Since we’re almost nearing the anniversary of the first episode of Voltes V Legacy this May, what would be better than archiving a “mook” about the anime where the TV show was based on? Ladies and gentlemen, this is the reason why I spent 4000 pesos for this:
Voltes V Declassified is Toei and Telesuccess’ attempt at going into the mook market as well as cashing in at the popularity of the 1999 Tagalog dub of Voltes V as well as the renaissance of anime at the time.
What’s a mook, you ask? It could mean two things. In English, a mook refers to an incompetent person but that’s now what we’re working on at right now.
In Japan, especially in the otaku subculture, a mook is a portmanteau of magazine and book and while it has various uses outside of the subculture, mooks are usually used as guidebooks and/or art books for a certain series.
Take the Roman Album series of mooks for instance, wherein a single series is featured on each edition complete with artworks, episode guides, summary of the whole show and other stuff that you may or may not find in issues of Newtype or TV Land.
The reason why this was released though, is because of a very specific reason: it’s to celebrate the revival of Voltes V on Philippine television after almost 20 years since the Ferdinand Marcos Sr. ban on mecha anime, especially Votltes V.
While the presentation, if you compare this mook with the ones Japanese publishers usually produce, is simplistic at best, the feel of this mook is more akin to something to what Eat Bulaga or Bubble Gang would release. It presents itself as something that the common Japanese otaku of the 1990s, or even the 1980s, won’t even touch but instead as something a businessman who was a child of the 1970s would touch for nostalgic purposes.
What separates it from the one Eat Bulaga would release years later is that it features artwork from Questor staff and not only that, but a mini comic is also tacked inside it and it’s about the prequel to the events of the anime from how Kentarou Go/Prince La Gour (Ned Armstrong/Baron Hrothgar) crash landed on Earth to his marriage to Mitsuyo (Mary Anne) and how Voltes V was conceptualized up until Kentarou’s return to Boazan and subsequent capture.
If you’re a big fan of Voltes V, this mook is for you. You can’t officially purchase it though so if you want to get a physical copy of this, your best bet is Facebook Marketplace or Carousell or you can go to the digital copy here. See you next time!
Rayas-WEB 