I'll Burn with Bright Red Flames

32M/INTJ/History PhD. Just an insane guy trying to get by in a sane, and boring world. I mostly post anime, and video game related pictures. Particularly Eureka Seven, Madoka Magica, and Soul Eater, Steins;Gate, The World God Only Knows, Gosick, and Valvrave,...

[macrolit]

How many of these have you read?

[barbwritesstuff]

Barb did you ever watch True Blood? I'm rewatching and the werewolves there kinda reminded me of yours.

I only watched the first little bit and never got to the werewolves. However, I'm not surprised they're similar to mine.

I'm so sorry, but I'm going to nerd out a little bit a lot right now. Feel free not to read this. Or, you know, strap in.

Werewolves have evolved over the last hundred years. Like... a crazy amount.

They used to, back in the 1800s, be vampires. Dracula, for example, was a vampire AND a werewolf. He could command the wolves, turn into a black dog, and of course...

...get a little hairy when he wanted to.

He's not the only vamp that got a little wolfish on the down low. Carmilla (the inspiration for Dracula) could turn into a great cat. In some myths, vampires became werewolves when they died, kinda like a video game boss having a second tougher mode after you've defeated them once. Even in stories where they were distinct, there had a lot of similarities. Eg, in Wagner the Werewolf the titular Wagner became a werewolf thanks to a deal with a demon, which feels kinda vampy to me.

The long and short of it is, back when top hats were in fashion, the line between vampire and werewolf was blurry as fuck.

Then, of course, the 1900s. Aka, electric light bulbs, great depressions, world wars, and (most importantly of all) movies!

Horror movies were popular. They were relatively cheap to produce and sold a lot of tickets. This made way for the monster movie, including Werewolf of London in 1935 and in 1941, the original Wolf-Man. These movies actually invented a lot of modern werewolf lore and (I think) popularised the idea of werewolves and vampires being distinctly different things. Werewolves and vampires were still BFFs, appearing in similar comics and movies, but they weren't just... Dracula on a good hair day vs. Dracula on a bad hair day.

Then McCarthyism made everything boring for a bit in the USA. America's hyper-conservatism bled into English speaking media as a whole, because you gotta appeal to the largest market blah blah blah, and as a result, most of the best English horror during this time was pulpy, porny, and under the radar. Vampires and werewolves still existed, but they weren't A listers.

Then (in book world) Anne Rice made vampire literature sexy again by winning a ton of critical acclaim for Interview With The Vampire. This was followed by a bunch of romantic vampire stories and a bunch of very unromantic vampire stories from people who didn't like this more tragic, beautiful interpretation of blood suckers.

Also, around the same time, censorship was easing up and horror movies were becoming more popular again for the same reason they were popular before. They were cheap to make and made a lot of money.

ALSO in the 1970s that infamous 'alpha wolf' study happened. We know it's false now, but it influenced werewolves in a big way, and the influence is still strong today. Pack dynamics being a factor in werewolf fiction pretty much started here.

Still, werewolves were playing second fiddle to vampires. It wasn't until 1981 when we got two big chapters in the werewolf mythos. An American Werewolf In London and The Howling.

Aka, mindless rage monsters, flesh eaters, body horror, all the fun stuff.

Then the 1990s, a bunch of paranormal romance novels, The World of Darkness introduced the idea of vampires and werewolves being enemies, which Underworld took and ran with. That's everywhere now, including in my work. We also see a lot of coopting of native American people into werewolf mythology, which was racist and weird but continued all the way up until the 2010s thanks to Twilight. (The only time I've seen this done well was Stephan Graham Jones' Mongrels, which actually spoke about this from an indigenous voice.) And, speaking of Twilight, it ushered in a new age of vampire werewolf romances and a new age of vampire werewolf anti romances, similar to what we saw with Anne Rice.

I'm simplifying this a lot, and there's probably heaps of influences and media stuff I'm unaware of, but what I'm trying to say is: I'm not surprised my werewolves fit within and are similar to other werewolf and vampire stories. Of course. I'm not inventing this stuff, no one is. I'm taking the stories that exist and reshaping them to suit me, my ideas, my world, etc.

The stories all exist within a tradition and that tradition is living. It's growing, it's changing, it's evolving. Ideas linking on from ideas, not occurring in isolation. The writers of True Blood were probably inspired by the same things I was.

100+ years of monster madness.

No one is writing werewolves and vampires like they did back in the 1800s. Even trying feels a little weird because you have to explain how these monsters used to be (I had that issue when writing Of Monsters and Mainframes. They're Victorian monsters, so they break from conventional myth of modern monsters. What used to be ubiquitous is now weird).

Anyway, I'm sorry. That was a lot. I didn't want it to be a rant. I just really think this stuff is cool.

[macaroniducks]

the best pictures :)

[kewiztf]

The fly

[nymphoutofwater]

Here's a remade masterpost of free and full shakespeare adaptations! Thanks @william-shakespeare-official for this excellent post. Unfortunately, a lot of the links in it are broken, so I thought I'd make an updated version (also I just wanted to organize things a bit more)

Antony and Cleopatra: ~ Josette Simon, Antony Byrne & Ben Allen - 2017

As You Like It: ~ At Wolfe Park - 2013 ~ Kenneth Brannagh's - 2006

Coriolanus: ~ NYET Alumni - 2016 ~ Tom Hiddleston - 2014 ~ Ralph Fiennes - 2011

Cymbelline: ~ Michael Almereyda's - 2014

Hamlet: ~ Andrew Scott - 2018 ~ David Tennant - 2009 ~ Ethan Hawke & Diane Venora - 2000 ~ Kenneth Branagh's - 1989 ~ BCC's Part One & Two - 1990 ~ Broadway - 1964 ~ Christopher Plummer - 1964 ~ Laurence Olivier's - 1948

Henry IV: ~ BBC's Part One & Two - 1989 ~ The Brussel's Shakespeare Society's - 2017

Henry V: ~ The BBC's - 1990 ~ Laurence Olivier's - 1944

Julius Caesar: ~ Phyllida Lloyd's - 2019 ~ The BBC's - 1979 ~ John Gielgud - 1970

King Lear: ~ The RSC's - 2008 ~ Laurence Olivier - 1983 ~ The BBC's - 1975 ~ James Earl Jones - 1974 ~ Orson Wells - 1953

Love's Labour's Lost: ~ Calvin University - 2016

Macbeth: ~ Stockbridge Drama Society's - 2019 ~ The RSC's - 2019 ~ Antoni Cimolino & Shelagh O'Brien's - 2017 ~ Ian McKellen & Judi Dench - 1969 ~ Sean Connery - 1961

Measure for Measure: ~ Hugo Weaving - 2019 ~ The BBC's - 1990

The Merchant of Venice: ~ Al Pacino - 2004 ~ Trevor Nunn & Chris Hunt - 2001 ~ The BBC's - 1980 ~ Lawrence Olivier - 1973

The Merry Wives of Windsor: ~ The Royal Shakespeare Company's - 1982

A Midsummer Night's Dream: ~ Oliver Chris & Gwendoline Christie - 2019 ~ City of Columbus's - 2018 ~ Julie Taymor's - 2014 ~ The Globe's - 2013 ~ The BBC's - 1988 ~ Lindsay Duncan & Alex Jennings - 1986

Much Ado About Nothing: ~ Shakespeare in the Park - 2019 ~ David Tennant and Catherine Tate - 2011 ~ Kenneth Branagh - 1993 ~ The BBC's - 1984

Othello: ~ The BBC's Part One & Two - 1990

Richard II: ~ David Tennant - 2013 ~ Deborah Warner's - 1997 ~ The BBC's - 1978

Richard III: ~ Ian McKellen - 1995 ~ Laurence Olivier - 1955

Romeo and Juliet: ~ Simon Godwin's - 2021 ~ The BBC's - 1988 ~ Laurence Harvey & Susan Shentall - 1954

The Taming of the Shrew: ~ Ontario production? ~ American Conservatory Theater - 1976 ~ Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor - 1967 ~ Mary Pickford & Samuel Taylor - 1929

The Tempest: ~ Gregory Doran's - 2017 ~ The BBC's - 1988

Timon of Athens: ~ Barry Avrich's - 2024

Troilus and Cressida: ~ Audio Production ~ This one I found on youtube? - 2016

Titus Andronicus: ~ Anthony Hopkins - 1999

Twelfth night: ~ Texas Shakespeare Festival's - 2015 ~ Alec Guinness, Joan Plowright & Ralph Richardson - 1970

Two Gentlemen of Verona: ~ Katherine Steweart's - 2018 ~ The BBC's

The Winter's Tale: ~ Antony Sher - 1999 (Warning: they don't have a bear...)

Bonuses:

Time Loop Hamlet! (A personal fav of mine)

My absolute fav production of Hamlet, but a very shitty recording (I got to see it live <3)

Rock Opera Hamlet???

Shakespeare animated tales

The Complete Works Of Shakespeare Abridged comedy

Romeo and Julieta: A Día de los Muertos Love Story

There’s also many other Latine Shakespeare adaptations listed in this archive

MacChef, a retelling but well... in a kitchen!

The Flying Karamazov Brother's comedy of errors part 1 & part 2

Overly Sarcastic Productions' zoom performances of Julius Caesar and Macbeth

From the original post:

A Midwinter's Tale, about a man trying to make Hamlet.

Russian Hamlet here

Here's Scotland, PA, the 2001 modern Macbeth retelling.

Rave Macbeth for anyone interested is here.

This one is the Taming of the Shrew modern retelling.

The french Romeo & Juliet musical with English subtitles is here!

Here's the 1948 one,

the Orson Wells Othello movie with Portuguese subtitles there

A Lego adaptation of Othello here.

Here's commentary on David Tennant's Richard II

[edettethegreat]

Shakespeare Adaptation Stats (courtesy of wikipedia)

(all info is taken off of this wiki page

descriptions in purple refer to the most recent adaptation)

All's Well That Ends Well:

4 adaptations, oldest from 1968, most recent from 2009, from National Theatre Live

Antony and Cleopatra:

7 adaptations, oldest from 1908, most recent from 2002, 'Kannaki', Indian modern-day adaption (I never read A&C so idk how loyal the adaptation is based off of the wikipidia summary)

As You Like It:

11 adaptations, oldest from 1912, most recent from 2010, direct-to-video recording from a performance at Shakespeare's Globe

Comedy of Errors:

9 adaptations, oldest from 1940, most recent from 1989, Canadian TV production

Coriolanus:

2 adaptations, oldest from 1984, most recent from 2012, just listed as 'Film' with no notes, so nothing to say about this one

Cymbeline:

3 adaptations, oldest from 1913, most recent from 2014, a modern-day adaptation featuring biker gangs

Hamlet:

43 adaptations, oldest from 1900, most recent from 2019, the live-action Lion King remake, which somehow qualifies for this because it's listed on the wiki. unfortunately.

Henry IV, 1:

7 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2012, The Hollow Crown series

Henry IV, 2:

6 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2012, The Hollow Crown series

Henry V:

9 adaptations, oldest from 1944, most recent from 2019, 'The King', supposedly based on Henry IV 1+2 too, but only listed as an adaptation of Henry V

Henry VI, 1:

5 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2016, The Hollow Crown series

Henry VI, 2:

8 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2016, The Hollow Crown series

Henry VI, 3:

6 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2016, The Hollow Crown series

Henry VIII:

2 adaptations, oldest from 1911, most recent from 1979, a BBC TV adaptation

Julius Caesar:

9 adaptations, oldest from 1950, most recent from 2018, all-female stage production, filmed

King John:

4 adaptations, oldest from 1899, most recent from 2015, Stratford festival stage production, filmed

King Lear:

20 adaptations, oldest from 1910, most recent from 2018, modern AU in a militarized London

Love's Labour's Lost:

4 adaptations, oldest from 1920, most recent from 2000, 1930s AU, also described as a 'musical romantic comedy,' also directed by Kenneth Branagh, also the music is "classic broadway songs of the 1930s"-- there's a lot going on with this one.

Macbeth:

47 adaptations, oldest from 1908, most recent from 2021, the A24 version

Measure for Measure:

6 adaptations, oldest from 1943, most recent from 2019, modern-day Australian AU

Merchant of Venice:

14 adaptations, oldest from 1914, most recent from 2004, the Al Pacino version, but other than that a straightforward adaptation

Merry Wives of Windsor:

5 adaptations, oldest from 1950, most recent from 1982, BBC TV adaptation

Midsummer Night's Dream:

22 adaptations, oldest from 1909, most recent from 2018, modern-day Los Angeles, California AU

Much Ado About Nothing:

7 adaptations, oldest from 1973, most recent from 2023, 'Anyone But You', an enemies to lovers romcom where the main characters named Beatrice and Ben-- other than that it doesn't seem like it has much in common with the original play (based on the wiki summary at least)

Othello:

26 adaptations, oldest from 1906, most recent from 2024, 'Athhoi', Indian adaptation, based on the wiki it seems to follow the main plot points fairly well

Pericles:

1 adaptation, 1984, BBC TV adaptation

Richard II:

9 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2012, The Hollow Crown series

Richard III:

19 adaptations, oldest from 1911, most recent from 2022, 'The Lost King', seems to be more about someone who's obsessed with Richard III than the shakespeare play itself

Romeo and Juliet:

51 adaptations, oldest from 1900, most recent from 2021, West Side Story reboot

Taming of the Shrew:

23 adaptations, oldest from 1908, most recent from 2008, 'Frivolous Wife,' a Korean adaptations, wiki summary doesn't resemble anything from the original plot, to the point where I'm not sure why it's listed here. (I tried looking at summaries on different sites to understand what makes this a Taming of the Shrew adaptation, but it almost seems like the exact opposite of TotS. "spoiled girl who could have any guy she wants" is the opposite of Katherine, "awkward and shy guy" is the opposite of Petruchio, there's no taming and no shrew)

The Tempest:

17 adaptations, oldest from 1911, most recent from 2020, 'Shakespeare's Shitstorm', mad scientist AU, horror-comedy musical, seems like it's got a lot going on in general

Timon of Athens:

2 adaptations, oldest from 1973, most recent from 1981, BBC TV adaptation

Titus Andronicus:

3 adaptations, oldest from 1985, most recent from 2017, 'The Hungry,' modern-day AU set in New Delhi (no summary listed on the wiki, the only summary I could finds makes it seem like it's Titus Andronicus from Tamora's pov, so congrats to this one for being the adaptation I most wanna watch)

Troilus and Cressida:

2 adaptations, oldest form 1954, most recent from 1981, BBC TV adaptation

Twelfth Night:

13 adaptations, oldest from 1910, most recent from 2013, filmed Globe production, all-male cast in an original practice production

Two Gentlemen of Verona:

2 adaptations, oldest from 1931, most recent from 1983, BBC TV adaptation

The Winter's Tale:

4 adaptations, oldest from 1910, most recent from 1999, filmed version of a RSC production

[fruitblr]

Taste of Cherry (1997) dir. Abbas Kiarostami

[basilsart2]

Another collage based on The Fly (1986) dir. David Cronenberg

[1percentcharge]

🪰

[edettethegreat]

Shakespeare Adaptation Stats (courtesy of wikipedia)

(all info is taken off of this wiki page

descriptions in purple refer to the most recent adaptation)

All's Well That Ends Well:

4 adaptations, oldest from 1968, most recent from 2009, from National Theatre Live

Antony and Cleopatra:

7 adaptations, oldest from 1908, most recent from 2002, 'Kannaki', Indian modern-day adaption (I never read A&C so idk how loyal the adaptation is based off of the wikipidia summary)

As You Like It:

11 adaptations, oldest from 1912, most recent from 2010, direct-to-video recording from a performance at Shakespeare's Globe

Comedy of Errors:

9 adaptations, oldest from 1940, most recent from 1989, Canadian TV production

Coriolanus:

2 adaptations, oldest from 1984, most recent from 2012, just listed as 'Film' with no notes, so nothing to say about this one

Cymbeline:

3 adaptations, oldest from 1913, most recent from 2014, a modern-day adaptation featuring biker gangs

Hamlet:

43 adaptations, oldest from 1900, most recent from 2019, the live-action Lion King remake, which somehow qualifies for this because it's listed on the wiki. unfortunately.

Henry IV, 1:

7 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2012, The Hollow Crown series

Henry IV, 2:

6 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2012, The Hollow Crown series

Henry V:

9 adaptations, oldest from 1944, most recent from 2019, 'The King', supposedly based on Henry IV 1+2 too, but only listed as an adaptation of Henry V

Henry VI, 1:

5 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2016, The Hollow Crown series

Henry VI, 2:

8 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2016, The Hollow Crown series

Henry VI, 3:

6 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2016, The Hollow Crown series

Henry VIII:

2 adaptations, oldest from 1911, most recent from 1979, a BBC TV adaptation

Julius Caesar:

9 adaptations, oldest from 1950, most recent from 2018, all-female stage production, filmed

King John:

4 adaptations, oldest from 1899, most recent from 2015, Stratford festival stage production, filmed

King Lear:

20 adaptations, oldest from 1910, most recent from 2018, modern AU in a militarized London

Love's Labour's Lost:

4 adaptations, oldest from 1920, most recent from 2000, 1930s AU, also described as a 'musical romantic comedy,' also directed by Kenneth Branagh, also the music is "classic broadway songs of the 1930s"-- there's a lot going on with this one.

Macbeth:

47 adaptations, oldest from 1908, most recent from 2021, the A24 version

Measure for Measure:

6 adaptations, oldest from 1943, most recent from 2019, modern-day Australian AU

Merchant of Venice:

14 adaptations, oldest from 1914, most recent from 2004, the Al Pacino version, but other than that a straightforward adaptation

Merry Wives of Windsor:

5 adaptations, oldest from 1950, most recent from 1982, BBC TV adaptation

Midsummer Night's Dream:

22 adaptations, oldest from 1909, most recent from 2018, modern-day Los Angeles, California AU

Much Ado About Nothing:

7 adaptations, oldest from 1973, most recent from 2023, 'Anyone But You', an enemies to lovers romcom where the main characters named Beatrice and Ben-- other than that it doesn't seem like it has much in common with the original play (based on the wiki summary at least)

Othello:

26 adaptations, oldest from 1906, most recent from 2024, 'Athhoi', Indian adaptation, based on the wiki it seems to follow the main plot points fairly well

Pericles:

1 adaptation, 1984, BBC TV adaptation

Richard II:

9 adaptations, oldest from 1960, most recent from 2012, The Hollow Crown series

Richard III:

19 adaptations, oldest from 1911, most recent from 2022, 'The Lost King', seems to be more about someone who's obsessed with Richard III than the shakespeare play itself

Romeo and Juliet:

51 adaptations, oldest from 1900, most recent from 2021, West Side Story reboot

Taming of the Shrew:

23 adaptations, oldest from 1908, most recent from 2008, 'Frivolous Wife,' a Korean adaptations, wiki summary doesn't resemble anything from the original plot, to the point where I'm not sure why it's listed here. (I tried looking at summaries on different sites to understand what makes this a Taming of the Shrew adaptation, but it almost seems like the exact opposite of TotS. "spoiled girl who could have any guy she wants" is the opposite of Katherine, "awkward and shy guy" is the opposite of Petruchio, there's no taming and no shrew)

The Tempest:

17 adaptations, oldest from 1911, most recent from 2020, 'Shakespeare's Shitstorm', mad scientist AU, horror-comedy musical, seems like it's got a lot going on in general

Timon of Athens:

2 adaptations, oldest from 1973, most recent from 1981, BBC TV adaptation

Titus Andronicus:

3 adaptations, oldest from 1985, most recent from 2017, 'The Hungry,' modern-day AU set in New Delhi (no summary listed on the wiki, the only summary I could finds makes it seem like it's Titus Andronicus from Tamora's pov, so congrats to this one for being the adaptation I most wanna watch)

Troilus and Cressida:

2 adaptations, oldest form 1954, most recent from 1981, BBC TV adaptation

Twelfth Night:

13 adaptations, oldest from 1910, most recent from 2013, filmed Globe production, all-male cast in an original practice production

Two Gentlemen of Verona:

2 adaptations, oldest from 1931, most recent from 1983, BBC TV adaptation

The Winter's Tale:

4 adaptations, oldest from 1910, most recent from 1999, filmed version of a RSC production

[editfandom]

PORCO ROSSO, 1992 | Porco Rosso

[peteneems]

[lokihiddleston]

FRANKENSTEIN (2025)

[asphyxia-0]

[pigeon-princess]

“There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.”

I've had this vision in my mind for ages so I finally decided to take a stab at drawing a cover for one of my favourite novels⚡

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 3.1: Do You Remember Love? (1980-1985)

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Last time, we covered a small smattering of shows from the 70's. I tried to cover the big names, with a focus on the Holy Trinity (Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, and Mobile Suit Gundam). While the latter of the three will be showing up throughout this series, the other two will largely fade into the background. Do not mistake this for them no longer being relevant though, as there is a very good reason why they are part of the Trinity. Besides, they'll show up again in some capacity towards the end. This also ignores the fact that both Mazinger Z and Getter Robo would constantly get updates throughout the years, so to say that the other two were somehow lesser than Gundam is foolish.

What we DO see in the 80's though are mecha shows popping up left, right, and center. A lot of this is helped by the fact that the 80's are also a time in Japanese history where the economy was booming. OVAs also become a major thing in this time period, as do a lot of surprisingly influential series. As such, I will be covering 80's (and later the 90's) in multiple parts due to how many series come up in this time period:

Part one (this part) will cover the time period from 1980-1985

Part two will cover 1986-1990

Part three will cover pretty much everything directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino from 1981 to 1993 and will serve as a bridge between the 80's and the 90's

Oh, and let me reiterate something about Mobile Suit Gundam from the last point: Gundam wouldn't become successful until the 80's with the release of the compilation movies.

With that out of the way, let's transform and ROLL OUT!

Space Runaway Ideon (1980)

Coming off the heels of Mobile Suit Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino would follow it up with Space Runaway Ideon. Think of it as a classic giant robot series mixed with the style of war stories that would be more in line with Space Battleship Yamato or Mobile Suit Gundam. Do not let the brightly-colored giant robot fool you. Ideon is, to my understanding, one of the darkest entries in the canon of mecha. Ideon is also where the Itano Circus came from, so that's another reason to be aware of this series. More importantly, Space Runaway Ideon specifically would be the inspiration for one Hideaki Anno when he made a certain series that I will talk about in the future. Something about a young man needing to get into a robot something, I don't know.

Diaclone (1980) & Transformers (1985)

Remember when I brought up Microman (the toy, not the wrestler)? This is why.

In 1980, Takara would release the Diaclone line of toys as a spinoff to Microman. This series would be noteworthy due to its inclusion of transforming machines designed by one Shoji Kawamori (more on him soon). One of these machines would be the eighteen-wheeler known as Convoy.

In 1985, Hasbro would license out the Diaclone line among other Takara licenses for the surprisingly ambitious series known today as Transformers. The story would follow the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (who Diaclone fans would recognize as Convoy), as they fight against Megatron and the Decepticons. Chances are very likely that if you're not thinking of the RX-78-2 Gundam when you hear the word "mecha," chances are likely you're imagining Optimus Prime.

Transformers' success in America and beyond would be so great that, in the 90's, Takara would end the Diaclone line and create a new line of toys, complete with accompanying TV series. That's another story for when we get to the 90's though, so stay tuned for that.

Beast King GoLion (1981) & Voltron (1984)

In 1981, the anime Beast King GoLion would air in Japan. GoLion itself would be pretty run-of-the-mill as far as mecha shows in the early 80's would be concerned. However, GoLion is worth mentioning as it would be one of the first anime properties that US showrunners would splice with other shows like it in order to make something for syndication.

In 1984, World Event Productions would splice Beast King GoLion with another mecha series, Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (1982), to create Voltron. And when it comes to combining robots, chances are very likely that one would think of Lion Voltron (or GoLion for those more familiar with the original) over something like Getter Robo or Voltes V. Voltron is an icon of the 80's, so much so that Voltron (specifically the lion version) would get multiple adaptations over the years, including but not limited to Voltron Force in the 2000's and Voltron: Legendary Defender in the 2010's, the latter of which I am told is a big part of Tumblr history. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if people considered GoLion/Voltron to be more of a US creation than a Japanese one.

Fang of the Sun Dougram (1981)

Starting in 1981, Ryousuke Takahashi and company would create Fang of the Sun Dougram. Building off the themes of Mobile Suit Gundam, Takahashi would begin to push the envelope in terms of what one could present with a military mecha series. Whereas Gundam's relative realism comes from how the One Year War affects the soldiers, Dougram would go further and show us just how the parties involved plan out their attacks and political machinations.

If you want to learn more about Dougram, I'd highly recommend Pyramid Inu's video on Dougram, as they're a big Takahashi nut.

Also, Dougram is of vital importance to a certain tabletop RPG coming up.

Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982) & Robotech (1984)

In 1982, Shoji Kawamori and the people at Studio Nue would release Super Dimension Fortress Macross, a series that would explode in terms of popularity. Like Gundam and Dougram before it, Macross would give us a war story featuring giant robots. But unlike Gundam and how war has its tolls on soldiers, or Dougram with its focus on political machinations and realistic strategy, Macross would focus more on how love and culture can overcome conflict. Macross is notable not just for popularizing transforming robots, it would also bring idol singers into vogue.

In 1984, Carl Macek would be tasked by Harmony Gold to make Macross eligible for syndication. Doing the best he could, Macek would fuse Macross with two other series, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada, to create the controversial Robotech.

Why is Robotech controversial? To put it very shortly: Robotech would be the reason why the original Macross has never been brought over to the west, for reasons that we will see later. It's a shame too, since Macross is one of the biggest mecha franchises after Gundam. But, it should also be worth noting that Robotech, while controversial, is still important due to it being a major introduction point into mecha stories and anime as a whole for a whole generation of people.

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu/Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1982)

In 1982, Yoshiki Tanaka's Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu, or Legend of the Galactic Heroes for us westerners, would be published. Over the course of ten volumes, the series would follow the exploits of the so-called Galactic Heroes, Reinhardt von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-Li, as the factions the two belonged to fought for control of the galaxy, with all of the politics and strategizing that ensues. Galactic Heroes is such a large and sprawling story that, when it came time to adapt it into an animated original video animation (OVA) series in 1988, it ended up becoming the longest-running OVA series of all time, clocking in at about a whopping 108 episodes in total. The series would also get another animated adaptation in 2018, Die Neue Theiss.

Armored Trooper VOTOMs (1983)

Following up on the success of Dougram, Ryousuke Takahashi would release the extremely iconic Armored Trooper VOTOMs in 1983. While Dougram was already a pretty grounded military robot in its own right, VOTOMs would take that concept to its logical conclusion. Here, VOTOMs were 4-meter tall machines that acted more like humanoid jeeps, and not only were they expendable, they were easily replaced. When mecha heads talk about realistic mecha series, VOTOMs is oftentimes brought up as the gold standard for this.

Panzer World Galient (1984)

Galient gif courtesy of Sakugabooru

Following up from VOTOMs, Takahashi would then follow that up with Panzer World Galient, a series that would trade out the military robots in favor for fantasy-flavored mecha. What's interesting to note here is that this would come out a year after a series called Aura Battler Dunbine, and I'd argue that both series would be the bases for later fantasy-inspired mecha series such as Magic Knight Rayearth and Break Blade.

Battletech (1984)

1984 would also see FASA Corporation release the first edition of its BattleTech ruleset. Rumored to have taken inspiration from series like Fang of the Sun Dougram, Macross, and Crusher Joe, BattleTech would become the poster child of the western giant robot aesthetic, that of the walking tank.

Also due to a messy copyright situation, BattleTech would also get tied up with Harmony Gold due to stolen designs. This legal back and forth would eventually be the reason why Macross would be unavailable outside of Robotech to this very day, though at one point the legal nonsense got so out of hand that, if I remember correctly, they tried to also bar FASA and their successors from using mechanical designs from Dougram and Crusher Joe (even though they did not have the rights to either series).

Blue Comet SPT Layzner (1985)

Blue Comet SPT Layzner is a 1985 series created by Ryousuke Takahashi. The series, from my superficial glancing of the series, would be the first major Gundam-like series to come out. It should be noted that, prior to this, the only major Gundam series to exist prior to 1985 was the original Gundam. Unfortunately for Layzner, 1985 would be the year that Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam would air, which is generally considered to be the most popular Gundam series in the franchise.

Conclusion

As we get further into the 80's, we will begin to see more and more stories show up that would be a part of the mecha canon. The latter half of the 80's is where we see the rise of the OVA which, as I mentioned briefly with Legend of the Galactic Heroes, will be where we see a lot of OVA series pop up. We'll also see couple more western productions, along with an appearance by a certain Blue Bomber.

This is a work of fiction, but in ten years? Who knows?

[avakkins-alter]

💙 | 김덕준