The OAV anime Haja Taisei Dangaiou by AIC was broadcast on TV 1987 - 89. It was a fairly revolutionary anime for it's time being one of the first anime's to feature a mix of bishoujo and robot elements.

This original anime featured music by Sorao Watanabe, the theme song by Mitsuko Horie and Ichiro Mizuki and design by Shoji Kawamori and Masami Oobari.

After a break of 11 years it has returned as a new series "Great Dangaioh", broadcast on TV Asahi from April 6, at the VERY early time of 3:44 - 4:14am. This series is a continuation of the previous 3 OAVs.

The story begins with an airplane crash that occurs somewhere in Japan. Exactly where though remains a secret as the crash site was sealed off before the truth could be revealed. Everyone soon forgets about the event - except for one girl who is concerned for the future of the world and seeks for the truth about the crash to be revealed. More than ten years after the incident, a mad scientist - Dansei Hijima - appears claiming that he will purify the world with his robot army "EX Tartaro". He was formerly a member of the Dangaiou development team. Though they resisted the human armies were unable to stop the robots. Just when it seemed that the situation was hopeless, a white fortress appears - out of which comes the Dangaiou, controlled by Kuya Amaya, Hitomi Chidou and Manami Ushio. Can they defeat the robot army?

Interview with Director Toshiki Hirano

(re : the TV series)

ANIMAXIS - How's the enthusiasm been for your latest work "Haja Kyosei Great Dangaioh"?

Toshiki Hirano - The current anime world is in a tough state, especially with robot anime, as the numbers of them are huge and it's difficult to establish them in the real world. Because of this making a robot anime is a pretty intense experience.

A - What do you mean by "intense"?

TH - Robot anime involves a lot of yelling, and it's hard both mentally and physically for someone over 40 years old, you know. I experience the same feelings as the main character, plus I feel that it's pretty tiring dealing with the complications involved in all the requirements of the robots. The hardest thing is the writing of the storyboard though. Although now this has become less work, in the past I used to freak out while thinking about the robot action scenes - the slashing and hacking kept going around and around in my head. (laughs)

A - So regarding the storyboard, did you think along the same lines as pro-wrestlers do when working out their techniques?

TH - Yes pretty much. I worked it all out by myself. In that regard it's fairly similar to working as an on the spot action movie director. That was a difficult thing to do.

A - The first series was 11 years ago. What are your thoughts on this TV series being revived?

TH -This time around it wasn't my plan actually. When I was working on it before, it was heading towards a conclusion, however this time around we discussed re-inventing the main characters in the new series, about 5 years after that I got over my reluctance to revive it, and here we are. But one thing I'm thankful for it that now is the present plan is supported by the people who watch it, plus hearing about the people who want to do it - I feel that these things have really given me the incentive to do it.

A - Considering that the first series was 11 years ago, what kinds of problems have come up?

TH - Since it finished more than 10 years ago, I really didn't want to make a sequel. Then we hit on this plan "let's not make it a sequel". I didn't consider the previous characters to be worthless, plus they are my characters, and I really didn't want to go through redrawing and redesigning them, it was basically the storyline that I didn't want to continue with.

A - What's the link between the previous and current storylines of the series?

TH - Well since this work is my baby, I think that this is pretty much the link. Some of the previous film has also been used. This was a low priority, but using some of the previous anime to some degree pleased me. Besides I didn't want to completely ignore the fans of the earlier anime series. I'm thankful to people who saw the earlier series and still have an interest in it, as I made it to be watched and enjoyed.

A - The design from the previous time was completed with a different feeling, what kind of image have you thought about for the original cast this time?

TH - In the previous series there were four robots which came together to form a plane, this time, from the beginning, is the concept of 3 robots making up Dangaioh, which is the request that I made to a mech-designer. The abilities of planes are decided on but with robots you can be a lot more flexible. It was a difficult request that I asked. I didn't want it to resemble any of the previous Dangaioh designs, so although it was a difficult task we managed to settle on the current design.