The Super Robot Reign of Godaikin

I've written plenty of posts about Japanese robot toys that were sold in the U.S. during the '70s and '80s, but one line that I never got into too much detail about is Godaikin, a selection of "Super Robot" toys that were sold here between 1982 - 86. Unlike other imported Japanese robot toy lines of its time, Godaikin never became a household name; however, between its brief, unique history and the high quality of its products, Godaikin remains one of the best Super Robot toy lines ever released.

The Godaikin line is hard to describe accurately in a single sentence. I guess you could say that Godaikin is the missing link between Shogun Warriors, which ended in 1980, and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, which started importing and re-editing live-action Super Robot/Super Sentai TV shows during the '90s. Unlike other imported robot toy lines from the '80s (Transformers, Voltron, and Robotech), Godaikin didn't have a syndicated TV series to help boost its popularity among kids, even though all of the super robots in the Godaikin line came from animated or live-action Japanese TV shows. As a result, Godaikin didn't sell nearly as well as its competitors and fell into obscurity.

Like many other imported Japanese robot toy lines, Godaikin combined products from different Japanese toy lines under a single name. In fact, it incorporated so many lines that it had connections to other toy lines that were sold in the U.S.:

Shogun Warriors: The Combattra Super Robot from Chodenji Robo Combattler V was part of both the Shogun Warriors and Godaikin lines.

The Combattra sets from the Shogun Warriors line (above) and the Godaikin line (below).

Voltron: The Voltron toy line by Matchbox included the Super Robots from Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, Lightspeed ElectroGod Albegas, and King of the Beasts GoLion. However, Godaikin released a deluxe GoLion set a few years before Matchbox sold it under the Voltron name. Godaikin also sold a set of transforming combiner vehicles called DX New Super Abega; these were the vehicles that were piloted by the main characters in Lightspeed ElectroGod Albegas anime series.

The Godaikin GoLion set (above) and the Super Abega set (below).

Gobots: The Machine Robo line (mostly the 600 series of small, die-cast transformable robots) was repackaged by Tonka as Gobots during the '80s. Godaikin included Gardian, the Super Robot from the Gordian Warrior anime series; the Gardian robot was later incorporated into the Machine Robo toy line.

The Godaikin Gardian set.

Way back in mid-80s, I was lucky enough to pick up one of the deluxe Godaikin sets, the die-cast Daltanias Super Robot. A local toy store was liquidating their Godaikin stock by knocking the prices down to $20 per set, so I picked up one that I thought looked the coolest. One of the best parts about the Godaikin toys was that all of their spring-loaded projectile launchers were included (as opposed to other imported robot toys at that time), so all three of the Daltanias components (a humanoid robot, a robot lion, and a spaceship) could fire the arsenal of yellow missiles that came with the set.

Unfortunately, when I picked up Daltanias, I didn't understand what Godaikin was or what its selection of Super Robots meant. If I had known then what I know now, I would have instead picked up the Tetsujin 28 set, a unique super robot toy that has since become a highly prized item among Japanese toy robot collectors.

The Godaikin Daltanias set (above) and Tetsujin 28 set (below).

Many of the super robots that were included in the Godaikin line were released later in other lines, such as Kaiyodo's Revoltech and Bandai's Soul of Chogokin. Nevertheless, Godaikin represents a significant milestone in toy robot history as one of the earliest lines to introduce super robots to audiences outside of Japan.



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