Metal Armor Dragonar | Retcon_404 (Anime Retrospective)

[@Kurotaisa]

Ah yes, another episode of "What if Jesus of Nazareth was a mecha weeb", my favorite!

[@DIEGhostfish]

I mean, going by that endcard, anything but!

[@edkwon]

One of my favorite things about Dragonar was having the main protagonist being split into a trio and making them all lovable goofballs. A nice change from the usual Gundam protagonist trope up til that point.

[@andrewowens4421]

Yeah, three main protagonists instead of one really gave Dragonar a different feel and I kind wish Gundam did that more often. Gundam 00 is the most recent with the Meisters all being equally important.

[@eccosong]

Ah Dragonar, the Gundam show that isn't actually a Gundam show.

[@Phoenix_Destiny_Kai]

Don't forget Heavy Metal L-Gaim....

[@justincholos.balisang6884]

So is Doungram

[@eccosong]

I'd never forget L-Gaim, though that one feels more lke Star Wars to me than a Gundam show.

[@PupOrionSirius26]

And the easy to identify the Char clone.

[@teslashark]

It's successor is Kainar, also designed buy Obari

[@whitewing2]

1 thing I like about Dragonar is the pilots are not Amuro level, but they use mostly wits to win battles EZSR from gundam build fighters try were patterned from the Dragonar Trio including the radar head

[@teslashark]

Bingo, it's the first Gundam AU like the later X and OO, SEED is even a more direct tribute to Dragonar than to Gundam

[@wingedswordslayer]

So fun fact about the opening: The D1 in the opening was so wildly off-model thanks to Masami Obari doing some unaccredited work on it that in the 2000s when the series started to see a revival in merch thanks to Super Robot Wars and Another Century's Episode, Bandai actually released a figure of the OP version of D1. Even Kunio Okawara revisited the series in 2007 with Another Century's Episode 3 and designed an original upgrade for Meio's Falguen that combined aspects of all three Dragonar units onto his Falguen.

[@rtaylor2682]

The mane on this guy 😂, you can’t casually appear on my screen with such glorious hair

[@ricarlab.967]

29:14 "Fist of the North star with Mechs."? Isn't that the 2nd arc of SPT Layzner?

[@CantankerousDave]

Layzner also had an onboard AI that Eiji occasionally had to point a gun at to relinquish control.

[@Skroopy]

I've watched literally every Gundam show/movie/special by now. Dragonar wasn't really on my radar, I was only vaguely aware of it, but this definitely makes me wanna check it out and see if it fills that Gundam void haha

[@DamplyDoo]

I liked playing L-gaim in SRW, and i recent bought a Five star stories art book on eBay!

[@jagerzaku9160]

DRAGONAR APPRECIATION VIDEO DETECTED, I AM HERE IMMEDIATELY! BEST INTRO EVER!

[@Zachattack1212]

It's always a good day when Retcon uploads a new video.

[@Rockmanforses]

Btw, dragonar still lives on thanks to Gundam Seed, you can point out a lot of references in all 2 series and the recent movie

[@andrewowens4421]

I always saw Dragonar as the prototype for Seed; design wise anyway.

[@teslashark]

@@andrewowens4421 Characters too, Yzak is Kaine. There's another successor done in China called Kainar that also hires Obari as a designer, rehashes the Dragonar plot but it's much darker.

[@_GeneralMechanics_]

This series got my attention back in college when someone on DeviantArt told me some of my mechanical design work (see my profile picture) reminded them of the Dragonar 01, and I hadn't seen it before. After I found out about Dragonar, I loved this series and Blue Comet Layzner. Fun fact, this series put a number of unused concept material from Layzner to good use. I'm glad to see it's still recognized, especially when Bandai created a whole new HG model of the Dragonar 01. It'd be great if they followed up on it with Units 2 and 3, and at some point the SPT Layzner.

[@lc7ineo]

24:00 that Electrosphere OST on the background 🤘

[@Cheapstall]

I’d really love to get your take on Gundam Thunderbolt. Even if it isn’t finished yet.

[@mattmaddogwheaton4724]

I'd be down for Metal Armor Dragonar: The Paladin of Mars myself to be honest.

[@andrewowens4421]

The next in the series would be Metal Armor Dragonar: The Ranger from Venus.

[@oliverrichardson4429]

I knew that the mecha designer for the RX782 worked on Transformers’ Star Saber design, and it’s super interesting to learn about the Dragonar, which is a perfect midpoint between the two

[@broodo1]

Gotta admit this is the first retrospective you've done of a series I've not actually heard of 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@JohnnyBurnes]

StudioAlf's cover of the theme's a must listen. I have a Korean model kit I got as a kid in the mid 90s. It was a big boy! Probably MG Gunpla sized with a wide wing span. Still have it. Not as nice as Bandai back then, but a neat kit. Didn't know there was a show until a few years ago. ,:D

[@tosho_2979]

This one had a banger of an OP. Can't wait to see what other obscure Mecha you cover!

[@LongTran-kp3kz]

Wow. The art looks really good. Might need to give this a watch

[@broodo1]

What's this? A new video. LETS GOOOOOOOOO!!!!

[@MaddJakd]

How fitting to cover the series that was worked on by the director of Japan's current-ish blockbuster, which he confirms he litered with Dragnar references lol

[@teslashark]

2887!

[@sanity000-x2r]

Dragonar rivals Bubblegum Crisis in how aggressively 80s it is.

[@Dracobyte]

Great video as always!!

[@lordofworldz]

I am gonna have to find and watch this, it sounds like a trip :D

[@awildcanadianappears9885]

Love how much it has a UC gundam vibe but not. So gonna check this out!

[@KumaKorner]

I loved Dragonar when I first saw the art online like 20 years ago. Btw; I appreciate your Budokai vid even if it isn't hitting the numbers of your mech content

[@ashharkausar413]

Looks like a cool show. Definitely dig the mech designs! 😎

[@5yhfd]

Amazing video I haven't seen anyone make a retrospective on this series

[@XxChristmanXx04]

My guy. Where is the zoids chaotic century vid. Its kinda my favorite lol

[@blacksun967]

⬆️⬅️⬆️ IYKYK😎

[@omegaXjammur]

41:40 you really were in the trenches trying to edit these videos lol

[@harleyspawn]

You should end up enjoying Zoids Chaotic Century. I think it's probably the most grounded and fun shows (even if it does get a little dark by the end).

[@kennethvillanueva4353]

Glad ur back!!

[@Keshin4539]

Magnificent vid again my dude. Interested very much for your thoughts on the next upcoming vids and hope things continue to go well for ya!

[@TRDGE]

I love this man.

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

DRAGONAR BAYBEEEEEE ↑←↑

[@GuyverZ]

I watched Dragonar with the HK subs and let me tell you it was a wild ride.

[@sanity000-x2r]

"I'm going to send you to the Netherlands!"

[@Amknownas_743great_explainer]

Idk why i loved that so much but metal armor dragonar: the warlock from pluto was genius. Metal armor dragonar :metal armor origins, or :D-weapon origins a story told from a kid who ends up in a prototype and has to navigate the battlefield as a good hearted "bad guy"

[@evolancer211]

The average time a person's brain can go without oxygen is sixish minutes.

[@Jhn-yl3xx]

Any plans on doing a review for gundam seed freedom?

[@thehod152]

Gotta love the callbacks to dragonar in the SEeD freedom movie

[@harleyspawn]

It sounds like a bunch of plots that would end up being used in things like Gundam 0083 and other 90's shows from Sunrise. It could have been where they tried out some of the animation and plot ideas before turning them into real Gundam shows.

[@Rojixus]

Love me some Metal Armor Dragonar!

[@arx3516]

Warlock from Pluto is actually a great series.

[@andrewowens4421]

I'd unironically watch this.

[@CD-Gaming]

That whole name thing you mentioned is jus like Digimon's Akiyoshi Hongo, which is actually the three people responsible for creating that franchise! And, while I hadn't heard of this show before today, I'm tempted to check it out now as it sounds a hoot, not least of all as a British Yu-Gi-Oh! fan, so the combination of a son of a Lord and the idea of Wayne Grayson...

[@DIEGhostfish]

23:14 White haired spacenazi ace being driven onto a base in a Jeep? HRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMM

[@SRTifiable]

As an OCS TAC, even after the officer candidates promote, they never quite lose the fear of you. Even after you’re nice to them 😂

[@willisjackson7029]

I know that Bandai has put out some HG model kits for Metal Armor Dragonar in the last 5 years or so. Two of them being gift sets and then the main suit as a stand alone.

[@emperorskulls]

I wish Dragonar would come out on Blu-ray in English.

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

Good job 👍❤

[@Krischaos]

As soon as I heard the opening song in the background I got hype

[@Sp33ddialz]

Anytime I see Dragonar, I always confuse it for Tekkaman Blade which uses such a similar color pallet

[@robertfaulkkner5508]

I've heard a little bit about this show. Now let's hear a lot about it!

[@comradeinternet467]

14 episodes dealing with Mecha Dirlewanger and random wilderness encounters is a bit too much, but it would be nice to see this get a reboot.

[@nicodalusong149]

Good luck with G-Reco. I enjoyed it, but I can understand if you feel lost, that's kind of the point.

[@andrewowens4421]

The movies do a better job of flushing the story out, but G-Reco is the kind of Gundam show that you have to take your time and dissect bit-by-bit because of how fast things go. You'll lose track if you just casually watch it.

[@sanictheedgehog]

I got my zoomer buddy to sit down and watch all of the original Gundam 79 television series, zeta gundam, turn a, f91, unicorn, and he's now working his way through double zeta. He could not sit through more than 3 episodes of G-reco. I like it a lot but that show seems to be the biggest hard filter in the gundam series.

[@csbkota]

I kept hearing "playdoh" every time prof Plato got mentioned :D

[@Survivor77-y1r]

Hey Recton, big fan of your content and reviews, I was wondering if you could do a review of area 88, its a short but really good ova about a pilot named shin who is forced to become a mercanary and fight in order to survive and escape area 88. This anime really stuck with me and it is one of my favorites. Anyway, thank you and have a good day! :D

[@wealthfamily8989]

You should do Voltron next. The classic, of course.

[@charlesman8722]

I still want to watch this show and I’m mad the BLU ray collection isn’t available in the US

[@sanictheedgehog]

Discotek too busy bringing over super robot and obscure harem shows from the 2000s to be bothered by picking up dragonar, but I'm hoping they'll get it sooner rather than later.

[@charlesman8722]

⁠@@sanictheedgehogThey did give us all of the HNK series so one can only Hope they do something as badass with Dragonar

[@stizanley3987]

Good vid. If you're worried about copyright strikes, rather than doing the weird cropping you could just use stills. I mostly don't even watch the vids, just listen to them like a podcast.

[@PaperPrince97]

DRAGONAR MENTIONED

[@mistertaz94]

I'd love to see you cover either Tekkaman or Zeorymer

[@twelfthknight]

I learnt about Dragonar when Bandai released a model for the D1 and people were talking about how it was meant to replace Gundam at the time, that piqued my curiosity enough to give it a go. I honestly can't see how it could replace Gundam when it was a - kinda mid - version thereof. I spent most of the mid-section of the series wondering why everyone wasn't absolutely single-mindedly focused on the destroying or disrupting the lunar mass driver weapon that keeps vaporizing their cities and fortresses with impunity. It would be like the Rebel Alliance obsessing over attacking a small Imperial outpost while the Death Star was hovering over them.

[@andrewowens4421]

I enjoyed it, but yeah, the Earth bits of the story weren't the most interesting. The space politics of the enemy faction were in fact much better and I tended to be more interesting with the struggles of the main antagonist than the protagonists.

[@TheArtkaw]

FLYING HIGH!!

[@starsaber8969]

21:47 fun fact YOU can actually fly modern military equipment (helicopters) as a teenager in the US army.

[@Ranalcus]

Ah yes, the Metal Armor Dragonar the Warlock from Pluto is really respected and like series here

[@sanictheedgehog]

Still waiting everyday for discotek to pick this series up. We'll probably get Biker Mice from Mars, some random 2000s harem show, and some 22 minute lupin the third OVA before they even think of getting dragonar though.

[@Mythteller]

Linda and her brother are anime analogies to Casval Dekum and Artesia Dekum aka. Sayla Mass🤓

[@Val825.]

As a someone who came to know dragonar by way of Super Robot Wars I have a soft spot for Gom jem and his squad of hokuto no ken mechas. It is a bit sad to hear he is not so cool in the actual series.

[@Retcon404]

He's still cool honestly, his arc just happens to be poorly paced and undercut by some weird decisions that come right after. Can't argue with the design of him or any of his Mecha though they look amazing.

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

Well, based on the images of Meio, the character design was really heavily based on/a strong basis for Anavel Gato, the antagonist of 0083: Stardust Memory. Given Dragonar ran from February '87 to Jan '88, and 0083 from late May '91 through to late September '92, (and a quick check on AniDB doesn't show any evidence of Gato showing up anywhere except for 0083 and it's theatrical compilation movie), it would seem that the Dragonar version is the original. Given that the seiyuu for Meio (Kosugi Juurouta) was already a pretty successful VA *and* had a significant if supporting role in Zeta Gundam, it's interesting that they didn't choose him to voice Gato as well. Presumably it was at least partly an availability thing there.

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

Having finished the video now, I can say that despite Dragonar starting out sounding like something well worth checking out, by the end of watching this it's been placed firmly in the 'Yeah, Nah' basket. Life's too short to watch all the shows and movies I actually want to see, so why would I waste time on something that never really got off the ground due to a long string of bad/foolish choices by the creators?

[@RaceSix-v2x]

D unit 1 is like what if Aile Strike Gundam was designed in 1980's D unit 2 is like Black Guncannon with more weapons D unit 3 is like EWAC Hizack but with strange head camera

[@LaBambaMan]

Never watched Dragonar, but some of the mecha designs are just top-notch. If you want more 80's mecha action with a Gubdam pedegree, Heavy Metal L.Gaim is on KZbin and is fucking wild. Also, if you didn't see it, Gundam Narrative is on GundamInfo for another week or so. Would love to hear your thoughts on that weirdness.

[@AKASUKIJOE]

God I want another Dragonar series or manga

[@MrBigBoots2163-z5k]

Retcon, please watch and review super robot wars OG The interview. Its very similar to macross in terms of the war being fought, but the designs are more gundam esque. So far its pretty cool👍

[@Grizabeebles]

Another mecha show for the pile: Brave Bang Bravern

[@FaeFemboi]

If you had just LIED, and talked about this entire show as if it were a Gundam show, I would 1000% believe it.

[@teslashark]

It's SEED!

[@johnnygutierrez41]

For a break in episodes you should watch like and movie maybe transformers 1986 love to hear your opinion on that

[@iandevine3063]

Brain damage is tight!

[@andrewowens4421]

Dragonar's main problem was that it didn't know exactly what it wanted to do plot wise. It threw everything at the wall and hoped something would stick. Fortunately it's characters help to mitigate that problem but ultimately Dragonar fell to obscurity because Gundam shows told the same story it wanted to tell but more coherently. That said it is a fun ride and if you can stomach the less than interesting parts you'll get some real enjoyment out of it. It might not do its story well, but it does do mecha anime right.

[@BroomPusher2024]

Agreed! It has a strong 80s cult classic action movie vibe, and it makes them fun mechs in the super robot wars games that have em.

[@hige1234]

this dude is cute.

[@fattiger6957]

Though it is a blatant ripoff of MS Gundam (oddly enough, both made by Sunrise) it is pretty good. Not as good as Gundam, but a decent enough light hearted take on it. I liked that the romance subplot wasn't miserable like it often is in Gundam. It is kinda funny that this show had to be it's own thing because alternate timelines didn't exist in Gundam yet. Little did they know that 15 or so years later an AU Gundam show would be just as much a shameless ripoff of 0079.

[@fattiger6957]

@Nix91 I'm sure a lot of the Gundam staff worked on it. When was Dragonar, like '87?

[@teslashark]

Intentional. SEED is much closer to a Dragonar expansion than to a 0079 reboot. The Duel trio are just the Dragonar guys and 2887 is literally the detonation code of Aegis. Fukuda worked on Dragonar from day 0.

[@edwardwilson7459]

i totally forgot they gave the African American kid the black mech with ALL THE GUNS 🤣

[@ninjammer726]

Please do a video essay on code geass next🤑🤤😋😍🇯🇵🍑👺👹😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@willisjackson7029]

You might have been remembering Zoids New Century Zero that made you think it was stupid because Bit Cloud was just an obnoxious main character. But Zoids Chaotic Century is the best Zoids series in my opinion.

[@Henyo5566]

The only dragonar anime that matters There is another...but...its the usual magic school harem shenanigans(seikoku no dragonar for the curious)

[@rollingvice]

i always though dragonar & vifam are from the same series.

[@nexo42069]

In my opinion I prefer dragonar 1 and 2 over the guncannon and rx-78-2

[@gundam5281]

I tried to like the series but it ripped too much from 0079 for me to appreciate it.

[@CantankerousDave]

And the mass driver is right out of Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

[@andrewowens4421]

If anything the Earth part of the story line wasn't as interesting as the space politics of the enemy faction. I found myself enjoying the little civil war they were having over anything the main protagonists were doing.

[@kliffundersen2130]

↑←↑

[@OuroborosChoked]

Maybe it was just the subtitled version I watched, but I _hated_ Dragonar. I liked ZZ, even the goofy, silly beginning... but Dragonar just hits all wrong. The main characters, particularly Kaine, are stupid and impulsive throughout the entire show. For as much as you emphasized their character growth, they never seem to confront any of the horrific shit they're right in the middle of. As you touched on, they blow up an enemy base, _killing thousands,_ and it's *never brought up.* They're like inverted Amuros... and it obliterates their relatability - and thus, likability - as characters. The absolute nadir of the series is in the Gun Jem arc. There was a part in there where Gun Jem (and his team) trounce the entire Dragonar team and just... don't kill them. They could've done so. They weren't under any pressure to retreat. They're the big Evil McBadguy team and yet... they just don't kill them. The Dragonars are left disabled and ruined at the bottom of a crevasse, everyone knocked out or injured... the support team is in shambles, with Linda being kidnapped... and yet everyone's alive. The show should have ended there, but nooooooooooooooo... worse yet, the episode immediately following this, the Dragonar team are right back to their fucking unserious, goofball antics. I think I hate Victory Gundam more, but not by much. About the only thing the show has going for it is it has moments of absolutely incredible 80s animation. The intros, for example, are gorgeous. Just straight mecha porn.

[@teslashark]

The absolute plot tumor of those mercs in the desert

[@Jakedarkforce]

Like 666, nice

[@grobmiller]

Space Waffle House has the craziest night scene