‘Voltes V: Legacy’ Is The Filipino Answer to Power Rangers and Voltron

Japan’s love for giant robots and multicoloured superhero teams has spread worldwide, with Southeast Asian audiences embracing these multimedia properties with open arms. From Super Sentai to Gundam, there’s something for everyone in both live-action and animation.

One major anime that has left its mark in the Philippines is Toei Animation’s Voltes V, a super robot anime that sees the titular machine fighting off an alien invasion. The multicoloured members of the Voltes Team combine their individual vehicles to form Voltes V.

A concept that is undoubtedly familiar to fans of Voltron and Power Rangers, Voltes V was very much ahead of its time when it was first released in 1978. It is the progenitor of the many tropes that audiences would associate with the aforementioned franchises.

In the Philippines, Voltes V is as popular as Slam Dunk and Sailor Moon, especially since the super robot anime aired during a period of political upheaval in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.

In a surprise development, Toei has announced a new live-action, 80-episode Filipino adaptation of Voltes V, featuring a fully Filipino cast who will play the members of Voltes Team.

This new series will be directed by Mark A. Reyes and written by Suzette Doctolero, with the duo previously collaborating on the 2016 remake of the classic Filipino fantasy drama Encantadia.

The members of Voltes Team will cosist of team leader Steve Armstrong, played by Miguel Tanfelix, with Matt Lozano and Raphael Landicho portraying his brothers Robert "Big Bert" Armstrong and "Little Jon" Armstrong.

Rounding up the five-man team is Radson Flores as Mark Gordon and Ysabel Ortega as Jamie Robinson. The series will be in both English and Tagalog, and the villains will use their own fictional Boazanian language.

Staying true to its Japanese roots, Voltes V: Legacy is presented like a typical tokusatsu production, though it eschews the usual suit-based robot fights for completely CGI takes on Voltes V’s battles against the Boazanian Empire.

Hopefully, the rest of Southeast Asia will get to see this series on streaming services as well. Other Southeast Asian tokusatsu properties like the Indonesian Gatotkaca are available on Netflix. Voltes V: Legacy will premiere sometime in 2023 on the local GMA Network.