Brave Raideen - International Release

International Release

Brave Raideen is considered the first super robot anime to reach a large U.S. audience directly. It was first broadcast in Honolulu, Hawaii on KIKU TV-13, which ran the series with English subtitles created and produced in-house. The series first hit the mainland in June 1976, Sunday nights at 8:00 P.M. on San Francisco's KEMO TV-20 and Los Angeles's KWHY TV-22. Later in 1976, Brave Raideen began running on KMUV TV-31 in Sacramento, California (Sunday nights; timeslot to be confirmed), as part of the station's Japanese-American programming. The series also aired similarly in Chicago (station and dates to be confirmed), as well as broadcast as part of the Japanese programming on New York City's WNJU TV-47. The Stateside push was sponsored by Honolulu-based Marukai Trading Co., Ltd., who distributed a large line of Japanese-produced merchandise (as well as some Hawaii-produced items, such as tee-shirts) to local retailers in localities airing Brave Raideen — including Popy's Jumbo Machinder (which may account for Mattel's launching of the popular Shogun Warriors line in the U.S.), according to author August Ragone.