Brave Raideen - Production Notes

Production Notes

• The Brave Raideen series is renowned in Japan as the first to include a giant robot whose origins are mystical rather than scientific; Raideen itself is in fact portrayed as a sentient being. Raideen is also historically noteworthy for being one of the first transforming giant robots (Goldar, from Ambassador Magma, was an earlier character, although Goldar's transformation from robot to rocket ship was not a detailed mechanical transformation). The diecast toy version of Raideen, released in Japan in 1975 by Popy, was the first true transforming robot toy. Brave Raideen was the first anime mecha work of anime director and writer Yoshiyuki Tomino, better known as the creator of Gundam. The latter half was directed by Tadao Nagahama, and may be seen as a predecessor to his famous Romantic Trilogy, consisting of Combattler V, Voltes V and Daimos.

• This series was the second collaboration between writer/director Yoshiyuki Tomino and artist Yasuhiko Yoshikazu. The first work to feature both men was Wandering Sun (Sasurai no Taiyō) (1971). The two would later team up again for both Mobile Suit Gundam and Gundam F-91.

• "Raideen" was named after the sumo wrestler "Raiden Tameemon".

• According to RahXephon director Yutaka Izubuchi, the similarity of designs and powers of the title robots and the basic plots of RahXephon and Raideen are intentional.

A low-budget Korean movie called Space Thunder Kids features a robot whose design appears to be a copy of Raideen's.