• Japanese manga artist who created one of the Middle East’s favorite anime toys with the idea of a feature film

Hala Tashkandi, Tokyo

Go Nagai, the Japanese mangaka who created one of the region’s most famous anime to date, has teased the idea of a film featuring everyone’s favorite Super Robot.

Speaking to Arab News exclusively from his Tokyo Studio, Nagai said he has plans to create a feature film for Grendizer, similar to the one created for Mazinger, another one of his hits.

Grendizer has a long history in the region; created in 1975, the dubbed version of the anime has a significant impact on pop culture in the Middle East.

It was an instant hit in the Arab world and remains one of the biggest anime to ever impact local audiences.

However, the last episode of Grendizer was produced in 1977, and audiences have been clamoring for a movie since then.

A 3D remake of Mazinger, Mazinger Z Infinity, was released in 2017, and many speculate that Grendizer could be the next series to receive an update.

“I’m talking to animation companies to create one, but it hasn’t been finalized yet,” he said. “But I believe we can do it.”

While many fans have speculated that a movie release may be imminent, coinciding with the 45th anniversary of Grendizer next year, Nagai said it may take years for him to finalize his plans.

Nagai also said the film could be an opportunity to introduce the series to newer fans. “The audience of Mazinger Z Infinity was about half old fans of Mazinger Z, and half from the new generation.

“Those who were original fans probably saw the movie and felt nostalgic, and the people from the new generation were probably surprised to see such a movie with intense robot action.”

https://youtu.be/QBsvR2ZAKnU

However, Italian fan Luigi Stella, too excited to wait for an official movie, created a fan-made trailer for a Grendizer film, which is available to watch on YouTube.

The trailer renders Grendizer (or Goldrake as he is known in Italy) and Duke Fleed in 3D, with loving attention to detail, teasing what could be a phenomenal production.

Another passionate fan filmmaker is Syrian 3D artist Walat Mustafa, whose YouTube page features videos detailing what a 3D version of Grendizer might look like.

Using the original audio from the old dub, he recreates the anime’s environments, models – and of course the robot itself – in videos that can be as short as 50 seconds to as long as half an hour.

One person in particular would love to see a Grendizer film come to fruition. Jihad Al-Atrash, the actor who portrayed Duke Fleed in the original Arabic dub of Grendizer, would love to reprise his role, provided the circumstances were right.

“I’ve heard the rumors, but it’s all been talk at this point,” he told Arab News. “But I’m definitely interested. While I haven’t got much interest in participating in a fan film or an unofficial film, I would love to be involved in an official remake or sequel.”