JE C.C.
The original anime series got notably banned from airing on GMA Network during the Martial Law years.
If there is one foreign TV show Filipinos have lived during the dark years of Martial Law–it must be the Japanese anime classic Voltes V.
The Batang ‘90s or those born and grew up in th era, may have mistaken the beloved anime to begun airing during their time. It was already sweeping across Asia in the 1970s. By 1979, however, then-President and dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr, ordered the cancellation of several foreign shows on national television. Among those shows are mecha animes, including Daimos, Mazinger Z, and of course… Voltes V.
Marcos Sr. ordered to discontinue the airing of several shows that anchored on highly disputed claims about being “too violent” for children.
In Voltes V’s case, many suspected that some of the themes and crucial turning points in its story are how the masses could overthrow a tyrannical government, are to blame. The last few episodes of the original series featured the Voltes V team finally succeeding at defeating the nefarious Boazanian Empire.
Because of Marcos’s order, episodes never got aired until the ‘90s, when those abovementioned mecha titles began to re-emerge in the Philippines and find fervid interest in post-EDSA People Power audiences.
And this year, GMA Network is reportedly debuting its live-action Filipino adaptation of the said anime classic. The production of Voltes V Legacy came party under the supervision of its original Japanese producers, TOEI. The gargantuan project has stirred much interest in fans, who have long-been waiting for the adaptation’s premiere on GMA Network for years. Reports suggest that Voltes V Legacy’s long-awaited debut will finally occur in 2022.
But with Ferdinand Marcos’s son, Bongbong, already being the presumptive successor of outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte, some fans are probably now wondering whether or not the live-action adaptation will suffer the same fate. Probably not, but is not a remote possibility either. Will the Boazanian Empire stage a successful comeback? The Filipino people, especially those who are not happy about the outcome of the 2022 election, will surely keep tabs.
