. Hell became protecting people instead of petty revenge. Although he refused giving up, he was more willing to follow orders and retreat to re-evaluate the situation and fight back than his successor, Tetsuya. However, in the Mazinger Z vs Great General of Darkness movie he refused giving up and backing down, even though he knew he could not win.
He is voiced by veteran seiyuu Hiroya Ishimaru and has appeared in many other series. He is considered one of the stalwarts of the Japanese-exclusive strategy games the Super Robot Wars and appears in nearly every incarnation. In Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z Hen, his voice is played by Kenji Akabane.
Maria Grace Fleed
(Voice) Actor(s): Rihoko Yoshida (series), Miho Yoshida (Super Robot Wars)
During the Fleed-Vega war, an old servant of the royal family, escaped from the destruction carrying with him Princess Maria. Seeking a planet with an atmosphere and an environment similar to Fleed's, he reached Earth. Since Maria suffered from amnesia and he believed they were the only survivors from Fleed, he raised her like if she was her granddaughter, intending she lived like an ordinary girl. However, during one battle between Grendizer and a Saucer Beast he got badly wounded. Before dying he revealed to Maria the truth, and believing Grendizer was being controlled by Vegans, he requested her to retrieve it. Maria vowed on his grave to fulfil his last wish.
Maria infiltrated in the Laboratory and tried to assassinate Duke, thinking he was a Vegan who had stolen Grendizer. Fortunately Duke was able to recognize her. After solving the misunderstanding, Maria joined them, piloting the Drill Spacer.
Maria was a hot-headed, short-tempered, tomboyish Tsundere who always spoke her mind. Very soon she developed a sisterly friendship with Hikaru, and a love-hatred relationship with Kouji. In continuities where Sayaka and she meet, their relationship is pretty heated, since each one acknowledges the other girl like her rival.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Backstory Change: See below.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: She has blonde hair in the Grendizer Giga reboot.
- Adaptational Job Change: In the original series, she was a princess, while in Giga, she is simply just a soldier working as Duke's protector.
- Adaptational Name Change: Zigzagged. Her name is still Maria in Giga, however her surname is changed from Grace Fleed to Flora.
- Adaptation Species Change: She's also now an android in Giga.
- Ace Pilot: Maria has proved to be an exceptional pilot; using a stolen Vegan ship with ease, driving an off road motorcycle, and piloting the Drill Spazer with skills on par with Koji and Hikaru.
- Adrenaline Makeover: Inverted. The first time we see them she is wearing skin-tight suits. After joining the fight she starts wearing skirts and loose dresses.
- Badass Biker: She is very good to drive her off-road motorcycle. Indeed she and Koji sometimes challenge.
- Badass Boast:Maria: My name is Maria Grace Fleed. I swear upon your grave I will retrieve Grendizer from that Vegan demon.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Kouji.
- Composite Character: With Gamia Q3 in Grendizer Giga, where she now not only has blonde hair with pigtails, like Gamia, but is also an android who has the ability to control her hair and wrap it around things, also like Gamia.
- Conveniently an Orphan: Her parents died during the Fleed-Vega war.
- Dub Name Change: Maria was renamed Phenicia in the French dub.
- Falling into the Cockpit: Averted. She was taught to pilot the Drill Spacer.
- Girlish Pigtails: In Grendizer Giga.
- Give Her a Normal Life: Her adoptive grandfather wanted her to be an Ordinary High-School Student.
- The Gunslinger: She always keeps a ray gun with her. In the Go Nagai Heroes e-manga, a demon broke in her bedroom at night to assassinate her as she slept… only to see her aiming her gun to him calmly and confidently.
- Hot-Blooded: She can be very hot-tempered.
- Hot Blooded Sideburns: They are long and curly.
- Human Alien
- I Am Who?: Her reaction after her "grandfather" told she was an alien princess.
- Interspecies Romance: With Kouji.
- The Kid with the Remote Control: In Mazinger Angels, she controls Minerva-X by a remote control located in her helmet.
- Killed Off for Real: In the Go Nagai manga... possibly. In that version, Duke had two little siblings. The two of them were executed by the Vegans. Their names were not given, and it was not explicitly said Maria was one of them, but the little girl seemed very similar.
- Lovely Angels: Hikaru and herself.
- Modest Royalty: Her clothes are quite casual, and they tend to be more comfortable than fancy.
- Ojou Ringlets: Overlapping with Hot-Blooded Sideburns.
- One of the Boys
- Red Is Heroic: Her Latex Space Suit.
- The Rival: Sayaka when they show up in the same series or game. Kikunosuke Abashiri in the Mazinger Angels Z manga.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something
- Seers: Maria possesses some foresight ability that grants her knowledge of an enemy's attack, which she can react to.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: With Kouji. Sometimes, literally.
- Sword and Gun: In her first appearance she wielded both a ray gun and a sword.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Hikaru and her. She is the tomboy half of the Trope.
- Tomboy Princess
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak
- Tsundere
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: In Giga, she's no longer Duke's sister, instead she's now an android created to protect him. However, she does pretend to be his sister.
- Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Her relationship with Koji, which might be one of the (if not the) earliest examples in anime. Considering that Koji is being himself, Maria's behavior is understandable.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She dont like rats.
- You Killed My Father: Her parents got murdered by the Vegans, but she was too young to remember it. However, when her adoptive grandfather got murdered, she did not take it kindly. She becomes vengeful and ruthless to anyone she considers an enemy. Upon learning that her brother is still alive calmed Maria down and grew to appreciate Earth more.
Genzo Umon
(Voice) Actor(s): Joji Yanami
Doctor Umon was an astronomer and director of the Space Science Laboratory, located near Mount Fuji. One day an alien starship crashed near the Laboratory, and he found an injured, young boy lying near. After hearing his story, he adopted him, forging a new identity for him, and he hid Grendizer underneath the Laboratory, hoping it would never be necessary to use it.
Genzo was co-owner of the Umon Ranch, where his adoptive son started living and working. However he just stops by the ranch occasionally, leaving Danbei run the place. He is good friends with Danbei and his family, even though he admits the shorter man may be somewhat eccentric. Both men are passionate about Astronomy, but in a different fashion.
He keeps a father-son relationship with Duke, but it is somewhat cold: they are more respectful with each other than affectionate, and Duke spends most of his time in the ranch, whereas his father is married to his job. Genzo treats him like his son, but he seems to think Duke is a full-fledged adult and thus does not really need him, so he only intervenes if he feels it is warranted or Duke is the one who goes to him. Duke treats him like his father, but it seems clear he feels his biological parents are his real parents. And Genzo seems being aware of this.
Doctor Umon supported Duke and his friends when they fought, but generally his support consisted in debriefing them, feeding them with useful data and warning them about possible strategies of the enemy. He was not so good of a strategist like Professor Yumi and he did not use to suggest or order a specific tactic. Another important role of his was compensating for Grendizer's weaknesses before the enemy found them and exploited them, and building several vehicles that could combine with Grendizer.
Tropes:
- Badass Bookworm
- Dub Name Change: To Procyon in the European dub.
- Married to the Job: He prefers to stay focused on his job than anything else including the ranch he owns and his family.
- Mission Control: He serves as an adviser and support such as construction of the Spazers.
- Odd Friendship: Dr. Umon has been friends with Danbei for several years, sharing a love for astronomy with him and visiting his family from time to time.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Sort of. Technically he is an astronomer, but he also is knowledgeable about robotics, and about building, maintaining and repairing vehicles adapted to work at different environments. It may be justified, since Duke surely helped him to understand how Grendizer worked, and he lived in a universe where robotics was a very advanced discipline. It is entirely possible he often consulted with the Photon Science Research Laboratory.
- Parental Substitute: Dr. Umon took Duke Fleed in as a son giving him the name Daisuke Umon.
- Parents as People: Despite being a sort of adoptive father, Genzo and Daisuke's relationship is more professional than familial.
- The Professor
- Spared by the Adaptation: In the anime. in the manga, he dies when Earth is reduced to rubble by Raaga and Grendizer.
- Stay in the Kitchen: In the Gosaku Ota manga, when Kouji flew to make First Contact with the Vegans, Dr. Umon, Daisuke and Hikaru were watching it through a screen in the Laboratory. When the saucers tried to shoot Kouji down, Daisuke started yelling in pain. Hikaru offered to carry him to a bed, but Dr. Umon screamed: “You stay out of this, woman!”. In his defence, he was –understandably, given the circumstances- nervous and stressed, and he did not want her to find out Daisuke’s secret, so maybe he would not have said that in a normal situation, but still…
- Team Dad
- Took a Level in Kindness: Compared to his manga alter-ego who did not hesitate to brainwash Duke in order to make him more efficient in battle.
Hayashi, Yamada and Aoi
Hayashi's (Voice) Actor(s): Keaton Yamada
Yamada's (Voice) Actor(s): Keaton Yamada
Aoi's (Voice) Actor(s): Kazuhiko Inoue (Episode 3), Kenichi Ogata (Episode 17 onwards)
They were three workers of the Laboratory, and Dr. Umon’s research team. Usually, they helped collecting and analyzing data.
Tropes:
- A Day in the Limelight: Hayashi in episode 16 where we learn that was an orphan and has a fiance named Kaori; he's engaged and plans to marry when the fight with the Vegan Empire ended (although Kaori only appeared once and nothing was brought up again).
- Bridge Bunnies: They performed the ordinary functions of Mission Control, collecting and interpreting data and reading it to Doctor Umon or the pilots, as well as sending them orders or receiving their messages.
- Flat Character: They didn't have much importance.
- Labcoat of Science and Medicine: They always wore labcoats, as Dr. Umon's research team.
- Rule of Three
Planet Vega
King Vega
(Voice) Actor(s): Joji Yanami
King Vega was the ruthless ruler of planet Vega. When his world became unstable due to the exploiting of the radioactive material named Vegatron, he began an expansionist campaign of conquest to find a new place to live.
His first targets were the neighbour worlds to Vega. One of them was Fleed. He approached King Fleed with apparently benevolent intentions, and the King did not suspect anything, and he even got his son Duke engaged with Rubina, King Vega's daughter. But as soon as they felt confident, he turned against them, attacking Fleed with a huge fleet of war ships and gigantic robots, decimating their armies and bombarding their cities with Vegatron bombs. The Royal Family was murdered and soon they took over the planet.
However, their own Vegatron bombs turned the idyllic planet they intended to colonize into a radioactive wasteland, and they were unable to fulfill another of their targets: seizing Grendizer, an Humongous Mecha that was the embodiment of the Fleedian god of war. Duke, Fleed Crown Prince ran away with Grendizer before they got their hands on it.
A while later his army struck Earth. During its first raid they learnt Duke had found shelter in that planet along with Grendizer. For a long while, King Vega remained on his planet, leaving the war against Grendizer to his commanders. However, in the last part of the series, the Vega homeworld finally died, and he moved with his army to the Skul Moon Base -the Vegan Space Base on the dark side of the Moon- and personally oversaw the war against Grendizer. However, after Gandal's death, he led the final offensive against Earth.
Tropes:
- A Father to His Men: Even though he is quite ruthless, in occasions he has shown he cares sincerely for some of his subordinates.
- Batman Gambit: Part of his strategy involved shielding his mothership and descending Earth with it. Naturally, it depended on the enemy being too busy fighting his squads of mini-UFOs to notice this.
- Beard of Evil: Has a purple beard.
- Big Bad: Leader of the Vegan Empire, he is the central antagonist of Grendizer.
- Enemy Civil War: In the Gosaku Ota continuity, he murdered the Emperor of Darkness. That was the only time in continuity than ‘’Great Mazinger’’ Big Bad died on panel.
- Even Evil Has Standards: It may seem unbelievable he has standards, but he does. When Zuril suggested using his daughter like bait to lay a trap for Duke Fleed he got scandalized and told he would not brook that.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The only thing he actually seems to care about is his own daughter Rubina. He became filled with thirst for revenge when Rubina was killed protecting Duke from Zuril.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: After his daughter’s demise he grieves, and states he would taken over the universe and would have handed it over to her. He clearly does not understand that is not what she wanted.
- Galactic Conqueror: He started to conquer other planets to find another world to Vegans settle on. Before striking Earth he had already invaded and conquered many planets, and he used to say his army was the most powerful one in the universe. He see military might as the only true way to rule, he never hesitates to make underhanded tactics to get what he wants.
- Large Ham:King Vega: Our homeworld exists no more. We have destroyed our Moon Base. We have no place to retreat to anymore. Look below you: That is Earth, the only place we can go towards now. We must defeat or die!
- Never My Fault: He is very stubborn, refusing to admit the fault that it was the mining of Vegatron that is causing the death of Planet Vega.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He would appear throughout the series giving orders to Blaki and Gandal until the destruction of Planet Vega. While hardly ever seen in battle, King Vega commands the King of Vega spaceship that can fight in space.
- Obviously Evil: King Vega is a ruthless and very cruel man, ruling Planet Vega with an iron fist.
- Orcus on His Throne: He stood aside as his commanders directed the war for most of the series. It was not until most of his officers had gotten killed and his daughter died he got fed up and decided leading the last offensive personally.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: The Vegans are a ‘’very’’ proud race, and his society is devoted to and based on warfare.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Sort of averted. He does not make a lot, and he does not show to be a better warrior than his generals.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: When you get down to it, his expansionist war not only was motivated by his personal ambition and dreams of universal domination, but also it was driven by Vega’s homeworld imminent demise and his need of finding another haven for his people.
- You Have Failed Me: Curiously, it was averted. Even though he punished his subordinates' failures, he did not execute them.
Gandal/Lady Gandal
(Voice) Actor(s): Kousei Tomita (Gandal), Kazuko Sawada (Lady Gandal)
Gandal: Fortunately we still have our mini-UFOs. Let's throw an all-out assault with all our ships!
Lady Gandal: Do you seriously think a full assault will work?
Gandal: We MUST defeat! Otherwise, if we do not destroy Grendizer, there will never be a new Vega Kingdom! It will die forever!
General Gandal was a strange being, with two different personalities (one male and one female) and two bodies. The biggest body was muscular, blue-skinned, and was inhabited by the male personality. The tiniest body was located inside the angular head of the largest body, and it resembled a diminutive, red-headed witch, dressed with red robes and carrying a wooden cane. The female personality dwelt in it. Later in the series, the female body was destroyed, and both personalities began sharing the only body left.
Gandal was in charge of the invasion of Earth, but for the first season he left the majority of the work to his subordinate, Blaki. After several defeats, his King forced him to share his position and chores with Zuril.
Gandal is a brutal, scheming military man, extremely proud and loyal to King Vega, that favours brute force right like his subordinate Blaki, but is little imaginative. On the other hand, Lady Gandal is more ruthless and more cunning than him. She is also more pragmatic, valuing her self-interest -or self-survival- over her loyalty to the King or the Vegan cause. Both personalities often argue.
Tropes:
- A Glass of Chianti: Every so often He enjoys a glass of... whatever liquor Vegans drink.
- Body Horror: His face opens outwards and he has another body into his head, Lady Gandal (a female creature with a unique personality).
- Co-Dragons: With Zuril after Blaki's demise.
- Dragon-in-Chief: During the first season. He is the leader of the Vegan Empire attack on Earth, having his subordinate Blaki do most of the dirty work.
- Dub Name Change: "Minos" in Europe and Quebec. Lady Gandal is "Minas".
- Dying Moment of Awesome: He was dying due to a self-inflicted wound, so he decided dying fighting Grendizer one last time.
- Eye Beams: One of his powers. Used for first time in episode 2.
- Honor Before Reason: Gandal subscribes to this trope. His loyalty to Vega is utter and final, and he will fight for his King and his country even if it exists no longer or victory is unattainable.
- Men Use Violence, Women Use Communication: Invoked. Lady Gandal is more about striking bargains and self-preservation by the avoidance of battles she knows the cannot win. Gandal is mostly about destroying the enemy with brute force and never surrendering, even when all hope is lost.
- Redemption Equals Death: He seemed thinking so.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Lady Gandal appears to be out for her own benefit, taking advantage of any situation she can to take control. When she understands that Failure Is the Only Option against Grendizer, Lady Gandal even attempts to kill King Vega so that she can live in peace.
- Reason Before Honor: On the other hand, Lady Gandal is way more pragmatic, and she is mainly devoted to her self-preservation.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Made to himself/herself. Lady Gandal came to the realization the war was lost and she decided to kill the King to strike a bargain with the enemy. Gandal disagreed with it, and shot himself/herself on the side of the head she was controlling. Then, since he was dying due to the bullet wound, he decided he would rather die fighting his enemy in order to redeem himself.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To a degree. Their status as The Dragon for King Vega and their bigendered nature, namely by simultaneously being a male and female make him incredibly similar to Baron Ashura. They also even have a dual-faced appearance whenever Lady Gandal decides to speak her mind, as half of Gandal's face turns into that of Lady Gandal's when she does so.
- Taking You with Me: His last resort to destroy to Grendizer was trying to crash his ship against the giant robot.
- Talking to Themself: Due to their differing personalities, both aspects tend to argue with each other.
- Two-Faced: After Lady Gandal's body was destroyed in battle during the first season, Gandal's face morphed into Lady Gandal's every time she wanted to talk. If she was only talking her mind instead of taking over, only one side of the face changed.
- Undying Loyalty: Gandal is extremely loyal to King Vega. When Lady Gandal almost shoots Vega, Gandal takes control of the body and kills Lady Gandal by shooting himself in the eye. He decides to spend the remainder of his life in battle against Grendizer.
- Women Are Wiser: Gandal's strategies are rather mediocre, as they tend to be focused purely on brute force. Lady Gandal's strategies are more pragmatic, often coming closer to success than Gandal.
Blaki
(Voice) Actor(s): Kousei Tomita (Episode 1), Kenichi Ogata (Episode 2-27)
Colonel –or Commander- Blaki (ブラッキー隊長, Burakkī Taichō) was Gandal's second-in-command and the main responsible of the attacks on Earth in the first season. He was sinister and deceiving, still he favoured the use of brute force rather strategy and cunning. His more used tactic was simply throwing one Saucer beast after another at Duke Fleed. Due to his constant failures he was chastised by Gandal, and sometimes other commanders showed up to try to succeed where he had failed. It was in those situations where he proved he could be cunning and manipulative, ensuring they failed or perished in the attempt.
Gradually he grew so obsessed with destroying Duke Fleed and Grendizer that after one his best plans finally went up in ashes, he made a desperate kamikaze attack against Grendizer, and died.
Apparently, despite his twisted personality and military failures, it seems he was a highly regarded officer. When planet Vega was destroyed, the King stated it was the biggest loss since Blaki's death.
Tropes:
- Cool Starship: The Motherburn. It stored Saucer Beasts and mini-UFOs, and was armed with missiles and lasers. However it usually remained on the Moon and it nearly never was used in battle.
- The Dragon: To Gandal in the first part.
- Dub Name Change: Hydargos in some dubs.
- Enemy Civil War: He did not hesitate on sabotaging schemes of other Vegan commanders if he thought their success could undermine his position.
- Spell My Name With An S: Blacki? Bracki? Blackie.
- Taking You with Me: He made a desperate kamikaze attack against Grendizer and died.
Minister Zuril
(Voice) Actor(s): Banjo Ginga
After many defeats and Blaki's death, King Vega sent Zuril to the Skull Moon Base to collaborate with Gandal. He was a cunning, smart scientist favoured elaborate plans over the use of force brute. His position was equal to Gandal's and both were forced to share power. Zuril and Gandal often disagreed on tactics although they did not hesitate on uniting and working together when some Vegan officer threatened with taking over their position.
Zuril was in love with Rubina, King's daughter, who in turn was in love with her fiancé Duke Fleed. Therefore, Zuril hated him and saw him like his rival. Zuril also had a son that died to save his life. His son's death left Zuril devastated, and he became colder and more fatalistic.
Tropes:
- The Chessmaster: He tries very hard to be one. Unfortunately for him, long before he has found and attempted to exploit one of the weak points of Grendizer, Dr. Umon has already noticed the problem and taken countermeasures.
- Co-Dragons: With Gandal after Blaki's demise.
- Cool Helmet: Wears an helmet decorated with red wings.
- Cool Starship: The Warrior Mothership.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He wept after the Heroic Sacrifice of his son to save his life.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He never intended to exterminate humankind. And he was quite shocked when he learnt exterminating humankind was exactly what his King had in mind.
- Evil Genius: Zuril is an expert in technology and biology. He is involved in the creation of the Saucer Beasts as well as further developments of the Vega Beasts.
- Eyepatch of Power: His eyepatch is a computer that allows him to analyze an enemy and the surrounding area, allowing Zuril to collect data for plans of attack.
- Green-Eyed Monster: His hatred for Duke is further explained when Zuril reveals he had feelings for Rubina, Duke's fiancée.
- It's Personal: He has other reasons to want getting Duke Fleed killed other than his King's orders.
- Killed Off for Real: In the anime. He got shot by Kouji Kabuto.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: In episode 72, he followed Rubina to Earth, thinking that if he succeeds in destroying Grendizer and Duke Fleed, using Rubina as bait, he will be married to Rubina. He failed.
- Noble Demon: Despite being on the side of the antagonists, he's not that bad of a guy, as he loves his son, and genuinely thinks that humanity needs to be conquered for their own good.
- Pet the Dog: He gets one from his soldiers in episode 69 after he is injured and his son is killed in battle. Rather than just knocking him out when he almost commits suicide trying to reach his son, one of his men gets him to calm down and gently removes his hand from the ship controls in order to bring him back home.
- Redemption Equals Death: Inverted example. In one of the manga versions he survives the final battle and he vows to redeem himself.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He intends to conquer the planet because he genuinely believes humankind would be better off under the rule of a benevolent dictatorship.
- In the manga, when he finds out that King Vega wants to kill humankind rather than simply conquer Earth, he defects due to his disgust at the very idea.
Commander Barados
(Voice) Actor(s): Hidekatsu Shibata
Barados showed up in the Nagai's manga and in the Grendizer versus Great Mazinger movie. In the later he was merely a one-note character: another Vegan commander upstart who pompously proclaimed he would defeat Duke Fleed and seize or destroy Grendizer but ultimately failed. In the Go Nagai manga he got a back-story where it was revealed he was the main responsible of the downfall of planet Fleed.
He showed up when Vega and Fleed were at the peak of the war. Instead of fighting armies he deliberately targeted civilians, murdering women and children or kidnapping them to exterminate the Fleedian population. He accidentally captured King Fleed's two little children (that would imply Maria died in that continuity and never arrived Earth, if we are to assume the little girl was her) in a raid and he got a "brilliant" idea.
Shortly after a fleet of Vegan UFOs hovered over the planet's capital. Each hostage he had captured hanged under the UFOs, precariously tied to the saucer by a rope prevented him or her from a three-kilometre-high fall. After making sure the King saw his children dangling from one ship, he demanded in exchange for each life they should hand over ten weapons. The King reluctantly agreed, the transaction was done, and Barados released the women and children... by dropping them to the ground.
A while later he travelled to Earth to join the war against Grendizer. He made a noisy arrival, smashing whole sectors of the Skull Moon Base, mocking Gandal and Blacki and gloating if he succeeded he would replace them and they would be done away with. Though, his dirty and treacherous tricks and schemes did not avail him another time, and he was defeated in a very final way.
Tropes:
- Backstory: In the Go Nagai episodes.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: The kind he delivered to others... and his own. Duke cut it in half with his Double Harken... You know, his twenty-meter-long, double-edged scythe.
- Exact Words: He told he would let the hostages go. He never said they would survive their release.Duke: Now keep your promise and release the children!
Barados: I do not break my promises. I shall return the children. - Hate Sink: He's easily the single most vile member of the Vegan Army, not to mention a literal war criminal, too. His Establishing Character Moment has him lie that he would let go of the children and women of Planet Fleed if their king gave up all of the weaponry on the planet, only to kill them anyway by dropping them all to their deaths. He then goes on to not only kidnap Duke Fleed's friends, but a bunch of innocent civilians too, and use them all as human shields by tying them up all over Great Mazinger.
- Jerkass: He thinks nothing of inflicting pain and suffering on others.
- Oh, Crap!: His face when he realized his plan had failed and he was now at the mercy of a Duke was not feeling exactly merciful.
- Spell My Name With An S: Barados? Barendos?
- You Said You Would Let Them Go: He let them go... tossing them from a height of three-thousand meters.
Rubina
(Voice) Actor(s): Noriko Ohara (series), Hiromi Tsuru (Super Robot Wars)
Rubina: If this war continues, not only all Vegans but Earth will be destroyed. The only way to stop it is joining us in marriage. And I would be the happiest woman in the whole universe.
Rubina was the daughter of the King Vega. When King Vega approached to King Fleed, pretending to want to sign bilateral agreements between both countries, King Fleed got the idea of getting their children engaged –presumably to solidify the alliance-. The Vegan monarch reluctantly agreed, thinking he would have no need to worry about it in the future, and even he allowed his daughter lived for a while in planet Fleed. A real love story bloomed between Duke and Rubina. Rubina loved planet Fleed and lived there for a period of time when she was engaged to Duke. They got separated when wars erupted. Duke never forget her and deep down, he wanted to believe that she never betrayed him.
Several years later, Fleed was a polluted husk of a planet. King Vega told his daughter –that had fallen in love with Duke during her stay in Fleed- Duke had died, and tasked her with administering another colony-planet.
A while later Rubina learnt Duke was alive and the pollution poisoning planet Fleed was waning. Happily she left the world she was stuck on –and was on the verge of a revolt anyways- and travelled to Earth to meet with Duke. She hoped talking her father into leaving Earth alone and settling on planet Fleed to re-build what they destroyed. After she and Duke reminiscent about beautiful memories that they only knew about, Duke was overwhelmed with joy and disbelief that he can go back to his homeland with his fiancée, to reunite their hands in a marriage that he longed for and re-build his planet.Duke disobeyed Dr. Umon’s orders and went at night to meet with Rubina. To discuss their marriage and their return to his homeland. He hinted to Koji while feeling pain squeezing his heart, that he and Rubina would have been married if the wars never erupted.
Tropes
- Expy: She's based on Princess Terona, Duke Fleed's childhood friend and former lover-turned-enemy from Uchuu Enban Daisensho. They even have the same voice actress.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Duke and Rubina. Tragic love story.
