Hey Blunova, I absolutely love your Toku documentaries, would you consider doing one on Kuuga? I think there's a lot to consider, with it being the first Rider series without Ishinomori and having to adapt to new times, and setting the framework for Heisei Rider while also being a swansong to Showa Rider.
Kamen Rider (the og from 71) is more influential to Japanese Heroes then Devilman. Even Devilman had gets some of references from this work. by the way, Go Nagai has worked as assistant to Ishinomori (Kamen Rider creaton) during the 60s.
Fun fact (and spoilers) about the 2007 Giant Robo anime is that the leader of Big Fire in this version (which is a news network called BFN that manipulates events to sow fear in the world) is led by a man named Johnny Soccer, an obvious reference to Johnny Sokko.
Giant Robo is, in fact, a prequel to Mobile Fighter G Gundam, which was also directed by Imagawa. When Domon goes to France the Eiffel Tower is still melted and bent over.
Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still is still and always one of the greatest sci-fi epics of our time alongside the likes of Armored Trooper VOTOMS, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
Outstanding work of research, telling not only about how Giant Robo became a thing, but also making a nice overview of the history of Anime and Tokusatsu in general, and the context of what happened in Japan at the time, with its economics also. It's ironic to see both the Tokusatsu version and the Anime version had almost the same adversity: the costs. But even then, both of them delivered, each on its way. As stated by Mr. Imagawa. Nice job!
This is an incredible video and fills in so many gaps of my knowledge on Giant Robo. The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of my favorite OVAs and I’m still needing to read all the source manga for it
Fantastic video! I've never seen Giant Robo aside from some of the silly scenes from the us dub on yt of the tv show but I think I'll check out that ova. I absolutely love ovas of that era and it's such a shame that many of those gems weren't finished. Glad this character is getting love once again though
Great Video, Blunova! I remember one commentator called the Giant Robo OVA "very Wagnerian", not only the music scores, but also the drama and the overall feeling of the whole viewing experience. Nowaday perhaps we can never watch another animation work that features original operatic music scores that are played by full orchestra.
I'm back. I enjoyed every moment of that insightful video essay. I never knew there were such connections between The Giant Robo OVA and the early 2000 Tetsujin anime. So many similarities between them that it should have been obvious to me. Kudos to you for this epic timeline and such informative delivery. It was also great seeing snippet sof some true classics like Bubblegum Crisis and even Urotsukudoji, that I watched dfar to young as my father owned it back in the 90s 😂 Theres me thinking it was just another Guyver
You have no idea how excited I got when I saw this video on my feed, thank you so much for making this video! I love the Giant Robo OVA series so much, and hearing more about the history with Imagawa and the staff is such a delight!
Ah yes... Shocking Alberto, and Goenshaku... Frickin' loved that series... took me forever to find the last ep... Methinks I'll go watch it again! Great vid mate!
Has someone OBSESSED with all things mecha like gundam, transformers, Gurren lagan, pat labor and more, i am so hyped to learn about this classic IP. Thanks a lot ! I will certainly consult more of your content : ) I am going to watch the Giant robo OAV now ...
Giant ROBO is the OG triple OG of robots. He was the robot of my dads age. Like what gundam is to me. And many mechs to other many kids. He truly is an inspiration
I love G Gundam ridiculouslness and amazing art style and graphics that can be found in its 2 Opening Themes in the late 90s. Then after more than a decade I found out about this Giant Robo OVA. I found this OVA to be so out of its time, it go 80s Anime art style, but then it got the details and speciall effects of the anime found in the late 90s and even in the 2000. Only to found out in this video thatt was one heck of a star studed amazing production crew! This was like the culmination of those amazing talents that we will cherish in the future! :O
There was a few years where the digital sub-channel Comet was running Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot. Don’t think they’ve had it since like 2018...wish they still did. Good show.
The old saying “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Comes to mind as I type this but after watching Giant Robo I became really jaded with anime. I adore the OVA.
Used to watch Johnny Sokko and still have my Giant Robo dvd set from the year it released, cherish and love it. Amazing animation still to this day top tier :D
Daimajin scared the heck out of me as a kid. I was both frightened and fascinated. "GAMERA VS GUIRON" was the very first cinema movie I chose and I went to all by myself. I was 9. It was relatively safe in those days for kids to be alone.
Believe it or not, Imagawa’s Giant Robo debut at Wondercon 1992 in April as a secret premiere. I was part of the anime room staff back then and was completely blown away by it.
Reminder Gundam were conceived as POWER ARMOR. Mobile suits were supposed to be _worn,_ not piloted. The sponsors wanted to sell toys to kids, not make a realistic war epic, so they forced the creators to make the mobile suits giant (garish) nonsensical bipedal vehicles that hold giant guns with giant triggers they fire with giant fingers. Imagine Char and Amuro swinging (regular sized) lightsabers and wrestling with their _muscles_ instead of pulling levers while sitting in a chair in front of a screen.
The title is wrong, Giant Robo/Johnny Socko and his Flying Robot is one of my all-time favorite giant robot series. The OVAs are sublime (except for the Ginrei Special, what were they thinking?!)
Thank you! Giant Robo: the animation is by far my favourite anime and years later me and my friends still quote it with fondness. Absolutely stellar (first) english dub too! Just thinking of Ivans campy lines and the monumental authority Alberto brings, is giving me goosebumps.
Great video! I'm eager to watch Imagawa's OVA. Here in Brazil, the Giant Robo toku was a hit in the 60s and 70s, even having it's own merchandising. The version we got here was the US one, but by some reason i don't know, the brazilian dub kept the original japanese names. Unfortunately the dub copies of the toku were destroyed in a fire at the TV station that broadcasted it here. Hope you launch more videos covering these very old-school series and some new ones too. And again, great video!
Man, after watching this video when it originally came out it made wish Giant Robo could get more exposure here in Latin America and just today a company announced that the OVA would receive an official dub
Excellent job. One of my favorite shows of all time. One of those that could get me to sit still enough to understand the story.The reason I lo❤ super robots.
Great work on this history/timeline and breakdown of Giant Robo. I grew up on Gigantor thanks to my Father. Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot aka Giant Robo TV series followed afterwards for me. As an Anime fan the later released Giant Robo in the early 1990's was a great welcoming for me.
Great video as always, wanted to hold off on watching though as I just finished watching the OVA series and about to watch the Ginrei special. Overall it definitely deserves its place as one of the best OVA’s from this era and was definitely a treat to watch. I feel that the ending may have jumped the gun in some spots like the genya backstory and resolution, although definitely would have loved to see where they would have take the story given more time. Having just watched your video, I definitely have a bit more context as to where alot of the references and influences in the OVA are from and definitely enriched my first dip into the Giant Robo franchise overall. Thanks again and keep up the great work.
I love the way you curate and describe the lineage of both the art itself and the artists involved. As a long time mecha fan, thank you! (also The Iron Giant totally stole the ending from the og Giant Robo show.)
Loved the OVA series. Loved the Yokoyama Mitsutera characters -- which many of them I actually knew from reading the cartoons while growing up. To this day, I still think the OVA series is the definitive version of all things Giant Robo -- DESPITE it actually being more of a 'parallel-worldy' representation, when compared to the original (and remakes after). From a preferential perspective, the gravitas that comes from that feeling of weight, the massiveness, the no-nonsense robotic, straight-forward "attitude" Robo shows is just awesome. I actually prefer it much more than small robots zipping around like flies with shiny sparkly effects. When you look at Robo, and the reactions of people on the ground watching Robo appear, move, and fight, you can really get that sense of shock and awe the characters are feeling.
Johnny Socko and his Giant Robot was my every day rerun as 4 or 5 year old and I still love this stuff, Godzilla and Ultraman. I remember crying when he flew into space with the Emperor and crashed into that comet.
23:31 Is that Caitlin Myer's cover of Do You Remember Love? Oooohhh... That cover gives me goosebumps 😍 29:57 For the longest time since my childhood, I've been trying to look for this anime after I saw it on Singapore's Channel 8 but after a while I forgot about it. Oohhh... The clips of the opening came flashing in.
was the ending of the OVA really that much of a cliffhanger, though? they resolved the main story, with one of the greatest twist endings ever. just wish there wouldnt have been so much of a delay between the last couple episodes.
Giant Robo is one of my most watched anime series, my only disappointment was it wasn’t continued in a second series, but we got a action packed fun OVA
Giant Robo OVA series from the 90s.. the animation is still mind melting to watch to this day. The Blu-Ray is gorgeous to watch in high definition. The story as well is best I can describe as theatrical masterpiece. Worth every penny to own. With 7 episodes that is almost 60min each all included in the blu-ray is a bargain. I've seen modern anime movies that don't come close to the quality this series is. Also rest in peace creator of battleship Yamato as he passed from this world recently.
The Giant Robo OVA anime looks cool in its revamped design, but needs a better conclusion. Toei should bring it back with an updated live-action show. Great job on researching the source material... thank you sooo much! 💓🤖🚀🤖🚀
Not enough 1980's Godmars, but we've the little section about the Manga Accurate Mars, so it's still neat. I've always saw some Giant Robo pictures here and there and heard of the distribution of the 1960's series ( th-cam.com/video/19SEG4FuPQE/w-d-xo.html ). Sometimes saw some pic of Tetsujin 28 and how he was iconic, even some clip of the 80's Godmars Show (and knowing about the infamous Tsuburaya production anime about mars made in the early 2000s). But I'm glad this video showed me the cultural impact of the Giant Robo OVA, and that it's bassicly a crossroad of a lot of stuff I like. I'll probably watch it one day, and thank you, Bluenova!
Honestly, I've been saving the chance to watch the OVA for a special day, had a copy of Blu-ray for about a year and a half when Amazon carried it. Probably gonna save it for an anime day when friends can make it in for a visit, and turn it into a sleepover event.
Wow! What walk down memory lane! I loved the Giant Robot series...I used to see them on a show called Science Fiction Theater in Tucson in the early to mid 1970s. And of course the first name of the boy protagonist was cool too! ;)
The hidden lore of the OVA only has some sprinkles of it in the series itself but there are some footnotes on what happens beforehand Birth Of Zangetsu the Midday/Domino Operation: >Some of it was shown in the EP5 flashback. GR1 getting stolen and GR2 (and possibly GR3) getting destroyed was a big blow to BF's GR Project >Somehow this leads to Zangetsu becoming promoted into the Magnificent Ten >Zangetsu was the man in the background of the EP5 flashback >Zangetsu is related to Daisaku somehow >Cervantes caused the scar in Youshi's chest and their battle ended in her skin turning blue. >In retailation for hurting his (at the time) friend, Taisou kills Cervantes and takes out Alberto's left eye. >Ryuusaku Murasame is assassinated and his cousin Kazuma Murasame (from Kagemaru of Iga) now leads the Fujiwara clan (from Date Masamune) >Hanzui and Kawarazaki know who Zangetsu is but only Dr. Black (Dr. BF from Tetsujin) knows about Rinchuu (Celestial 9, model sheet for him is out there but never appeared in the OVA itself) and his link to GR1. >Youshi confesses that she loves Taisou and Taisou accepts her >This is the arc where Gallop's body is destroyed (Gallop is the robot from EP5 in the mountains) Canary Prison, The Plan to Assasinate Daisaku: >The former head of the Interpol USA branch, Dr.Bernard (from Earth V7) is kidnapped. >During this time, Daisaku stays at the American branch >Daisaku and Shotaro are kidnapped by Fitzkarald >Dick and Taisou save all the prisoners and fight Fritzkarald >The current head of Interpol US is Dr. Sharp (from T28, created the "Monster" robot) Boy of 3 days: >A man named Genshin (Kagemaru of Iga) infiltrates BF's ranks and steals an important item for BF and so they hunt him down >The item is linked to the "boy of 3 days". >Issei Doujin is major character and his backstory is revealed >Hanzui and Issei battle and Issei loses >Chujo also has a flashback to when he was younger and beat up Hanzui. >Kazuma then appears and battles Genshi and Genshi then decides to join the Fujiwara gang. No books state what happened to the item he stole or the boy.
Greatest Battle: >Koumei is just an A-class agent (like Ivan and Genya) and is frustrated with BF's massive losses >So he makes an worldwide public announcement telling the world that BF exists and tells them all his plan and challenges Kanshin >Kanshin then gathers Kaimei and Hamza (who previously rescued Daisaku in Birth) to lead a coalition to kill Koumei >Several political events happen thanks to the announcement and this somehow leads to BF making huge progress >At one Kaimei dies. >Kawarazaki sends Yuuki to stop Koumei but Koenshaku and Red Mask appear to be supporting Koumei. >The battle gets so out of hand that both BF and Laishi both tell Koumei and Kanshin respectively to stop fighting >Kawarazaki and BF are impressed with Koumei's plan so much that they promote him chief strategist and Achilles is assigned to watch over Koumei >Taisou and Youshi are married by this point Kid Detective: >Another A-class agent named Choi-Sen (Diao Chan from Rot3k) is under orders from her boss Jujoji to steal an ancient artifact in Japan. >During this time Daisaku and GR live in Japan where he meets Shotaro again >Choi-Sen behaves just like Takamizawa in the 2007 T28 movie >Otsuka and Dr. Kindiachi (Based on Shikishima but he's Shotaro's dad here) are big focuses >Daisaku decides to assist Shotaro and co in getting the artifact back. The Siege of Babel >The rest of the Celestial 9 reuinite to have their final battle with BF >Daisaku encounters Sunny and BF himself >Koenshaku is revealed to be a machine and multiples are made in a factory
From Suikoden: >Tetsugyu: Li Kui >Youshi: a genderflipped Yang Zhi >Kosonsho Issei: Gongsun Shen >Gou: Wu Yong >Koushin: Huang Xin >Kaei: Hua Rong >Kaihou and Kaichin (the tiger men): Xie Bao and Xie Zhen >Shutsu (the helicopter pilot): Zhou Tong >The Fishermen Brothers: Ruan Xiaoer, Ruan Xiaowu, Ruan Xiaoqi >Ko-Enshaku: Huyan Zhou Tetsujin 28: >Kenji Murasame >Dr.Franken Von Vogler: Shutain Franken >Dr.Shizuma De Montablan III: Dr.Dragnet >Q-Boss: Osama Babel II: >Dr.Kusama: One of Yomi's grunts >Dr.Duncan: Another Yomi grunt >Dr.Trumbeaux: Simle, another of Yomi's grunts Mars: >Ivan: Pilot of the Sin mech >Dr.Shimure: one of the doctors that discover Mars is an ailen Kagemaru of Ida: >Genya My Name is 101: Ginrei
The Celestial 9 (only Chujo and Taiso show up in the OVA): >Chujo: Defense secretary from Babel II >Taiso: Dai Zong from Suikoden >Kanshin: Han Xin from "Zhang Liang and Xiao He" >Rinchuu: Lin Chong from Suikoden >Tenki: from Akakage >Kagemaru: from Kagemaru of Iga >Tendou: from Abare Tendou >Dick: from Earth number V7 >Otsuka: from Tetsujin 28
Characters not in the OVA: >Hamza: Zhang Fei from Rot3K >Ryuusaku Murasame: Tetsujin 28 >Kazuma Murasame: The oldest of the medicine brothers in Kagemaru of Iga >The Fujiwara gang is a mix of the clan in Date Masamune and the gang Ryu and his brothers led in Tetsujin 28. >Dr. Black: Dr.Big Fire from Tetsujin 28 >Dr. Bernard: from Earth Number V7, Dick Maki's friend >Dr. Sharp: Monster's creator from Tetsujin 28 >Dr. Kindiachi: Dr.Shikishima from Tetsujin 28 >Shotaro Kindiachi: Shotaro Kaneda from Tetsujin 28 >Genshin: One of the Koga 7 from Kagemaru of Iga >ChoiSen: Diao Chan from Rot3K
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Legitimately one of the best if not the best ads on this platform I've seen. This is how YT sponsorships should be done!
I like that artstyle in the thumbnail (ik it's from the manga not you)
Hey Blunova, I absolutely love your Toku documentaries, would you consider doing one on Kuuga? I think there's a lot to consider, with it being the first Rider series without Ishinomori and having to adapt to new times, and setting the framework for Heisei Rider while also being a swansong to Showa Rider.
Giant Robo is to mecha what devilman and cutie honey were to Japanese superheroes. A major influence
100%! I absolutely love Devilman and Cutie Honey too
Kamen Rider (the og from 71) is more influential to Japanese Heroes then Devilman. Even Devilman had gets some of references from this work. by the way, Go Nagai has worked as assistant to Ishinomori (Kamen Rider creaton) during the 60s.
@@Media-ym7dw agreed but I think what makes Devilman so good is moreso it's content rather then it's concept.
Agreed. I gotta check out Giant Robo and Devilman one of these days
Mazinger Z exists though
Fun fact (and spoilers) about the 2007 Giant Robo anime is that the leader of Big Fire in this version (which is a news network called BFN that manipulates events to sow fear in the world) is led by a man named Johnny Soccer, an obvious reference to Johnny Sokko.
Giant Robo is, in fact, a prequel to Mobile Fighter G Gundam, which was also directed by Imagawa. When Domon goes to France the Eiffel Tower is still melted and bent over.
Huh?
Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still is still and always one of the greatest sci-fi epics of our time alongside the likes of Armored Trooper VOTOMS, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
Well said indeed
Don't forget the _original_ Mobile Suit Gundam (and a fair few of the followups, both UC-set and AU)!
@@NebLleb Man, how tf could I forget Mobile Suit Gundam, THE very anime alongside Eva to seal my love for the mecha genre in blood?
I'd place it higher than NGE and LOGH.
Giant Robot is one of the most criminally underrated Japanese Tokusatsus of all time.
Gransazers
I’ve worked on three horror host programs over the years and Voyage Into Space was always the most requested movie.
Outstanding work of research, telling not only about how Giant Robo became a thing, but also making a nice overview of the history of Anime and Tokusatsu in general, and the context of what happened in Japan at the time, with its economics also.
It's ironic to see both the Tokusatsu version and the Anime version had almost the same adversity: the costs. But even then, both of them delivered, each on its way. As stated by Mr. Imagawa.
Nice job!
6:30 That straight up look like Gan-Q from Gaia. What's cool is that the kaiju used here exist before Gan-Q.
Is it possible to achieve happiness without sacrifice? Giant Robo says no.
This is an incredible video and fills in so many gaps of my knowledge on Giant Robo. The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of my favorite OVAs and I’m still needing to read all the source manga for it
I love this work, I love the soundtrack, I love the animation, I love the over-the-top characters. Enters in my top 10 of anime easily.
Giant Robo is one of those shows Toei should give a second chance.
Fantastic video! I've never seen Giant Robo aside from some of the silly scenes from the us dub on yt of the tv show but I think I'll check out that ova. I absolutely love ovas of that era and it's such a shame that many of those gems weren't finished. Glad this character is getting love once again though
Great Video, Blunova! I remember one commentator called the Giant Robo OVA "very Wagnerian", not only the music scores, but also the drama and the overall feeling of the whole viewing experience. Nowaday perhaps we can never watch another animation work that features original operatic music scores that are played by full orchestra.
Kyu Sakamoto
Great choice of music
41 minutes of Giant Robo?? We eating good…
I'm back. I enjoyed every moment of that insightful video essay. I never knew there were such connections between The Giant Robo OVA and the early 2000 Tetsujin anime. So many similarities between them that it should have been obvious to me.
Kudos to you for this epic timeline and such informative delivery. It was also great seeing snippet sof some true classics like Bubblegum Crisis and even Urotsukudoji, that I watched dfar to young as my father owned it back in the 90s 😂 Theres me thinking it was just another Guyver
Giant robo is the greatest ova ever made and I will stand by that
I need it to be completed
You have no idea how excited I got when I saw this video on my feed, thank you so much for making this video! I love the Giant Robo OVA series so much, and hearing more about the history with Imagawa and the staff is such a delight!
Ah yes... Shocking Alberto, and Goenshaku... Frickin' loved that series... took me forever to find the last ep... Methinks I'll go watch it again! Great vid mate!
I only know 'Day the Earth Stood Still', (and GinRei Special), but DtESS is absolutely epic.
Has someone OBSESSED with all things mecha like gundam, transformers, Gurren lagan, pat labor and more, i am so hyped to learn about this classic IP.
Thanks a lot ! I will certainly consult more of your content : )
I am going to watch the Giant robo OAV now ...
Now I understand where the mecha inspiration for the Big O came from.
Great video.
Watched the anime when I was a kid, it was an amazing anime with bittersweet moments that got me on the edge of my seat
My man. The quality of these videos are absolutely amazing. Mini documentaries. You are a true pro
Giant ROBO is the OG triple OG of robots. He was the robot of my dads age. Like what gundam is to me. And many mechs to other many kids. He truly is an inspiration
I own that OVA, I picked it up on a whim and LOVED it.
praying this video brings more attention to the BEST ANIME OF ALL TIME..
I’m currently watching Gigantor and I love it
I love G Gundam ridiculouslness and amazing art style and graphics that can be found in its 2 Opening Themes in the late 90s.
Then after more than a decade I found out about this Giant Robo OVA. I found this OVA to be so out of its time, it go 80s Anime art style, but then it got the details and speciall effects of the anime found in the late 90s and even in the 2000. Only to found out in this video thatt was one heck of a star studed amazing production crew! This was like the culmination of those amazing talents that we will cherish in the future! :O
There was a few years where the digital sub-channel Comet was running Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot. Don’t think they’ve had it since like 2018...wish they still did. Good show.
The way they incorporated Chinese heroes was amazing! I love this anime
The old saying “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Comes to mind as I type this but after watching Giant Robo I became really jaded with anime. I adore the OVA.
Used to watch Johnny Sokko and still have my Giant Robo dvd set from the year it released, cherish and love it. Amazing animation still to this day top tier :D
Daimajin scared the heck out of me as a kid.
I was both frightened and fascinated.
"GAMERA VS GUIRON"
was the very first cinema movie I chose and I went to
all by myself.
I was 9.
It was relatively safe in those days for kids to be alone.
5:52 I legitimately can't see this scene without hearing that MST3K line over it.
"They took out the Hitler Building!"
Funny enough Johnny’s VA is from MST3K
i always feel full after watching blunova video
Believe it or not, Imagawa’s Giant Robo debut at Wondercon 1992 in April as a secret premiere. I was part of the anime room staff back then and was completely blown away by it.
I remember watching one of the Giant Robo anime’s on the sci-fi channel back in the 90s
Reminder Gundam were conceived as POWER ARMOR. Mobile suits were supposed to be _worn,_ not piloted.
The sponsors wanted to sell toys to kids, not make a realistic war epic, so they forced the creators to make the mobile suits giant (garish) nonsensical bipedal vehicles that hold giant guns with giant triggers they fire with giant fingers.
Imagine Char and Amuro swinging (regular sized) lightsabers and wrestling with their _muscles_ instead of pulling levers while sitting in a chair in front of a screen.
Glad I could help out on this long video. Was worth the wait I'll say!
The title is wrong, Giant Robo/Johnny Socko and his Flying Robot is one of my all-time favorite giant robot series. The OVAs are sublime (except for the Ginrei Special, what were they thinking?!)
Thank you! Giant Robo: the animation is by far my favourite anime and years later me and my friends still quote it with fondness. Absolutely stellar (first) english dub too! Just thinking of Ivans campy lines and the monumental authority Alberto brings, is giving me goosebumps.
Great video! I'm eager to watch Imagawa's OVA. Here in Brazil, the Giant Robo toku was a hit in the 60s and 70s, even having it's own merchandising. The version we got here was the US one, but by some reason i don't know, the brazilian dub kept the original japanese names. Unfortunately the dub copies of the toku were destroyed in a fire at the TV station that broadcasted it here. Hope you launch more videos covering these very old-school series and some new ones too. And again, great video!
Man, after watching this video when it originally came out it made wish Giant Robo could get more exposure here in Latin America and just today a company announced that the OVA would receive an official dub
Excellent job. One of my favorite shows of all time. One of those that could get me to sit still enough to understand the story.The reason I lo❤ super robots.
Great work on this history/timeline and breakdown of Giant Robo. I grew up on Gigantor thanks to my Father. Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot aka Giant Robo TV series followed afterwards for me. As an Anime fan the later released Giant Robo in the early 1990's was a great welcoming for me.
Thank you for this in depth documentary about Giant Robo! I've been a fan of the live action show my whole life and I learned so much!
Its here! The video is here and oh boy it's a long one! I shall be sit9tng and indulging in this tonight and I simply cannot wait! Thank you!
Gotta give credit. One of the better nord vpn ads i've seen 😂
Giant Robo is my favorite anime!
Excellent research and excellent video!!
Great video as always, wanted to hold off on watching though as I just finished watching the OVA series and about to watch the Ginrei special.
Overall it definitely deserves its place as one of the best OVA’s from this era and was definitely a treat to watch. I feel that the ending may have jumped the gun in some spots like the genya backstory and resolution, although definitely would have loved to see where they would have take the story given more time.
Having just watched your video, I definitely have a bit more context as to where alot of the references and influences in the OVA are from and definitely enriched my first dip into the Giant Robo franchise overall. Thanks again and keep up the great work.
I love the way you curate and describe the lineage of both the art itself and the artists involved. As a long time mecha fan, thank you! (also The Iron Giant totally stole the ending from the og Giant Robo show.)
Loved the OVA series. Loved the Yokoyama Mitsutera characters -- which many of them I actually knew from reading the cartoons while growing up. To this day, I still think the OVA series is the definitive version of all things Giant Robo -- DESPITE it actually being more of a 'parallel-worldy' representation, when compared to the original (and remakes after).
From a preferential perspective, the gravitas that comes from that feeling of weight, the massiveness, the no-nonsense robotic, straight-forward "attitude" Robo shows is just awesome. I actually prefer it much more than small robots zipping around like flies with shiny sparkly effects. When you look at Robo, and the reactions of people on the ground watching Robo appear, move, and fight, you can really get that sense of shock and awe the characters are feeling.
Im 57 years old i watched in back home in Puerto Rico as El Robot Gigante y Jhony Socko and all over latin America it was real popular .
Johnny Socko and his Giant Robot was my every day rerun as 4 or 5 year old and I still love this stuff, Godzilla and Ultraman. I remember crying when he flew into space with the Emperor and crashed into that comet.
i actually was able to watch giant robo when i was younger on a random tv channel, i loved it lmao
Really Greta video! Makes me want to seek out a blu-ray of the OVA
Damn! I really appreciate the effort and work you put in on this. Top notch stuff.
23:31 Is that Caitlin Myer's cover of Do You Remember Love? Oooohhh... That cover gives me goosebumps 😍
29:57 For the longest time since my childhood, I've been trying to look for this anime after I saw it on Singapore's Channel 8 but after a while I forgot about it. Oohhh... The clips of the opening came flashing in.
was the ending of the OVA really that much of a cliffhanger, though? they resolved the main story, with one of the greatest twist endings ever. just wish there wouldnt have been so much of a delay between the last couple episodes.
Thank you, I remember seeing this as a very young boy in Okinawa. I never saw it again. The only thing I saw in the mid and late 70s was Mazinga Z.
Giant Robo is one of my most watched anime series, my only disappointment was it wasn’t continued in a second series, but we got a action packed fun OVA
Giant Robo OVA series from the 90s.. the animation is still mind melting to watch to this day. The Blu-Ray is gorgeous to watch in high definition. The story as well is best I can describe as theatrical masterpiece. Worth every penny to own. With 7 episodes that is almost 60min each all included in the blu-ray is a bargain. I've seen modern anime movies that don't come close to the quality this series is. Also rest in peace creator of battleship Yamato as he passed from this world recently.
Fantastic video, starting Giant Robo tomorrow
I really like Giant robo's design
The Giant Robo OVA anime looks cool in its revamped design, but needs a better conclusion. Toei should bring it back with an updated live-action show. Great job on researching the source material... thank you sooo much!
💓🤖🚀🤖🚀
Absolutely stunning work ❤
Please do another video pointing out all the refences in the ova
Yasuhiro Imagawa is an obscure genius of adapting others' works. Sad to know that his projects invariably fail to make commercial success.
The giant robo ova should be watched by everyone due to being one of the best pieces of animation of all time.
God I love this show.
If Mazinger Z is the father of super robots Giant Robo and Tetsujin 28 would be the grandfather.
Not enough 1980's Godmars, but we've the little section about the Manga Accurate Mars, so it's still neat.
I've always saw some Giant Robo pictures here and there and heard of the distribution of the 1960's series ( th-cam.com/video/19SEG4FuPQE/w-d-xo.html ). Sometimes saw some pic of Tetsujin 28 and how he was iconic, even some clip of the 80's Godmars Show (and knowing about the infamous Tsuburaya production anime about mars made in the early 2000s). But I'm glad this video showed me the cultural impact of the Giant Robo OVA, and that it's bassicly a crossroad of a lot of stuff I like. I'll probably watch it one day, and thank you, Bluenova!
35:00 GR 1 the animation was a high point! that's where they should continue
Man I just wonder who will win the battle giant Robo or Godzilla (Showa)
Honestly, I've been saving the chance to watch the OVA for a special day, had a copy of Blu-ray for about a year and a half when Amazon carried it. Probably gonna save it for an anime day when friends can make it in for a visit, and turn it into a sleepover event.
one of my favorites that and ultraman every Saturday after cartoons
My good do you remember love still looks amazing
Fantastic! Thank you to everyone involved.
excellent video
I use to watch that show all the time as a kid.
I watched this on tv. Thanks for the history lesson.
This was a relevant anime in the 90s. It may not well-received in Japan but in the U.S. that is.
I have several episodes of Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot on DVD.
Wow! What walk down memory lane! I loved the Giant Robot series...I used to see them on a show called Science Fiction Theater in Tucson in the early to mid 1970s. And of course the first name of the boy protagonist was cool too! ;)
The hidden lore of the OVA only has some sprinkles of it in the series itself but there are some footnotes on what happens beforehand
Birth Of Zangetsu the Midday/Domino Operation:
>Some of it was shown in the EP5 flashback. GR1 getting stolen and GR2 (and possibly GR3) getting destroyed was a big blow to BF's GR Project
>Somehow this leads to Zangetsu becoming promoted into the Magnificent Ten
>Zangetsu was the man in the background of the EP5 flashback
>Zangetsu is related to Daisaku somehow
>Cervantes caused the scar in Youshi's chest and their battle ended in her skin turning blue.
>In retailation for hurting his (at the time) friend, Taisou kills Cervantes and takes out Alberto's left eye.
>Ryuusaku Murasame is assassinated and his cousin Kazuma Murasame (from Kagemaru of Iga) now leads the Fujiwara clan (from Date Masamune)
>Hanzui and Kawarazaki know who Zangetsu is but only Dr. Black (Dr. BF from Tetsujin) knows about Rinchuu (Celestial 9, model sheet for him is out there but never appeared in the OVA itself) and his link to GR1.
>Youshi confesses that she loves Taisou and Taisou accepts her
>This is the arc where Gallop's body is destroyed (Gallop is the robot from EP5 in the mountains)
Canary Prison, The Plan to Assasinate Daisaku:
>The former head of the Interpol USA branch, Dr.Bernard (from Earth V7) is kidnapped.
>During this time, Daisaku stays at the American branch
>Daisaku and Shotaro are kidnapped by Fitzkarald
>Dick and Taisou save all the prisoners and fight Fritzkarald
>The current head of Interpol US is Dr. Sharp (from T28, created the "Monster" robot)
Boy of 3 days:
>A man named Genshin (Kagemaru of Iga) infiltrates BF's ranks and steals an important item for BF and so they hunt him down
>The item is linked to the "boy of 3 days".
>Issei Doujin is major character and his backstory is revealed
>Hanzui and Issei battle and Issei loses
>Chujo also has a flashback to when he was younger and beat up Hanzui.
>Kazuma then appears and battles Genshi and Genshi then decides to join the Fujiwara gang. No books state what happened to the item he stole or the boy.
Greatest Battle:
>Koumei is just an A-class agent (like Ivan and Genya) and is frustrated with BF's massive losses
>So he makes an worldwide public announcement telling the world that BF exists and tells them all his plan and challenges Kanshin
>Kanshin then gathers Kaimei and Hamza (who previously rescued Daisaku in Birth) to lead a coalition to kill Koumei
>Several political events happen thanks to the announcement and this somehow leads to BF making huge progress
>At one Kaimei dies.
>Kawarazaki sends Yuuki to stop Koumei but Koenshaku and Red Mask appear to be supporting Koumei.
>The battle gets so out of hand that both BF and Laishi both tell Koumei and Kanshin respectively to stop fighting
>Kawarazaki and BF are impressed with Koumei's plan so much that they promote him chief strategist and Achilles is assigned to watch over Koumei
>Taisou and Youshi are married by this point
Kid Detective:
>Another A-class agent named Choi-Sen (Diao Chan from Rot3k) is under orders from her boss Jujoji to steal an ancient artifact in Japan.
>During this time Daisaku and GR live in Japan where he meets Shotaro again
>Choi-Sen behaves just like Takamizawa in the 2007 T28 movie
>Otsuka and Dr. Kindiachi (Based on Shikishima but he's Shotaro's dad here) are big focuses
>Daisaku decides to assist Shotaro and co in getting the artifact back.
The Siege of Babel
>The rest of the Celestial 9 reuinite to have their final battle with BF
>Daisaku encounters Sunny and BF himself
>Koenshaku is revealed to be a machine and multiples are made in a factory
From Suikoden:
>Tetsugyu: Li Kui
>Youshi: a genderflipped Yang Zhi
>Kosonsho Issei: Gongsun Shen
>Gou: Wu Yong
>Koushin: Huang Xin
>Kaei: Hua Rong
>Kaihou and Kaichin (the tiger men): Xie Bao and Xie Zhen
>Shutsu (the helicopter pilot): Zhou Tong
>The Fishermen Brothers: Ruan Xiaoer, Ruan Xiaowu, Ruan Xiaoqi
>Ko-Enshaku: Huyan Zhou
Tetsujin 28:
>Kenji Murasame
>Dr.Franken Von Vogler: Shutain Franken
>Dr.Shizuma De Montablan III: Dr.Dragnet
>Q-Boss: Osama
Babel II:
>Dr.Kusama: One of Yomi's grunts
>Dr.Duncan: Another Yomi grunt
>Dr.Trumbeaux: Simle, another of Yomi's grunts
Mars:
>Ivan: Pilot of the Sin mech
>Dr.Shimure: one of the doctors that discover Mars is an ailen
Kagemaru of Ida:
>Genya
My Name is 101:
Ginrei
The Celestial 9 (only Chujo and Taiso show up in the OVA):
>Chujo: Defense secretary from Babel II
>Taiso: Dai Zong from Suikoden
>Kanshin: Han Xin from "Zhang Liang and Xiao He"
>Rinchuu: Lin Chong from Suikoden
>Tenki: from Akakage
>Kagemaru: from Kagemaru of Iga
>Tendou: from Abare Tendou
>Dick: from Earth number V7
>Otsuka: from Tetsujin 28
Characters not in the OVA:
>Hamza: Zhang Fei from Rot3K
>Ryuusaku Murasame: Tetsujin 28
>Kazuma Murasame: The oldest of the medicine brothers in Kagemaru of Iga
>The Fujiwara gang is a mix of the clan in Date Masamune and the gang Ryu and his brothers led in Tetsujin 28.
>Dr. Black: Dr.Big Fire from Tetsujin 28
>Dr. Bernard: from Earth Number V7, Dick Maki's friend
>Dr. Sharp: Monster's creator from Tetsujin 28
>Dr. Kindiachi: Dr.Shikishima from Tetsujin 28
>Shotaro Kindiachi: Shotaro Kaneda from Tetsujin 28
>Genshin: One of the Koga 7 from Kagemaru of Iga
>ChoiSen: Diao Chan from Rot3K
Most anime fans know and love this animation.
Great video 👍
Nice work, really went above and beyond on your research here.
This toon was amazing.
Ok I love the sponsor gimmick make it a giant monster move promo was funny and Claver
I am a huge Mecha fan so I know most of this all ready
Also, the first Bluetooth linked watch? ; - ) great video.
This was a fantastic video, I will definitely be watching more of your content. 👍
Recently played Super Robot Wars Alpha on my PS1 emulator and Giant Robo is op even though I only upgrade it few times.
YES FINALLY!!!
man, weird how fucking NO ONE ever talks about Tetsujin 28
the actual first giant robot series