Anime / Invincible Robo Tryder G7

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Invincible Robot Tryder G7 (無敵ロボ トライダーG7) is a Japanese mecha anime produced by Sunrise and TV Asahi. It was directed by Sasaki Katsutoshi. The anime ran from February 2, 1980 to January 24, 1981, ending at 50 episodes. Episodes aired every Saturday from 17:30 to 18:00 PM (JST). The anime featured character designs from Nobuyoshi Sasamon and mecha designs from Kunio Okawara and Yutaka Izubuchi.

The series was inspired by the original Mobile Suit Gundam's success in Japan. The creators noted that while Gundam was quite popular amongst older kids who loved anime, it failed to attain an audience amongst young kids. Thus, their solution was to make this, which is more kid-friendly.

Being the third Sunrise super robot anime in a four year span to have the word "Invincible" in its title^note 無敵, muteki, in Japanese, Tryder G7 is often lumped together with Zambot 3 and Daitarn 3 as the "Invincible trilogy". However, it should be noted that while Zambot 3 and Daitarn 3 are Yoshiyuki Tomino creations, Tryder G7 is not. It is also frequently associated with subsequent Sunrise anime Robot King Daioja due to substantially sharing staff.

Watta Takeo is a 12 year old boy whose father suddenly dies, leaving him to inherit the company he founded. Despite being Just a Kid, he agrees to assume his place as CEO, for his father's memory and for the sake of his family and the employees. The responsibilities of this include piloting the legendary robot, Tryder G7, his father's final (and greatest creation), co-designed by a very special friend of his.

Turns out, Tryder G7's presence is very much needed. The local Galactic Conquerers, the Robot Empire, are looking for more planets to colonize and the Insignificant Little Blue Planet is next on their list. Led by the cruel noble Zakuron, the earth's end is near...unless Watta defends it first.

Provides examples of:

• Adjective Noun Fred: Invincible Robot Tryder G7, or Muteki Robot Tryder G7.
• Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The Italian theme song, L'invincibile robot Trider G7, was sung by the musical group Superobots.
• Artistic License – Law: No sane manager of a private limited company would employ a 12 year old boy as the CEO, no matter how small it is, because that would violate so many labour laws and interfere in Japanese compulsory school attendance laws.
• Birthday Episode: The 47th episode centers around Watta's birthday, revealing it to be December 27th.
• Bragging Theme Tune: In the theme song, every chorus has the outro line "ダーG7! お前は宇宙の無敵ロボ!" ("Trider G7! You are the invincible robot of the universe!").
• Coming of Age Story: The anime focuses on a little boy who's catapulted into filling out his father's shoes at his job despite his young age. It ends with his graduation from school, when he's finally matured, having let go of the past.
• Expository Theme Tune: The anime's OP basically surmises the Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World aspect.
  The phone is calling me
  The Earth is in big trouble again
  I have a mountain of homework but I'm counting on you again today G7
  Our employees' salaries, no!
  World peace is at stake
  Do it! G7!
  Trider G7!
  Thrust! G7!
  Trider G7!
  You are the invincible robot of the universe
  Six hours of school again today and six hours of overtime
  I have to do work that people don't like G7
  I'm worried about our company's sales, no!
  I'm worried about the future of the universe
• Lighter and Softer: Tryder was created as a child-friendly counterpart to Mobile Suit Gundam, hence plenty of Slice of Life episodes and no serious lasting damages of battles. Hell, there isn't a big damn final battle in the Grand Finale like in every other Super Robot show under the sun, instead it focuses on the kids' graduation from school.
• Love Triangle: Kaoru Taki is the prettiest girl in class, which is why Ken'ichi likes her, but she tends to often pay more attention to Watta. This leaves him very jealous.
• Kodomomuke: The anime was created to be a kid-friendly version of the Real Robot Genre shows popular in Japan at the time. The large amount of school-focused episodes are because the show was meant to be relatable to the child audience.
• Running Gag:
  • Ken'ichi seething about Watta getting more attention than him.
  • Ikue accidentally causing a commotion with her clumsiness.
  • Director Umemaro pulling out abacus to show how Watta's ideas will affect the company financially.
• Super Robot Genre: It has a few things off the checklist. The robot's title begins with "Muteki" (Invincible) and has a name comprised of Xtreme Kool Letterz, extra-terrestrial origins (in this case, it was created by Nabulon, a defector of the villainous Robot Empire, along with the main character's father) and regularly breaks the laws of physics on a cartoonish level. It also has a red and blue colour scheme, wing-like protrusions on each side of its head, a flexible face, the ability to mimic human movement and Chest Blaster, Eye Beams and Rocket Punch powers. The villains are, as you guessed it, aliens who are a Higher-Tech Species.
• Slice of Life: Despite being a Super Robot show, there are far more episodes focusing on Watta's adventures running the company and using the robot in his day to day life than mecha action.
• Shout-Out: Here.