The rest of the series follows the Solo ship and its crew as they are continually beset by the Buff Clan in a tireless and disheartening chase throughout the galaxy. The survivors of the initial onslaught board another one of the ancient remnants excavated on the planet -a spaceship which the humans dub the ‘Solo Ship’- and use it to flee the planet, the Buff Clan following in pursuit. Caught unawares and being easily overpowered, the humans only manage a fitful resistance by making use of the excavated vehicles, which combine to form the giant robot Ideon. Shortly thereafter he colony planet suddenly finds itself attacked by a militant race of aliens with nigh-identical appearance to humans known as the Buff Clan, who traveled to the planet in search of Ide, a mythical source of power. Space Runaway Ideon takes place in the far-flung future of the year 2300 and revolves around a group of humans from the recently colonized planet A-7 “Solo” of the Andromeda Galaxy, where an archeological team unearths ancient vehicles from just beneath the planet’s surface. It’s likely Space Runaway Ideon will remain a notable influence on mecha anime to come, and therefore a fixture within anime in general. Following its airing Ideon became a very influential series, going on to serve not only as a direct inspiration for a most seminal show by the name of Neon Genesis Evangelion, but also embedding itself subtly in many proceeding mecha shows as early as the very year of its finale in 1982 where it served as one of many inspirations for the purposely antithetical Super Dimension Fortress Macross, and as recently as last year with Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative. Because it existed in this period of change, the show was contemporary to other mecha shows that erred on the more grim and dramatic, such as Space Warrior Baldios and Galaxy Cyclone Braiger, as well as another pillar of the real robot genre in Fang of the Sun Dougram. The series was also made in a time of change for the mecha genre, as the new appeal of relatively realistic real-robot subgenre that Gundam established began to take root. This show was the source of a few “firsts” for anime, such as being the first anime that could be called a fusion robot show, possessing the first instance of an Itano Circus, and potentially posing anime’s first cosmic horror story. However, fan demand was such that the series was allowed to finish with a theatrical film, and so on July 10th 1982 The Ideon: A Contact and The Ideon: Be Invoked premiered in theatres as a double feature, the former being a compilation of the series’ initial twenty-first episodes and the latter being a true continuation of the series with only a brief recap of the show’s later half. The show began airing in May 8th 1980 and enjoyed a sizeable thirty-nine episode run, but -much like its forerunner- it was unfortunately cut short by four episodes due to low ratings, and aired its final episode on Jan 30th 1981. That fact seemingly colored the production of Ideon, as it is claimed that its grim and subversive nature was an act of retaliation by the displeased director. Space Runaway Ideon was director Yoshiyuki Tomino’s follow up to Mobile Suit Gundam, which was at the time a commercial failure that had been unceremoniously cut short. Space Runaway Ideon is a distressing asseveration of fate, culture, and humanity which I invite you all to partake in -a rare experience that deserves to be contemplated and cherished. The show is filled not only with the distasteful and damning shortcomings of humanity, but also its frail and gentle beauty. This is very likely a result of so few people having seen it in the first place, which is quite a shame considering how unique, evocative, and striking this show is, even among the anime of today.

The show remains a staple in discussions among fans of old-school mecha, as it is a key influence in the genre, yet its own merits are seldom discussed in spite of its enduring influence.

Legendary God Ideon -or Space Runaway Ideon as it is more commonly known in the west- is an important sci-fi mecha anime from the mind of esteemed director and auteur Yoshiyuki Tomino, remaining one of his most recognized works, even if only for its infamy. ”Quam Grandis est Dominus est Vitalis Vis”

Space runaway ideon size