Godannar - Marriage Of God And Soul

2003

published in Empire No.81, Sydney
Complete Collection

2008

When anime pulls hard on the comedy throttle, a G-force of laughs can follow – if one is suitably acclimatised to the pressure. Godannar outrageously fuses marital domestic bliss (and bruising) with co-piloting mega transformable fighting robots. Believe it or not, it’s almost a sub-genre, and Godannar is a canny ribald parody with tongue firmly in cheek and hand hard on the throttle.

The titular Godannar is the ‘twin drive’ merger between two robots – the Godannar and the Neo-Okusauer, piloted respectively by newlyweds Goh and Anna. Actually, they were called into battle while at the altar, so this is a marriage of the two in numerous ways (the series being subtitled “Marriage of God and Soul!”). It’s a crazy ride of mecha and matrimony, abundant with jiggling boobs and dangerously square jaws, channelled through some incredibly fast-paced comedic quips from memorable characters. Best of all, the series is in the mock attire of mid-70s live action tokusatsu TV action sci-fi like Ultra-Q. The monsters near-corny spook-show appearance is in keeping with the televisual rubber-suits of the 70s series. Even Godannar’s opening theme hilariously recalls this golden era with its corny pseudo-disco middle-aged crooner macho ballad, making the series a sharply honed homage despite its irreverent bite.