Dai-Guard

Dai-Guard
地球防衛企業ダイ・ガード (Chikyū Bōei Kigyō Dai Gādo)
Genre	Mecha, comedy, science fiction
Anime television series
Directed by	Seiji Mizushima
Produced by	Makiko Iwata Shinjiro Yokoyama
Written by	Fumihiko Shimo
Music by	Kohei Tanaka Kenji Kawai
Studio	Xebec
Licensed by	NA Discotek Media
Network	TV Tokyo
Original run	5 October 1999 – 28 March 2000
Episodes	26

Dai-Guard (地球防衛企業 ダイ・ガード, Chikyū Bōei Kigyō Dai Gādo, lit. "Terrestrial Defense Corp. Dai-Guard") is an anime television series, produced and animated by XEBEC, and directed by Seiji Mizushima. It aired from October 5, 1999 to March 28, 2000 on TV Tokyo, ran for 26 episodes. 6 volumes of videos were released on VHS and DVD. The series also had a very brief run (two episodes) on Cartoon Network through Toonami's "Giant Robot Week."

The series is based around three office workers of the 21st Century Defense Security Corporation's Public Relations Division 2 who, with the company's giant robot, Dai-Guard, fight interdimensional alien beings called "Heterodynes". Unlike most giant robot anime, Dai-Guard performs on much more realistic physics, making it heavy, slow, and a hassle to control. Also, the Heterodynes seem to be the least of the 21st Century Corporation's problems as they experience opposition in the form of massive damage claims, lawsuits, rivals and a jealous and antagonistic military who wishes to take back Dai-Guard for themselves.

Plot

On February 24, 2018, in the Northwest gap of the Sea of Japan, a giant creature appears and goes on a rampage, destroying a major city and killing countless people before being destroyed itself by a weapon of mass destruction known as an "O-E (Over-Explosion) bomb". In the aftermath, a giant robotic weapon system, code-named Dai-Guard, was developed by the military as an alternative to the future use of such weapons. However, further attacks fail to occur, and no sign of the creatures is seen for the next twelve years.

The company that built the robot for the military is compensated by allowing them to keep the useless weapon as a corporate mascot. However, during a security exposition in 2030, a Heterodyne attacks, and the ill-prepared and unarmed robot is taken into battle due to the headstrong nature of one of its pilots. However, that same pilot's same headstrong nature, combined with the talents of his fellow pilots, enable Dai-Guard to be victorious against multiple Heterodyne attacks (to the chagrin of the military that spurned the '100 foot sales gimmick').

Heterodyne are mysterious entities formed from dimensional quakes all around Japan. They form from crystalline hexagons called "Fractal Knots" that act as their nucleus and form into bodies using the matter around them. Although fractal knots replicate themselves indefinitely, if the original is destroyed it will immediately reduce the rest of the body into ethanol. Aside from traveling through dimensions, having Fractal Knots, and being attracted to electromagnetic hot-spots, they have very little in common with each other.

As the Heterodyne are a dangerous and adaptable foe yet not an ineffable enemy, potent weapons are developed by the corporation's technical support teams. The grudging assistance of military advisors lead to the discovery of clever tactics, and Dai-Guard's alien fighting soon begins to take a backseat to the bureaucratic troubles and office politics that the Corporation faces. Although everyone involved with 21st Century and the Anzenhosho Army (ANPO) shares the same goal of protecting Japan from Heterodyne attacks, their own personal beliefs often cause much conflict.

• Ending

The series ends its run not with the final elimination of the Heterodyne threat, but in an epiphany shared by all of the former rivals: The Heterodyne, although a threat that must be faced with impressive technology, are simply yet another disaster to be faced in a dangerous world, no different from earthquakes or typhoons. In a disaster, it is pointless to argue over who is in charge, as deliberating over such trivial matters could cost human lives. There is no need to force a controlled peace or suppress conflicting opinions in order to apply personal solutions when different people have their own specialties that can contribute to the whole operation. The final episode suggests that Heterodyne will never stop appearing, making teamwork between the Army's new team of Kokubogar units and Dai-Guard a necessity.

Episodes

No.	Title
1	"Disaster From the Sea"
Twelve years ago, Japan was attacked by a Heterodyne, a mysterious monster that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. In response, 21st century Security built a giant robot called Dai-Guard to combat the Heterodyne, but by the time it was ready, they had disappeared again. Turned over to the company's PR division, Dai-Guard has since become little more than a tourist attraction. However, when the Heterodyne reappear, PR Division worker Akagi Shunsuke is insistent that he and his co-workers should pilot the robot for the purpose it was meant for. But can a trio of untrained office workers really hope to save the world in a cheaply built old robot?
2	"The Fort at Night"
Against the wishes of both the Army and 21st Century Security, Akagi and the rest of PR Division decide to help those hurt in the Heterodyne attack by flying them to a hospital. As if dealing with army and company politics wasn't enough, the situation only gets worse when the Heterodyne resurfaces for a second attack.
3	"Circumstances of a Hero"
The fighting may be over, but the paperwork is just beginning, as damage claims and lawsuits related to Dai-Guard's last mission start piling up. Whilst the rest of PR Division 2 buckles down to tackling the economical fallout, Aoyama decides that he wants nothing more to do with Da-Guard, and quits his job. Will Dai-Guard be able to defend against further Heterodyne attacks without its engineer?
4	"The Heroine's Melancholy"
With rumors flying around about a new division being created to take charge of Dai-Guard, the team decides to demonstrate that they are the best people for the job. Ordered to capture the next Heterodyne instead of destroying it, the pilots head into battle under the watchful eye of their new tactical advisor, Agent Shirota. And Ibuki especially feels she must prove her worth after her father asks her to quit.
5	"Can't Run Facing the Setting Sun"
6	"Memories Taught Me"
7	"Fire and Ice"
8	"A Strange Day"
9	"Explosion! Knot Buster!"
10	"Wages That Correspond to Justice"
11	"Alibi: Two Heterodynes Attack Tokyo"
12	"Shinjuku at Night: Big Battle"
13	"Things that can be Forgiven, Things that can't be Forgiven"
14	"Oosugi Report"
15	"We Are All Alive"
16	"Always Sunny in the Soul"
17	"I'd Like to Sleep as if Dreaming"
18	"Run Towards Tomorrow"
19	"White Contract"
20	"Blue Promise"
21	"False Memories"
22	"So That I Can Remain Myself"
23	"What Do You Want to Protect?"
24	"Something that Covers the Sky"
25	"Thoughts that Keep Piling Up"
26	"Victory Song for Tomorrow"

Mecha

Dai-Guard

Dai-Guard stands 25 meters high, and weighs 156 tons. It is composed of multiple pieces, which were originally transported to the site of battle, and assembled on location. Initially it was poorly maintained and essentially mothballed due to the absence of the Heterodyne threat. With their return, Dai-Guard is recommissioned and underwent several upgrades throughout the series. Due to its configuration, pilots are required to apply for a 'vertical-model special vehicle license,' which can take a minimum of 2 months to complete. It was stated that Akagi got a score of D minus, which barely made him eligible to be Dai-Guard's main pilot.

• "Rocket Punch": An improvised maneuver in which Dai-Guard's forearm is torn from its socket and thrown at the enemy.
• Drill Arm: An arm attachment that consists of a rocket-boosted over-sized drill. Unfortunately, such a weapon is in reality quite impractical as it is basically a massive gyroscope, and is incredibly difficult to wield due to the torque it produces. However, the pilots eventually develop the skill to make limited use of this weapon, and it is later seen in several scenarios where other weapons are unavailable.
• Net Gun: An arm attachment with the hand making up a large weighted net used for capturing Heterodyne. Due to the lack of missions requiring the capture of live Heterodyne in the series, it is rarely ever used.
• Knot Buster: An arm attachment specifically designed by Rika Domeki to strike and destroy a Heterodyne's Fractal Knot, the weak point of the creatures. It is a claw with an integral explosive-propelled pile driver, far more practical and controllable than the Drill Arm. One simply targets the Heterodyne's Fractal Knot, latches onto it with the claw and triggers the pile driver, impaling it. This weapon was only used once by Dai-Guard before being claimed by the Army for use by its own robot, Kokubogar, but was destroyed soon afterward.
• Knot Punisher: Like the Knot Buster, it is designed to strike the Fractal Knot of the Heterodyne. Unknown to the Army, Domeki designed the Knot Buster merely as a prototype for this weapon. Where the Knot Buster is a single arm attachment, the Knot Punisher utilizes both arms. One arm utilizes the same pile driver-claw utility of the Knot Buster, but instead of an explosive charge, it is driven by a torque-less counter-rotating dual flywheel attached to the other arm. The flywheel is spun up in advance, the Heterodyne's Fractal Knot is grasped with the claw, and the flywheel is inserted into the pile driver's gear port, firing the spike and impaling the knot. The flywheel itself can be used as a melee weapon, as it is quite sturdy and possesses a greater radius than the arm and more stability than the drill arm. The downsides with this system is that Dai-Guard cannot pick anything up with it in place, (aside from using the claw), and it takes a considerable amount of time to install the equipment prior to battle.
• Great Knot Punisher (Knot Punisher 2 in English Dub): The upgraded version of the Knot Punisher, developed by Domeki with the benefit of a full year of combat data. Though it has far greater power than its predecessor, the real advantage of this system is that both arms retain hands. The pile driver attachment has twice the length of both previous systems so as to accommodate a claw on one end and a hand on the other. It can be spun on its joint to bring either manipulator to bear. Its flywheel is identical to is predecessor save that it has a hand as well, which is inserted into the gear port to fire the spike.
• Insulating Armor: Special armor Dai-Guard is composed of, giving it a high resistance to electricity and electromagnetic impulses sometimes emitted from Heterodyne. In episode 15 this armor is given an electromagnetic shield to protect it from intense heat for up to three minutes.

Kokubogar

When the army realized that they could not seize the privately owned Dai-Guard, they chose to build their own giant robot to compete with it. Based on Dai-Guard's design, but built with state-of-the-art technologies, this new robot, christened Kokubogar, was far superior to the twelve-year-old Dai-Guard. However, technological advancement did not help Kokubogar's team- Akagi's former robot piloting class professor and two of his students. Unlike the independent and idealistic civilian pilots of Dai-Guard, Kokubogar's pilots were all blindly loyal and obedient soldiers, prioritizing property and money over human lives.

Although its first battle was an outstanding success, the second one was co-opted by interests that wished to study Heterodynes for weapons research, and the creature was captured instead of destroyed. While en route to a third battle, the captured Heterodyne escaped containment and military authorities demanded that the robot ignore the creature attacking the city in favor of destroying the escaped creature - which seemed somewhat antagonized by its capture. It quickly defeated and fused with Kokubogar, then went on a rampage that only became worse when it fused with the third Heterodyne. The military then demanded that the hybrid be destroyed before it could be discovered that Kokubogar had been compromised so as to preserve their public image.

Catastrophe was only averted due to the timely efforts of the entire Dai-Guard team and Shirota's unexpected defection. Once the Army and the team stopped fighting each other, the Heterodyne/Kokubogar hybrid was neutralized with minimal collateral damage and the lives of Kokubogar's pilots intact, making a fact of the Heterodyne battles perfectly clear. If destroying Heterodynes was the only goal, that could be accomplished with WMDs. Thus, those who fought the Heterodyne had to possess more than just weapons and skill, they had to possess priorities that favored the populace over all else - even over the demands of the authorities.

The robot was out of commission for several months, during which relations between the Army and the Dai-Guard team cooled and mutual respect was developed. The team acknowledged the skills and resources of the Army, and the Army acknowledged the team's ideals - their purpose was not merely to serve their superiors any more than the team's was. All of them - the soldiers, the officers, the Dai-Guard team - in truth served the people of Japan.

The repairs were completed in time for the Army to show their new ideals as they assisted Dai-Guard in the final battle depicted in the series. Shirota notes near the end of the series that the Army has commissioned the construction of more Kokubogar units to defend Japan.

• Knot Buster: Originally designed for Dai-Guard, the Knot Buster was seized by the Army. It was destroyed in its third engagement.
• Machine Guns: Kokubogar had powerful machine guns mounted above the optics.
• Rocket Launcher: In the final battle, Kokubogar fires a volley of rockets from its forearm, saving Dai-Guard from a certain defeat. It is uncertain if this weapon is mounted on both arms.

Heterodyne

Mysterious entities formed from dimensional quakes all around Japan. They form from crystalline hexagons called "Fractal Knots" that act as their nucleus and form into bodies using the matter around them. Although fractal knots replicate themselves indefinitely, if the original is destroyed it will immediately reduce the rest of the body into ethanol. Aside from traveling through dimensions, having Fractal Knots, and being attracted to electromagnetic hot-spots, they have very little in common with each other. The final episode suggests that Heterodyne will never stop appearing, making teamwork between the Army's new team of Kokubogar units and Dai-Guard a necessity.

• Grub Type: Appears in episode 1 at the very beginning years before the main story and later in episodes 21 and 22. Powers include a heat cannon from the mouth that fires explosive yellow energy balls that range from a barrel of dynamite to rivaling napalm, swimming, armor that can survive an OE bomb, explosive melting particles from the mouth, and reformation in a matter of hours. In Super Robot Wars Z2 it is referred to as Insect-R.
• Ray Type: Appears in episodes 1 and 2. Powers include swimming up to 30 knots, spawning lightning storms to indicate its arrival, twin arm whips, using its starfish-like limbs for bashing, and levitation while on land. A two headed suit of it appears briefly in episode 23 that resembles Pestar from the original Ultraman.
• Saucer Type: Appears in episode 3. Powers include levitation, underside heat flashes, and using its body as a throwing disc by ramming it into opponents.
• Glob Type: Appears in episode 4. Powers include being a large ball used for rolling and ramming and absorbing earth to make itself larger.
• Pyramid Type: Appears in episode 5. Powers include levitation, an electrical force field, and conductive mud tentacles from the seams in the body.
• Sonic Type: Appears in episode 6. Powers include levitation and a high frequency barrier around its body that dissolves solid objects although it has no effect on liquids and presumably gases.
• Mushroom Type: Appears in episode 7. Powers include regeneration, sprouting mushrooms from its root-like structures, spawning thorny vines from its head, and launching needles from the head.
• Balloon Type: Appears in episode 9. Powers include levitation and a highly rubbery body.
• Flower Type: Appears in episode 10. Powers include swimming, immunity to radar detection, and a body composed mostly of water that allows it to dilute acids.
• Fuser Type: Appears in episode 11. Powers include reducing its body to liquid, levitation, spheres around its body to protect the fractal knot, can regenerate its entire body in a matter of hours, and can fuse with opponents.
• Electric Type: Appears in episode 11. Powers include phasing through solid objects, emitting electrical bolts, and flight.
• Kokubogar Fusion: Appears in episodes 11 and 12. It is a fusion between Fuser Type, Kokubogar, and later Electric Type. Powers include flight, five red spheres attached to electrical pulses used like missiles from directly overhead, and extensible limbs.
• Cylinder Type: Appears in episode 13. Powers include flight at 30 kilometers per hour, twin whip antennae, regeneration, and adaption to enemy attacks over time.
• Magnetic Type: Appears in episode 15. Powers include floating on top of water, emitting electromagnetic waves hot enough to scorch humans alive, and tentacles from its top.
• Wheel Type: Appears in episode 16. Powers include levitation, rotating fast enough to generate static electricity, and using its body rotation like a tornado.
• Burrower Type: Appears in episode 17. Its only known power is burrowing 10 centimeters a year and has a body size that covers all of Kyoto. The Dai-Guard team decides not to destroy this Heterodyne, as its destruction would cause the collapse of the entire city. Suspected to have first appeared many years ago and has lain dormant since.
• Spike Type: Appears in episode 18. Powers include rotating its body for burrowing long distances, emitting a high pitched noise from its body, and using its eight retractable spikes for puncturing hard surfaces. It has also been referred to as the Central Line Monster and Subway Slayer.
• Ice Type: Appears in episodes 19 and 20. Powers include flight, floating on top of water, forming a sheet of ice covering its body for armor, heat absorption, and freezing its opponents over with ice.
• Starfish Type: Mentioned at the end of episode 23 and appears at the very beginning of episode 24. It possesses no known powers.
• Giant Type: Appears in episodes 24, 25, and 26 and possesses the largest size of any Heterodyne with its starting size at 2 kilometers in diameter. Powers include levitation, extensible spear tentacles, can hide most of its body in the Heterodynes' home dimension, radio interference, size growth to the point of covering Earth within a month, regeneration, and spikes from the top of the body.
• Black Dai-Guard: Appears in the final episode and acts as the guardian of Giant Type's fractal knot. Powers include an extensible lower half, super speed, and morphing its right hand as a drill and mace.

Theme songs

• Opening
  • "Rojiura no Uchuu Shōnen [Back Alley Space Boy]" by The Cobratwisters (Eps. 2-25)
• Endings
  • "Hashire Hashire [Run, Run]" by Kyoko Endou (Eps. 1-25)
  • "Rojiura no Uchuu Shōnen [Back Alley Space Boy]" by The Cobratwisters (Episode 26)

Merchandise

In September 2011, Bandai released Dai-Guard in the Super Robot Chogokin line. The figure comes with all of the weapons featured in the anime. Kokubogar is set for release as a Tamashii Web Shop exclusive on March 2012.

In other media

Dai-Guard makes its video game debut in Super Robot Wars Z2.

External links

• Dai-Guard (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia