MICHIKO MIGITA - GOLDORAK TÉLÉ-GUIDE

[michi]

I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply to each of your replies individually.

I'm busy every day with cleaning up the house where I was born and raised, supporting my husband who has Parkinson's disease, taking care of the house, and my many hobbies, so I don't have enough time.

Unlike in the past, nowadays it's easy to communicate with people from other countries using translation functions, but I'm sorry I haven't been able to make use of them.

I saw Grendizer when I was 14 years old.

I became a fan of Koji from Mazinger Z, and watched Great Mazinger,

and Koji also appeared in Grendizer after that, so I got into it.

However, Koji in Grendizer was in a position to support the main character, Duke, which made me sad as a fan.

But I liked the story. I was fascinated by Grendizer as a parallel world, a world different from the Mazinger series.

I became a fan of animators Komatsubara, Araki, and Himeno,

and for several years I hosted Araki's fan club.

I wasn't able to become an animator, but many of my acquaintances became an animator and are still active today.
I also participated in Grendizer U, although there are pros and cons. Everyone is working hard, drawing their dreams.

[Monsieur Vilak]

Thank you for your answers!

Don't apologize, some of us want to talk to you for 46 years, we can wait a bunch of days now we've reached you!

However, Koji in Grendizer was in a position to support the main character, Duke, which made me sad as a fan.

Yes, we understand it turned off a lot of people who grew up with Mazinger Z.
"Daisuke nursing Koji" is also something we heard in a negative way about Grendizer.

We too, kind of see MZ/GM & Grendizer as two parralel worlds as the revelation that the Alcor of our youth is the Koji of Mazinger Z came very late in our life. I personnally waited late 1993/early1994 to learn the truth :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3352

But I love Grendizer and Koji anyway :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/forums/viewt ... 227#p45227

Firendly,
Christian.

[Bouleau Blanc]

(...)
However, Koji in Grendizer was in a position to support the main character, Duke, which made me sad as a fan.
But I liked the story. I was fascinated by Grendizer as a parallel world, a world different from the Mazinger series.
I became a fan of animators Komatsubara, Araki, and Himeno,
and for several years I hosted Araki's fan club.
I wasn't able to become an animator, but many of my acquaintances became an animator and are still active today.
I also participated in Grendizer U, although there are pros and cons. Everyone is working hard, drawing their dreams.

Yes, we can consider the Grendizer and Mazinger series as parallel worlds, even though there are interesting connections between them. We recently noticed on this forum that Koji has in Grendizer the same motorcycle in some episodes as in Mazinger, for example (episodes 46 and 49). I found it nice.

But why Koji put the Mazinger series in a museum is a mystery. I would have liked to see Professors Yumi and Umon working together. The two research centers could have designed and carried out some wonderful scientific projects together

It's a blessing and a source of joy to have remained connected to this universe over the years; it's a wonderful loyalty.

Those in France who have wanted to interact with you or get to know you better since 1979 will see their patience rewarded.

Life can make amusing winks

I saw on X that you like plants. Me too. That's also one of the reasons why I like Grendizer: it's a series that pays homage to nature and the cycle of the seasons. The beauty of nature is omnipresent. That's why I took the name "White Birch" (i.e. Bouleau Blanc in french) from my avatar

[michi]

Thank you for your answers!

Don't apologize, some of us want to talk to you for 46 years, we can wait a bunch of days now we've reached you!

However, Koji in Grendizer was in a position to support the main character, Duke, which made me sad as a fan.

Yes, we understand it turned off a lot of people who grew up with Mazinger Z.
"Daisuke nursing Koji" is also something we heard in a negative way about Grendizer.

We too, kind of see MZ/GM & Grendizer as two parralel worlds as the revelation that the Alcor of our youth is the Koji of Mazinger Z came very late in our life. I personnally waited late 1993/early1994 to learn the truth :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3352

But I love Grendizer and Koji anyway :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/forums/viewt ... 227#p45227

Firendly,
Christian.

Grendizer was broadcast first in France, so it's understandable that I wasn't familiar with the world of Mazinger Z.

Characters from the original author Nagai Go's works sometimes appear in other works. Hikaru's father, who is famous for Grendizer, has appeared in Cutie Honey and other works.
The same can be said for Teronna, who is from another work, appearing in Grendizer U, which aired last year.
Since Teronna from the anime film "Space Disk Wars," on which Grendizer is based, appeared in Grendizer U, it might have been fun if Duke was actually a twin! That's what I fantasized about.

This is an old drawing I drew a long time ago.

[michi]

(...)
However, Koji in Grendizer was in a position to support the main character, Duke, which made me sad as a fan.
But I liked the story. I was fascinated by Grendizer as a parallel world, a world different from the Mazinger series.
I became a fan of animators Komatsubara, Araki, and Himeno,
and for several years I hosted Araki's fan club.
I wasn't able to become an animator, but many of my acquaintances became an animator and are still active today.
I also participated in Grendizer U, although there are pros and cons. Everyone is working hard, drawing their dreams.

Yes, we can consider the Grendizer and Mazinger series as parallel worlds, even though there are interesting connections between them. We recently noticed on this forum that Koji has in Grendizer the same motorcycle in some episodes as in Mazinger, for example (episodes 46 and 49). I found it nice.

But why Koji put the Mazinger series in a museum is a mystery. I would have liked to see Professors Yumi and Umon working together. The two research centers could have designed and carried out some wonderful scientific projects together

It's a blessing and a source of joy to have remained connected to this universe over the years; it's a wonderful loyalty.

Those in France who have wanted to interact with you or get to know you better since 1979 will see their patience rewarded.

Life can make amusing winks

I saw on X that you like plants. Me too. That's also one of the reasons why I like Grendizer: it's a series that pays homage to nature and the cycle of the seasons. The beauty of nature is omnipresent. That's why I took the name "White Birch" (i.e. Bouleau Blanc in french) from my avatar

When Grendizer was produced, there was a boom in "unidentified flying objects." I felt dreams and longing for spaceships and aliens.
Koji met Grendizer because of industry circumstances, and they wanted to use him because he was very popular.
Koji grew up as a young man in Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger. But in Grendizer, he was a childish character, which was disappointing.
Even so, he grew up little by little in Grendizer, and even though he couldn't fight with Mazinger Z at full power, he was still a warrior, and fans were happy.
I think it's good that fans are diverse, with people who like all kinds of Koji and people who like Koji from Mazinger Z.
However, there were many people who enjoyed it by setting it up as a BL even though it wasn't set in that way, and I didn't like it.
So you're watching it in X.
Thank you.
In the news yesterday, it was announced that Hiroya Ishimaru, the voice actor of Koji, who retired, will be voicing Koji again in the game software released in August, and fans are happy.

[Monsieur Vilak]

I am very glad you can confirm few things we've put in the Wikirak.
Two sources are always better than one!

Our page about Uchu Enban Dai Senso :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/wiki/index.php/UEDS

Our page about the making of Grendizer :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/wiki/index.p ... s%C3%A9rie

Perhaps the greatest mystery of all about Grendizer for us is the orignal scheduled length, we still can't really figure it.
We are pretty sure that the original number of episodes was decided to be 78 at least before the string was pulled :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/wiki/index.p ... %A9quences
We would be very grateful if you have informations about that and would be kind to share them with us.

Friendly,
Christian.

[Bouleau Blanc]

It's always wonderful when the original voice actors can return to play their characters in new productions or just make a cameo. So this is good news for Hiroya Ishimaru.

The era of Grendizer is also that of Star Wars and Star Trek, an era with a fascination for UFOs. And indeed, it's a fascinating theme.

The storytelling richness of Grendizer also comes from the intersection of this theme with many others. Many stories were invented thanks to this series, but there are many other ideas that could be exploited in new Grendizer productions. For example, I've always dreamed of a prequel that explains the origins of Grendizer and explains Duke and Rubina's engagement, how it was broken, how the war started on Fleed, what happened after.

[michi]

I am very glad you can confirm few things we've put in the Wikirak.
Two sources are always better than one!

Our page about Uchu Enban Dai Senso :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/wiki/index.php/UEDS

Our page about the making of Grendizer :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/wiki/index.p ... s%C3%A9rie

Perhaps the greatest mystery of all about Grendizer for us is the orignal scheduled length, we still can't really figure it.
We are pretty sure that the original number of episodes was decided to be 78 at least before the string was pulled :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/wiki/index.p ... %A9quences
We would be very grateful if you have informations about that and would be kind to share them with us.

Friendly,
Christian.

This is the first time I've heard that Grendizer was originally scheduled to have 78 episodes. No one questioned the fact that it ended with 74 episodes. Anime shows often end earlier than planned due to ratings and toy sales. Grendizer was a popular series that was not canceled midway and was aired right up to the final episode.

[michi]

It's always wonderful when the original voice actors can return to play their characters in new productions or just make a cameo. So this is good news for Hiroya Ishimaru.

The era of Grendizer is also that of Star Wars and Star Trek, an era with a fascination for UFOs. And indeed, it's a fascinating theme.

The storytelling richness of Grendizer also comes from the intersection of this theme with many others. Many stories were invented thanks to this series, but there are many other ideas that could be exploited in new Grendizer productions. For example, I've always dreamed of a prequel that explains the origins of Grendizer and explains Duke and Rubina's engagement, how it was broken, how the war started on Fleed, what happened after.

It was fun to see the work and fantasize about (^^)
I often drew manga with Koji and Sayaka.
The origin of Grendizer is... the guardian deity that has been passed down through the royal family of Planet Fried for generations.
Duke and Rubina's engagement was... a typical political engagement between countries, but the two got along well.
However, King Vega used Rubina to lull Planet Fried off guard. Planet Fried was destroyed, and Duke couldn't believe Rubina when he met her on Earth at first.
Grendizer had a proper character setup, but in Grendizer U, they made them strange twins and messed up the story.
If Rubina had remained the Rubina of Grendizer, U's evaluation might have been a little different.

[Monsieur Vilak]

Hello Michi.

Nothing leaked on Japan you said?
We have few leads that tend to Popy's "wish" to shorten the show, as they did the same for others animes because toys sales were either declining or disapointing.
We also analysed the shape of the 3 last épisodes and it's obvious, from our point of view of course, that something happened.

Thank you for your answer .

[Bouleau Blanc]

I am very glad you can confirm few things we've put in the Wikirak.
Two sources are always better than one!

Our page about Uchu Enban Dai Senso :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/wiki/index.php/UEDS

Our page about the making of Grendizer :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/wiki/index.p ... s%C3%A9rie

Perhaps the greatest mystery of all about Grendizer for us is the orignal scheduled length, we still can't really figure it.
We are pretty sure that the original number of episodes was decided to be 78 at least before the string was pulled :
https://www.goldorakgo.com/wiki/index.p ... %A9quences
We would be very grateful if you have informations about that and would be kind to share them with us.

Friendly,
Christian.

This is the first time I've heard that Grendizer was originally scheduled to have 78 episodes. No one questioned the fact that it ended with 74 episodes. Anime shows often end earlier than planned due to ratings and toy sales. Grendizer was a popular series that was not canceled midway and was aired right up to the final episode.

Yes, that's what I think Michi.

The series was popular in Japan; if it had been a commercial failure, they would have stopped much earlier. They don't make three seasons and 74 episodes for nothing. Not all series have an episode count that is a multiple of 26 (39 for Getter Robo G, 51 for Getter Robo, 92 for Mazinger Z, 56 for Great Mazinger, 46 for Jeeg...). And this is not explained by a supposed commercial failure.

Besides, it's not clear that the ending is rushed. Episode 72 seems very well done to me. It's already stretched out over three episodes. Which is good when you compare it to the endings of the Getter and Mazinger series (whose endings seem less well done in terms of the script).

[Ozu]

ご返事ありがとうございます。一応メッセージを送りました

アバターのことですが、もしよかったら、後で作り方を教えます（このフォーラムは全部フランス語ですので、確かにちょっとやりにくいと思います。

I've just discovered this amazing thread where you guys managed to find the girl Michi who wrote the famous letter in 1979...this is almost incredible!

It seems that about a year ago Michiko san offered to send her copies of the fanzine Spazer to LVD, and this is also something fantastic, since it is very rare and precious material, almost impossible to find nowadays.
To LVD: if I may ask, have you been in contact with her and did you receive those copies?
Thank you

[LVD]

Yes, I have all issues except one (number 5 was missing)

[Bouleau Blanc]

Elle est toujours très active sur X : https://x.com/oH5xOjJXMbyd6hu

[Monsieur Vilak]

Tant mieux, la passion demeure!
Vive Globirak!