''Force Five'' is an American adaptation of five different

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

television series. In the

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, this series was primarily shown only in

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, and

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, though it did make brief appearances in other markets, such as

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and

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

on KICU-TV 36. It was also shown in

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, Canada on CFMT channel 47 and in

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during the 1990s. It was produced by Jim Terry and his company American Way, and it consisted of five imported Japanese giant robot serials (originally produced in the mid-1970s by

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch,'' '' GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Sl ...

) in response to the popularity of the Shogun Warriors toy collection.

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

was one of the sponsors of the series. In an anthology style, the five shows were broadcast simultaneously with one episode of each serial assigned a specific weekday. Additionally, all of the shows were edited into two-hour movies and marketed on video tape by

Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was foun ...

. In the UK, Krypton Force released several of these programmes but under different series titles.

''Force Five'' series

''Force Five'' consisted of the following five series: Originally, '' Great Mazinger'' was meant to be among the five shows, but at the last minute was swapped out for '' Starzinger''.

External links

Absolute Anime profile Force Five Television show
{{Animated television series created for syndication 1980 American television series debuts 1985 American television series endings 1980s American animated television series 1980s American anthology television series American children's animated anthology television series English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Mecha anime and manga American television series based on Japanese television series