Name of Mecha Anime from the 70s/80s Based on One Episode

Question

I have searched over and over trying to find this, so now finally posting the question to see if anyone else has a clue about this. My details are vague, but here goes. I remember watching a cartoon in the 80s about big robots. I do not believe it was Voltron and I know it is not Transformers or GoBots. I believe that people were in the robots. It could have been Mazinger, Robotech, Gundam, maybe?

I am thinking about one episode in particular. The good robot/robots/mechas had to protect a city that was under attack by TWO villain monsters. One was a typical walking robot and it had wings, sort of spherical, which I believe were red, and it closed itself up in those wings, using them as a shield which the good robot could not penetrate. My naming of them as wings could be wrong, I just know it would close up like a clamshell to protect itself from blasts.

The other monster robot was (again, I think...I was very young) a white robot, a scorpion I think. I remember the good guys thinking the city was lost, as they could not stop the winged/shielded robot that was attacking the city. Then they realized/figured out that the real thing they needed to destroy was the white scorpion robot. That is all I can remember.

I do remember there being a very anime art to it, with dark cannon blasts, damage, etc. Think Voltron.

Hoping anyone out there has an idea, I realize it is not much to go on.

Answer 1

Since old mecha animes episodes were set on a monster-of-the-day schedule, it is very difficut to find one, based only on the description of a single monster.

Because of the description, I think that Robotech and Gundam could be excluded (usually the enemies were mechanical and humanoid in shape).

A possibility, according to your description of the monsters could be Grendizer (also know as Goldorak in France and Goldrake in Italy). Usually the monsters were based on a flying saucer form (as the ship of the protagonist), and it was quite common to see a monster using the two halves of its flying saucer as a kind of wing/shield.

This is the titular robot:

Here there is a description of all the enemies of the series (no images unluckily), in case it rings a bell.

I've found a promising title, Combattler V (disclaimer: it is one of the few mecha series I remember nothing about).
However, among the monsters listed in this link, I've noticed the following duo that seems to (partially) match your memories (One robot controlled by the other one, which from the description should be similar to a scorpion)

Imitation Combattler V: This robotic monster appears in episode 17. Its powers include burrowing, orange eye lasers, rock fighter, and a rope ladder from the stomach. This robot was controlled by Slave Monster #512.
Zangyaru: This robotic monster appears in episode 17. Its powers include imitation Combattler V disguise, six pincer claw arms, pink lasers from eyes on torso, extend-able electric tentacles from the back, and a flamethrower from the mouth on the torso.

For the last one, there is a tiny image at this link (in Italian), even if it seems to be reddish rather than white.

As a second chance, you could also try the other two anime series of the Robot Romace Trilogy: Voltes V and General Daimos.

Answer 2

You were probably watching Gaiking.

The story chronicled the battle between the crew of the semi-transformable carrier Daikū Maryū (also called the Kargosaur in the Shogun Warriors toyline, and also known as the Great Space Dragon in the US English dub) and the Super Robot Gaiking invented by Dr. Daimonji (Prof. Hightech in the English-language version of the show or Dr. Diamond in Spanish version) against an invading race of aliens called the Dark Horror Army. This army hails from the planet Zela whose home planet is facing destruction by their star, Sigma, turning into a black hole as their population starts to become extinct. Notable aspects of the series include the dinosaur-based designs of the Daikū Maryū and its support machines and the use of part of the carrier to form the main robot. The robot Gaiking was piloted by former baseball star named Sanshiro Tsuwabuki (Sanshiro's name was changed to Aries Astonopolis for the English version with the carrier being called the "Great Space Dragon", a literal translation of "Daikū Maryū". Likewise, for the Latin America version the main character was called Brando Drummond and the carrier "Gran Dragon del Espacio") who was drafted for the job because his latent psychic powers made him the only one capable of doing so, all other similarly empowered candidates having been assassinated by alien agents with he himself having been injured in an attack that ended his sports career. Gaiking is most easily distinguished from other mecha by its skull-shaped golden torso formed from the head of the Daikū Maryū and its golden horns.

The leader of the Dark Horror Army was a robot scientist named Darius The Great or Dario el Grande in the Spanish version and all of their ships and mecha were fish-shaped, which most likely inspired the Darius series of video games. He uses four giant robotic leaders called the Death Cross Generals composed of Dr. Dankel, General Asimov, General Killer, and General Desmont. These generals used bomber-like spaceships called Grotectors to create artificial black hole vortexes to travel to Earth and back. Throughout the series the Death Cross Generals and Darius note that natives of Zela originally came to Earth for research purposes before slowly colonizing the planet and using it to hide various dark monsters with the rise of humanity, as far back as one million years before the start of the series until the twelfth century AD. For their military natives of Zela were brainwashed and genetically altered into birdmen called the dark avians with elite individuals becoming dark knights.

Episodes 13 and 14, "The Red Scorpion Howling in the Desert" and "The Daiku Maryu Strikes Back", featured Sasoringer and Demon of the Desert:

• Demon of The Desert: Appears in episodes 13 and 14. Powers include burrowing, flight, and invulnerability powered by the original Sasoringer.
• Sasoringer: Appears in episodes 13 and 14. Powers include burrowing, twin pincer claws, a drill tail that fires hot energy bolts, and swimming. Reappears in Shin Super Robot Wars, Super Robot Wars Alpha 2, and Super Robot Wars Alpha 3.

Show Opening

Sasoringer's appearance in Shin Super Robot Wars