IT HAS been 40 years since the anime show Voltes V first aired in Japan, and when it burst on the TV cartoon scene in the Philippines with its catchy theme song, I was hooked.
It was a simpler era, and we played with toys—none of them electronic—and with friends, spending much of our free time in the streets or common areas of our community in a quiet part of Manila. We knew most of our neighbors, and were in and out of each other’s houses.
When we were indoors, we watched cartoons. Back then these were American productions, mostly by Hanna Barbera and Warner Bros., so that meant Bugs and Daffy, The Flintstones, and Scooby Doo, and superhero shows Super Friends, Spiderman, and The Hulk.
Then one day in May 1978, my stepfather Joseph Sellner called me and my sister over for a chat. He worked for blocktimer Questor, a company that bought airtime on TV, filled it with their own content, and sold advertising spots.
“Neni,” he said, “watch this new cartoon I brought in from Japan, and let me know how you like it.”
We plonked down on the floor. “Sure, Uncle Joe,” I said. “What is it?” It was Voltes V.
I was astounded by the visuals, the storyline, and above all, the music. Beside it, the American cartoons were reduced to pap. I somehow knew this was a turning point in animation.
My stepdad had gone to Japan to scout for new content, saw the show, and loved it. So it was his taste in cartoons that launched an unforgettable and important time in Philippine broadcasting.
The show, which was first aired in Japan in 1977, found a home on GMA Network. It was an instant hit. Nothing like it had ever been seen before on local TV. Its popularity spread among young children like a gasoline blaze. Come 6:00 p.m. each weekday, parents knew exactly where their kids were—safe at home in front of the TV.
We memorized the opening and closing theme songs without knowing the meaning of the words, transcribing them by ear. We related to the characters, choosing one that we resonated to—boys usually chose Steve Armstrong, girls Jamie Robinson.
Sellner says the concept of importing a foreign-language show was so new that there was no infrastructure to support it—no translators, no one to do subtitles, and so on. He says he thought of the English names himself (these were subsequently used in the US dubs).
They hired local actors to do the voices, and their first translator was the Japanese wife of a friend. Not being a native English speaker, her scripts left much to be desired and Sellner had to doctor most of them.
The formulaic nature of each episode, instead of boring us, was like ritual. The call comes to battle a beast fighter. Camp Big Falcon opens up and releases each of the Voltes units. Then comes the war cry: “Let’s volt in!”
The characters all press a button at the same time—the switch that causes the units to assemble into the giant robot Voltes V. The theme song starts up, everyone watching starts singing along. (Years later, wags joked that the button turned on the CD player).
The battle ensues. We knew the beast fighter was going to get what was coming to it when this weapon was (voice) activated: “Laserrr….sword!” Then Voltes slices a huge V into the enemy robot. The V flashes bright, the robot explodes. Everyone heaves a sigh of contentment.
With the success of the show, Sellner brought in four more anime shows—Mekanda, Daimos, Mazinger Z, and Grendaizer. That’s the order in which they were aired on GMA, from Monday to Thursday, and Voltes on Friday. I was tasked to log the commercials as they aired, so I was required to watch every episode. That was the first “job” I ever had, and I loved every minute of it.
Then the dictator Marcos banned “robot shows” from the air. Sellner says he learned about it from the newspapers, along with everyone else. He went on to bring in, as substitutes, the cartoons Candy Candy and Paul in Fantasyland, and the TV show Knight Rider.
But Voltes V and the other Questor robot shows, despite their brief stints on air, captured the imagination of the children of my generation. When we hear the theme song, even today, we can still sing along. In our hearts we are still Steve, Mark, Big Bert, Little Jon, and Jamie, fighting the enemy and saving the world.
Happy 40th anniversary, Voltes V!
Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Follow her on Facebook: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, Instagram: @jensdecember, @artuoste