- Accidental Innuendo: Combattler V's Big Blast and its Divider variant.
- Americans Hate Tingle:
- Combattler V didn't fare as well as Voltes V in the Philippines, for it felt too similar to its more popular sibling show (even though it came first in Japan). This is largely because most Filipinos think that Combattler V was aired in the Philippines twenty years after Voltes, when the latter has already entrenched itself into Filipino pop culture deeply.note Actually, the anime already aired
on RPN-9 in 1979 care of an obscure English dub. Technically, both works appeared on Philippine television roughly at the same time, but the melodrama of Voltes resonated more with Filipinos compared to its technical predecessor, thus making Combattler look outdated in comparison. - In the West, Combattler V fares less well than the other installments of the Robot Romance Trilogy.
- In Japan, it's completely turned around. Because Combattler V came first before Voltes V, it's Voltes that's seen as a cheap knock-off or overdramatic version of Combattler.note
- The bitterness also stems from some kids thinking that changing the toy weapon from Combattler's electric yoyos to Voltes's top and string was kind of lame.
- Other kids were also upset that before they were able to collect all five parts of Combattler, store shelves have shifted to Voltes, so the parts they have don't fit with the parts of Voltes even as parents mistook Voltes to be the same as Combattler.
- At least one Japanese Twitter user claims that from his childhood perspective, Voltes V looked like the Pachimon version of Combattler V even though Voltes ultimately ended up becoming more appealing to overseas markets.
Complete Monster: Empress Janera.Initially wanting to Take Over the World, Janera sent her monsters to destroy resistance, but was always blocked by Combattler V. It is revealed Janera even oppresses her own people, the Campbellians, inspiring their true leader Deus to return and lead a revolt against her forces. Realizing time is short, Janera opts for a new solution against Earth: leading an attack personally, she deploys a bomb to the Earth's core to destroy the planet and kill everything on it. Ensemble Dark Horse: If you search for fan arts of the humanoid characters of the show, you will notice that Chizuru tends to dominate the majority of them, despite merely being The Heart (the main face of the show has always been the titular robot, or Hyouma), and it also applies to the whole Robot Romance Trilogy, even her successors Megumi and Erika didn't quite reach this level of fan support. Epileptic Trees: There are rumors that the 2012 pachinko machine's cutscenes are actually scraps of a cancelled full reboot of the series, with most fans pointing towards the fact that Nanbara is clearly supposed to speak in some parts but does not. However, no official confirmation has been provided for this. Funny Moments: The group's first meeting included Professor Nanbara introducing the boys with his granddaughter Chizuru, causing everyone to swoon. Hyouma then cut it with this line:Hey! Did you just call us here just to introduce us to your granddaughter!?
- This is then followed with the boys freaking out that the face of the titular Combattler V is facing them via the mirror. When the professor explains that it's going to be the Super Robot they're going to pilot, the four initiated a group-Face Fault.
Genius Bonus: Garuda's name. Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Combattler V was popular in the Middle Eastnote Arabs in general love mecha anime, like Grendizer, specially Lebanon. It was even featured in a 2023 Art Exhibition event in Abu Dhabi. Hilarious in Hindsight: The villains being named the Campbellian aliens. Decades after the anime aired, the person they were named after would be seen as a Real Life villain due to his racism and controversial views. Iron Woobie: Hyouma Aoi. The amount of injury and pain he goes through in the series is astounding, and that's before one considers that he's an orphan. And yet he never, ever gives up. Jerkass Woobie: Garuda is himself a victim of Oreana, and actually quite pitiful given his inevitable fate as a Proud Warrior Race Guy. On the other hand, he may have character depth (specially compared with other 70s Super Robot villains)... but his ferocity and sadism towards enemies is genuine, and has made it clear several times. Memetic Mutation: "Choudenji (insert X here)!!". More prevalent in Super Robot Wars' 4Koma or Fan translations, though this also applies to its successor series. Seasonal Rot: While the series as a whole is still well received, the second half is considered a step-down compared to the first season, most likely by simplifying the format. Garuda was a pseudo-honorable Jerkass Woobie with great Villainous Valour that was considered more complex than villains around his era (and he also had a genuine compassion towards one of his servants, Miia, who also loved him enough to pull a sacrifice for him), giving more layers to the villains. Compared to him, the Campbellians under Janera, Warchimedes and Dungele, came off more like normal Obviously Evil villain group with less depths (Dungele only got his 'sense of honor' late in the series, but he's still a squarely evil character). The second season also goes Lighter and Softer with the addition of Kinta and Chie and their less than useful Kerot (though it sometimes saves the day). While it also introduces more tools for Combattler (including the V Laser and Twin Lancer), it's mostly agreed that the first half is superior compared to the second half. The producers most likely notice this, and thus used Garuda as the template for his successors Heinel and Richter and making sure they last the whole series instead of just halfway. Values Dissonance: The Campbellians being named after John W. Campbell. While he was a famed science fiction writer dubbed "the most powerful force in science fiction ever" by fellow author Isaac Asimov, he was also an unashamed racist who wrote a number of articles arguing against slave abolition and attributed the Watts uprising to "Black people’s latent desire to return to slavery". Campbell also looked down on Asians and wrote the short story that would inspire Sixth Column. It was due to his racism that the name of the award "John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer" was changed to "Astounding Award for Best New Writer" in 2019. Then again, they are the bad guys...
