The deformation sequence of "Yuusha Excizer" enhanced by multiple transmitted lights [Nostalgic Anime Retrospective No. 62

In 2020, Sunrise's original robot anime "Yusha Series" will celebrate 30 years since its birth. This series was developed as a traditional royal road merchandising, with the toy company Takara (at the time) inventing the toy concept and Sunrise attractively promoting robots that transform and combine in the same way as the toys in its animated programs.
Giant robot animations linked to toys are often derided as "30-minute commercials. However, commercials should have their own value. Let's look at the first episode of "Yusha Excizer" (1990), the first in the Yusha series.

A car transforms into a robot, and what's more, the robot has a will!

Space pirates, the Geisters, target Earth in search of treasure. The Kaisers, a space police force pursuing them, also infiltrate Earth, and the Kaisers' captain, Ex-Kaiser, becomes one with the private car of Kota Hoshikawa's house. From that day on, the Hoshikawa family car transforms into a giant robot.
As the story progresses, the number of types of Kaisers robots increases, including robots that transform into bullet trains, fighter jets, and drill tanks. However, the only robot that comes into play in the first episode is the EXKAIZER, which transforms from a car. Let's take a look at the transformation process of the EX-KAIZER.

(1) The center part of the car body folds and the front half extends forward.
(2) The rear glass folds 180° and turns to the back side of the body.
(3) The rear wheels split to the left and right and rotate further backward.
(4) The entire car body rotates around and there is a robot face.
(5) The part of the back of the car body that split to the left and right in (3) extends downward to reveal the robot's wrist.
(6) The center of the car body rotates and the lion's face appears.

It may be difficult to understand in the text, but when the video is viewed frame by frame, the chassis side of the car is the front of the robot. The front part of the car body folded at (1) becomes both legs, and the rear part of the car body becomes arms at (3) and (5). The lion's face, which appears at (6), is located on the robot's chest.
In this scene, the process of the car becoming a humanoid robot must be shown concretely and attractively in order to make the product (a transformable toy) appealing. At the same time, as the energy life form, EXCUISER, acts as a "robot with a will," it must also impress the viewer with the fact that the transformation is carried out using mysterious energy.
For this purpose, transmitted light is utilized. In this deformation scene, transmitted light is used extensively between deformations.

Does yellow light represent "function" and green light "will"?

First, at the moment the body folds in (1), the yellow transmitted light radiates out from the gap between the folds. The front part of the car body becomes the robot's legs as it is, and the yellow transmitted light runs from the part corresponding to the knee to the left and right. At the moment the leg is completed, the outline of the leg glows with white transmitted light.
At the moment when the rear glass is broken in step (2), a yellow transmitted light radiates from the part where the glass adheres to the chassis.
When the robot's head appears in (4), a small purple bolt of lightning strikes the tassel-shaped area above the eyes. In addition, a yellow transmitted light shines on the golden ornament on the forehead.
Just before the wrist appears in (5), yellow transmitted light radiates from the hole.
At (7), the moment the lion's face appears, lightning of the same color flashes from the lion's green eyes.

The transformation into a robot is completed, and green transmitted light radiates from the back of the EXHIBITOR, which has assumed a decisive pose, across the entire screen.
(Yellow transmitted light is also used during the high-speed transformation of the car from robot to car to robot during the battle.)
The green transmitted light is the same color as the eyes of the Excizer and the lion on its chest. Therefore, it can be interpreted as "light that expresses will.

In the first episode, the main character Kota cherishes his grandfather's camera, but the camera is targeted by the enemy and destroyed in battle. Seeing Kota's frustration, a golden light flashes in the eyes of the Excalibur, and a yellow light shines through the golden ornament on his forehead, and an orange ray of light hits the camera. The camera is then restored to its original state.
Since one of the functions of EXCUISER is to repair broken mechanics, if we consider that yellow transmitted light, which is the color that represents function, is used in ......, we can see a drama created by light and color that is different from the main storyline, can't we?


(Text by Keisuke Hirota)