This Dougram is ...... all mine!" Reading from "Fang of the Sun Dougram" about the too-deep trust between the main character and the robot [Nostalgic Anime Retrospective No. 71

This month, the author's serialized project [80s B-Grade Anime Plastic Model Natural History] focuses on the plastic model of "Fang of the Sun Dougram," which was broadcast for a year and a half from 1981. In this corner, we would like to talk about the appeal of "Dougram" as an anime program.
In "Dougram," many robot weapons called "combat armor" appear. The "Dougram" of the title is the combat armor of the anti-government guerrillas, and the main character Krinn rides in it. New types of combat armor from the government forces appear one after another and challenge Douglas, and although Douglas fights a difficult battle, he is victorious. ...... follows the pattern of robot animation, but the story structure is unique. In each episode, while Dougram and the enemy Combat Armor are fighting, the political machinations of the adults, including Donan Qasim, the father of the main character Kulin (the chairman of the Earth Federation Council), are being simultaneously depicted.
Many people seem to think that "the story is difficult to follow and the visuals are plain and muddy," but is that really the case?　Let's take a look at the development of the drama near the final episode.

A huge "shadow" of Dougram falls on the mute Krin's face.

In episode 70, "Disarmament," an agreement is made between the Earth Federation government and the colony planet Deloia, and Deloia achieves independence from Earth. The guerrilla organization "Fang of the Sun," to which the protagonist Krynn belongs, is now on its own, so there is no reason for them to continue fighting. The disarmed Dougram is carried away by the new government forces in front of Krin's eyes.
In the following episode, Episode 71, "The Triumphant Parade of Powder," Douglas is loaned out to the Deloix Independence Parade and is carried down the main street in a trailer while posing heroically. The camera zooms in on Douglas and shows an empty cockpit. Klin, who was the pilot, is among the people along the street, staring at the unmanned Douglas Douglas. A child watching the parade tries to run up to him and says, "Douglas! but the child is stopped by a guard. Kling leans forward, but Rocky, the leader of the "Fangs of the Sun," pulls him back. Kling pulls him back. I think Douglas has gone too far away from us now. ...... Kling looks up silently at Douglas as he passes in front of him. A close-up of Klin's face is shadowed by Douglas' huge body.
The members exchange their thoughts, "It's just a machine," and "I don't think it's just a machine," but Klin says nothing about Douglas, who is being treated as if he were a piece of haribo. However, the huge body of the Dougram cast a large shadow on Klin's face, as if to ask him a question. What does Klin think of his beloved machine, the Dougram?　The answer to that silence can be heard in the final episode (Episode 75), "After the Burnout.

The "shadow" of the Dougram that fell on Kling now envelops all his friends.

Kling and the "Fangs of the Sun" decide to continue the battle when they hear that the independence of the planet Deloia is only superficial and that the new government is planning to display Douglas in front of the capitol building in order to deceive public opinion. The "Fangs of the Sun" have taken back Douglas Douglas, but they have to fight with a small number of men against a large force of the Earth Federation Forces, and they lose Dr. Samarin, the leader of the independence movement, and are driven back into a corner.
However, the situation takes a turn for the worse. The new Deloian government, outraged by the Earth Federation's interference in its internal affairs, dispatches security forces to halt the fighting. As a result of this political decision, the "Fang of the Sun," which had looked like it was about to be destroyed, was saved, and this time the battle was truly over.
The seven members threw down their guns on the ground, saying, "It's over. Then, the huge shadow of Douglas falls on their somewhat indifferent attitude. In episode 71, Kling was the only one to whom Dougram's shadow fell. This time, all the "Fangs of the Sun" are enveloped by Douglas' shadow. In a sense, Douglas Douglas is posing a question not only to Kling, but to all of his friends.

Kling emerges from the cockpit of the Dougram and exclaims something unexpected : "I don't like it! Kling shouts something unexpected: "I don't want to give Douglas the Douglas. Rocky, the leader of the team, is puzzled by Kling's words, which are neither a call nor a declaration: "I don't want to give you Douglas Douglas. Rocky, the leader of the group, is puzzled by Kling's words, which are neither a call nor a declaration.
I don't want to give you the Douglas Douglas. This dougram is ......, this dougram is ......, it's all of me!　With my body, with my fangs, with my heart ......, we have cried together, run together, walked together. It's all I have in Deloia!　If I hand Douglas over like this, I'll never be able to take another step forward. I'm parting with Douglas with my own hands."
After saying that much, Klin returns to Douglas' cockpit and walks Douglas across the desert. Rocky said, "Klin is right. Rocky called out to his friends, "Kling's right. Kling destroys the Dougram of his own volition, and the members of the "Fangs of the Sun" throw down their guns in the flames. The soldiers of the autonomous army who had been watching them salute the heroic figure of Douglas as it falls into flames.

During Kulin's long speech, the camera captures his face from different angles as he says "all of me," "with my body," "with my fangs," "with my heart," "we cried together," "we ran together," "we walked together," one by one. In order to capture Kulin's joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness during the long, long battle in a limited amount of dialogue, the camera has no choice but to shoot from many angles. The intense cutaways convey Klin's simmering thoughts and feelings in a straightforward manner. This passionate dialogue is Kling's response to the exchange in episode 71, "You are a machine after all," and "I don't think of you as a mere machine.

The famous "decaying Douglas Douglas" changes dramatically in the final episode.

The first episode of "Dougram" opened with the shocking visual of the main robot, Dougram, reduced to a wreck in the desert. The final episode ends in the same way, with the wreckage of Dougram. The opening and ending scenes are called "book-ending style," and although they appear to be the same, the narration is in fact decisively different. The narration of the final episode is as follows.
The iron arm has atrophied, the iron leg has lost its strength, and the buried cannon will never fire again. The wolf is dead. The lion is dead.
Yet, exposed to the desert sun, the giant was certain. The young live today, and the young run today. (Members of the "Fangs of the Sun" calling each other's names) The giant heard the voice of the young man. (The members of "Fang of the Sun" call each other's names.) The Titans heard the voice of the young man.
Gone are the negative words from the narration of the first episode, such as "The Iron Warrior is dead" and "All those with fangs in their hearts have gone. Instead, the end of the story adds how Douglas himself, whom Kling called "my everything," felt about them. This is probably because not only Douglas but also the filmmakers "certainly heard" the voices of Klin and his friends over the course of a year and a half.


(Text by Keisuke Hirota)