#source: atomic robo

[incorrectspquotes]

Dexter: Valkyrie is dead. Skulduggery: How? Dexter: Explosion. They couldn’t find the body. Skulduggery: No body? Oh, she’s alive

[weirdkev27]

Dr Dinosaur: Look, we’re both men of science. We Jabber Jaw. We go tit for tat. But at the end of the day, you win some, I win some, and there’s a mutual respect left over between us!

Atomic Robo: Any respect you’re feeling that’s coming from me is a mistake on your part.

Dr Dinosaur: Then I’ll just digress, cause I’ve made myself perfectly redundant.

Robo: Yes, you have.

[wanderersrest]

G Gundam Prelude: The Real Robot vs Super Robot Debate

So before I begin talking about Mobile Fighter G Gundam, I'd like to take a minute to preface that conversation with a companion piece of sorts. This involves the nature of how the mecha "genre" of anime is divided into two subgenres, and how this subdivision (*synth and bass solo play at the same time*) is often used as a sort of dick-measuring contest by fans to argue that their preferred genre is better than the other.

Tetsujin 28-go, Mazinger Z, and the "Super Robot"

To understand the two sub-genres, we first need to understand the general history of the mecha. Technically speaking, our story really starts with Osamu Tezuka's Mighty Atom (Astro Boy in the west), but the giant robot style of mecha would not appear in earnest until Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Tetsujin 28-go (Gigantor in the west) and Go Nagai's Mazinger Z. Tetsujin and Mazinger would go on to codify a lot of the tropes common to a lot of these early robot series alone. If it wasn't either of those two, chances are likely Ken Ishikawa's Getter Robo will have you covered.

These so-called "Super Robots" were known for their superhero-like power sets. They were usually powered by either nuclear power or a fictional power source such as Photon Energy or Getter Rays. Almost every single robot in these stories were made with some sort of Super Alloy (or Chogokin), and each super robot had a whole arsenal of weapons, including but not limited to swords, axes, drills, lasers, and, of course, the rocket punch. These super robot series would dominate a lot of Japanese television for most of the 70's. But behind the scenes, one man would be forging his own path. And at the end of the decade, he would release a show that would turn the canon of mecha stories on its head.

Gundam, VOTOMs, and the "Real Robot"

In 1979, the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam would air on Japanese television for the first time. This is one of the many mecha series directed by anime legend Yoshiyuki Tomino, and follows a direct lineage from his other works such as Brave Raideen, Zambot 3, and Daitarn 3. Gundam, however, would herald a new style of mecha stories thanks in part to it ditching a lot of the more fantastical elements of its "super robot" forebears in favor of a more grounded war story. These would be the so-called "real robot" style of mecha stories, and would further be codified by Ryousuke Takahashi's first two series, Fang of the Sun Dougram and Armored Trooper VOTOMs.

The "real robots" were a hard departure from their super robot brethren in that they were grounded in reality. Gone were the super alloys and the fantastical weapons, which were now replaced with weapons similar to that of a modern military. More importantly, the stories were now about wars, not with aliens as the antagonist, but other people. Humans. These stories would dominate a lot of the 80's, though the more traditional robots of the 70's would still be around as well.

There's just one problem with the term "Real Robot." The realism doesn't come from the machines themselves.

The Realism of Really Real Robots (It's Not What You Think It Is)

(Wanderer Not Mention Patlabor Speed Run [IMPOSSIBLE])

One of the issues with the term "real robots" is the fact that the realism in most "real robot" shows does not necessarily come from the robots themselves. Take blog favorite Patlabor, for example. Part of what makes the Labors as realistic as they are is not necessarily due to the imagined mechanics behind these machines. It's how the existence of these giant machines changes the lives of the characters. It's little things like how having a special police division that's devoted to Labor crimes is a bit of a money pit, or how SV2 has constant insurance problems due to the fact that Division 2, even in their best moments, are just as destructive as the people they're supposed to stop.

Or take the original "real robot" series, Mobile Suit Gundam. The realism does not lie in the design of the RX-78-2 Gundam. The realism comes from the One Year War and how it affects all of the characters. We can see this in how badly it affects the Gundam's pilot, Amuro Ray, as the poor sod of a teenager basically develops PTSD throughout the original show's run. And it's not just Amuro that's under a lot of stress. The infamous Bright Slap happens not only because Amuro refuses to get back into the Gundam, but because White Base captain Bright Noa (who's 19, by the way) is also at his wit's end. Never mind the fact that the slap makes everything worse.

So What Does This Have To Do With G Gundam?

Everything. There's this idea that being a "real robot" series is what gives Gundam its bite and that G Gundam spits in the face of Gundam's original vision by being a hot-blooded "super robot" anime. There's just a couple of problems with that line of thinking. First, it's insulting to the series to say that it has nothing worthwhile to say. Y'know, G Gundam. The series that opens with the Gundam Fight (the Future Century replacement for traditional war) making its way to a ruined Rome, where the poor people who could not afford to leave for the space colonies are panicking as the Gundams literally crash onto their homes. The series where some of the last dialogue of the series is how, even after defeating the imminent threat that was the Devil Gundam, there is still work to be done when it comes to fixing the world, namely by finding a more sustainable replacement to the Gundam Fight. This doesn't even touch on the fact that all of the nations of the world join forces to face an threat that could wipe out all of mankind.

Second, and the part that I think is more insidious, is the idea that G Gundam is a lesser series because it went for more of a classic robot anime vibe as opposed to the serious war story that Gundam is known for. I say this is insidious because it not only ignores the fact that Gundam had just come off of the heels of the extremely depressing Victory Gundam and needed a bit of a palette cleanser, but it also implies that only so-called real robot stories can have serious storylines. God forbid something like Space Runaway Ideon exist, which is probably one of the most serious classic, pre-Dougram robot series out there, or Combat Mecha Xabungle, which is a really goofy but technically a "real robot" series.

This is also related to the idea that G Gundam is just "dumb fun." This line of thinking I can understand, because let's not kid ourselves here. While I wouldn't call this series dumb, G Gundam is kind of known for being insane (but in a good way). What makes this take just as grating is when a similar series can get away with a similar style of story just because it's not related to an existing franchise like Gundam. A series like, oh I don't know, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. And that's a series that's often treated as somehow being different from most other mecha shows because "it's about the characters." Gurren Lagann is one of those shows, and people often treat it like it's a literary masterpiece while G Gundam, which I'd argue is one of the former's progenitor series alongside Getter Robo and GaoGaiGar, is treated as B-movie schlock. It's not, and I hope you'll join me when I dive into the insane masterpiece that is Mobile Fighter G Gundam.

[bluef00t]

Atomic Robo, which is the source of my icon, is posted by the creators online free in its entirety, by the way. for any fans of robots + punching + dinosaurs + pulp scifi adventure

[iamthekaijuking]

Gigabash character overview: Thundatross

A genre often in close association with the kaiju genre is the mech genre, and indeed it’s common for a kaiju setting to have at least one titan hunting mech. Passion Republic Games felt the same when making Gigabash, and so they made Thundatross!

Thundatross is the tank of the roster, being super slow but hitting hard and most of his attacks have superarmor. He also has one move to close distance and a long range move. Skilled Thundatross players are the bane of my existence.

Design

Thundatross takes pretty heavy inspiration from mecha anime, so things like Getter Robo, Megazord, Big O and whatnot.

The primary reference is apparently Mazinger Z.

Unfortunately I can’t really find any concept art of Thundatross, just these snippets from their “behind the scenes” video.

As a personal aside, the only thing I really dislike about the design is the simple ball joints. Over six months of playing nothing but Armored Core 6 has spoiled me. But aside from that I’m a huge fan of Thundatross’s design.

Lore

Thundatross is the long term project of OtamaTEC, a megacorperation that began as a start up in 1991 by scientific genius and entrepreneur Dr. Otama Kazuo and later aided by Dr. Reiner (mentioned in Pipijuras’s overview) who eventually became second in command. The company was founded on the idea of the Gigatron Reactor I mentioned in Woolley’s overview, and their main goal is Giga Energy research and anti-kaiju defense, which resulted in many deals with the Global Titan Defense Initiative, primarily in Titan Containment Energy Barriers. The same barriers in the first level of Gorogong’s story! Despite this, a big source of the company’s income actually comes from the numerous high quality household electronics and computer parts they manufacture.

Their various findings on Giga Energy are covered in Thundatross’s profile documents, which also show that the project that created Thundatross is called the Tactical Reactor-Operated Security System.

Giga Energy can be free flowing; just hanging around in the air. But it can also come in a solid form, or at least be contained in a solid object: Giga Crystals. Giga Crystals are so densely packed with mass and energy that one that can fit in the palm of your hand can weigh up to 30 pounds and provide more energy than a full sized nuclear reactor. Giga Energy can also alter the atomic bonds and chemical structures of objects, and has very noticeable effects on organic life. A half eaten pear regrew some of its eaten parts and grew in size after a few hours of exposure to a Giga Crystal, but this seems to not be consistent as this doesn’t happen to any humans. It’s almost like Giga Energy is selective. It’s also hypothesized that the kaiju in Gigabash’s world use this process to transform into an S-class.

At some point during this time Dr. Otama Kazuo would get married to a woman named Megumi, and almost 2 decades after would have a kid: a boy named Yuuki. But by 2013 it seems like Megumi died somehow.

As Dr. Reiner helped with project T.R.O.S.S. things went along exceptionally well, and the mech outperformed initial expectations. Its system power output alone outperformed initial estimates by 543.85%, which just goes to show how powerful Giga Energy can be. However, as this project neared fruition, Kazuo began to grow worried. He was essentially creating a superweapon, and if someone were to use it for evil then the results could be disastrous. Another concern was Dr. Reiner, who was hellbent on destroying all kaiju and wanted to sell the blueprints to the GTDI even though they were too corrupt to use them responsibly.

Ultimately Kazuo installed an AI and security and identification system to the mech, and after troubling himself for years on how to find a pilot who could use Thundatross responsibly, he ultimately decided that he and any descendants should be the ones to pilot the machine, and so the mech will not start unless he or a descent is in the cockpit. He also had Yuuki name the mech Thundatross as a bit of family bonding. He really does try to be a good dad.

Dr. Otama Kazuo would never get to pilot Thundatross however. In the beginning of Thundatross’s story mode, which begins in the hell year of 2020, right after the completion of Thundatross, Rohanna would attack the Kimura district. The place of OtamaTEC HQ. Falling debris would fall onto Kazuo and paralyze him from the waist down, so Yuuki ended up taking the mantle. And for an entire year afterward this would actually go quite well! Yuuki is a good kid, if a bit impatient at times, so he was perfectly happy to lend a helping hand.

Without Kazuo to run the company, Dr. Reiner took charge, and he took advantage of this. He secretly constructed a second Thundatross and kept the second half of Pipijuras’s teleporter. When Yuuki retrieves Gorogong’s giant Giga Crystal that OtamaTEC commissioned the GTDI to retrieve with the help of Gigaman (who I’ll eventually cover), he hooks it up to the teleporter and opens up a portal to the hollow earth. He then gets into his “Unit 02” and goes through. However, Dr. Reiner wasn’t able to build his mech without Kazuo’s security system, so to get around this he basically kidnaps Yuuki’s dad and straps him into the cockpit.

The rest of the story mode is Yuuki and Gigaman finding a way into the hollow earth to find Reiner, stop him, and rescue Kazuo. They confront him at the Giga Core where he tells him that he plans to use both mechs to drain the Giga Core of its Giga Energy and starve all kaiju on the planet, which Gigaman points out would destabilize it and potentially blow up the planet. Dr. Reiner however, is so hellbent on kaiju elimination that he doesn’t care if he’d destroy the world, and to stop him Yuuki and Thundatross have to fight him in an epic climactic battle, with Gigaman giving Yuuki one last extra push to succeed and save his dad. The whole thing is very anime, it’s great.

Afterwards they kinda just leave Dr. Reiner in the wreck of his mech to starve to death in the hollow earth, which is kinda fucked up??

Also the devs confirmed that this story mode is the closest to a “canon” one.

In summary, Thundatross is an excellently executed anime mech with a cool story mode, and it’s a great addition to Gigabash. It also reveals many interesting things about Giga Energy.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"I PROTECT THIS LAND. I AM THE MOST DANGEROUS THING IN THIS JUNGLE."

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on textless & published Dynamic Forces Variant cover art to "Sheena Queen of the Jungle" Vol. 1 #1. February, 2018. Dynamite Entertainment. Artwork by J. Scott Campbell.

"Our story is glorious golden age pulp -- high adventure, quick wit, ancient mysteries, and daring dames -- clashing with the perils of two worlds: one, the modern world come to conquer, and one, a world of dark supernatural mystery long forgotten, awoken to anger once more. This is a fast paced, action packed kick off to more exciting adventures for Sheena!"

-- ATOMIC ROBOT NEWS (Robo Japan blogspot)

Sources: https://robojapan.blogspot.com/2017/06/sheena-queen-of-jungle-is-smash-comic.html & Previews World.

[didacticchartographer]

Source - Atomic Robo and the Shadow From Beyond Time: Chapter 5 by writer Brian Clevinger and artist Scott Wegener

why did no one tell me quantum computers looked like that

[incorrect-sherapg]

Ilana: You're exhausted. I can read your brainwaves with my cybernetic eye.

Volt: Really?

Ilana: Of course not. The mere fact that you'd believe that tells me you're in no shape for field work.

[incorrectnoevil]

Xipetotec: I don't have to explain every little impossible thing to you.

[incorrectlumberjanesquotes]

The Bear Woman: Abigail is dead.

Rosie: How?

The Bear Woman: Explosion. They couldn’t find the body.

Rosie: No body? Oh, she’s alive

[incorrect-kotor-quotes]

Carth: Darth Revan? You didn’t get her, did you?

Bastila: Dead. An explosion. There was nothing left.

Carth: No body? Oh, she’s alive.

[incorrectokagequotes]

We can get back to hating each other after we save the world from Beiloune.

Rosalyn to everyone else, maybe

[actionfigureinsider]

🤔🤔🤔• @toysnacelle 📸 @brianvolkweiss We’ve been getting a lot of concerned emails from people who have already purchased our Robo Force line asking questions like “what if the suction cups don’t work?” Well, every problem has a solution! So we’re launch a new line of Suction Cup Fluid bottles that only cost $89.89 per unit! It’s made of entirely 100 percent hydrogen and oxygen atoms with absolutely nothing artificial included. We get these atoms from a very very special source that is really hard to access! So please go to our web site and order as many water, I mean hydrogen and oxygen atoms, bottles as you want! This stuff works!! #roboforce #maxxsteele #nacellecompany #nacelletoys #deathbytoys #toysthatmadeus #atoystorenearyou #water #thisisajoke https://www.instagram.com/p/CfhwO9sO6VR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[crossoverworldtree]

TITANS/Jeager Program

Something from the near future as the battle against the Biomega.

Name: TITAN (18/17 Point Quality)

Life Points: 466

Attributes

Strength 25 (5), Dexterity 3 (15/2), Constitution 4 (3), Perception 6 (8) (46/33)

Size: 1 (25)

Armor Value: 100

Range: Ship to Ship (-2)

Speed: 24

Acceleration: 5

Special Abilities:

- Increased Armor Value 16/10 (28/10)

- Increased Speed +10 (1)

- Increased Damage Capacity 2 (+60 per)

- Radar (10)

Weapons:

- Punch (27 x 2) 54 Bash

- Kick (28 x 2) 56 Bash

- Shoulder-Mounted Missiles: 100/30/10 (9) over a 1/3/5 yard radius (0), Low Shots (0), Medium Range (2), Cannot Operate at Short Range (-1), Explosive (0), Guided +2 (2), Armor Piercing 2 (3) (15)

- Gause-Rifle (Rapid Fire Kinetic-Kill): 250 (23 Points), Medium Shots (1), Equipped (-1), Rapid Fire (3), Armor Piercing 5 (12), Long Range (3) (41)

Build Points: 126/120 Points

The Biomega conflict exploded greatly in the 2010s. To combat this threat, the TITANS were created to supplement the Mechs already in production. This proved to be a stopgap measure at best, and mishandling by the group known as ULTRA let the Biomega "War" drag on for 11 years before the work of ranger Stacker Pentecost and Atomic Robo found and destroyed the source of the Biomega -- a returned Centre.

Titans were the first slapdash response to the Biomega. Equipped with simple but powerful weapons. It wasn't until the spirit of the original Super Robots entered into the designers' minds that something more potent and protective came from it.

Name: JAEGER (17 Point Quality)

Life Points: 1030

Attributes

Strength 30 (5), Dexterity 6 (5), Constitution 5 (4), Perception 6 (8) (37)

Size: 2 (50)

Armor Value: 120

Range: Ship to Ship (-2)

Speed: 32

Acceleration: 5

Special Abilities:

- Increased Armor Value 10/7 (10/7) (+10 per)

- Increased Speed +10 (1)

- Increased Damage Capacity 2 (+80 per)

- Radar (10)

- Submersable 5 (15)

- Mobile Trace System (3)

- Data Jack (Helmet*) (As Data Jack, but without implants needed) (6)

- Multiple Pilots (-1)

Weapons:

- Punch (50 x 2) 100 Bash

- Kick (52 x 2) 102 Bash

Build Points: 133/130

Created as a better way to hunt down Biomega, JAEGERS were designed to work with two people in tandem via mental control. This had the odd benefit of merging two minds to perform one overall task.

As such, only some people could pair with others. And that pairing formed extremely strong emotional bonds. At first, twins were used, but soon brothers, sisters, and (many eventual) lovers became pilots. This oddball assortment didn't fit into normal military rankings and thus escaped ULTRA's control, allowing at-the-time outlaws like Atomic Robo finally put an end to the Biomega threat.

For now. The threat remains well into the future...

They were highly customizable, so this represents a Jaeger before weapons and special features were added.

[bluef00t]

Any thoughts on that one Atomic Robo animation Last Stop?

I haven't actually watched it. I have an... adversarial relationship with audiovisual adaptations that gets exponentially stronger the more I like the source material. What if the voices feel wrong or the pacing is off. I'd turn into a pillar of salt.

[krinsbez]

Pulptober 2021, Themes Elaborated, Part Three

For some bizarre reason, while Part One is currently my Top Post of the last three days, Part Two has no Likes and only two RBs, and both of them are me.

11-Hellboy/Weird Pulp Hero

This is a bit of a tricky one. I’m defining it as when Weird Fiction Pulp and Hero Pulp combine, but since there’s a lot of Weird Fiction that isn’t Pulp, it can get tricky. There’s also the added complication of the Occult Detective genre, of which there is considerable overlap (notably, as @maxwell-grant has pointed out Hellboy fits both). Still, I will take up the gauntlet and present some alternate examples, namely Atomic Robo, Tom Strong, and Solomon Kane

12-The Whisperer/Lesser Lights

Another tricky one, albeit for a different reason; this is a very loose category, basically referring to Pulp Heroes who are relatively obscure. Of course, everyone’s idea of what constitutes “obscure“ is gonna be different, which, since everyone’s idea of what constitutes a Pulp Hero is different, means it’s tricky deciding what does and does not count. My attempt at some examples: Imaro*, The Gadget Man (who’s real name is Click Rush, which is so much fun to say I have to mention it), and The Phantom Reporter

13-Domino Lady/Spicy Pulp

So, yeah, Pulp Heroes where Fanservice is part of the point. Alternate examples: Vampirella, Barbarella, and Jungle Girl. If someone could please suggest some male examples, which I know have to exist because bodice-rippers exist, that’d be helpful.

14-Zorro/Swashbuckling

Yeah, this one is relatively obvious. Granted, what exactly counts as a swashbuckler is not something I can clearly define, but we all know it when we see it. As with Weird Pulp, figuring out which Swashbucklers count as Pulp Heroes is a bit tricky, especially since several of the ones I can think of I’ve, uh, already used for other themes. But, not all, such as John Carter, Red Sonja, and her inspiration Red Sonya of Rogatino

15-Sherlock Holmes/Great Detective

Again, an obvious one, the detective who solves crimes because he’s a genius who is able to reason his way to the solution. This is another one where there are LOADS of examples, but also many that don’t count as Pulp Heroes (notably, @maxwell-grant doesn’t think the primary for this day counts!). Still, there are enough I’m comfortable with calling Pulp Heroes to list; Nick Carter (duh), Charlie Chan, and the OG example of not only this category, but detective fiction in general, C. Auguste Dupin.

*I have not consumed any source material. Note that I’m counting modern stuff as source material, as long as they’re a major character, so f’r example, The Phantom Reporter’s role as narrator of The Twelve counts.