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==Cultural impact== {{Overly detailed|details=Too many details that favored Europe and Middle East that it basically made it more like a propaganda than a cultural impact. Rewriting it in a much shorter but precise detail is needed|date=July 2024}} ''Grendizer'' was the second longest running animated ''Mazinger'' series in Japan, having 74 episodes. However, it has been criticized about its connection to the other ''Mazinger'' series in the franchise, especially with Koji's status as a mere sidekick and giving him a different romantic interest who was not Sayaka, as well as the lack of the other ''Mazinger'' mechs. This created the popular assumption that the anime was not a success in Japan, especially since the merchandise based on the anime did not sell as well as the merchandise for both ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' and ''[[Great Mazinger]]''. However, Go Nagai disputes this, saying the anime was actually quite successful in Japan: “It was actually a hit in Japan. Maybe some people thought it was not as popular as ''Mazinger Z'', because ''Mazinger'' was super popular.”<ref name="arabnews.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1574326/saudi-arabia|title = How Japanese anime 'Grendizer' galvanized the Arab world|date = 25 October 2019}}</ref> The average viewership metrics for ''UFO Robot Grendizer''<nowiki/>'s original Japanese broadcast was around 20.9% audience share across its 74 episodes with a peak share of 27.6% for Episode 21.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animemorial.net/en/185-UFO-Robot-Grendizer|title = UFO Robot Grendizer (1975's anime TV series) - animemorial.net}}</ref> Regardless of its disputed success in Japan, ''Grendizer'' was one of the first anime programs to be a major success in both Europe and the Arabic regions of the Middle East, and continues to have a strong following in those parts of the world to this day. It only had limited success in the United States, where it was one of 5 mecha shows included in the 1980 TV anthology ''[[Force Five]]''. The series was renamed ''Grandizer'' for the American market, and only had 26 episodes, which were run out of order. Despite the low episode count, it enjoys a small but dedicated cult following among East Coast American viewers who saw the show as children, as well as children who grew up with military families because ''Force Five'' was frequently aired on the cable TV feed of US military installations in Europe.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} This was also the version of the show broadcast in the United Kingdom, India, and the Philippines (though an earlier local Filipino English dub of the show existed before it was taken off the air by orders of the Ferdinand Marcos regime).{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} ===Europe=== In Europe, Grendizer was a major success in France and Italy, known in both countries as ''Goldorak'' and ''Goldrake'' respectively.<ref>{{Cite book |title=An Illustrated Guide to Samurai History and Culture: From the Age of Musashi to Contemporary Pop Culture |publisher=[[Tuttle Publishing]] |others=Foreword by Alexander Bennett |year=2022 |isbn=978-4-8053-1659-7 |location=North Clarendon, Vermont |pages=240}}</ref> In Italy, the Italian dub theme songs were among the best-selling singles of 1978, with the first selling over 700,000 copies and the second selling over 1,000,000 copies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yends/hpe1978.htm|title=Hit Parade Italia - Top Annuali Single: 1978}}</ref> It would also get its own comic series titled ''Atlas UFO Robot Presenta Goldrake (Atlas UFO Robot Presents Goldrake)'', whose story diverged even further from the source material. This comic ran for 89 issues and spawned several other similar comic adaptations of anime airing on Italian television at that time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://comicvine.gamespot.com/atlas-ufo-robot-presenta-goldrake/4050-52135/|title = Atlas Ufo Robot Presenta Goldrake (Volume)}}</ref> The French dub was the first anime series to be telecast in France and legend goes that the series was so popular among French viewers that several episodes scored a 100% TV rating. Like the Italian dub, it changed all of the characters’ names and inserted additional songs, although it did translate the series’ original opening and ending themes into French. Some versions of the dub have a completely different theme simply titled "Goldorak", which was sung by Franco-Israeli singer [[Noam Kaniel]]. Kaniel's performance earned him unprecedented celebrity status in France; by the time ''Goldorak '' had ended its original run on French TV, its theme song achieved platinum status in France.<ref>{{cite certification|region=France|source=infodisc|type=single|artist=Noam|access-date=20 June 2022}}</ref> The Francophone dub was also one of the first anime programs to be a major success in Canada where it was broadcast on Quebec's [[TVA (Canadian TV network)|TVA network]]. The show continues to have a strong following, garnering widespread news coverage of its DVD release and return to broadcast TV in Canada. In October 2021 a fully licensed French-language ''Goldorak'' graphic novel was released by Editions Kana. According to the creative team, Go Nagai himself gave his blessings to the comics story, which serves as a sequel to the original Toei anime set 10 years after the final episode. The comic has received positive reviews from readers for its detailed art and a story that keeps the spirit of the original series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.actuabd.com/Goldorak-le-retour-en-album-en-2021-chez-Kana|title=Goldorak, le retour en album en 2021 chez Kana}}</ref> To coincide with the graphic novel's release, the French postal company, [[La Poste (France)|La Poste]] issued stamps inspired by the anime.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.manga-news.com/index.php/actus/2021/10/13/Goldorak:-une-bande-annonce-pour-la-BD-de-Kana-et-des-timbres-pour-le-dessin-anime|title = Goldorak: Une bande-annonce pour la BD de Kana, et des timbres pour le dessin animé, 13 October 2021| newspaper=Manga-News.com }}</ref> ''UFO Robot Grendizer Raid'' was released theatrically as ''Goldorak'' and became a hit at the French box office, selling 922,964 tickets upon release in 1979.<ref>{{cite web |title=Goldorak (UFO Robot Grendizer Raid) |url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=7653 |website=JP's Box-Office |access-date=12 April 2022}}</ref> ===Arab World=== In Arab countries, the show was extremely popular, first airing in [[Lebanese Civil War|war-torn]] Lebanon on [[Télé Liban]] in 1979 under the title '''مغامرات الفضاء: يوفو - غرندايزر''' (''Moughamarat Al Fada: UFO - Grendizer, Adventures In Space: UFO - Grendizer'') before being distributed to most other Arabic speaking regions. Unlike the Italian and French dubs, the Arabic dub retained the characters’ names and kept songs from the Japanese version. Unlike most other Arabic dubs of anime, the show retained most of its plot details without any alteration or censorship in most Arabic-speaking markets, although some markets—such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE did censor certain scenes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7w75mf|title = مغامرات الفضاء جرندايزر الحلقة 46 - فيديو Dailymotion|date = 14 September 2020}}</ref> The Arabic language version of ''Grendizer'' was so popular when it first aired that it spawned several long-running ''Grendizer'' comics published for the Arabic market. Many of these were translations of the Italian-produced comics, the most well known of these being for the Lebanese comics anthology '''ما وراء الكون''' (''Ma'Wara El Koun, Beyond The Universe''). The magazine founded by Lebanese publisher Bassat Al Reeh (Flying Carpet) and headed by the company's editor Henry Matthews, published Arabic translations of [[science fiction]] comics ranging from one-off short stories to licensed ''[[Star Trek]]'', ''[[Star Wars]]'', and [[Marvel Entertainment|Marvel]] superhero comics, as well as TV licensed comics adaptations like ''[[Six Million Dollar Man]]'' and ''[[The Bionic Woman]]''. ''Grendizer'' did not make its appearance until the fifth issue, but was so popular that it became the top feature on the title, running for 140 issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bXHmkWdg1I|title = Memories With Beyond The Universe Comics - ذكريات مع كوميكس ما وراء الكون|website = [[YouTube]]| date=21 August 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://arabcomics.net/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?p=2379#2379|title = عرب كوميكس -تسجيل الدخول}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marefa.org/%D9%85%D8%A7_%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D9%86 |title=ما وراء الكون - المعرفة |work=المعرفة |language=ar |publisher=Marefa.org |access-date=2022-08-31}}</ref> It later spawned its own comic series titled '''مغامرات غرندايزر''' (''Moghamarat Grendizer, Grendizer Adventures'') that ran for over 70 issues. The series' popularity continues on in the region, as [[Arab News]] journalist Hala Tashkandi stated; “''Grendizer'' memorabilia still sell like hot cakes in the region, and its popularity has barely declined.”<ref name="arabnews.com"/> Lebanese pop star [[Sami Clark]], who sang the Arabic version of the opening and ending in the Arabic dub, had frequently sung the theme in his concerts,<ref>{{cite AV media |date=August 17, 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nr4X46GvJA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/3nr4X46GvJA| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Grendizer Song - Music Hall - Sami Clark |publisher=Ghazi Meouchy |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=October 5, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="youtube.com">{{cite AV media |date=January 17, 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApdbBACkD4Q |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/ApdbBACkD4Q| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=(لأول مرة في التاريخ ) أغنية غرندايزر بصوت الياباني ايساو والعربي سامي كلارك |publisher=Lucky Man |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=October 5, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> including an orchestral rendering in 2018 .<ref>{{cite web |url= https://youtube/DFJUQhsAm0I |title= orchestral }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Clark also performed a duet with the singer of the original Japanese themes, Issao Sasaki, at the 2019 Saudi Anime Expo.<ref name="youtube.com"/> There's even a store in Kuwait that started out mainly selling ''Grendizer'' merchandise, before expanding to selling other anime merchandise.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=October 6, 2009 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWdMHRBF1q4 |title=Grendizer in Kuwait غرندايزر في الكويت - محل بوصالح للهوايات |publisher=BouSalehHobbies |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=October 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629164049/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWdMHRBF1q4 |archive-date=June 29, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, a Kuwaiti volunteer group made a ''Grendizer'' mural in Kuwait City during Urban Culture Week.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 16, 2017 |title=Ashekman's Mural in Kuwait: Why Grendizer? |url=https://www.redbull.com/mea-en/ashekman%E2%80%99s-mural-in-kuwait |access-date=July 13, 2024 |website=redbull.com}}</ref> Karim El Mufti, a professor of political science, said in his article about the anime, "''UFO Robo Grendizer'' has surpassed the initial expectations of its producers. Although the conversion works of the original Japanese version into Arabic had kept the Japanese phonetics, sites and cultural references, the cartoon has actually blossomed into a life of its own. As such, the domestication process of this character and of its whole narrative set was intimately connected to the Arab context and politics at the inception moment of the series, thus mirroring the deep preoccupations of the generations of that time. High exposure to violence, aggression, and injustice in the Middle East had established a hospitable environment for the super-powerful resistance figure and pro-justice hero."<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.mutualimages-journal.org/index.php/mi/article/view/9-2|doi=10.32926/2020.9.elm.grend|title=Influence and success of the Arabic edition of UFO Robo Grendizer: Adoption of a Japanese icon in the Arabic-speaking world|year=2020|last1=El Mufti|first1=Karim|journal=Mutual Images Journal|issue=9|pages=3–37|s2cid=243283409|doi-access=free}}</ref> Go Nagai stated in an interview with ''Arab News'' that he believes the geopolitical climate in the Arab world played a big role in ''Grendizer'' becoming popular in Arab regions.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=October 25, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0_ScnfJfYk |title=Mangaka Go Nagai on the geopolitics of Grendizer's success in the Arab world |publisher=[[Arab News]] |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=October 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302005106/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0_ScnfJfYk |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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