Para sa Kababata ko! (kababata ba kita II)

**silhouette** · May 19th, 2005 12:47 PM

Who killed Voltes V?
Jessica Zafra

The Marcos family has persistently and vehemently denied the charges against the late President Ferdinand Marcos. They deny that he had anything to do with the human rights violations committed during his administration. They deny that he stashed government funds in secret Swiss bank accounts. They deny all accusations hurled at the former president. But there is one charge they can not deny, one act to which all of us who were kids in the seventies bore witness:

Marcos killed Voltes V.

What the Bozanians with all their flying metal monstrosities could not do, Marcos did. The Voltes bazooka, ultramagnetic tops, and the all-powerful laser sword were vaporized with a swipe of Marcos' pen.

Voltes V was not the only victim of that presidential directive; Mazinger Z, Daimos, other Japanese robot cartoons and videogames were also blasted into nonexistence. Marcos cited incidences of violence among children--kids hitting each other with plastic swords, among other deadly activities--as the reason for banning robot cartoons and videogames. He said violent cartoons bred violent children. Marcos' critics said the banning of Voltes V was merely a decoy to divert public attention from the president's other activities.

Voltes V was not the only victim of that presidential directive; Mazinger Z, Daimos, other Japanese robot cartoons and videogames were also blasted into nonexistence. Marcos cited incidences of violence among children--kids hitting each other with plastic swords, among other deadly activities--as the reason for banning robot cartoons and videogames. He said violent cartoons bred violent children. Marcos' critics said the banning of Voltes V was merely a decoy to divert public attention from the president's other activities.

Outlawing the television broadcast of a Japanese cartoon devoted to annihilating the enemy may not sound like such a terrible thing, but to the kids of the seventies, Voltes V was not just a cartoon. It was a daily ritual, it was practically a religion. To appreciate the magnitude of Marcos' decision, imagine what might've happened if President Ramos had banned Mari Mar a few weeks before the final episode. Picture the chaos which could have ensued if FVR had prevented the audience from finding out whether Mari Mar and Sergio would get back together.

The Voltes V audience never found out what happened to Steve, Mark, Jamie the token girl, Little John, Big Bert, Dr. Armstrong, or Prince Zardoz. As TODAY special reports editor Roby Alampay pointed out, we are a generation without closure. We were too young to protest when Voltes V and company were knocked off the air, but we did not forget.

This injustice lived on in our collective memory, where it rankled, festered, and grew. And we bided our time. We gathered our forces. We waited for the opportunity to strike back at those who had summarily executed something we loved. That opportunity came in February 1986.

If Marcos had not banned Voltes V, the EDSA Revolution would not have taken place.

Last Sunday on K-Lite, we conducted a discussion on Japanese robot cartoons with resource persons Carlo Herman (who can sing and do the sound effects of all the robot shows), Roby, and Budjette and Brandy Tan of Alamat Comics. I had underestimated the enduring popularity of Voltes V. Talk about a generation without closure: we were swamped with phone calls and beeper messages from people who wanted to know how Voltes V ended.

"What became of Zul?" asked one listener, referring to the horned, bald sycophant of the evil Prince Zardoz.

"He tried to betray the Bozanians so he was dehorned," Carlo explained.

"That was a terrible punishment because he could never be horny again."

"Zul was not dehorned," another listener insisted, "He committed suicide by diving into the sun."

"No, that was Prince Ulrich, leader of the Bremen, and that was in Daimos."

"What I want to know is, why did Voltes V have to try those ultramagnetic tops when the laser sword could beat everybody? Why didn't they just cut to the chase and whip out the laser sword?"

"Because if they did the series would've ended in two days."

"Who did Jamie wind up with?" Nobody knew the answer.

Another listener wanted to know how many generations separated UFO Grendaizer from Mazinger Z. This led to a long, complicated explanation from Budjette on the ancestry of UFO Grendaizer.

"Didn't you think Mazinger Z was cute?" Carlo said. "It looked like an airconditioner." I always thought Voltes V looked like a chicken.

"That Aphrodite A was a wimp. After she had fired off those boob missiles, she had no more powers."

"But Mazinger Z needed those missiles to fly," Roby pointed out. "She would fire them, and he would hang on to them." A subsequent question about Star Rangers elicited a spontaneous a capella choral rendition of the theme from that show.

Today's superhero cartoons are more sophisticated than Voltes V; they're also more ambiguous. They are darker and truer to life--the good guys don't always emerge triumphant, and sometimes you can't tell the good from the bad. Yes, kids learn that nothing is simple, there is no black and white, and you can't trust anyone. But they don't get any great urge to be good, either. That is the beauty of Voltes V. We need to see the forces of good kick the crap out of the forces of evil.

**mazdamazda** · May 19th, 2005 12:52 PM

uu nga... di ko alam ang katapusan ng voltes v!!!!

**ARB** · May 19th, 2005 01:06 PM

he also banned the arcade games, remember quad before, then pag ban ya wala na lahat. but I think he was thinking more of the welfare of the students for this directive.

**artpogi** · May 19th, 2005 01:21 PM

As TODAY special reports editor Roby Alampay pointed out, we are a generation without closure. We were too young to protest when Voltes V and company were knocked off the air, but we did not forget.

hehehe, I can relate to this

**silhouette** · May 19th, 2005 08:30 PM

yun nga daw, for the welfare of the students...sana yung flor de luna at ana liza binan na din nya during those times. dahil dami ding kabataang nanood nun. hehe.