DVD TESTIMONIALS
(2005 - 2008)

Alex Ostroff - MA, USA - July 31, 2007, August 31, 2007, June 13, 2008

When I sat down to write this review I wanted it to be more than simply a thumbs-up/thumbs-down response, because that sort of approach does not convey the importance of Wasim Production’s efforts to restore Force Five as it is recalled in the hearts and minds of diehard US fans. I also want to clarify what versions one will receive in this set and how it differs from others available. Restoration I think is the ideal word here for Wasim’s efforts, as his approach to the project was that of an archivist and not simply that of slapping a few cuts of footage together to make a quick buck. A fan himself, his meticulous techniques have rescued perhaps one of the greatest cartoon series from obscurity and preserve it for generations hereafter. Make no mistake that the end-result is the only quality, let alone tolerable, collection out there. I know some may balk at the price of each collection, for I myself initially did the same, but when you understand the amount of work Wasim put into the project on his own and when you understand the so-called alternative sets floating around out there like so much refuse and video fecal matter, suddenly the cost per value ratio of these Force Five sets are well in favor of the consumer.

Without going into the history or evolution of the various Go Nagi series that made up what we know as Force Five (because let’s face it, if you are on Wasim Production’s website then you already know), let us just say that as a young boy I was completely mystified by every series except Space-Kateers, which I found barely palatable. Ask me to summarize my childhood and I can answer absolutely, “Weekday afternoons. Force Five.” (okay, along with Creature Double Feature and Kung-Fu Theatre on Saturdays). As my interest in anime has grown through the years I know that such series as Force Five served as the gateway into that realm of entertainment, and was in a sense a cultural bridge between US and Japanese culture – at least a starting point. With such great memories I have searched with the fervor of any knight from any tale you care to mention for copies of Force Five, to both relive my own youth as well as share it with future generations. I won’t bore everyone with a “What Force Five Means to Me” essay, but it is important that readers of this review understand just how extensive and continual the search I conducted was so that the weight of the comparison and analysis of the available sets sink in. Toward that end I will recap my miserable experience with obtaining Force Five episodes before finally purchasing the vastly superior WAIP ones.

I. NO WAY, EBAY!
Under no circumstances trust ANY Force Five product you may find on eBay, let me start with that. Over they years I have purchased numerous Force Five sets off eBay, all of them claiming to be superior this-or-that, 8 out of 10 audio or video quality, and so many glowing reviews from eBayers swearing this is the best set ever. To be honest I think these reviewers were just happy to have ANY copy of Force Five, good or bad quality. There are numerous problems with pretty much every set out there but below are the primary ones.

1. Inconsistent material source. “As seen on American TV in the 80s! The original Force Five!” Pretty much every set claims this, but is it in fact true? Turns out not a single set I purchased lived up to that hype. Maybe SOME episodes but not the series as a whole. The episodes were assembled from different sources; some US, some UK, some Australian and even original Japanese. Regardless of quality of material the sets were hard to stomach because they clearly did not reconstruct those beloved childhood moments of weekday afternoons. First of all, most of them used the original Japanese intros and endings. Have you ever heard the original Japanese intro and endings? They are horrific lounge singer style vocals that not only drown out some great early 80s adventure theme music, but whose intonations would vaporize the internal electronics of even the most sturdy of Karaoke set-ups, and reduce even the cheesiest Minmei-style anime characters to a mound of trembling jelly. The WAIP sets thankfully remain true to the US release, which were strictly instrumental (although the original Japanese is included as bonus material). The worst inconsistency is when even within a single episode character names and voice actors suddenly switch, toggling between US, UK and Japanese versions.

2. Quality. I have yet to purchase a single decent copy from eBay. Video is fuzzy, distorted or badly pixilated especially in the background. Lines are jagged or washed out. Colors blend or shift. Audio is the worst offender often sounding tinny or echoed as if it was recorded in a tunnel or the sound was recorded externally by putting a recorder next to the TV. No effort was made whatsoever to clean any of the video or audio noise.

3. Same re-circulated material. Pretty much any set you buy is a carbon copy of a previously offered one, so the same bad material just gets perpetuated and passed around. No matter if you purchased from Seller A, B, or C chances are you would get the exact same copy anyway but just with a different label.

At $40-60 a pop, you can see very quickly that after only two attempts to save money, you are already better off making the investment of the WAIP sets.

II. WASIM TO THE RESCUE!
I had just about given up hope of ever finding the Force Five that I knew, the one that I grew up with in the US. Even with the proliferation of classic series on DVD, such a product as Force Five ever being released is slim to none due to the muck and confusion of licensing rights, interest, and capital. Even if such a blast-from-the-past icon as Rhino acquires the rights, it could take years. Voltron, another classic series, took years to be released. Transformers when released was wrought with production snaphoos and now isn’t publicly available anymore (although a re-release is rumored). I revisited Wasim’s website when I was searching the net for F-5 images to use as a wallpaper theme on my home computer and I wondered, “Do I even dare try it?” After shipping charges each set would be about $100… then again how much had I paid combined with the various other craptacular sets? I made the plunge, ordered Starvengers and Grendizer and prepared for the worst. As far as I was concerned I had just senselessly tinkled away yet more money on a fruitless search. In the annals of all things I was ever wrong about, that statement will forever remain in the Top 5.

1. The REAL US release. My first question was what intro I was going to get stuck with in the WAIP set? Let me state absolutely that this is the instrumental only, US intro and NOT the Japanese lounge singer assault. Apart from a slight change in the first second of footage, it is virtually identical to the US broadcast as I remembered it. It still has the swirling starburst forming the Force Five logo (although in a picture-in-picture graphic). Titling is in Japanese, but that is because the video footage is from the original Japanese DVD. Other than that, the intro and the ending are exactly the same as when I was a kid (the original Japanese lounge singer was included as bonus material for those who want a good laugh or feel they need to serve penance for something). The rest of series is all US voice actors and character names, ever consistent throughout every episode. Each episode is the exact story and footage as was aired (more on this process later). Make no mistake, if you grew up watching this in the US, these episodes are what you saw and heard.

2. Video and audio quality made me laugh and cry with joy. When I first put the DVD into the player, and rest assured these are DVDs not VCDs, I was completely unprepared for the high quality of the sets. I didn’t bother adjusting my sound system, leaving it at the -36dB it is normally set at (this is like 4 or 5 out of 10 for volume for anyone without a surround system), because well clearly this was going to suck. I was immediately launched across the room by the booming sound. After I extracted myself from behind the couch and recovered the remote to turn down the volume, I was simply in awe at the quality of footage! Not only was the audio strong and clear, well-balanced, the video was crisp and vibrant! No distorted pixels or noise, no color loss or bad lines. It was… BEAUTIFUL. Throughout both series of Starvengers and Grendizer (and later purchased Gaiking) the quality was superb. Only occasional glitches as you would find on any DVD when switching between tracks. The volume level and quality honestly is better than a lot of the commercially produced DVDs I own. Imagine this if you can: taking the memory of F-5 shown on a 19” color TV with either rabbit-ears for signal or early cable, played through the TV speakers (or if you were tricky enough the L-R stereo from your VCR). Now seeing the giant robots of your youth battling it out on a 42” plasma widescreen, pumped across 5 channel speaker home theatre system. *happy sigh*

3. Customer service. WAIP’s customer service is as impeccable as his archival and restoration/production skills. When I had first ordered the sets, either Canadian Post or the US Post Office lost my package. Wasim kept very close tabs on it and when it was quite obvious the package was never to be seen he quickly sent replacements along with bonus DVDs for the inconvenience, which wasn’t even his fault. There are countless online operations and stores that could learn a lot from him.

4. Worth every penny. I know it seems like a lot of money for a series, but when you consider that all efforts to restore it were done by one person, and that no other product out there comes close, you will find the money well spent. Consider how much Starblazers series DVDs cost, or some others. You get the whole series of Starvengers, Grendizer, Danguard Ace, or Gaiking. TRUST ME, you will never regret spending the money.

My only critique of the sets is that I would have preferred a more colorful jewel case/cover for the DVDs, depicting the giant robot from the particular series. Starvengers you could have had one disc be Dragon, one as Arrow, one as Poseidon, and then the last a team image for instance.

III. WASIM THE ARCHIVEST
The efforts of WAIP is nothing short of archival. He has assembled the best possible footage (DVD), then matched with US audio extracted from various sources and enhanced/cleaned. This kind of meticulous detail and dedication serve to save this series from obscurity, preserving it for all generations not to make money but for the sake of the series itself. WAIP is a true fan and should be applauded for his efforts. Not only have I now finally after so much searching and heartbreak recaptured my youth, I can share it with my son when he is older.

Lee Smith - RI, USA - December 29, 2007

I totally enjoying my Grandizer DVD's. I am an avid Grandizer fan. The only thing that topped receiving my collection was the fact that I have never actually viewed most of the episodes! A very pleasant surprise. I have already mentioned WAI Productions to other family members. Thank you very much, Wasim! I look forward to purchasing other Force Five DVD's.

Andy Khano - CA, USA - December 24, 2007

Wasim is one the best person that I bought Grendizer DVDs from. He is trust worthy and honest person. His products are one of the best of the best and not like those garbage ones in eBay. Trust me the ones I bought from eBay are either the subtitles are very BAD or the video quality are BAD. I learned my lesson to not buy DVD from eBay. My brother referred me to Wasim's
website and I went there and I was like wow this guy knows his stuff. This is my second time buying the Grendizer DVD from Wasim I gave my first DVD to my brother as gift and he was very happy we both watched Grendizer together when we were kids. To all the Fans of Grendizer if you all want to get Grendizer I suggest to get from Wasim his product is the best and you won't regret from buying it from him trust me and I repeat DO NOT BUY IT ON EBAY!!!!. Wasim is fast on replying on e-mail and if you have a question he will answer it right away.

Jonathan Angelo - MA, USA - December 13, 2007

I just want to to say that it is clear that these DVD sets are a labor of love for Wasim. I am amazed that someone was able to compile all of these episodes, plus some unexpected awesome bonuses and special features! The quality of this product is well worth the price. Wasim's customer service is second to none - He is a class act all the way: Courteous, responsive and informative. He could probably make a good living giving customer service seminars! Out of all the discs I have viewed so far, which is about thirty, only two were defective (probably a flaw in the disc itself) and Wasim promptly replaced them without any problems. He is an honest guy and deserves our business!

Nadine Hyacinthe - MA, USA - December 13, 2007

This DVD box set was a flashback to my childhood. Waking up at 5:30 am each morning to watch Gaiking on Mondays, Starvengers on Tuesday, Danguard Ace on Wednesday, Grandizer on Fridays. If you would like to recall your childhood I would recommend that anyone who watched Force 5 to purchase these DVD's. There are too many to watch but I can't wait to review all of them.

Omar Alsheikh - London, UK - December 12, 2007

Good job synching the Japanese DVD video source with the Arabic audio source. Subtitles could use a little editing. However, this set is incredible well done, and a great treat for Middle Eastern fans of Japanese animation.

Jason Blandford - IN, USA - November 24, 2007

(This is the only place I could find a true copy of the Force Five - Starvenger. Thank you =)

Micah Carvalho - HI, USA - October 26, 2007

completely satisfied customer here.

Fidel Luichi Mercado - BC, Canada - September 21, 2007

This is an absolutely outstanding DVD set... Combining video from Japanese DVDs with English audio from the Force Five videos has made a production that is even better than original Force Five TV series.

Fiorentino Iantosca - MA, USA - September 4, 2007

Overall I love these DVDs. I wish the other force five were available in sets.

Albert Owens - TX, USA - August 25, 2007

The price was a little high. I did not like the watermark logo on the movie. Overall, I enjoyed it. Brought back memories.

George Tsotoulidis - Kozani, Greece - August 21, 2007

With the Grendizer Definitive Edition my dream has become true. I finally watched the full series of my favorite mecha. Many thanks Wasim for making it true.

Ray Desjarlais - ON, Canada - July 11, 2007, August 8, 2007

With the excellent personalized customer service,fast turn around time,and superior product I would eagerly encourage others to purcase these productions. Further I would recommend these productions to anyone who enjoyed these shows as a child as I did,or indeed to anyone who enjoys classic cartoonsof this type. Thanks for bringing back a small enjoyable piece of my childhood.

Sameer Al-Abdullah - Rumaithiya, Kuwait - August 7, 2007

The best Arabic production of Grendizer you can ever find!!

Salim Ayuob - IL, USA - August 7, 2007

I would recommend this product because it has the highest Video/Audio quality Ive ever seen, because I'm planning to purchase the 74 episode set with the English subtitle because it will last longer, the 74 set i have right now i may throw away because of the bad quality. I'm showing your products to other people and there impressed. Overall your product is fantastic and top notch. I wanna thank you for creating a great web site about this great robot. Good Luck.

Sanjeev Shankar Selvaraj - MA, USA - August 4, 2007

This is the only way to get near-perfect quality full runs of the original Force Five cartoons. Working with Wasim is a pleasure and the product is top-notch!

Giota Papadimakopoulou - Athens, Greece - July 22, 2007

Purchase this product... Ismail has made a wonderfull job. It worth it! Excellent subtitles, very good audio and picture. Fast and safety shipping. But the most important... reliability. In that you need also you will have direct and fast answer and if is essential, sure help.

Malak Abdul Aziz - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - July 16, 2007

قرندايزر القديم يعود لشاشتنا

 مرت السنوات الطوال ولم تمحو  مسلسل قرندايزر من ذاكرتنا

 لكن لا أستطيع سوى أن أشكر الأخ وسيم أسماعيل على هذا الأنتاج الضخم والمبدع

 رجعت بالزمن للوراء وأنا أشاهد مسلسل قرندايزر وكأنه جديد مازال يعرض على التلفزيون لأول مرة

 الصورة صافية كصفاء الزجاج ... والصوت قوي ومبدع

 بالفعل أنتاج ضخم ماشاء الله

 تعبت عيوننا من رؤية مسلسلنا المفضل مغامرات الفضاء بصورة غامقة أو مشوشة وتعبت أذاننا من سماع صوت باهت يكبر ويصبح نشازاً في بعض الأحيان ثم يعود لطبيعته , بالنسبة لي كنت أجرب وأشتري من كل شركة لعلي أجد الأفضل لكن كلما أبتعت شريطاً من مسلسل قرندايزر لأسهر عليه وليعود بي لهذه الذكريات كلما أحسست بالمرارة والقهر وأحس بأني غششت ولم يرقى لمستوى توقعاتي

 لكن نسخة وسيم سماعيل من مسلسل قرندايزر على ديفيدي كان أبداع وهذا ما يجب أن يكون عليه أصدار خاص بمسلسل قرندايزر , تمنيت لوكان بدون أي حذف

لكن لابأس فنحن مسلمون ولابأس من حذف مالايتناسب مع ديننا وقيمنا

 أتمنى أن تضع نفس هذا الجهد في مسلسل جزيرة الكنز فهو مسلسل كبير ويستحق

 أحسنت أخي وسيم إسماعيل

 وسلمت يداك عى هذا الأبداع ..

 خمس نجوم لهذا العمل

Mobin Khalid - Sydney, NSW, Australia - July 16, 2007

I got this as Free Bonus DVD when I brought UFO Robo Grendizer 30th Anniversary DE Complete Set I am glad I got it Thank Wasim for it. He did very good job on it. I even talked him about subtitle which I explain I got another one of Grendizer Theatre DVD from other website and it has very Bad English Subtitle such as it has a lot of Spelling and Grammar Mistakes even name spelled wrong. He even knew what I was talking about and told this one is far more PRO then that garbage version of it. It is really true this it is Right one and best one ever you won't be disappointed in buying this version of it. Heck in other version they called name Grendizer as "Giant" and Great Mazinger as "New Mazinger".  The Service is very good and very fast reply. No Delay in post and it arrived in good safe box and it was really fast it just came about 1 week or less then that. So if you are looking for Grendizer Theatre DVD don't look or buy elsewhere just get it over here and it is safe to buy from Wasim any problems just talk to him. I suggest this is safely trustful Website and has all good Quality work. Great for Fans of Grendizer!

Mobin Khalid - Sydney, NSW, Australia - July 16, 2007

First of all everything was in perfect safe box as it arrived I am glad to buy all 3 set in at once. Service Very good and fast reply to email when you have some problems. Wasim is Very honest I asked him a lot of questions and he was very honest with it and reply them all in honest way. I don't like to give this website as 9/10 or 8/10 and I say this website is best and trustful honest work which it should be rated as 10/10 for great work.  I know some people find buying this DVD at very costly price but Hey it is worth buying it and you won't be fooled or be disappointed in buying this costly product. This is most best website I have come to. I tell you what I don't trust and also I don't like other website cos their service and product are all bad and unsafe and not trustful. I did try buying them and I say buying from other website it is Waste of Money and it is not worth it.  Now to be fair why am I saying this website is trustful and one of best ever. It is because it has Optional English Subtitles Oh my you won't find any good English subtitles from any other website of it. Most of the website I check it was only has Arabic Audio Language or Japanese Audio Language But no Optional English Subtitles. Even if it does have and it is not one of best one because it is has very Bad English Subtitles with a lot of Spelling and Grammar Mistakes and it is not perfect for Collector. Another Thing English People or People who can understand English can Watch this UFO Robo Grendizer with Optional English Subtitles.  I am not Arabic speaking guy or Arabic understanding guy But I am English understanding guy and I really love to watch it with English Subtitles So yeah this is best one I can say.  Fans of Grendizer this is MUST buy worth it DVD ever for both Arabic and English Speaking.

Hussein El Kaissi - Saida, Lebanon - July 14, 2007

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته،

 أنا مواطن عربي قد ترعرعت مع فترة ظهور جريندايزر افضل رسوم متحركة شاهدته في حياتي. فريثما علمت ان احدهم يقوم بمشروع دي في دي جريندايزر و حتى اصريت على ان احصل عليه. كنت قد اشتريت اول عرض انزله الاخ وسيم اسماعيل و لكن عندما حصلت على هذا المشروع لجريندايزر شعرت بالاختلاف تماما فالجودة صافية تماما من جهة و القائمة الرئيسية فريدة من نوعها من جهة اخرى و غيرها من الامور الاخرى الرائعة. عدا عن ذلك، جميع المقاطع التي فقدت منذ الثمانينات حتى اسماء بعض الحلقات التي كنا نسمعها بغير اصوات المدبلجين الحقيقيين او لم تذكر في الاشرطة حتى، قد تم تحصيلها و وضعت جميعها. انا مثلا قد تفاجأت لسماع صوت الدكتور امون و هو يتكلم عن الارض و المحيط قبل ذكر عنوان الحلقة النجاة من الجبل المكلل بالثلوج فكلنا يعرف ان لا صوت في هذا المقطع و ماذا بعد؟. المزيد المزيد!!. لهذا انا انصح الجميع بشراء هذه النسخة الاصلية الكاملة لجريندايزر من دون اي تردد و قبل فوات الاوان و لن تندموا فحقا يستحق كل اعجاب و تقدير، و الصيف لا يحلو الا مع جريندايزر فاستمتعوا !!!

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmat Allah Wa Barakatoh,

I am an Arabic citizen and I was grown up with this best cartoon ever watched in my life, GRENDIZER. Once I knew that there is someone working in grendizer DVD project, I insisted to get it all. This is not my first  time I get grendizer DVDS, for I had bought the first Arabic grendizer production (12DVDS). But believe me nothing compares either from the superb picture quality or from the fantastic menu format and much more. Although this, all parts that were omitted from the 80's or even episode names from tapes are all found in this production. For example, I was so surprised when I heard the voice of Doctor Umon talking about the ocean and the earth before the episode title in Episode20 because as we know no voice came out in this part in VHS tapes. What else? Ooh much much more!! So because of this, I advice all of you fans to buy this original complete copy of grendizer without any hesitation and before it runs out and you will not regret it  since it deserves all appreciate and enjoy. Summer is not nice without grendizer so enjoy!!

Chris Mansbridge - AB, Canada - May 28, 2007

These episodes were fun and brought back many childhood memories, although I had only ever seen the force five movie, the extra episodes that I had never seen or knew about were an added bonus.  Thank you for the great service and speedy delivery.  Great job on picture and audio, excellent creative effort put into the jackets and discs.  If you are a Starvenger fan this is a must buy, and Wasim delivers.  Thanks again.

Caven Sharp - ON, Canada - May 4, 2007

Excellent DVD, brings back memories from my youth.  I plan to buy the Danguard Ace and Starvengers DVDs in the near future. If you are fan of the early Robot Mech anime, these DVD's are for you. Highly recommended, you won't be disappointed.

Vincent Cassan - MA, USA - March 19, 2007

Another excellent product Wasim. A couple of shaky spots on the audio but that is to be expected because of the source. It is nothing that interferes with viewing.

Patrick Jones - FL, USA - March 2, 2007

I received my Grendizer and Starvengers DVD's in the mail and I was very impressed. The dvd covers were very original and so was the dvd presentation. It is amazing that you were able to do the things with the material that you did. They are truly masterful!! I have searched all over for these dvd's and YOU DELIVERED!!  I was skeptical about ordering from the web but I purchased a force five dvd or two from ebay and they were no where near the quality of yours. The sound was perfect except two little spots on one of the Grendizer dvd's that was maybe two seconds in duration. The Starvengers dvd's were without a single error. I am ready to purchase the new items that you are working. ALL CATEGORIES ARE ALL 10'S TO ME!!! I would recommend you to anyone who wants to recapture this part of their childhood. THE SERVICE AND SPEED OF DELIVERY WERE PERFECT CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

Jon Rose - NY, USA - January 8, 2007

I have to admit, I was forced to stop watching Force Five as a kid due to logistics and was heartbroken.  I thought I'd never see "Grendizer," "Starvengers," "Danguard Ace," and "Gaiking" ever again.  But, luckily, I was directed to Wasim's site via a mutual friend.  The site is tremendous.  I can now catch up on all I missed some 25 years ago.  I would encourage others to give the site a serious look.  Wasim has done a terrific job revitalizing the series with his own unique touch on each of the videos.  For a cartoon series out of the 1970's the overall quality is very good.  I think the rate of $99 for each of the series is a steal.  You're getting every episode of each series in their entirety.  The shipping rates are good, too.  All-in-all, the videos are an excellent bargain.  Whenever I get the chance, I will recommend www.grendizer.net to anyone who, like me, wishes to see Force Five once again.

Harry Yip - ON, Canada - December 29, 2006

Overall, I'm very pleased with WAI production videos. The quality is absolutely superb and highly recommended to those who are big fans of the Force Five Grendizer and Starvengers. Keep up the good work Wasim!

Vincent Cassan - MA, USA - December 16, 2006

I was very impressed with your product. You obviously put a great deal of time and effort into these and it shows. I've been looking for the Force Five stuff on anything of good quality for years and you delivered. Thank you very much. I can't wait to get the Grandizer and the other releases you have planned.

Roger S. - CA, USA - December 5, 2006

Initially I was not comfortable with sending a check or money order, there is a comfort with the Mastercard in case there is a problem that cannot be resolved. So I am glad that you are connected with Pay Pal, that was a big decision maker for me.

I was not sure what to expect as far as quality, I was just a little kid when it was on TV, I was highly impressed when I played it. captivated me immediately. My 8 year old nephew who likes robots and dinosaurs was watching it with me, he speaks english only, so the subtitles worked for him. I bought both the arabic DVDs and the english Force Five. I had never seen the Force Five in english, and weirded out when Daisuke and Koji had weak english names. So for me, growing up with the arabic/japanese grendizer, that was the reward to relive a childhood. However, since my english-only speaking nephew likes Grendizer, I will give him an english Force Five DVD, every time he does good on a math test at school. He likes it, but I have no feelings for it. The arabic/japanese is the original experience for me. quality wise, its very well done, the menus are cools, very good job with the use of the DVD menu technology.

I did read on your website that edited out some scenes related to nudity and paganism. I understand where you are coming from, and your reasons behind it. I would have preferred them un-edited, we know they are japanese, and they have their own culture, but it's ok, it doesn't break the plot... and I suppose I dont have to worry about my 8 yr old nephew watching something children are not supposed to watch.

By the way, my 86 yr old dad, 62 yr old mom, 40 yr old brother in law, all got very excited about the Grendizer DVDs. they all asked where I got it! Grendizer was huge symbol for defense and justice in Lebanon back in the 1970s

Thank you for taking on this project, and doing a quality job. In june, I'll be ordering the next 20 grendizer DVDs.

Jim Bellmore - CT, USA - November 4, 2006

I actually own one of the other versions of Grandizer that is available, and there is absolutely no comparison!!  After buying the competitor's version of Grandizer, all it did was make me want a GOOD copy of the show, and Wasim's version is more than any could hope for!!!!  I eagerly await Gai-King, and the Force Five movies!!!!

The only remote complaint anyone could muster about this set of DVDs is the choice  of voice actor for Foul Tip, and that choice was made before any of us ever saw the show for the first time.  Beyond that, Wasim has done a miraculous job of restoring the audio and video - I doubt you could find a better version if Dynamic Planning themselves decided to do it!!  [Emphasis added]

David Rego - ON, Canada - October 7, 2006

Reliable and surprise that episodes are just like I remember them

Ross Cicero - MA, USA - September 3, 2006

Jose Victoria - MA, USA - August 11, 2006

Grendizer.net is the only place where you can find this great piece of anime history. I grew up watching Force Five and have not been able to get it on DVD until now.  The quality is superb. The design of the jackets are simple yet cool. To the point. The disc labels are just as good. I would have liked to have seen the titles of the episodes on the menu list, but that's just a very minor thing, considering, that you get all the episodes and some. I can't believe how much work must have gone into producing this wonderful set, but I am thankful that Ismail loves the anime enough to endure so much work. If it wasn't for his devotion, we would not be able to enjoy such wonderful classic anime. I can't wait for Gaiking, Danguard Ace, The Spaceketteers, and maybe  Getter Robo -- hopefully :)

Stacy and Bill Theofilopoulos - MA, USA - August 3, 2006

On the last episode (star vengers), battle for earth,  what happened to Palidans crusifix?  I remember seeing this in the episode.  Unbelievable job!

Roberto L. Di Marco, Esq. - MA, USA - July 25, 2006

This is by far one of the best reconstructed collections I have seen.  I purchased the “movie” version of Starvengers last year and was bitterly disappointed by both the content and the quality.  I also have the commercially produced VHS tape of the first episode which is so bad I tried to return it.  Here you will not be disappointed.  But the quality of the production is not the only benefit here.  While you might find other collections out there, you will never get the quick responsiveness that WAI offers.  I cannot wait for their next release.

Kevin Putry - OH, USA - July 19, 2006

Wasim is the man! I've never seen a better, higher quality fan produced set of DVDs than his! The coolest feature about the set is the inclusion of BGM on the menus. Although not a complete BGM soundtrack, it's still a must for any serious collector. The music sounds very crisp and clear! Wasim is also very quick to respond to emails. His dedication to preserving classic Japanimation is unrivaled! Most highly recommended!

Jon Talpur - Staffordshire, UK - July 12, 2006

As a wonderful DVD set featuring yet another classic Toei robot show in English, it’s hard to think of anything bad that one could say about it! Starvengers even has the added bonus of actually having the final episode dubbed into English, unlike Grendizer. This means that you can sit back and enjoy an almost-complete tale from start to finish. There’ll never be a better set!

Boris A. Konon - MA, USA - July 11, 2006

Starvengers was my favorite Force Five series, and I thought I would *never* see the entire series again, let alone in high quality.  Episodes are arranged in their correct order.  I remember the episode "Free Trip to Danger" was originally broadcast in the Boston area always before "Star Fire Parts 1 & 2", which didn't make any sense because they used Star Fire in "Free Trip to Danger"!  Also, "Atomic Blackmail" and "Tip's Falcon" were always show as the last two episodes before the three part finale.  They are earlier on in the series.  Nice that there is no cropping/freezing of the frames when Japanese text is shown for each robot and their robot programmers.  It's all there.  One part that was edited in the original broadcast but included in this set is from the final episode. Paladin throws a grenade from high above inside the Pandemonium Fortress and it lands next to a solider.  He picks it up, not really having a clue as to what it is, and just then throws it away.  In the original broadcast version, the

explosion cuts to a scene I believe from the previous episode when Paladin was fighting Pandemonium soldiers inside the robot that had captured him, and when the soldiers, after being shot, stumbled and fired at the equipment, the equipment exploded.  These explosions are what are shown in the fortress.  On this DVD, the original Japanese scene is kept in and it shows the grenade explosion off to the side of the solider that threw it away, and the look on his face is priceless!  I watched that part over and over again after first seeing it!  I was impressed with the English translation done with Starvengers when I was a kid, and still am impressed with it 25 years later, so it is fantastic to have it all again.  What I like about the English translations is that they were well-written, voice actors were great, and dialogue was not dumbed down for kids.  I respected that as a kid.  Looking back now, I respect it even more.  It never seemed to insult your intelligence.  In fact, I remember a few words used that I had never heard before first watching it as a kid, and it prompted me to go look up the word definitions!  I highly recommend this DVD collection for anyone who watched Force Five growing up.

Girard McKinney - MA, USA - June 14, 2006

Starvengers is a great anime and this is a good quality dvd with some extras.

Etan Carr - VA, USA - June 11, 2006

10/10; The jacket design is very original with the silhouettes of the robots/disc labels are smooth and glossy and safe for the player.

If you watched this as a kid on tv, you are lucky and if you've searched the web for a super deluxe version released by the original publisher, you won't find it because not even they care about the series as much as Wasim. His ambitious project is a great service to Force Five's American viewers. Tell a friend about these DVDs chances are they are missing out.

George Tsotoulidis - Kozani, Greece - June 6, 2006

Recommended buy with excellent video & audio quality. After payment dvd's delivered extremely fast! Enjoyed watching the dvd's. Wasim has made extremely good work and the quality of Starvengers is awesome! The extra stuff in the first dvd's were a nice surprise. I can't wait for the rest Force Five Dvd's!

Marc Biron - ON, Canada - January 8, 2007

i purchased grandizer from southpawtoons.com and it was bad quaility eg not all episodes, bad cut, some episodes twice, volume changes  often, one dvd was half voltron, and one dvd was half empty, so i chose wai  and it is the best english version i found very little complaints the best purchase with all episodes at great quality, good luck finding better!  considering the time and it isnt from music world, hmv ect. great product thank you

Mike Rossi - MA, USA - November 19, 2006

If you are anything like myself you are probably extremely skeptical about buying something of this nature from a web site that claims to have this incredible product that you have been searching for for most of your life.  If you continue to wait for some big time anime studio to release any of the products listed on this site, its not going to happen.  Due to the lack of interest by the general public and the sheer task of editing the video and audio the only person who would take on such an endeavor would

either have to have an amazing love for the material or be completely insane.  If you have found this site than you were clearly searching for something that you can’t find anywhere else and you’re lucky enough to have stumbled upon it.  I discovered this web page years ago, but it wasn’t until recently that I took the chance, sent my money, and waited for my copies of Gandizer to show up, and I’m glad I did.  Wasim clearly has a special place in his heart for these series.  I can't begin to imagine how many painstaking hours it must have taken to produce this product but trust me the proof is in the pudding.  I'm 30 years old and I have never filled out any kind of feedback info questioner in my life, but I am so pleased with my purchase that I felt it would be an insult to the craftsmanship had I passed on this one as well.

Dr. O. Z. Qureshi - Grimsby, UK - October 27, 2006

Very responsible and efficient, excellent communication and he gives you a Blast from the Past. What more do you want!!!!! reliable transactions and fast delivery. His effort and time spent on reviving this classic is commendable. I thank him for rekindling my childhood memories.

Salam Al-Attar - ON, Canada - September 5, 2006

This DVD set is not only a remarkable compilation of an old classic series, it is also a great piece of art in my opinion.  The producers were certainly able to allow old schoolers like myself to re-live the fun moments as we see Daisuke and Grendizer in action. Moreover, their DVD style format gives the series a futuristic touch that adds to the pleasure of the whole experience.

The Services are great!  I recommend this production to people of all ages, as you'll find it suitable for a nice family gathering, a break from studies or simply to provide a fun-spent time for the kids, while simultaneously giving the viewers the opportunity to learn the Arabic language and pick up on life-lasting morals that will shape their characters.

Keep up the excellent work WAI Productions!

George Khairo - ON, Canada - August 8, 2006

I grew up with Force Five Grendizer. And now I can enjoy it again and again.

Sean P. Gardner - MA, USA - August 2, 2006

IM VERY HAPPY 2 HAVE THESE VIDEOS. I GREW UP ON FORCE 5. I FOUND THEM 2 BE A LITTLE COSTLY THOUGH. BUT I WAS WILLING 2 PAY 4 MY CHILDHOOD CARTOONS.

George Tsotoulidis - Kozani, Greece - March 25, 2006

Recommended buy with excellent video & audio quality. After payment dvd's delivered extremely fast! No problem with the transaction since Paypal makes it more secure. Enjoyed watching the dvd's and waiting the next release of Starvengers!

Mike - ON, Canada - March 24, 2006

Given the age and obscurity of the source material, I can't see how you could have done a better job than you did. It's really fantastic work. The packaging is more than I expected as well. I anxiously await for the other Force Five series to be remastered!

Dwight Matthews - ON, Canada - February 21, 2006

Overall I am very pleased with the service. I received e-mail replies in  just a few hours (sometimes within minutes) which made me feel very comfortable with the dealer. The product was received in 3 days and was well packaged to ensure safe arrival. The quality of the jackets and DVD labels are excellent. The quality of the video and audio is awesome. Finally a dealer and product you can trust. I look forward to more releases.

Dwight Matthews

Toronto, Ontario

Johannes van Romburgh - North West Province, South Africa - January 11, 2006

Service, quality, and product were excellent!

Benjamin Mojica - MA, USA - December 22, 2005

I have collected various Force Five VHS tapes, and bootleg DVDs off of Ebay for years.  If you are a Force Five Grandizer fan, do yourself a favor and buy this collection.  This is the best collection of the DVDs I have seen to date.  Looks as good as if it came from the studio.

Kirk Luedeke - GA, USA - November 21, 2005

I grew up watching Force Five on a UHF Channel, TV 25, near Boston during the late-70's/early 80's and used to rush home from school every Thursday to catch GRANDIZER at 2:30. Suffice to say, that of the various F5 fare, there was nothing like Orion Quest's epic battles between Commander Ding, General Bellicose and the marauding forces of the Vegan Saucer Empire to pique my interest and loyalty to the storyline and its unique characters.

For me, GRANDIZER reigned supreme in those days, so it was with great anticipation that when I recently "Googled" Force Five, I came across the WAI Productions website and jumped at the chance to order the series in its entirety.

Whether you are a GRANDIZER fan, Force Five fan or simply a fan of Anime in general, this is something you don't want to miss! For me, it was a trip down memory lane, even though the show picks up some of the typical anime silliness (cartoonish, over-the-top characters such as Panhandle, inane scripts and predictable subplots) but let's face it- this is what made the show so appealing when I was a kid watching it on my fuzzy B&W TV and waging my neverending war on the best reception from the rabbit ear antennae.

Thursday was "Grandizer Day" for me, and I always looked forward to seeing what new saucer animal the Vegans would wheel out to face Orion and the GRANDIZER robot.

I want to thank WAI Productions for bringing GRANDIZER back to the small screen in full force. I'm pretty sure I saw every episode between 1980-83, the years in which I watched Force Five religiously, but it was a lot better the second time. My seven-year-old daughter has even got into it, and watched the episodes with me, even declaring that she wants to be Orion Quest for next Halloween!

This is a fine product, and I'm very happy I made the purchase. A hearty thanks goes out to WAI for taking me back in time, and if you were ever a fan of GRANDIZER or GOLDORAK as he was known in Quebec, then you won't want to miss out.

Kirk in Kansas

Anthony Graham - London, UK - October 14, 2005

Jon Talpur - Staffordshire, UK - September 18, 2005

10/10; You’d be hard-pressed to find mid-1970s anime shows on DVD looking like this in the Western world! The picture quality is crystal-clear; far, far better than the original video masters as used on the original Force Five episodes, some of which could have quite a dark picture, and all of which were zoomed in whenever any Japanese text introducing new characters or monsters appeared on screen. Needless to say, anyone who knows about this set now, and still bothers with extraordinarily substandard bootlegs from other sellers may have to have their head examined!

Put simply, if you want to watch classic 70s super-robot anime in English on DVD, this set is an automatic purchase. These episodes are not coming to official DVD release any time soon, if indeed they ever do at all. And even if they did, this set is so much more than what the original Force Five episodes contained, that you’d be sorely missing out.

Paul Colavecchia - BC, Canada - August 25, 2005

Fast, high quality service, Grendizer was just as good as I remembered it being as a kid!

Wendell Jones - NH, USA - August 20, 2005

After searching high and low for a couple of years, I finally found someone who could deliver on what they promised! I've seen the series advertised in Arabic but never in the English format. I grew up watching Grandizer and the Force Five series as a teenager. I have been searching for it high and low the past couple of years because as my brother and I relived the good old days, the subject of Grandizer always came up and I wanted to hear those famous words again -> "Grandizer Go!". Your skills are to definitely be commended, Wasim! You did a great job of not only capturing the whole entire series of the cartoon as it was shown here in the US but also delivering on quality as well. It is EXACTLY as I remember it. When my brother comes to visit, we will be sure to sit and and relive the Force Five days again and again! I look forward to seeing the posting of the Starvengers Series in the 2006 summer!

Josef Rogovsky - ON, Canada - June 19, 2005

Hi Wasim,

I received my order earlier this week.

I’ve watched disc 1 and am most impressed. The video and audio quality is very good. The Jim Terry people should license your work if they ever intend to make a retail DVD collection!  [Emphasis added]

I look forward to your Starvengers set with great anticipation. Keep up the excellent work.

Regs,

Josef

10/10; I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase any other DVD compilation Wasim produces and without reservation would encourage any fan of Force 5 to also purchase Wasim’s work.

Greg Milando - ON, Canada - May 28, 2005

Not only does this (and other force five productions) bring back good memories but there are a lot of things that go over your head as a child.  To watch this again there is so much more going on in this cartoon.

Thanks again Wasim and look forward to other dvds

Greg Milando

Sanjeev Shankar Selvaraj - MA, USA - May 25, 2005

Wasim!

I just received the Grandizer DVD set in the mail! I am simply AMAZED!! I seriously never thought I'd ever see these shows again in such quality. I just figured I'd be resigned to poor-quality umpteenth-generation VHS copies forever.

But, Wasim, your labor of love has paid off in spades! This set is truly incredible. Even when I ordered it, I couldn't have imagined the quality. I simply *couldn't* get my hopes THAT high! I mean, the video is ABSOLUTELY perfect! No different from when it first aired on television!! And the audio? I'm still shocked that you were able to rip and post-process such high-quality audio from existing copies of the original airings! It's flawless!!

You can bet I'll be recommending this to all the Japanese robot fans I know online! And please feel free to reprint this e-mail as a testimonial to how wonderful this set really is! I simply can't wait for Starvengers and the rest. I just have to say, however, that after watching the first few episodes of Grandizer now, you simply HAVE to do Gaiking in this quality at some point, Wasim!! PLEASE!!!!!!

The only constructive criticism I can offer (simply because everything else is perfect!) is to use different graphics for the disc menus, jackets, and disc labels. The menus are great, make sense and are easy to navigate, and the background music is perfect, but if each disc featured a different image (like many of the art renderings you can find on the internet) in the background for the menu, it would be fantastic!

Anyway, good luck with everything, and thank you so very much once again!!

Keep me up-to-date with all your labors of love!

--

Sanjeev Shankar Selvaraj

John K. Johnsen - IL, USA - May 24, 2005

This is truly the first and best quality of a video to DVD transfer that I have ever seen.  The quality is excellent on every DVD as if it was redone from the original masters.  The technology used to bring the video and audio quality up today’s standards was excellent.  I am looking forward to the other Force Five titles being released on DVD, as based on the Grandizer set, I have no hesitations to purchase the additional sets from Wasim’s production company.  Keep up the great work in bringing back some great memories from the 1980s!

John S. Courtney - MA, USA - May 22, 2005

I've been collecting my favorite TV shows on DVD for the last six years. As my anime collection filled out there was a big hole that belonged to Force Five. I regularly searched the Internet for Grandizer and the other Force Five series on DVD. For years I only came across fan sites and a few folks offering the series on VHS. The entire Grandizer series was eventually released on DVD in Japan. Unfortunately the Japanese release doesn't feature English subtitles or the Force Five English audio tracks that I enjoyed as a boy. I had even considered getting the Japanese set purely for its collectable value. I was thrilled to learn that WAI Productions had made the 26 Force Five Grandizer episodes available at last on DVD.

This is anime the way I remember it!

I look forward to purchasing Starvengers when it becomes available and any other Force Five projects Wasim may take on in the future.