Star Driver Kagayaki no Takuto

ITOU: This was briefly touched on in episode 22, “Eve of Legend,” but, Tauburn is an Earth Cybody. And the reason his clothes change is because, unlike the other mark bearers, Takuto is a/the “True Galactic Pretty Boy.” Actually, there is a secret piece of background information [1] that “Galactic Pretty Boys can’t sleep,” but Takuto, the True Galactic Pretty Boy, Sugata, the owner of the King’s mark, and the women who posses the Maiden marks are special, even though they have marks they can sleep. On the other hand, since all of the other mark bearers can’t sleep, you’ll never see them sleeping in the show. Head’s, “I can’t sleep, tell me a story” line to fish girl was hinting at that piece of background. A lot of secret background information was prepared for Star Driver, and only parts of it are presented in the show itself.

ITOU: I don’t know if I’d quite call this secret background information, but Head and Takuto have the same irises and that sort of thing. Also, one of the other staff members, Suzuki Norimitsu, drew it, but in the [first] ending sequence, “art exhibition”[2] was written on the side of the bus with fish girl on it. And after that, when Mizuno appeared, it turned into a picture of Mizuno wearing glasses, but [there's more to it than that] it’s like a relay between the Maidens. Fish girl had “art exhibition” [next to her] because Mizuno, the next to appear, likes to draw, and Mizuno has glasses because the next [Maiden], Keito, wears glasses. Currently, Keito’s holding a piece of melon bread, and that’s because the next Maiden, Wako, frequently eats melon bread––that’s the meaning concealed there.[3]

ITOU: Design-wise, Star Driver has some Showa-esq elements. For example, Vanishing Age’s Stick Star, Sword Star and Camel Star’s Crux outfits were inspired by Gou Hiromi, Saijou Hideki, and Noguchi Gorou of the idol group Shingo Sanke. Takuto’s battle costume has a Takarazuka flair to it too, but it’s really based on Sawada Kenji’s TOKIO costume[4]. The shoulder lamps were left off though. Also, Kou and Madoka’s Crux costumes have bolts on the breast-area as a reference to Getter Robo’s Michiru Saotome’s combat suit. Kou and Madoka are characters who exude eroticism, and when you think of erotic anime and manga, you think Go Nagai, so it’s an homage to him (lol). To the young they enjoy the derpy-coolness[5] of it, while it’s more of a nostalgia bomb for the adults.

ENOKIDO: The play was a retelling of the Cybodies’ history in dramatic form. In addition to the fact that they’re robots from the/a Ancient Galactic Civilization, we had to include some explanation as to what the Cybodies are. But, explaining it directly seems to alienate the audience, so I thought of having Takuto and the others act out an indirect explanation and that’s how it ended up.

ENOKIDO: Tauburn is a Cybody built for Earthlings, and beyond that, all of the other Cybodies, including the Maiden Cybodies, exist to seal the King’s Cybody, Samekh.