Armored Trooper VOTOMS (Japanese: 装甲騎兵ボトムズ, Hepburn: Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu) is a Japanese military science fiction mecha anime series produced by Sunrise, created and directed by Ryosuke Takahashi and featuring mecha designs by Kunio Okawara. Following directly in the footsteps of Takahashi's previous series, Fang of the Sun Dougram, VOTOMS continued the trend towards hard science in the mecha anime subgenre.
The series was supplemented by numerous original video animation releases and also inspired several spin-off works whose media ranges from serialized light novels to video games. The TV anime was originally licensed by the now-defunct Central Park Media, which released the series on DVD and VHS. Currently, it is licensed by Maiden Japan, a unit of Section23 Films, which has also released all OVAs other than Armor Hunter Mellowlink.
Contents
Synopsis
In the Astragius Galaxy, the Gilgamesh and Balarant nations had until recently been locked in a century-old galactic war whose cause was long ago forgotten. Now, the war is ending and an uneasy truce has settled. The main weapon of the conflict is the common Armored Trooper, a mass-produced humanoid combat vehicle piloted by a single soldier. Both the Armored Troopers and their pilots are also known as VOTOMS (Vertical One-man Tank for Offense & Maneuvers). However, since Armored Troopers have extremely thin armor, and use a highly combustible liquid in their artificial muscle, their pilots have a very low chance of survival and are commonly referred to instead as "Bottoms", the lowest of the low ("Votoms" and "Bottoms" are written and pronounced the same way in Japanese).
The series follows the protagonist, Sergeant Major Chirico Cuvie, a special forces Armored Trooper pilot and former member of the Red Shoulder Battalion, an elite force used by the Gilgamesh Confederation in its war against the Balarant Union. Chirico is suddenly transferred to a unit engaged in a suspicious mission, unaware that he is aiding in the theft of secrets from what appears to be his side. Chirico is betrayed and left behind to die, but he survives, is arrested by the Gilgamesh military as a traitor, and is tortured for information on their homeworld. He escapes, triggering a pursuit extending across the entire series, with Chirico hunted by the army and criminals alike as he seeks the truth behind the operation. He is especially driven to discover the truth of one of the objects he was assigned to retrieve in that operation: a mysterious and beautiful woman who would become his sole clue to unraveling the galactic conspiracy.
Development
Ryōsuke Takahashi conceived of VOTOMS after watching the film Junior Bonner, in which the main character travels across towns performing rodeo shows, which gave Takahashi the idea of creating a story in a post-war setting, with mechs fighting each other for sport. Although several authors have noted similarities between Chirico and Steve McQueen, who played the main character in Junior Bonner, Takahashi stated that Chirico was not modeled after anyone in particular.
Cast
Hozumi Gōda as Chirico Cuvie
Kazuko Yanaga as Fyana
Kōsei Tomita as Bouleuse Gotho
Yōko Kawanami as Coconna
Shigeru Chiba as Vanilla Vartla
Issei Masamune as Ru Shako
Kyonosuke Kami as Ypsilon
Yūsaku Yara as Maj. Gimual Iskui
Kenichi Ogata as Maj. Serge Borough, Albert Killy
Akio Nojima as Aaron Schmittel
Issei Futamata as Gurran Schmittel
Shunji Yamada as 2nd Lt. Kudal Conin
Banjō Ginga as Cap. Jean-Paul Rochina
Sequels and spinoffs
The Last Red Shoulder ~ The "Unknown" Red Shoulder
Armored Trooper Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder (装甲騎兵ボトムズ ザ・ラストレッドショルダー, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Za Rasuto Reddo Shorudā) is a one-shot 1985 50-minute OVA. Set between the Uoodo and Kummen arcs in the TV series, the OVA focuses on Chirico, who reunites with his former Red Shoulder squadmates.
Big Battle ~ Battle of the Heterogeneous Species
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Big Battle (装甲騎兵ボトムズ ビッグバトル, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Biggu Batoru), is a 1986 60-minute OVA. Takes place near the end of the series. The storyline, set between the plot and the epilogue of the TV series' final episode, it features Chirico and his friends against one of Balarant's new ATs.
Red Shoulder Document – Roots of Ambition
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Red Shoulder Document – Roots of Ambition (装甲騎兵ボトムズ レッドショルダードキュメント 野望のルーツ, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Reddo Shorudā Dokyumento Yabō no Rūtsu) is a 60-minute OVA released in 1988. The storyline serves as a prequel to the main series and The Last Red Shoulder. It details Chirico's time in the Red Shoulder elite military unit and his encounters with General Pailsen.
Armor Hunter Mellowlink ~ Leechers Army Merowlink
Armor Hunter Mellowlink (機甲猟兵メロウリンク, Kikō Ryōhei Merourinku) is a 1988 twelve episode anime science fiction action OVA series spinoff of the VOTOMS series. It takes place in the same universe (and time, and in some episodes, almost the same places) as VOTOMS, but the two stories are entirely independent of each other.
Mellowlink is the story of a soldier whose anti-armor infantry unit is sacrificed on the battlefield for reasons unknown. Although he was not meant to survive, the main character, Mellowlink Arity, manages to do so, only to be framed for a crime he did not commit. Mellowlink escapes his captors and begins hunting down his former commanding officers, both to avenge his dead platoon members and to find out the nature of the conspiracy that led to their deaths.
The series is available for download on Bandai Visual's official website and the Japanese DVD box set was released on December 6, 2006. The series was previously issued twice on LaserDisc, once as six individual volumes, and once as a three-disc box set along with the two soundtracks. It was released on Blu-ray as part of the Perfect Soldier Box on February 25, 2021.
Brilliantly Shining Heresy ~ The Defrost
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Brilliantly Shining Heresy (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 赫奕たる異端, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Kakuyakutaruitan) is a 5-episode OVA series released in 1994. It is a sequel to the original TV series, set 32 years after.
Pailsen Files
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Pailsen Files (装甲騎兵ボトムズ ペールゼン・ファイルズ, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Pēruzen Fairuzu) is a 12-episode OVA series that was released from October 26, 2007, to August 22, 2008. It was also released as a feature film on January 17, 2009. It is a prequel to the main series and a sequel to Roots of Ambition.
Phantom Arc
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Phantom Arc (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 幻影篇, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Gen'ei-hen), is a 2010 six episode OVA series. It is a sequel to Shining Heresy. The OVA focuses on Chirico's friends from the TV series 32 years later.
Case; Irvine
Armored Trooper VOTOMS Case;Irvine (装甲騎兵ボトムズ Case;IRVINE) is a 2010 OVA shown as part of a preview screening in Japan. It focuses on Irvine Lester, a former Gilgamesh Confederation AT pilot who now competes in Battling as the masked fighter "The Dark."
Armored Trooperoid ~ Votoms Finder
Votoms Finder (ボトムズファインダー), an "alternate universe" 2010 OVA that centers around Aki Tesuno, a Bottoms guard for scrap salvagers and a pilot of a robotic mecha called an Altro (as opposed to VOTOMS's trademark Armored Trooper mecha).
Alone Again
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Alone Again (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 孤影再び, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Koei Futatabi) is a 2011 50-minute OVA that serves as a interquel set between Brilliantly Shining Heresy and Phantom Arc. The OVA focuses on Chirico Cuvie and his reunion with his old friends.
Die Graue Hexe
In January 2026, Bandai Namco Filmworks announced a new anime project titled Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Die Graue Hexe (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 灰色の魔女, Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Haiiro no Majo) (The Grey Witch) in commemoration of Sunrise's 50th anniversary and will be produced by Sunrise with production assistance by Production I.G, and will be part of a series of projects commemorating the studio's 50th anniversary to be released between 2026 and 2028. The director was announced to be Mamoru Oshii, and the music is composed by Kenji Kawai. It was later revealed to be a two-part film, with the first part set premiere on November 20, 2026.
Games
Video games
VOTOMS has appeared in numerous video games since the series' original airing.
X68000: Dead Ash
PC8801: Black Unicorn
PC-9801: Votoms: The Real Battle
Super Famicom: Votoms – The Battling Road
PlayStation: Blue Knight Berserga Story (also known as Blue Sabre Knights)
PlayStation: Armored Trooper Votoms – Uoodo and Kummen
PlayStation: Brave Saga (as a guest character)
PlayStation: Armored Trooper Votoms Lightning Slash
PlayStation: Armored Trooper Votoms Steel Force
PlayStation: Brave Saga 2 (as a guest character)
Dreamcast: Sunrise Eiyuutan (as a guest character)
PlayStation 2: Sunrise Eiyuutan 2 (as a guest character)
WonderSwan: Harobots (as a guest character)
Game Boy Color: GB Harobots (as a guest character)
Game Boy Color: Brave Saga Shinsou Astaria (as a guest character)
PlayStation 2: Soukou Kihei Votoms / Armored Trooper Votoms
PlayStation Portable: Super Robot Wars Z2: Hakai-Hen (as a guest character)
Role-playing
VOTOMS was a direct inspiration for the Heavy Gear role-playing game. VOTOMS also has its own official role-playing game, Armored Trooper VOTOMS: The Roleplaying Game (1997), developed by R. Talsorian Games and using the Fuzion system.