Giant Robo is a microcosm of what makes anime great. It manages to be both a fun ride and an intelligent layered work without sacrificing one or the other. And the fact that its a tribute to an entire body of work like.... This is what I want to make. Giant Robo is what I aspire to make like as an artist. And thanks so much for reminding me of that.
To this day this is still my favorite representation of anime. Giant Robo in all of its drama, philosophy, social commentary, action, adventure, superhero and supernatural aspects, sorrow, humor, cheesiness and sound is not only one of the greatest anime’s ever, but is better than most live action stories to this day! Thank you recognizing the brilliance of Giant Robo!
That's an illusion. Giant Robo was delayed so many years the voice actors forgot what their characters were supposed to sound like. This was more a case of scrounging together money to complete a passion project, like Big O.
@@darinherrick9224 Kazuyoshi Katayama and other animators who worked on Big O worked on Giant Robo beforehand (as well as Batman the Animated Series). Imagawa had nothing to do with Big O to my knowledge though.
Have you seen Shin Mazinger? Imagawa basically does the same thing with Go Nagai's career, using Mazinger as the setting to reference all of his past work.
Giant Robo is Out now on remastered Bluray thanks to Discotek Media. They did an incredible job, its never looked better. The spin off has also been remastered as well. Be sure to pick up both releases on Bluray
stumbled on this video while going through a nostalgia phase. i saw this anime back in the early 2000s and it has been one of the best ive seen. the music score alone is worth it.
One of the first few anime I remember watching as a kid that got me into the medium and down the rabbit hole of anime. Never realised till much later that this one was considered such a high bar for many reasons. The fact its a tribute to an entire creators work makes it all the more sweet.
Such a fantastic video! I love Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still and it made an excellent video topic for your anniversary. Your channel is a consistent source for some of the best anime reviews on this site. I hope 2020 continues Kyoto Video's success.
According to what I have read the series would actually have had a follow up and prequel episodes, some of the titles include "The birth of Zangetsu the midday", "The Domino Operation", and the grand finale of the whole show: "The siege of Babel." Another piece of trivia is that all the robots shown in various intros (yes the robots change from episode to episode) are too references to Yokohama's work, for example The Golden Robot shown in the end of the Big fire sequence is "Gaia" from "Mars". Excellent video really enjoyed it.
Yeah I want the birth of zangetsu the plan to assassinate daisaku the Canary penitentiary the boy of three days the greatest battle in history general kanshin vs shokatsu koumei the boy detective and the siege of babel like that would have been amazing
while cleaning out some storage i found 4 of my VHS tapes of this that i forgot i had: Volume 2-5 (episodes 3-6) English dubbed...ahhh...90s awesomeness.
I need to track this one down. It's been in the periphery of my "to watch" list forever. It looks like everything I love about anime. As you said, it's just so hard to track down when I was in my prime of watching anime.
There actualy is a manga, The Day the Earth Burned, that serves as a conclusion to the story. At least that is what I've been lead to believe its not been translated in full.
Congrats on your second anniversary! I've seen Giant Robo advertised several times on various anime VHS I've collected over the years, but I hadn't had too much interest in finding it... Until now. Keep up the great work, and I hope algorithm senpai finally notices you!
Also wanted to comment to how this OVA series, from this review and your description of it at the end, feels like it's the perfect antithesis to Evangelion, a series that, if i'm remembering right, had themes that were cynical and almost borderline nihilistic, where Eva ended in tragedy and despair, Giant Robo ends with hope and optimism.
Many thanks to KB for introducing me to this awesome series. Why this is rarely even mentioned today when talking about the best of 90's anime series is bizarre and, frankly, a bit depressing. I guess the retro 1960's-esque designs just aren't "Anime"-looking enough for most audiences today(a historically ironic notion if there ever was one)..............*sigh* 'Tis a damn shame.
Also a side note that’s hard to figure out if you didn’t watch the series in real time is that the last episode took FOREVER to come out, but there’s a part in that episode where Imagawa acknowledges the pain and anticipation of the audience and has one of the character say to the audience: you have waited long enough, I sure hope the VFX are up to snuff. Or something like that. That comment was directed TO THE AUDIENCE. It gave me chills!!!
Can I just point out how most people these days love to bash the VAs who worked in 4kids dubs saying how they aren't good, when stuff like THIS shows just how great their talents truly are and how wasted they were when given the kind of directing and dialogue that came with 4Kids scripts?
The dub you feature is the second go, which is good but the first go was the one that put it on the map here in the states. And it’s amazingly over the top tho I guess not as accurate but I’d argue emotionally more accurate than the second dub.
I’m curious, did you ever watch the original English dub of this OVA series? It’s so much better and has so much more heart than the second one added to the re-release.
The re-release dub was how I was introduced to it and I ended up watching the original dub a few moths after I posted this video. Honestly, I kinda prefer the re-release dub. While both have their flaws and strengths, I find that the original is undercut by some direction decisions. Something about von Vogler having an exaggerated German accent bugged me in a way that Inspector Murasame's French accent in th re-release did not. But then again, this is just my opinion.
I like the acting in the first dub better, but the translation is ass...the story is just so much better told, and the plot details are more clear in the MEDIA BLASTERS dub; it makes the whole thing way more understandable...the 1st dub does translate the final exchange between DAISAKU, and GENYA, SO MUCH better, tho, with a fine performance to go with it; G: Are you threatening me, boy...???; D: We’re WAY beyond threats, GENYA...!-GIANT ROBO, destroy THAT THING, once AND FOR ALL...!!!
Is it okay if I make a request for a anime to cover? If so I have one: Future GPX Cyber Formula. It’s a Science-Fiction sports anime from 1991 that’s about race cars in the future with computer Navigation systems called “Cyber Systems”.
im at a point now where im tempted to get a region free blue ray player. cause here in the uk we really do get shafted in what gets released on our region. this aint available and niether is venus wars new blue ray. not to mention how little love we get regaurding the godzilla franchise makes me so annoyed
Also: If you gonna watch this show, you MUST watch the original dub full of ridiculous over-the-top super-cheesy voice acting with impossibly cheesy fake accents. Awesome. The translation is also much better. Original English Dub: "Crush them now Robo!!!!" "Allegiance or Death!!! Big Fire!!!!"
I remember seeing this in the 90's at the Animania club, University of Michigan. They would hold monthly showings and I have fond memories of going with the gang. However, I'm going to endure some slings and arrows here. Giant Robo The Day the Earth Stood Still sucked as an anime. The story was nonsensical, plot points seemed to rely on missing information (and the whole 'this was like being dropped into an already running series, like Buckaroo Banzai' was clear, but it wasn't well executed). The entire audience revolted when they tried to start episode 3 or 4, because we couldn't follow the plot and we were tired of going 'Huh? Why are they fighting? Who's that guy?'. Good times.
It couldn’t have helped that the 90s dub was poorly translated and a lot of lines were improvised. Improvised with gusto, truly, but rarely insightful.
@@Zapdos7471 What we watched was a fan-sub, which as far as we could tell had good grammar and a faithful translation. (the group that did it was associated with the anime club, and had already done work on several other shows and movies.) It just, and I cannot stress this enough, is not a good idea to show this anime to people who are not already familiar with the source material that it is referencing. It was just not a fun watch for those of us not in the know, and as this was when I was just learning about anime, and hadn't reached this part of the history and tradition, this show was frustrating and unenjoyable. The animation was stellar. The mecha and world designs were so good. But the writing, the story, the plot. It's an in media res opening and it never goes back to fill in crucial details, or it reveals them in an eyeblink conversation.
In Mazinger it represents the fact that weapons/tools aren’t inherently evil, but it is the person who uses them who make the thing good or evil. And the Gundams represent the evolving technology of war and the negatives of scientific progress.
Giant Robo is a microcosm of what makes anime great. It manages to be both a fun ride and an intelligent layered work without sacrificing one or the other. And the fact that its a tribute to an entire body of work like.... This is what I want to make. Giant Robo is what I aspire to make like as an artist. And thanks so much for reminding me of that.
To this day this is still my favorite representation of anime. Giant Robo in all of its drama, philosophy, social commentary, action, adventure, superhero and supernatural aspects, sorrow, humor, cheesiness and sound is not only one of the greatest anime’s ever, but is better than most live action stories to this day! Thank you recognizing the brilliance of Giant Robo!
I miss this era of anime when the industry had endless amounts of money to dump into projects 😂
That's an illusion. Giant Robo was delayed so many years the voice actors forgot what their characters were supposed to sound like. This was more a case of scrounging together money to complete a passion project, like Big O.
If this was true, we would have had seven story arc of Giant Robo, not one.
Katsuhiro Otomo is on record saying that Akira is his own take on Tetsujin 28. Shotaro Kaneda is the hero, Akira is number 28, etc.
Giant Robo and The Big O give me similar vibes, visually speaking. So glad I found this.
Both are badass
That's because they were created by the same guy. I believe he used a pseudonym on Big O.
@@darinherrick9224 Kazuyoshi Katayama and other animators who worked on Big O worked on Giant Robo beforehand (as well as Batman the Animated Series). Imagawa had nothing to do with Big O to my knowledge though.
> This should be definitive 90s mecha classic and not Evangelion
Whoever said that deserves a monument or two.
Dude. After Macross Plus, this was THE anime I waited forever to see the end of.
Have you seen Shin Mazinger? Imagawa basically does the same thing with Go Nagai's career, using Mazinger as the setting to reference all of his past work.
Giant Robo is Out now on remastered Bluray thanks to Discotek Media. They did an incredible job, its never looked better. The spin off has also been remastered as well. Be sure to pick up both releases on Bluray
Congratulations on two years! Also I saw Buckaroo Banzai multiple times. Remember, wherever you go, there you are.
stumbled on this video while going through a nostalgia phase. i saw this anime back in the early 2000s and it has been one of the best ive seen. the music score alone is worth it.
One of the first few anime I remember watching as a kid that got me into the medium and down the rabbit hole of anime. Never realised till much later that this one was considered such a high bar for many reasons. The fact its a tribute to an entire creators work makes it all the more sweet.
Can happiness be achieved without sacrifice?
Such a fantastic video! I love Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still and it made an excellent video topic for your anniversary. Your channel is a consistent source for some of the best anime reviews on this site. I hope 2020 continues Kyoto Video's success.
Interpol with a giant robot vs. Cobra
Giant Robo OAV sound effects and characters were used in later Tetsujin 28 episodes in early 2000s
According to what I have read the series would actually have had a follow up and prequel episodes, some of the titles include "The birth of Zangetsu the midday", "The Domino Operation", and the grand finale of the whole show: "The siege of Babel." Another piece of trivia is that all the robots shown in various intros (yes the robots change from episode to episode) are too references to Yokohama's work, for example The Golden Robot shown in the end of the Big fire sequence is "Gaia" from "Mars". Excellent video really enjoyed it.
Good
Best OVA series! Great historic Review!
it's the perfect sci-fi fantasy. the world of giant robo is the future of a sword & sorcery fantasy where technology develops alongside high magic.
Great channel
I dont think its forgotten mate, i hear about this anime all the time
It's a damn shame there will never be a sequel to this, Giant Robo The Animation is imho the definitive 90's mecha anime.
Yeah I want the birth of zangetsu the plan to assassinate daisaku the Canary penitentiary the boy of three days the greatest battle in history general kanshin vs shokatsu koumei the boy detective and the siege of babel like that would have been amazing
@@theultimategenojoe4734 true. At least we know about what the plots would have entailed from Imagawa's own words
I had seen bits of the live action series but didn’t know about this. May have to look this one up
while cleaning out some storage i found 4 of my VHS tapes of this that i forgot i had: Volume 2-5 (episodes 3-6) English dubbed...ahhh...90s awesomeness.
I need to track this one down. It's been in the periphery of my "to watch" list forever. It looks like everything I love about anime. As you said, it's just so hard to track down when I was in my prime of watching anime.
Today is now the 30th anniversary of this classic!
Thank you!!! you explain a masterpiece that I grew up with and you explained it perfectly 🙏🙏🙏
One of the best anime. Great great video my friend.
There actualy is a manga, The Day the Earth Burned, that serves as a conclusion to the story. At least that is what I've been lead to believe its not been translated in full.
It's an alternate continuity, and... it's not like Giant Robo we know and love.
Congrats on your second anniversary!
I've seen Giant Robo advertised several times on various anime VHS I've collected over the years, but I hadn't had too much interest in finding it... Until now.
Keep up the great work, and I hope algorithm senpai finally notices you!
One of my all time favorites. I love the character design!
its like Big O combined with Akira combined with Cyborg 009
Also wanted to comment to how this OVA series, from this review and your description of it at the end, feels like it's the perfect antithesis to Evangelion, a series that, if i'm remembering right, had themes that were cynical and almost borderline nihilistic, where Eva ended in tragedy and despair, Giant Robo ends with hope and optimism.
Thanks for sharing!
I saw this OVA when it first came out in the 90s. It seems like they got new voice actors when it was released a second time.
Actually gonna stop to watch the spoiler part after watching, you sold me on the show!
Awesome review!!!
I always wondered if the animated Johnny Sokko was any good, thanks for the review.
What about the forgotten Giant Robo pilot anime adaptation and later GR: Giant Robo from 2006?
I'll cover that in a few years.
@@KaiserBeamz Also there is a manga to the giant robo ova called giant robo the day the Earth burned
Many thanks to KB for introducing me to this awesome series. Why this is rarely even mentioned today when talking about the best of 90's anime series is bizarre and, frankly, a bit depressing. I guess the retro 1960's-esque designs just aren't "Anime"-looking enough for most audiences today(a historically ironic notion if there ever was one)..............*sigh* 'Tis a damn shame.
I love your channel. So many memories ...
Also a side note that’s hard to figure out if you didn’t watch the series in real time is that the last episode took FOREVER to come out, but there’s a part in that episode where Imagawa acknowledges the pain and anticipation of the audience and has one of the character say to the audience: you have waited long enough, I sure hope the VFX are up to snuff. Or something like that. That comment was directed TO THE AUDIENCE. It gave me chills!!!
Can I just point out how most people these days love to bash the VAs who worked in 4kids dubs saying how they aren't good, when stuff like THIS shows just how great their talents truly are and how wasted they were when given the kind of directing and dialogue that came with 4Kids scripts?
The only dubs from 4kids that are awesome are Pokémon and Yugioh, the rest are horrible.
Eiichiro Oda was inspired to build Cyborg Franky's FRANKY SHOGUN from this sphinx super robot!
The dub you feature is the second go, which is good but the first go was the one that put it on the map here in the states. And it’s amazingly over the top tho I guess not as accurate but I’d argue emotionally more accurate than the second dub.
The second dub is more emotional than the first dub
The New York dub is amazing
A lot of the design here reminds me of Nadia: Secret of Blue Water
"Here's to 2020."
Avengers with robots
Sorry but MANGA Entertainment had the better English audio dub. SO absurdly over the top, it perfectly matched the epic scale of the anime...
Ancient emperors like Alexander the great...
What does it even mean...
Central Highway as a background music?
Interesting choice
I’m curious, did you ever watch the original English dub of this OVA series? It’s so much better and has so much more heart than the second one added to the re-release.
The re-release dub was how I was introduced to it and I ended up watching the original dub a few moths after I posted this video. Honestly, I kinda prefer the re-release dub. While both have their flaws and strengths, I find that the original is undercut by some direction decisions. Something about von Vogler having an exaggerated German accent bugged me in a way that Inspector Murasame's French accent in th re-release did not.
But then again, this is just my opinion.
I like the acting in the first dub better, but the translation is ass...the story is just so much better told, and the plot details are more clear in the MEDIA BLASTERS dub; it makes the whole thing way more understandable...the 1st dub does translate the final exchange between DAISAKU, and GENYA, SO MUCH better, tho, with a fine performance to go with it; G: Are you threatening me, boy...???; D: We’re WAY beyond threats, GENYA...!-GIANT ROBO, destroy THAT THING, once AND FOR ALL...!!!
major Big O vibes
Because it was created by the creator of Big O.
Is it okay if I make a request for a anime to cover? If so I have one: Future GPX Cyber Formula. It’s a Science-Fiction sports anime from 1991 that’s about race cars in the future with computer Navigation systems called “Cyber Systems”.
Any chance of you reviewing the Toei Japan Transformers series Headmasters, Masterforce or Victory?
6:20KKK?!
One if the best ever. I prefer the original dub though. It added to the retro epic feel of the series.
The New York dub is the best.
im at a point now where im tempted to get a region free blue ray player. cause here in the uk we really do get shafted in what gets released on our region. this aint available and niether is venus wars new blue ray. not to mention how little love we get regaurding the godzilla franchise makes me so annoyed
I like the original manga English dub...somebody redid it in the early 2000s
NYAV post dub is better
Also: If you gonna watch this show, you MUST watch the original dub full of ridiculous over-the-top super-cheesy voice acting with impossibly cheesy fake accents. Awesome.
The translation is also much better.
Original English Dub:
"Crush them now Robo!!!!"
"Allegiance or Death!!! Big Fire!!!!"
Such a great Anime, but this Dub takes out so much of the characters..
The New York dub was better
@@dwainsimmons3447 Cool, still I would stick with the original , I prefer the original work as intended , be it Chinese, Japanese, US , Spanish, etc.
You should check out matzinger z infinity.
Giant Robo: the Day the Earth Stood Still is based on a Rather Terrible Mitsuteru Yokoyama manga
I actually enjoy
Giant Robo-- repeat viewing.
Neon Genesis Evangelion-- not so much.
Not really a show with no Jerry.
Used the wrong English dub... There are two, and one is clearly superior...
The NYAV dub
I remember seeing this in the 90's at the Animania club, University of Michigan. They would hold monthly showings and I have fond memories of going with the gang.
However, I'm going to endure some slings and arrows here. Giant Robo The Day the Earth Stood Still sucked as an anime. The story was nonsensical, plot points seemed to rely on missing information (and the whole 'this was like being dropped into an already running series, like Buckaroo Banzai' was clear, but it wasn't well executed). The entire audience revolted when they tried to start episode 3 or 4, because we couldn't follow the plot and we were tired of going 'Huh? Why are they fighting? Who's that guy?'.
Good times.
It couldn’t have helped that the 90s dub was poorly translated and a lot of lines were improvised. Improvised with gusto, truly, but rarely insightful.
@@Zapdos7471 What we watched was a fan-sub, which as far as we could tell had good grammar and a faithful translation. (the group that did it was associated with the anime club, and had already done work on several other shows and movies.) It just, and I cannot stress this enough, is not a good idea to show this anime to people who are not already familiar with the source material that it is referencing. It was just not a fun watch for those of us not in the know, and as this was when I was just learning about anime, and hadn't reached this part of the history and tradition, this show was frustrating and unenjoyable. The animation was stellar. The mecha and world designs were so good. But the writing, the story, the plot. It's an in media res opening and it never goes back to fill in crucial details, or it reveals them in an eyeblink conversation.
First 500th comment!!!
Reminds me of “The Big O” if anyone remembers that.
I saw the whole series on youtube this past weekend, and I loved the ending...
What do the robots in anime signify? In film, Godzilla represents the Nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In Mazinger it represents the fact that weapons/tools aren’t inherently evil, but it is the person who uses them who make the thing good or evil. And the Gundams represent the evolving technology of war and the negatives of scientific progress.
...Great anime...but by the intro you got a bad english dub...