| Genesis Climber MOSPEADA | |
| Ja Kanji: | 機甲創世記モスピーダ |
| Ja Romaji: | Kikō Sōseiki Mosupīda |
| Genre: | Adventure, Mecha, Military |
| Creator: | Shinji Aramaki Hideki Kakinuma |
| Type: | tv series |
| Director: | Katsuhisa Yamada |
| Producer: | Shinji Aramaki Masatoshi Yui Kenji Yoshida |
| Music: | Hiroshi Ogasawara Joe Hisaishi |
| Studio: | Tatsunoko Production Artmic |
| Network: | Fuji TV |
| Licensee: | Crunchyroll |
| First: | 2 October 1983 |
| Last: | 23 March 1984 |
| Episodes: | 25 |
| Episode List: |
|
| Type: | ova |
| Genesis Climber MOSPEADA: Love Live Alive | |
| Director: | Katsuhisa Yamada |
| Producer: | Masatoshi Yui Shinji Aramaki Kenji Yoshida |
| Music: | Joe Hisaishi |
| Studio: | Artmic & Tatsunoko |
| Released: | 21 September 1985 |
| Runtime: | 50 minutes |
| Portal: | yes |
(literally "Armored Genesis MOSPEADA") is an anime science fiction series created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. The 25-episode television series ran from late 1983 to early 1984 in Japan. MOSPEADA is an acronym of "Military Operation Soldier Protection Emergency Aviation Dive Armor",[1] one of the transformable motorcycle-armors the series features. The other primary mecha featured in the show is the three-form transformable fighter called the Armo-Fighter AFC-01 Legioss. MOSPEADA was adapted as the third generation of the American series Robotech, much like Macross and Southern Cross.[1]
In the 21st century, Earth's pollution problems result in the development of a new hydrogen fuel called "HBT" as an alternative to fossil fuels, while mankind colonizes Mars. In 2050, a mysterious alien race called the Invid invades Earth, the ensuing war leaves only a few pockets of human resistance on the planet's surface. Many of the refugees escape aboard a few remaining shuttles to seek shelter on the Moon. The Invid set up their main base of operations on Earth, called "Reflex Point", in the Great Lakes area of North America.
However, the Mars colony, dubbed the Mars Base, does not forget about the plight of Earth. Troops are sent in to fight the Invid from the Moon, only to fail miserably. The Invid do not attack Mars and show no interest towards the other planets. Surprisingly, the aliens show no hostility towards humans unless they are directly provoked. The Invid can also sense the presence of HBT and use of the fuel is limited under their supervision, as HBT is a common component in weapons technology. Mars Base becomes a gigantic military factory, producing vast amounts of advanced weaponry and trained troops. In 2080, Mars Base sends an expeditionary force to liberate the planet from the Invid - but it is virtually destroyed despite a technological advantage including the deployment of transformable mecha.
A Second Expeditionary Force is dispatched three years but destroyed in a ferocious battle in orbit around the Earth, Legioss pilot Stick [Scott] Bernard turns out to be the only survivor as he crashlands in South America, but his fiancée, Marlene, is killed in the chaos. A holographic recording of Marlene given to Stick just before the operation began gives him the strength to move on and avenge her death. In his quest to reach Reflex Point, he meets the other main characters of the show, forming a group of ragtag freedom fighters in a quest to rid the planet of the Invid.[2]
As the plot unfolds, the purpose of the Invid invasion is revealed: to find a suitable place to evolve into more complex beings. However, the Invid do not know that their endeavor actually threatens to cause the extinction of both humans and Invid and thus, it is up to Stick and his group, with the help of humanoid Invid (Aisha and Solzie), to convince Invid's hive queen, the Refless, to flee from Earth.[3]
The Robotech-adapted names are in brackets: [].
The English-subtitled MOSPEADA DVD released by Harmony Gold and ADV Films uses the inaccurate names (such as "Mint Rubble", "Houquet Emrose", and "Jim Auston") derived from fans on Robotech.com and the Robotech Art I book.
| Original Japanese Air Date | Genesis Climber MOSPEADA Episode | Directed by | Written by | Robotech The New Generation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2, 1983 | 1. | Sukehiro Tomita | 61. The Invid Invasion | ||
| October 9, 1983 | 2. | Sukehiro Tomita | 62. The Lost City | ||
| October 16, 1983 | 3. | Katsuhito Akiyama | Sukehiro Tomita | 63. Lonely Soldier Boy | |
| October 23, 1983 | 4. | Ryo Yasumura | 64. Survival | ||
| October 30, 1983 | 5. | Satoshi Namiki | 65. Curtain Call | ||
| November 6, 1983 | 6. | Sukehiro Tomita | 66. Hard Times | ||
| November 13, 1983 | 7. | Satoshi Namiki | 67. Paper Hero | ||
| November 20, 1983 | 8. | Ryo Yasumura | 68. Eulogy | ||
| November 27, 1983 | 9. | Masakazu Yasumura | Sukehiro Tomita | 69. The Genesis Pit | |
| December 4, 1983 | 10. | Ryo Yasumura | 70. Enter Marlene | ||
| December 11, 1983 | 11. | Katsuhito Akiyama | Satoshi Namiki | 71. The Secret Route | |
| December 18, 1983 | 12. | Kenji Terada | 72. The Fortress | ||
| December 25, 1983 | 13. | Sukehiro Tomita | 73. Sandstorm | ||
| January 8, 1984 | 14. | Kenji Terada | 74. Annie's Wedding | ||
| January 15, 1984 | 15. | Sukehiro Tomita | 75. Separate Ways | ||
| January 22, 1984 | 16. | Satoshi Namiki | 76. Metamorphosis | ||
| January 29, 1984 | 17. | Masakazu Yasumura | Ryo Yasumura | 77. The Midnight Sun | |
| February 5, 1984 | 18. | Kenji Terada | 78. Ghost Town | ||
| February 12, 1984 | 19. | Satoshi Namiki | 79. Frost Bite | ||
| February 19, 1984 | 20. | Sukehiro Tomita | 80. Birthday Blues | ||
| February 26, 1984 | 21. | Kenji Terada | 81. Hired Gun | ||
| March 4, 1984 | 22. | Kenji Terada | 82. The Big Apple | ||
| March 11, 1984 | 23. | Sukehiro Tomita | 83. Reflex Point | ||
| March 18, 1984 | 24. | Sukehiro Tomita | 84. Dark Finale | ||
| March 25, 1984 | 25. | Sukehiro Tomita | 85. Symphony of Light |
The incidental music was composed by Joe Hisaishi, who would later gain renown for incidental music for the movies of Hayao Miyazaki, though it is accidentally credited, because of a misreading of the name characters, to a "Yuzuru Hisaishi." MOSPEADA is the first anime series to have a jazz-based theme song (Blue Rain).
Malaysian indie rock band Hujan made their own cover of the opening song titled Lonely Soldier Boy (derived from one of the lyrics' English lines) where the lyrics are entirely translated from Japanese into Malay, except for the English lines which are left intact. The song was included in the band's album, also named after the song.
The original working titles for MOSPEADA were: Kouka Kihei Vector ("Descent Machine Soldier Vector"), Chou Fumetsu Yousai Reflex Point ("Super Immortal Fortress Reflex Point") and AD Patrol: the story of city police where the main character rides a transformable bike that changes into his partner. The main character designs were created by Yoshitaka Amano, who would later gain renown for his character artwork for the Final Fantasy series.
Each of the Japanese episode titles contains a musical reference. This style of titling would later be used by Cowboy Bebop.
Mechanical designer Shinji Aramaki came up with the transformable motorcycle-powered exoskeleton design while working on the Diaclone series (which later became part of Transformers). When riding his Honda VT250 250 cc motorbike, he thought to himself that it was the right size for a person to wear. Aramaki mentioned that the idea came to him because of his love for riding motorcycles when he was young.[4]
The bike design was inspired by the Suzuki Katana.[5] The black and white stripes on the Legioss and VR ride armor are a tribute to the Allied invasion stripes in World War II.
The series was released in North America by ADV Films with the original Japanese language and English subtitles on June 17, 2003.[6]
Crunchyroll licenses the series.[7]
Most of MOSPEADAs animation (with edited content and revised dialogue) was adapted for American audiences as Robotech: The New Generation, the third saga of the Robotech compilation series. In Robotech, the Inbit became the "Invid" of the "Third Generation" (also featured in ) and the advanced space forces are the returning Robotech Expeditionary Force (REF) that left before the "Second Generation" of Robotech on Earth. Earth's Defense Forces were decimated in the previous saga. Unlike the Invid in the adapted Robotech, the Inbit in MOSPEADA had nothing to do with the Robotech Masters (their sworn enemies in Robotech) and they were just looking for a good planet on which to evolve and reach perfection. Likewise, the REF forces under Admiral Hunter's command that Barnard frequently referred to were troops from the Mars and Jupiter bases which harassed the Invid, though they were playing a "leave alone" system with humans on Earth.
The show's transformable mecha were also renamed; the Armor Cycles as Veritech Cyclones motorcycles; the AFC-01 Legioss became the VF/A-6 Alpha Veritech; the AB-01 Tlead became the VFB-9 Beta Veritech.[8] Like Macross and Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, Genesis Climber MOSPEADA was cut and fitted to be part of the Robotech continuum by Harmony Gold and Carl Macek.
Character names were generally altered without major changes in characterization, making MOSPEADA the least altered series of the three. Incidentally, it is also the series that has seen the most usage in the expanded universe of and , especially in terms of character, mecha, and ship designs, as it was chronologically the last series used in Robotech. Unlike Macross, which is owned by Big West, Harmony Gold is free to utilize elements from the Tatsunoko-owned MOSPEADA.
After the original run of the television series, an OVA music video titled Genesis Climber MOSPEADA: Love Live Alive was released in Japan in September 1985. The music video consisted of both old and new footage. The story of Love Live Alive chronicled the events after the ending of MOSPEADA, featuring Yellow Belmont as the main character.
The music video focused on Yellow's concert and his flashbacks of past events. In 2013, it was adapted by Harmony Gold into .[9] Some DVD releases of the Robotech version of Love Live Alive also include the original Japanese version as bonus content.[10]