is a Japanese military science fiction mecha anime series produced by Nippon 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.
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 a main character named 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.
Ryà Âsuke 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.
A 1983 52-episode anime television series.
is a 50-minute OVA released on August 21, 1985. The storyline takes place after the Woodo storyline in the TV series. It details Chirico meeting with his old comrades in his old military unit, and their plan to get revenge on General Pailsen.
, released as The Big Battle by Maiden Japan, is a 1986 60-minute OVA. Takes place near the end of the series. The storyline features Chirico and his comrades participating in a mecha gladiatorial match.
, released as just Origin of Ambition by Maiden Japan, is a 60-minute OVA released in 1988. The storyline serves as a prequel to the main series and especially The Last Red Shoulder. It details Chirico's time in the Red Shoulder elite military unit and his encounters with General Pailsen.
is a twelve episode anime science fiction action OVA series spinoff of Armored Trooper Votoms. It premiered on November 21, 1988. 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.
Merowlink is the story of a soldier whose unit is sacrificed on the battlefield for reasons unknown. Although he was not meant to survive, the main character, Merowlink Ality, manages to survive only to be framed for a crime he did not commit. Merowlink 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.
While the official English title of the series is Leechers Army Merowlink according to the text seen on multiple video and music software releases, it is commonly referred to as Armor Hunter Mellowlink in English. This translation dates from the now-defunct English-language anime magazine Animag and has been repeated in various fan sources over the years. However, the Mellowlink spelling is contradicted by text appearing in the animation itself. The meaning of "Leechers Army" is explained by how the armor hunters depicted in the series are soldiers who have lost their Armored Trooper combat vehicles and must depend on traps and tricks in order to survive, even going so far as to boobytrap the corpses of their own comrades. For this reason, they're considered "leeches of the battlefield", sucking on the blood of soldiers. "Armor Hunter" reflects a more faithful translation of the Japanese .
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.
is a 5-episode OVA series released in 1994. It is a sequel to the original TV series.
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 Origin of Ambition.
, released as Genei ~ Phantom Arc by Maiden Japan, is a six-part OVA series that was released from March 26, 2010, to October 27, 2010. It is a sequel to the original TV series and Shining Heresy.
Armored Trooper VOTOMS Case;Irvine (), an OVA that follows the story of Irvine Lester, a repairer of the tank-like robotic Armored Trooper (AT) mecha in the VOTOMS story world.
Votoms Finder (), an "alternate universe" OVA that centers around Aki Tesuno, a Bottoms guard for scrap salvagers and a pilot of a robotic mecha called an At or Altro (as opposed to VOTOMS' trademark Armored Trooper mecha).
, released as Chirico's Return by Maiden Japan, is a 2011 50-minute OVA that serves as a sequel to Brilliantly Shining Heresy and a prequel to Phantom Arc.
In January 2026, Bandai Namco Filmworks announced a new anime project titled (The Grey Witch). The director was announced to be Mamoru Oshii. It is set premiere in 2026 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.
VOTOMS has appeared in numerous video games since the series' original airing.
For a limited time, the Armored Trooper Votoms - Uoodo and Kummen game included a Red Shoulder Custom model. Chirico also figures in the Sunrise Eiyuutan (Sunrise Heroes) game for the PlayStation 2.
VOTOMS was a direct inspiration for the Heavy Gear role-playing game. VOTOMS also has its own official role-playing game, ' (1997), developed by R. Talsorian Games and using the Fuzion system.