#Giant Robo The Animation

[cypress-punk]

Recommend me something with giant robots that really encapsulates the giant robots media experience. Not necessarily something good; the best representative sample. I trust your judgement.

This is kind of hard to answer, as the giant robot experience is kind split down the middle into two broad categories.

The first flavor is military Scifi, this is usually given the moniker "Real Robot" because it leans more toward hard scifi and the idea of the mech as an actual machine with mechanical and logistical concerns. For my money the best taste of this type of story is original Mobile Suit Gundam from 1979. It's kind of the originator of the entire Real Robot conceit.

Gundam, and another work by it's director, Yoshiyuki Tomino, Space Runaway Ideon, were both major Influences of Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is not really a typical "real robot" show (in fact it's often more like Ultraman than mecha), but Eva is extremely influential on the genre and there's a whole generation of shows that are either responding to it or ripping it off.

The second flavor is what's generally called "Super Robot". Super Robot stories are classically Saturday Morning cartoons, complete with bright colors and flashy super hero style brawls and big special attacks whose names get screamed out before they're executed. The OG Super Robot is Mazinger Z, and both it's manga and anime are worth looking at, but for my money the best Super Robot experience is The Legendary King of Braves: GaoGaiGar. It's a perfect Saturday morning cartoon style mecha with a lot of charm and good production. The major caveat with it is that it uses an obscene amount of strobe effects that make it hard to actually look at the action scenes sometimes. Serious Epilepsy warning for that show.

Super Robot has also evolved in later years into more of a high octane action joint, Gurren Lagann is the best known example of this style of Super Robot, but for my money the best in this style is one of Gainax's earlier works, Gunbuster. It's just as high octane as it's little brother and has genuinely incredible animation.

There's also a sub-set of mecha I call "Boy and His Dog" mecha, which typically focus on a big meandering robot companion to a young boy, with a focus on coming of age type stories. The original of these is Tetsujin-28 (which is also arguably the first true mecha), also known as Gigantor in the west. There's a 2004 a anime that reimagines the story as an examination of post world war II Japan and it's pretty good. My favorite of these is Giant Robo: The Animation, which is also just my favorite work of mecha genre stuff period. Its very well animated and captures a strong pulp adventure vibe.

Alright so I've yet to actually give you an answer to this ask, I've just kind of rambled about mecha, but I wanted to lay some groundwork. I'm gonna list a lot of stuff below but the main touchstones I'd reccomend to get the taste of the genre you're looking for are the works listed under anime. The rest are just further reccomendations of things I like. Sorry about my chronic long windedness.

Manga:

- Mazinger Z by Go Nagai

- Getter Robo by Ken Ishikawa and Go Nagai (didn't mention this one above but it's about as classic as Mazinger. I reccomend the manga because none of its adaptations really capture the energy of the manga)

Anime:

- Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) (there's a lot of gundam out there and a lot of debate about where to start. The original show is the best starting point in my opinion, especially in this context)

- Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)

- Gunbuster (1988)

- Legendary King of Braves GaoGaiGar (1997) (mind the epilepsy warning. If the strobes are a problem try Brave Express Might Gaine, Combattler V, or the Mazinger Z anime)

- Giant Robo: The Animation (1992) (also called Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still)

- Macross: Do You Remember Love? (1984) (film adaptation of the TV anime Super Dimension Fortress Macross, I think the movie is better than the show.)

- SSSS. Gridman and SSSS. Dynazenon (these two shows are just really good so I'm sneaking them in here)

Video Games:

- Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon (you can give any Armored Core a try this is just the most recent one)

- Heaven Will Be Mine (visual novel. It's a favorite of mine)

- Super Robot Wars 30 (a turn based strategy game, SRW is a massive crossover of tons of different mecha shows. 30 is the easiest of the series to get in the US. SRW is pretty beloved in the mecha fandom)

Tabletop Games:

- Lancer by Massif Press

- BattleTech by Catalyst Games (BattleTech is the one solidly American mecha franchise which makes it pretty unique. it has a complicated relationship with its Japanese influences)

Novels:

- Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (cool feminist mecha story that draws heavily upon, and reimagines, a lot of traditional Chinese culture, literature, and historical figures)

- Titanicus by Dan Abnett (this is a Warhammer 40k novel, but it's an old fav of mine. It's focused on the giant Titan mechs of that setting and it was my intro to 40k and sparked my interest in mecha)

Podcasts

- Friends At the Table: COUNTER/Weight (Friends at the Table is a great actual play podcast and COUNTER/Weight is a really fun mecha focused campaign of there's.)

- Mobile Suit Breakdown (great companion podcast for the Gundam franchise if you want more historical and cultural context and analysis for the various shows)

[artistmitchy]

I'm sorry I haven't drawn any Giant Robo OVA fan art in ages. It's still a series that I love dearly. (Get it?)

[characteroulette]

YO so @ageofzero and I went ham on making a Giant Robo introductory powerpoint because we love GR so much. (I came up with the base and she got all the screenshots and refined everything)

if you were ever confused about this Giant Robo thing she and I talk about, here you go!! hope this helps!! go watch it!!!!

[maurofonseca]

daisaku kusama 草間大作

ginrei 銀鈴

from giant robo the animation

[they-have-the-same-va]

Ginrei from Giant Robo: The Animation shares a voice actress with Mia from the .hack series.

Voiced by Debra Jean Rogers

[posthumanwanderings]

Giant Robo: Ginrei Special Ep.2 Pt.2

[doyouknowthisanime]

Do You Know This Anime?

[spacebattleshippotemkin]

Grandpas.

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 1: The Mighty Atomic Prelude (The 50's and 60's)

Welcome to An Abbreviated History of Mecha anime. Today, we're starting at, as Fraulein Maria would say, at the very beginning. We're taking a quick peak at the beginning of the canon, which means that we're starting back in 1950 (specifically 1952). I should also confess right now: there are two series on here that are demonstrably NOT mecha shows. However, due to their sheer influence on Japanese media as a whole, I feel it is important to bring them up as being honorary mecha shows due to their sheer influence pop culture.

Tetsuwan Atom/Mighty Atom/Astro Boy (1952)

Starting us off is Osamu Tezuka's seminal manga series, Mighty Atom. Known over here in the west as Astro Boy, this series would be what kickstarts a lot of the modern anime and manga industry due to its sheer popularity. Astro Boy would also be one of two series that would be emblematic of how Japanese pop culture would portray the recent use of atomic energy. It should also be worth noting that realizing that Astro technically is a mecha is what got me to start using a broader definition of mecha instead of the classic giant robot definition.

Due to its fame, Mighty Atom has receive multiple adaptations throughout the years. Of note are:

The original 1963 anime.

New Mighty Atom (1980) which updates the series to 1980's animation standards.

The 2003 anime, which does the same, but to the standards of early 2000's anime.

The 2009 CGI movie.

Gojira/Godzilla (1954, honorary mecha series 1)

1954 would also give us Ishiro Honda's Godzilla, the movie that would make tokusatsu-styled live action stories in Japan. Godzilla, alongside RKO's King Kong, would play a large part in popularizing the concept of kaiju. And boy will kaiju play a big part in the history of the mecha canon. As we'll see soon enough, the history of tokusatsu heroes, kaiju, and robots are all intertwined with one another.

Godzilla has starred in numerous movies since the original, but for stories based off of the original there are:

Godzilla Raids Again (1955), a direct sequel.

Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: All Out Monsters Attack (2001), a Heisei-era production that uses the original '54 Godzilla as a manifestation of the horrors of World War II.

Shin Godzilla (2016), a re-imagining of the original movie set in contemporary times directed by Hideakki Anno.

Godzilla Minus One (2023), the most recent outing inspired in part by GMK.

Tetsujin 28-go/Gigantor (1956)

(Oh hey, this gif again!)

Tetsujin 28-go is the creation of one Mitsuteru Yokoyama and is generally regarded as the grandfather of the giant robot style of mecha. Tetsujin is unique amongst mecha in that it is controlled not by a pilot riding inside of it, but by a little kid with a controller. Tetsujin 28, alongside Mazinger Z, would help to codify a lot of the tropes common to the classic superhero mecha anime that would be prevalent in the 70's. Like Mighty Atom, Tetsujin would receive multiple adaptations throughout the decades.

Shin Tetsujin 28-Go/The New Adventures of Gigantor (1980), which updates Tetsujin's design to look more in line with something like Mazniger Z.

Tetsujin 28-go FX (1992), sporting a radically different look that's more akin to something out of the Brave Franchise.

Tetsujin 28 (2004), a faithful adaptation of the original manga (at least I think it is) directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa.

Cyborg 009 (1964)

Created by Shotaro Ishinomori in 1964, Cyborg 009 is another classic human-sized mecha series. Cyborg 009 would be the first of many hits for Ishinomori, and he will be mentioned again later in this series.

Oh boy... I am not a Cyborg 009 nut, but in terms of adaptations, Cyborg 009 has:

The 1966 Film

The 1980 Film

009 Re:Cyborg (2012)

The Call For Justice Trilogy (2016)

The 1968 Anime

The 1979-1980 Anime

The 2001-2002 Anime (I actually remember when Toonami aired this series!)

Cyborg 009 vs Devilman (2015 OVA)

If you want to follow someone who follows a lot of Shotaro Ishinomori's works, I'd recommend checking out YouTuber Mercury Falcon for more info about Ishinomori.

Ultra Q and Ultraman (1966, honorary mecha series 2)

(The urge to use a gif of Ingraman is strong)

Ultra Q and Ultraman are the first two entries of Tsuburaya's legendary Ultra franchise, with the latter in particular being one of the most famous pop culture icons of all time. Ultraman's influence on Japanese media is so large, that I'll be mentioning it at least once in relation to other series later on.

Ultraman, like Godzilla before him, would get the Hideaki Anno treatment with Shin Ultraman in 2022.

Giant Robo/Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot (1967)

Another one of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's classic manga series, Giant Robo deserves a mention due to its influence on tokusatsu. Giant Robo would usher in an era of tokusatsu that would rely on using giant robots as the main protagonist.

In terms of adaptations, there are two animated adaptations, but only one will be listed here:

GR: Giant Robo (2007)

If you want to learn a little bit more about the history behind Giant Robo, I'd recommend checking out blunova's video on Giant Robo for more info on this important series.

Conclusion

As the 60's would lead way into the 70's, we would see a lot more live action tokusatsu series involving giant robots. Of course, this would be untenable due to how expensive it was to do tokusatsu effects for television. However, one robot would appear in animation that would change everything.

(Read in the voice of Tessho Genda) AND ITS NAME IS...!!!!

[keyblack]

Some illustrations from recent episodes of Off the Cuff!!

I've been forgetting to post these individually, so here's eight of 'em at once! I spend about 30 minutes on each drawing for this series, always talking about something I take inspiration from. Here's some stuff from Sonic, Snatcher, RoboCop, Mystery Skulls Animated, Trigun, Giant Robo, and Tetsujin 28!

You can check out all episodes of Off the Cuff so far over here!

[natsukashii-naa]

1992 anime

[grayrazor]

New Super Robot Wars!!

...I really need to getting around to finishing SRW 30...

Excited for Macross, Dunbine, G-Gundam, and Witch from Mercury. Guess there haven't been any big Mazinger Z projects for a while, they've got Gundam and Getter as the other two of SRW's big three but not that. I like how the OC mecha looks less Gundam-y than the Huckebein.

Is Majestic Prince really popular? They played a big role in 30 and now they're one of the first announced for the next one too...

The three genders.

[artistmitchy]

I was going to wait until New Year's day to upload this, but I'm so happy with how it turned out that you guys will get it a few days early. 🐍

[cypress-punk]

More photos.

Finished painting Giant Robo. He is, as the name implies, giant. Roughly the size of a Master Grade model kit but very oddly proportioned since he's mostly huge cylinders. Maybe the most empty air inside a kit I own cause those huge shoulders are hollow. Im very happy with the final look. Hes beaten up, grimy, and well worn. Giant Robo has an "old but loyal dog" energy in the OVA and I wanted this to sell the haggardness of the machine visually.

The one detail I wanted to do was some streaking under the eyes to imply the marks of the "tears" GR sheds at the end of the OVA but after messing around with it I couldn't produce an effect I was happy with so I left the face more plain. My hand still hurts from polishing all the bolts on his skirt with a graphite pencil.

Not an overly poseable model, the joints are awkward and there aren't many points of articulation to start with. Hes also just very unwieldy. This is not the best kit I've built from Moderoid but Giant Robo doesn't need to be particularly dynamic, much like the simple name he is defined in the OVA by his sheer scale and enormity. He looms, he crushes, stomps. Hes slow. And the kit does sell that impression.

[paxesoterica]

So, since getting into mecha more than I used to (thanks again Witch from Mercury), I've learned that the trio of anime dudes grinning like unhinged gargoyles are the OG Getter Robo team (Hayato, Musashi, and Ryoma, pictured below).

I can see why it's been popular for memes and fan art (there's even one featuring Miorine Rembran, Suletta Mercury, and Chuatury Panlunch in these poses), but having just watched Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo, I'd like to voice my appreciation of the Go Team's version in the first picture, being both a callback to their predecessors while also distinguished from them.

(I particularly like that, while I don't know yet know how well Getter Robo in general handles its female cast, at the very least Sho Tachibana's expression here is just as unhinged as her male peers' [Gai Daido and Go Ichimonji], and while I appreciate that's not a very high bar to clear, it's still better than too many media ever do).

[posthumanwanderings]

Giant Robo: Ginrei Special Ep.2 Pt.1