As I write this article, the Paris Olympics happen to be in full swing.
But watching things like AI and esports, there's a work that makes me think a world like this might not be just a dream anymore.
That's Shippu! Iron Leaguer.
'Shippu! Iron Leaguer' is a hot-blooded sports robot anime produced by Sunrise, which aired on the TV Tokyo network from April 6, 1993 (Heisei 5) to March 29, 1994 (Heisei 6), running a total of 52 episodes.
An OVA was apparently produced afterward, but I haven't seen that one.
In the distant future, the Iron League, where robots compete in various sports, has been overrun by rough play and degenerated into a dirty spectacle in which not just the spectators but even the press—the commentators and analysts—revel in destruction and violence.
Sick of such rough play, the soccer robot Mach Windy leaves the Dark Prince team. However, the management pressures the departed Mach Windy so that he can't transfer to any decent place. There, he's recruited by the baseball robot Magnum Ace and joins the weak team, Silver Castle.
What's fun is that there are all sorts—a baseball robot, a basketball robot, a kendo robot, an ice hockey robot—and they all combine their individual strengths to play soccer, baseball, and more. Even the Dark Prince, who at first competed through rough play, watches the Silver Castle members fight fair and square without being discouraged by the rough play, and comes to want to fight fair and square too. It's a passionate sports-grit story.
The composer is Kaoru Wada, and yours truly is a huge fan of Kaoru Wada.
The very first CD I ever bought was Kaoru Wada's soundtrack for the second OVA series of 3×3 Eyes (original by Yuzo Takada), 'Seima Densetsu,' and influenced by that, I bought this CD too.
I had to hunt all over for the CD.
At the time, I belonged to the drama club, and as a result I started checking who the composer was whenever I watched TV—and that habit means that to this day, whenever I watch TV, I check who did the score.
He's scored the anime versions of 'The Kindaichi Case Files,' 'Inuyasha,' and 'GeGeGe no Kitaro' (4th series), among others.
Kaoru Wada's music has the feel of old-fashioned Japanese everyday scenery, and it fits myths and period dramas beautifully.
But of course, being the pro that he is, he doesn't stop there—he crafts scores that work for the modern day and the near future as well.
So let me introduce the score.
'Go For It, Silver Castle!' is an arrangement of the theme song, and it's the track that plays (I think) when a match is about to begin.
Next is 'Goku Jurota Arrives,' the main theme for the kendo robot Goku Jurota (voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi, who unusually puts on a deep, gruff voice). It evokes a certain someone from a certain Lupin III who'd say 'I've cut a worthless thing,' but there's no connection whatsoever.
To close, let's part ways while watching the OP of Shippu Iron Leaguer.
Quoted from the official site https://www.iron-leaguer.net/
