It is May 5, 1978. The Philippines is finally learning about the Boazanian threat to the planet, and everyone is tuning in. A green moth-like robot armed with pincher claws and missiles is the first beast fighter to attack. Enter, Voltes V. The 200-foot tall mecha arrives just in time to volt in, unleash its super electromagnetic weapons, and save the day. For almost four decades, “Chōdenji Machine Voltes V” cruised the airwaves of Philippine television. With reruns and even a Filipino dubbed version airing across several stations, the anime has become a rite of passage for most Filipinos. Balmy afternoons were spent humming along to the opening theme, eating merienda, and watching the titular mecha carve a V into the episode’s animal antagonist. It also helped that it was easy to get hooked into the show’s lore. Earth was being invaded by the cruel (signified by the horns on their heads) Boazanians and their ominous Skull Ship to match. To give the human race a fighting chance, Professor Kentaro Goh created the Super-Electromagnetic Robot Voltes V. But when the professor disappeared without a trace, his sons Kenichi, Daijiro and Hiyoshi, along with rodeo champion Ippei Mine and the general’s daughter Megumi Oka, were then left to defend the planet with the mecha he left behind. ‘ ‘3’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:f718eec9-19d7-430a-82d4-a7d1d76107ca’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Production for the “Voltes V: Legacy” began in 2019. And by 2022, the team reported that they were halfway done with shooting. The pandemic was definitely one of the factors behind the delays, but the decision to take
On top of all of this, what the space opera offered was more than just flashy explosions and cartoon violence. It was also commentary on class divide. The Boazanians were split between the horned elite and their hornless slaves with the protagonists eventually working with the latter. It was a theme that was so palpable that on August 27, 1979, former dictator Ferdinand Marcos issued a presidential order to take Earth’s defender off the air. To this day, “Voltes V” serves as a symbol of resistance and collective action in protests.
This long and loaded relationship between the Philippines and “Voltes V” leveled up when GMA announced their next big project: a Filipino live-action adaptation of the beloved series, called “Voltes V: Legacy.” The anime basically has everything a Filipino teleserye needs: a love triangle, a missing father, and a plot twist that most soaps could only dream of replicating (Spoiler: Prof. Goh was later revealed to be a hornless Boazanian prince in hiding). So after nearly a decade of pitches and paperwork, “Voltes V: Legacy” was finally greenlit for production.
The thing with legacies, however, is that they’re often held to higher standards. For example, across the West Philippine Sea, the people of Japan are watching. In an interview for the Howie Severino podcast, director Mark Reyes talked about the process of adapting a foreign franchise. “There are three governing bodies for the approval of everything,” says Reyes. Unlike the other teleseryes where GMA executives give the final approval, the live-action series needs to be cleared by the franchise holder Telesuccess Productions and the creators Toei Animation. “Down to the piece of helmet, to the costume, to the special effects.” All of these passes are there to ensure that the adaptation is at par with the original.
Then, there’s the high expectations from the country’s dedicated fans. Not only do they want an adaptation that stays true to the source material, they also want visual effects that would do justice to the show’s worldbuilding. A quick look into the comments section of the featurette of “Voltes V: Legacy” is a testament to this. Each post, a wish for high-quality visual effects. It’s a valid sentiment and one that’s borne from the country’s complicated history with the artform.
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History of visual effects in the Philippines
Visual effects were created as a means to bridge the fantastic with the real. Manuel Silos was one of the first Filipino directors to manipulate his medium and capture what can only exist in the realm of imagination. In this case, it was three Nida Blancas tap dancing on stage. This musical sequence was a part of LVN’s 1958 feature film “Tuloy ang Ligaya.” Here, Silos used multiple exposures — a technique that would later inspire today’s visual effects — to allow the movie queen to form a girl group with just herself. It was a cinematic marvel of its time leaving its audience in awe.
“Marahil hanggang ngayon pinagtatalunan ng mga technician kung papaano ginawa ni Direktor Manuel Silos ang eksenang ito,” says the narrator from the 1974 tribute film “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
Eventually, the superhero sub-genre would emerge, pushing the boundaries of visual effects even further. “[Superheroes] are more likely to get involved in bigger scenarios,” says visual effects artist Dodge Ledesma. “There’s a lot of destruction, a lot of fight scenes, a lot of action.” Since his start as the CGI artist for Peque Gallaga’s 1996 film “Magic Temple,” the veteran artist has bestowed several of the country’s beloved superheroes with the power to save the day. Today, Ledesma has been helping Jane de Leon deflect bullets from her golden bracelet as the visual effects supervisor for the 2022 TV series “Darna.” ‘ ’13’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:61c860be-ee33-407c-a3d0-1967810c476e’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Jane de Leon deflects bullets as Darna in the 2022 teleserye.
It’s through these caped crusaders that the visual effects industry found a new and lucrative market. “[The superhero genre] defies physical laws so there’s more opportunity for visual effects,” Ledesma adds. Volta can shoot purple lighting out of her fingertips through the magic of CGI. Captain Barbell gets to patrol Metro Manila from the sky above through a green screen. And with a country that has such deep reverence for its superheroes, this industry continues to thrive. The Metro Manila Film Festival alone has included a number of commercial superhero and fantasy films in the past few years, from “Gagamboy” to “Magikland.” The visual effects industry would later find a new market outside of the silver screen, all thanks to Claudine Barretto donning a mermaid costume. “Marina” was a cultural reset for Philippine television. Before the show premiered in 2004, verisimilitude dominated primetime television. Fantasy was still uncharted territory until ABS-CBN gave it a shot. However, ”Marina” proved to be more than just a shiny brand new toy. The flashy magical lights and CGI sea creatures got people interested, but it was Marina’s trials and tribulations that got people invested. “The story is the king,” Ledesma said when asked about his standards for good visual effects. The green screen and CGI are ultimately there to enhance the narrative rather than steal the spotlight.
The succeeding years of Philippine television followed the trail that “Marina” left behind. In his essay “The Teleserye Story: Three Periods of the Evolution of the Filipino TV Soap Opera,” UP Diliman Associate Professor Louie Jon Sánchez cites “Marina” as the first fantaserye. But he also credits “Mulawin” and “Encantadia” for perfecting the genre. Even before the Marvel Cinematic Universe could self-reference, the two fantaseryes had already been expanding each other’s worlds. These shows would end up changing the landscape and economy of visual effects.
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