Grendizer - the game, coming soon to a console near you

So it was only a matter of time before Grendizer became a game. And it is apparently coming soon to a console near you.

Here are some features of the game in question (source):

For the very first time, play as Grendizer and Umon Daisuke in this action/adventure game, which is all about the metal colossus. Execute and improve the famous must-have attacks of the giant robot

Find all the characters, iconic places, and enemies of the TV series.

A new gaming experience is offered to you in multiple game phases: Action/Brawler, 3rd person Shoot, Shoot Them Up and Exploration/

The iconic music of the series has been remastered, and you will able to enjoy it throughout the game.

From the same source here is a small recap of the story:

After Planet Fleed is destroyed by the Empire of Vega, Prince Daisuke (Daiski in Arabic) takes refuge on our planet. Taken in and adopted by Genzo Umon (Dr. Amoun in the pan-Arab version), he lives at the Shirakaba Farm. While Vega's invasion of Earth is imminent, Daisuke will defend the planet Earth with the help of Grendizer, the titanic robot hidden deep inside Genzo Umon's observatory. With the help of Koji Kabuto, the prince of Planet Fleed will constantly repel Vegans' attacks and fight his terrible robots, the Monstronefs (or minifour as they were called), which were sent to destroy him.

In case you enjoyed any or all of this, you can also check my own work which combines Hokusai and Grendizer (the common factor is that Hokusai had Mount Fuji in the back of his work while according to the original legend Grendizer fell to earth on that exact same mountain). The works were compiled in a book here. Also if you are interested in the linkage between Grendizer and the Lebanese war generation please go back to my intervention with Zaven Kouyoumjian when he was still back at the now defunkt Future Television here.

Sammy Clark passes away - a Golden Age in review.

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly based on Sammy Clark album covers

Sammy Clark, the memory of a full generation passes away. Clark who had his heyday in the late 70s and early 80s spawned a very prolific career which saw his spawn several hits which were easily inscribed in the memory of a full generation. Songs such as Oumi ta nor2os, or Ah 3ala hal iyyam, or Take me with you (which was a mix of Arabo-International) or the theme song from Liman toughani al touyour gave Clark his most enduring hits, but also - Clark was the voice behind the theme songs of Grendizer, Jazirat al Kanz, or Al Ja2iza Al Kobra which in themselves were inscribed in the head of a (slightly younger) generation as well.

As a matter of act Clark was experiencing some sort of a renaissance with the Golden Age (along with Le Petit Prince and Abdo Mounzer. Below am republishing my summing up of their concert during the Ramadinyat extravaganza in 2015. As I reread the article it does seem I am a bit harsh but trust me, seeing Clark on stage turning on the kitsch factor to 11 was sight to behold. May he rest in peace.

Originally published July 2, 2015:
The Golden Age, the trio formed by Abdo Mounzer, Sammy Clark and Petit Prince took the stage yesterday during the public opening of Ramadaniyat Beirutiya. To be fair and even-handed the first part of the concert, which consisted of international hits such as "geant to papier" "Delila" or "Esmeralda" left the audiences a bit lukewarm. Surely, for three old geezers, their voices were pseudo-intact, clad in black uniforms and blue jackets (that was a touch they could have avoided), they were humble enough to sing backing vocals when someone else was taking center stage, had a lot of camaraderie (or stage persona) and basically knew what they were doing up there. After the international hits part, came two classics from the Rehbani repertoire, the audience was still polite at that stage.
But move to the first notes of Sammy Clark's "Ah 3ala hal iyyam" and suddenly the house burned down. This, is what the audience, came for. A rendering of cheesy 80s classics straight from the mouth of the people who did them. The three of them showed incomparable showmanship. Petit Prince would be able to sing a high note all while taking a selfie with a fan. They amped up the kitsch factor with things respectable gentlemen of their age should not be doing - some stage acting, crowd-pleasing moves, auto-encores. Thankfully, Clark told the guy behind the synthesizers to tone down the sound a bit as it was drowning their own voices.
The highlight of the concert, was Mounzer belting out an endearing performance of "3achra hda3ch tna3ch" (10, 11, 12) in which the other two cheered him along and playfully told him to repeat the best bits to the delight of the audience. But as soon as Mounzer stopped, Clark went on with the theme song from Grendizer leading a breathless audience in high-fist-up-in-the-air bravado which everyone obliged.
Having the two songs back to back brought the attendees into a frantic response which even when Petit Prince was left alone on stage as the other two took a small break was not dampered down, going on with some more Arabic classics and finishing up with "Raje3 yet3ammar Loubnan" for the finale.
People if you have not seen Sammy Clark, who by now is wearing a spare tire around his tummy, do a pirouette and high five mounzer as Petit Prince smiled nearby, all while singing the Grendizer theme song then trust me, your life is not complete!

Anime as a distilled version of Japanese culture

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

In case you missed it yesterday in Communicate Online, here it is on my blog:

The fact that anime [animated work originating from Japan] is apparently seeing a huge resurgence in the Arab region, has been attributed to many factors – nostalgia, a longing for simpler times, etc. Yet, one of the driving elements behind this resurgence is the generational aspect of anime, which means different things to different people in the Arab region.

It goes without saying that one of the most important mainstays of anime is Grendizer (or Goldorak in Europe) [created by manga artist Go Nagai and produced by Toei Doga and Dynamic Planning in 1975]. Dismissing it as “something for children” only lessens what it meant for a full generation of Arab people – it was, simultaneously, a representative of the Palestinian cause, a savior for children in need of refuge (especially in war-torn countries such as Lebanon), a Deus ex Machina whereby things would be set to right at the 11^th hour.

And, of course, the deeper lesson is that each of its four protagonists (Daisky, Koji, Hikaru, and Maria, as they were called in Arabic) could never beat [archvillain] Vega and its moon colony on their own and had to team up – which instilled the notion of teamwork in the impressible minds of young Arab children. Do note that the Arab culture favors competition rather than collaboration; so, here was a major new value system for Arab audiences, at odds with what society at large was trying to pin on them.

Yes, the Arabic version was re-edited to suit local audiences. However, honestly, how can a child understand that Daisky’s former fiancée was Vega’s own daughter who died, got resuscitated, brainwashed, then sent in one of those Vega monsters (the classic “wa7ch” in Arabic) to fight Grendizer? Actually, in the same episode in the original version, Hikaru who was madly in love with Daisky, saw the latter kiss his former fiancée on the mouth (seriously, a total taboo in Arab societies!), and was so jealous she contemplated joining the Vega forces to fight Grendizer. So yes, explaining this to a child might be a tad too much. But still, despite all the editing and story reshuffling, Grendizer managed to inhabit the imagination of a full generation of Arab children.

This is why, when Astroganga (commonly known in Arabic as Jonger) came to the screens barely half a decade after Grendizer, it targeted a completely different generation – which is one of the main characteristics of anime in the Arab work: its generational aspects.

Indeed, by the time Sasuki came to the screens, or indeed much later Yu-Gi-Yoh, the generational gap was too outstanding to be lumped into one definition or one meaning. Interestingly, “censorship” to what is fitting for children to see also took a different course. While a kiss on the mouth in Grendizer was a complete no-go, one episode of Yu-Gi-Yoh had a full explanation of sadomasochism and the philosophy of leather-bondage.

Taking anime away from the socio-political environment would be diminishing its value. And simply putting it under the guise of “childhood nostalgia” is, sadly, stripping it from the many values it upheld. For example, Spirited Away, by Studio Ghibli, could easily be one of the most pointed critiques of consumerism, but this brings us to the realm of anime as films and not just TV episodes, which, to many Arab audiences, is not covered by the definition of anime.

Anime is, actually, the distillation of the Japanese value system and not simply trying to look at life through rose spectacles. And the sooner we admit that, the sooner we can understand the very complex world it tries to build within its images and storytelling.