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Goldorak's heroes are Actarus, Alcor, Vénusia and Phénicia, backed by Professor Procyon. Its villains are King Véga and his commanders Minos (who shares a body with Minas), Hydargos and, later, Horos, plus Véga's daughter Végalia.
Goldorak is the French name for Go Nagai's UFO Robot Grendizer, and the French dub renamed almost everyone, so the same person can have two or three names depending on where you watched. The lookup table below sorts that out.
Name table Heroes Enemies Who survives Grendizer U FAQ
Goldorak, Grendizer and Goldrake: one cast, three sets of names
Michel Gatineau's team adapted the series for French television and rewrote the names to sound astronomical or mythological. Actarus echoes the star Arcturus, Alcor is a star in the Big Dipper, Procyon is another star, and Minos comes straight from Greek myth. The Japanese original does the opposite: the Earth characters carry Japanese names and the aliens carry Western-sounding ones. Italy's Goldrake kept some Japanese-side names that France dropped.
| French dub | Japanese original | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Actarus | Duke Fleed (Daisuke Umon on Earth) | Exiled prince, pilot of Goldorak |
| Alcor | Koji Kabuto | Pilot and best friend, carried over from Mazinger Z |
| Vénusia | Hikaru Makiba | Rancher's daughter turned pilot |
| Phénicia | Maria Grace Fleed | Actarus's younger sister |
| Professeur Procyon | Dr. Genzo Umon | Adoptive father, head of the space research center |
| Rigel | Danbei Makiba | Owner of the White Birch ranch |
| Mizar | Goro Makiba | Vénusia's little brother |
| Roi Véga | King Vega | Emperor of the Vega empire |
| Minos and Minas | Gandal and Lady Gandal | Commander with a second personality |
| Hydargos | Blacky | Commander, later replaced |
| Horos | Zuril | Scientist-general |
| Végalia | Rubina | Véga's daughter, Actarus's former fiancée |
One more difference: the French version calls Actarus's lost world Euphor, the Japanese version calls it Fleed. French presentations also describe Goldorak as a weapon built by Véga and stolen by Actarus, while Japanese sources present the robot as a guardian of Fleed that existed before the invasion. The two tellings do not quite match, so check which version a source is describing.
The heroes
Actarus
The prince of a destroyed planet, hiding as a ranch hand while he pilots Goldorak against the empire that wiped out his people. Professor Procyon took him in and passed him off as his son. The show runs on that split between farm chores and funeral-grade stakes.
Alcor
Hot-headed, loyal, and technically a returning character: Alcor is Koji Kabuto, the pilot of Mazinger Z, which is why he arrives already fluent in giant-robot fighting. He starts as Actarus's rival and ends as his closest friend. His craft, the Alcorak, takes the air battles.
Vénusia
Rigel's daughter, in love with a man who lies to her about who he is. She joins the squadron later and gets her own craft, the Vénusiak. The slow burn between her, Actarus and an openly smitten Alcor fills the quieter episodes.
Phénicia
Actarus's sister, who survived the destruction of Euphor and enters the story mid-series. In the French version she first shows up on the wrong side of a fight, which makes the reunion hit harder. She and Actarus are the two who return home at the end.
Procyon, Rigel, Mizar and Banta
The support cast that most lists skip. Procyon builds the extra craft for Alcor, Vénusia and Phénicia and upgrades Goldorak. Rigel owns the ranch where the research center sits, and Mizar is the kid who keeps asking questions. Banta, another stablehand, exists mainly as Actarus's rival for Vénusia.
The enemies
Roi Véga
The emperor who ordered the attack on Euphor. He rules through fear and has little patience for his own officers, which feeds the infighting that keeps his lunar base from ever working as a team.
Minos and Minas: one commander, two minds
Several guides list "Minas" as an alternate spelling of Minos. It is not. Minos shares a body with a second personality, Minas, and the two argue over tactics almost constantly. Early on Minas appears as a small figure inside Minos's head, and after Minos is wounded in the face her look changes. In the Japanese version these are Gandal and Lady Gandal.
Hydargos, then Horos
The Vega command is not a permanent trio. Hydargos is the early right-hand man, and after he is removed, Horos takes the seat. Horos is a scientist first and a soldier second, equal in rank to Minos, and the rivalry between them drives much of the second half. He is Zuril in Japanese, a title closer to minister of science.
Végalia
Véga's daughter and Actarus's former fiancée, promised in an alliance that her father burned down. Her fate is one of the show's hardest turns, covered in the spoiler section below.
Golgoths, Antéraks and the monsters
Véga's field units come in two kinds. Golgoths are giant remote-controlled robots, and Antéraks are piloted ones. The big set-piece monsters, such as Monstrogoth Alpha, borrow shamelessly from movie creatures, and critics have compared Alpha to King Kong.
Who survives the series
Spoilers ahead. Skip to the next section if you have not finished the series.
- Végalia/Rubina dies. In the Japanese version she takes a shot meant for Actarus. In the French accounts, her death pushes Roi Véga further into madness and drags the army down with him.
- Hydargos is out of the picture by the midpoint, which is why Horos arrives.
- Minos/Gandal goes down with the Vega command at the end. In the Japanese version, Lady Gandal tries to kill Vega, and Gandal takes control of her body and kills her before dying shortly afterward in his mothership.
- Actarus and Phénicia leave Earth to rebuild their homeworld.
Grendizer U: how the 2024 remake changed the cast
Many pages still describe the Goldorak reboot as upcoming. It already aired: Grendizer U ran for 13 episodes on TV Tokyo from July 6 to September 28, 2024, and database records list the series as ended after one season.
The cast was rebuilt around a new lead trio. Miyu Irino voices Duke Fleed, Hiro Shimono voices Koji Kabuto, and Nao Touyama voices Hikaru Makiba. A new pilot, Sayaka Yumi (Sumire Uesaka), flies the Kabuto foundation's latest robot. The Vega side adds Teronna, one of two sisters both voiced by Haruka Tomatsu, who tracks Duke to Earth intending to take Grendizer.
Reception was split. Score pages put it in the mid-sixes on IMDb and below that on JustWatch, and fan reviews complain about pacing and loyalty to the 1975 story. Check regional availability before you plan a watch: JustWatch lists no U.S. streaming option, with Canada and a handful of other countries carrying it.
Reading and watching next
The original series started as a manga by Go Nagai, and Titan Comics announced an English release of the French Grendizer comic in 2024. If you want to read it or similar series legally, our best manga platforms list covers where to start.
If character breakdowns are what you like, the Fire Force characters ranking uses the same format, and the Bepo review does the same for one crew member in One Piece. For newer series, here is what to know about Sekai One, and if you play Minecraft, these anime Minecraft mods bring a bit of the genre into the game.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the main villain in Goldorak?
Roi Véga, the emperor of the Vega empire. His commanders Minos, Hydargos and Horos run the fighting on the Moon.
Are Goldorak and Grendizer the same show?
Yes. Goldorak is the French title of Go Nagai's UFO Robot Grendizer, also released as Goldrake in Italy and Grandizer in English-language editions.
What is Actarus called in the original Japanese version?
Duke Fleed, who lives on Earth as Daisuke Umon.
Is Minas the same character as Minos?
They share one body. Minas is the second personality of Minos, and in the Japanese version the pair are Gandal and Lady Gandal.
How many episodes does the original Goldorak have?
74 episodes of about 26 minutes, broadcast in Japan from October 5, 1975 to February 27, 1977.
Has Grendizer U been released?
Yes. It aired 13 episodes in Japan between July and September 2024, and no second season is listed.