Robot anime Choudenji Machine Voltes V debuted on Japanese television in the late 1970s. Now, decades late, it is getting a live-action television show in the Philippines.
Called Voltes V: Legacy, the series is directed by Mark A. Reyes, and if the teaser is anything to go on, it looks cool:
The program will air on the GMA Network. (No word on an international release.)
Voltes V has an interesting history in the Philippines. President Ferdinand Marcos banned the anime in 1979, claiming it was violent and harmful to children. But there is speculation that the motivation rain deeper.
“The show’s formula took the Philippines by storm, apparently striking a chord not just among Filipino children, but even with the adults as well,” wrote Tony Montemayor in The Philippine Star. “The show also had a heavy revolutionary undertone at a time when Filipino student activism was once more bubbling to the surface.”
After the nonviolent revolution in Feburary 1986, Voltes V returned to Philippine television, with new localized dubs in the decades that followed.
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“[Voltes V] is not just a fun story,” explained Montemayor, “it’s also something that can really be considered a cultural milestone in modern Philippine history.” And now, a new generation can discover it through the upcoming live-action adaptation.