Millennials and Gen Zs were not yet breathing in this world when Voltes V first aired on TV Asahi in June 1977 — not even when it began airing in the Philippines through GMA-7 in May 1978.
The Japanese animated series, which featured a gigantic robot formed by parts, that ‘70s kids enjoyed back then was banned from the Philippine television during the Martial Law because of its supposed “excessive violence” and “harmful effects on children.” The ban, however, eventually ended, giving the younger generation the chance to enjoy the series when it went back on air.
Decades after, Filipino viewers once again witnessed Steve Armstrong, Jamie Robinson, Mark Gordon, Big Bert, and Little John assembling to perform their mission to save the world from alien invaders — this time, as portrayed by Filipino actors Miguel Tanfelix, Ysabel Ortega, Radson Flores, Matt Lozano, and Raphael Landicho, respectively.
The animated series now has its Filipino live-action adaptation, whose first episode aired in GMA-7 on Monday, May 8. The show climbed to the top spot of Twitter’s trending list, as netizens couldn’t help but to express the amount of nostalgia they felt upon watching it, especially when they saw some familiar scenes and heard its recognizable theme song.
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Recreation of opening part
Some scenes in the ending credits did not escape the observant eye of these netizens, who noticed that the series recreated some scenes from the opening theme of the animated version. Those familiar scenes include the appearance of the Boazanian Skull Ship, the running action of the young heroes, and them fighting the antagonist, Prince Zardoz. The iconic part where members volt in to form the gigantic robot cannot also be missed in the credits.
The iconic volt in sequence
The most anticipated part of “Voltes V: Legacy?” Of course, the volt in sequence of the volt machines piloted each by the young heroes to form the gigantic robot, with Steve operating the number 1 machine, Mark with number 2, Big Bert with number 3, Jon with number 4, and Jamie with number 5.
A netizen had only one word, in all caps, to describe this scene: “EPIC!”
Does this scene bring you back from your childhood days? This Twitter user can certainly attest to that!
Filipino rendition of ‘Voltes V No Uta’
While “Voltes V: Legacy” is “100% Filipino made” as described by its director, Mark Reyes, the theme song “Voltes V no Uta,” originally sang by Mitsuko Horie, remains to be in Japanese. Yes, it is still the same song we heard before, but the catch here is that the voice lent for the song was of singer Julie Ann San Jose that gave chills to this one twitter user:
This netizen, meanwhile, praised the singer for being versatile in singing different languages, including “Voltes V: Legacy’s” theme song:
The airing of the live-action adaptation series on small screens came after the release of “Voltes V Legacy: The Cinematic Experience” in Philippine cinemas last month. The series will be aired on GMA Telebabad weekdays at 8:00 p.m.
