Uchû Senshi Baldios
(Space Warrior Baldios)
(Space Warriors)
Document Outline
Section I – Introduction
"Just for KIDS!" the title boasts. "Space Warriors: Battle for Earth Station S/1 – Polluting aliens plot to trash Earth. Don’t expect this fight to be clean! Fully animated feature film."
Flipping over the VHS cover, you are greeted with, "An enemy so dirty, they’ve condemned their entire planet! Instead of cleaning up their own nuclear waste, Planet S-1 brings their dirty work to Earth. Their military rulers want to knock us all off so their dying world can relocate here. Flying against fate, an S-1 rebel tries to defect to our side. But can a desperate and divided World Federation welcome him with open arms? Is this young Marlon Radon an ally or a spy? Can his robot ship Baldios and our Blue Strike Force unite to defeat the Red Fighters? And will it even matter if the impending doom arrives ahead of schedule? It’s space war fought on the environmental front. The ultimate battle for survival."
With these hooky words of hype, I became entranced with the idea of owning this battered rental video that reminded me of the beloved Robotech of my youth. Without further ado, I plunked down $6 at the thrift store and brought home another badly spliced, diced, and dubbed anime from the eighties heyday of imported space operas.
Section II – Show Credits
None of the voice actors were credited in the dubbed version I have. I can see why, too – they put other "bad" dubs to shame at times. Partly I believe the blame is in the script and dehumanization of the characters (really, how many times can you say "Marlon!" with conviction?) However, they credited the original Japanese production staff, and some of the English dub staff.
Section III – Cast of Characters
Baldios sports a dizzying array of sketchy, unnamed characters. While in the original show, there were thirty-one to thirty-nine episodes (and a movie?) to flesh these people out, in 97 minutes we can only afford a cursory acknowledgment of their existence. It’s highly unfortunate, because I think I’d like some of these people. Be advised, I’m only working with the audio portion of the dub "movie" for names, and this is probably not entirely accurate.
Earth Forces
Dr. Quinstein – Possibly the main force behind the Blue Strike Force. She seems like a knowledgeable, soft-spoken scientist with a fondness for Marlon. David absolutely adores her for some reason – claims he had her as a teacher. I’ve got the feeling she plays the mother figure to the Blue Strike Force as well as scientist and problem-solver.
Director (or Dr.) Carter – Probably the "official" leader of the Blue Strike Force. An older man, whose family is killed in the deluge caused by Gattler’s heat bombs, he takes his revenge in a suicide run on Battlestar Argo. He tries to nurture Marlon and make him feel welcome on Earth, rather unsuccessfully in my mind. Seems a bit dim to me, but kindly.
Jamie – Catch phrase: "Marlon!" Think of Voltron’s Princess Allura, and you’ve got Jamie down pat. Evidently her mother is already deceased at the beginning of the show, or is totally unimportant. Her father, King Leonard of Lenia, gets a little death ditty over the radio right before the deluge claims him. Maybe if we knew these people better, his death would have been quite sad. That leaves Jamie as the sole heir to Kingdom Lenia, which is most likely underwater at this point, so her regency is, well, rather redundant. (Oh, you see that patch of water? I’m queen of that! Aren’t you jealous?)
King Leonard – Jamie’s father, who is probably sponsoring the Blue Strike Force. He dies shortly after the deluge, since he was important enough to get a radio farewell to his daughter.
People of S-1
Marlon Radon – The angst-ridden hero of the series, an outcast from his home planet and hopelessly drawn to the enemy’s second in command due to their mutual love of the sea. His father was working on a way to eliminate the pollution so that people could live on the surface again. Rather cute, too, in my book.
Dr. Radon – Marlon’s far-sighted father. After being fatally wounded, he shows his son the way to the Paladin, shoves Marlon inside, then locks himself in his lab to die.
General Gattler – With looks like He-Man and a voice like tumbling rocks, Gattler appears as the very model of a brutish soldier. However, after he realizes his cosmically stupid mistake in starting a war he could only finish by using nuclear weapons, he becomes a more likable figure. Whether he survives in the end is up for debate – he may have been fatally wounded, he may have to stay awake to manage the cryogenically packaged colonists, or he may put himself in the cryogenic chambers as well.
Commander Aphrodia – Evidently Gattler’s right-hand woman. Think Millia from Robotech and you’ve got Aphrodia down to a button – the same hair, aviator sunglasses, Nazi uniform, inferiority complex towards her rival, a knife fight, and a love of earth that draws her into the fold of the Blue Strike Force. She has several brushes with death, and in the end Marlon is carrying her limp body along their beloved strand at the lighthouse. Does she live or does she die? The world may never know.
Captain Neglos – May also be called Corbit. He engineers the distrust of Marlon in the World Federation, and double-crosses the confused boy, telling him his earth friends attacked his hovercraft when (you guessed it) he really engineered the whole thing. He’s also the one who ruined the earth and Gattler’s plans for conquest by releasing 500 megatons of nuclear explosives on the earth.
Captain Neglos’ Brother – Not even developed enough to earn a name, this fellow is needlessly executed for treason because of his concern for his soldier’s lives. Equal to Jadeite for all intents and purposes.
Captain Deglasse – Minor character who advocates using the nuclear weapons. In a fit of rage after Marlon escapes with Aphrodia, Deglasse gets into a tussle with Gattler about the weapons. Don’t worry – Gattler kills him for being an ass.
Lieutenant Milan – Aphrodia’s brother. He is killed by Marlon during his raid on Dr. Radon’s lab, which spawns Aphrodia’s vendetta against Marlon.
Laska and Lillian – Your typical naïve alien couple. They only want to have a clean planet to live on and raise children in. Laska is sent after Marlon and Aphrodia and evidently fails. He later dies in a kamikaze attack in Lillian’s name.
Mecha
Paladin – Marlon’s main vehicle. Forms the head, arms, torso, and sword of Baldios.
Stinger – Ruger’s (I think) main vehicle. Somewhat tank-like in appearance, it can fly. Don’t ask how. Forms one leg of Baldios (not sure which one, possibly the left.)
Valkyrie – Oliver’s main vehicle. Resembles the Paladin. Forms the (right?) leg of Baldios.
Baldios – The super-bot of the show, piloted by Marlon from the transformed Paladin. Main weapon seems to be the halogen sword carried in Baldios’ chest.
The Nomura Diecast box shows the transformation to the complete Baldios.
Earth Base Fortress – Similar to the SDF-1 in Robotech, without the transformations and humanoid appearance. If it runs on protoculture, someone needs to get sued for infringement.
Kraken, Tiamat, Jellyfish, Tripods, Paladin Clones – Red Army mecha. None are named explicitly; I’m assigning names based on their general appearance. Kraken fights Baldios underwater with grappling tentacles; Tiamat takes him on in space, and the Paladin clones attack in the earth’s atmosphere. The Jellyfish as Tripods are also seen attacking in the air – these are probably unmanned, mass-produced weapons designed to be more of an annoyance than serious threat.
"So Long Ago"
By Brian Haverty
Sung by George Nester
I never thought to leave your side. But darling, don’t you cry,
If you stop, you wonder why I have to go, although it hurts to say goodbye.
So long ago – It only seems like yesterday.
So far away – We used to watch the children play.
If there was time – Then I could stop this raging tide.
If there was a place – I’d have you back here by my side.
So long ago – It only seems like yesterday.
So far away – We used to watch the children play.
If there was time – Then I could stop this raging tide.
If there was a place – I’d have you back here by my side.
It’s admittedly a veiled warning of the Soviet threat, and the superiority of American democracy. No child in the eighties would have possibly gotten that, though, as the plot dazzles us with lots of explosions and little exposition as we are hurled from Planet S-1, to Mars, to a lunar penitentiary, to earth, and battles underwater, in the air, and in outer space. The art is nothing to write home about – for all purposes, think of Robotech and then cut the budget in half. The theme song is oddly haunting (not for the words, as you can tell, but the melody) and probably harkens back to the original Japanese melody. The ending is an eerie mix of poorly drawn fog, mistranslations, long silent pauses, a remarkable revelation and rebirth, and gun-hysterics and a suicide attempt. And to end, we are left wondering whether anyone besides Marlon is left alive on earth, and how did his lighthouse survive the deluge? More importantly, since the instigators of this war have been killed, does this cause a time paradox?
And you simply must see Aphrodia’s final outfit.
When it comes down to it, if you can honestly say you like watching fodder for MST3K nights, you’re going to have a blast with this movie.
