Let's Volt In

by Gary C. Devilles

In the late 70's my TV viewing in the afternoons was punctuated by anime shows. We called them cartoons before. Monday was Mekanda Robot, Tuesday was Daimos, Wednesday was UFO Grendaizer, Thursday was Mazinger Z, Friday was Voltes Five, and of course Saturday was Saturday Fun Machine wherein Superman and the Justice League were collectively known as "Superfriends." Of all these characters, the least would be Mekanda for until now I couldn't figure what it was all about. Daimos was, of course, melodramatic with Richard and Erica as the ill-fated star-crossed lovers. Grendaizer had the most amazing gadgets and gizmos, unlike other robots. Mazinger Z, manned by Koji Kabuto, had a sidekick named Sayaka who had Aphrodite A with boobs that were actually torpedoes. And Voltes V was the most unique, manned by five heroes, Steve, Mark, Big Bert, Little John and Jamie with each of them piloting parts of the whole machine, the head, arms, torso, legs, and feet, respectively.

Friday would not be the same without Voltes V. We would be home before 6 and start humming the opening song, "someday the sons of light shall fill all the earth," while waiting for the picture tube to light up since in those days. It really took time to turn on the TV which looked more like a cupboard to me. It also took an effort to switch channels during the pre-remote control days. I think I was in 2nd grade then when Voltes V became popular and was still studying in Bagong Ilog Elementary School with Rommel Manlimos and Engelbert Luat, who would later become my classmates again in junior high.

Voltes V was remarkable because even though I didn't understand much of the dialogue then, I think the plot was intelligible enough for kids. I remember one Beast Fighter by the Bozanian Empire that was actually a mean wild dog with an ability to shrink back to its normal size, and thus can be invisible. There was this puppy that Little John took care of, who happened to remember that the Beast Fighter was actually the one who killed its mother. The puppy summoned all its strength to get the device that made the Beast Fighter become smaller so that Voltes V could finally defeat it. When the puppy succeeded, Voltes V screamed to the heavens for its laser sword. And with all the lightning and the music background, we could also hear our hearts pounding for the puppy's victory and justice. The last scene of that episode was really poignant with Little John bidding farewell to that puppy. And, of course, the melancholic song in the end credits made our emotions palpable and real.

So it was bad news when, one day, Marcos ordered all cartoon shows be cancelled off the air. Talk about puppy injustice. I felt sick without those shows considering that we were almost nearing the end of the season when Steve and his brother would finally be reunited with their father, Dr. Armstrong. Something about innocence was lost and I became aware of a malevolent power that could take away my afternoon fun.

When I got hold of a complete episodes of Voltes V three years ago in pirated dvd format, I wasted no time watching all of them. It was amazing learning that Camp Big Falcon turned out to be a spaceship in itself that merged with the Solar Bird and headed towards Bozania to rescue Dr. Armstong, the leader of resistance. Prince Zardo happened to be Steve's brother. And in their final confrontation, Prince Zardo would actually sacrifice his life to save Steve. All's well that ends well. It feels really uncanny that Voltes V was all about resistance, advocating for social change and justice, and reunion with loved ones. Anime or cartoons, they bear the mark of our unconscious, our secret desires, and wishful thinking. In a world where there is much trouble and pain, these anime are never escape routes. At least for me, they can articulate what otherwise I would suffer only in silence then.