Reviews (4)

Absolutely Amazing Show
This anime is just great, one of my personal favorites. Even if you never saw japanese animation before this one you can't pass up on. I own japanese language DVD's, but I hear that for a change the dub is good. Originally a 7 part OVA series somehow turned to 6 parts going over the pacific.

Animation is good, the characters are not very detailed. However for this anime it really didn't bother me since the story is just so very very good.

Enter a world of prosperity. A long research by the world's best scientists has created "Shizuma Drive", which is 100% recycleable
and produces no polution or any other dangers associated with the power. However behind the shadows of such glorious peace lies deception. Dr. Shizuma who created this wounderful energy source was along with Dr. Vogler and 3 other scientists had a failed experiment with huge consequences. And now the crazed Dr. Vogler had recreated the samples that caused that tragedy and is destroying all Shizuma drives in the world sending it into chaos.

Daisaku is a 12 year old boy, who has the ability to command Giant Robo, the mightest robot ever. Together with the international police he will try to stop the "Big Fire" organization. Who's aim is to take control over the world.

Interesting, complex characters reveal their nature as the series progresses. And the plot twists will leave you wanting to know more. This series will not glue you to the screen in the first episode, you must watch it all to really appreciate it. And the final episode is to die for.

One of the best
The visuals and the amazing musical score make this one a winner. It is really incredible considering the material the producers had to work with (remember the old black and white Giant Robo show, I do). Get the whole series, you won't be disappointed.

Giant Robo is a must see.
No one who considers themselves a fan of anime, in other words no true Otaku, should miss this epic series. Dividing its energy equally well between over-the-top action and deeply personal character development, this first volume in a six tape series delivers in every department, capable of winning over even the most jaded animation enthusiast. After seeing the first, you will not want to miss any of the other, equally fantastic, episodes that build cliffhanger after cliffhanger to an explosive conclusion.

This is Animation!
An unrivaled and underrated masterpiece,the six volume Japanese series Giant Robo is unlike anything you have ever seen. Featuring gripping action,unbeliable animation, one of the best soundtracks of any film, and best of all, an amazing story, Giant Robo is both a homage to classic 50's anime and a new classic in it's own right.........This is the coming-of-age tale of a boy named Daiasku, who by a cruel twist of fate must command the mightest robot on earth. The animation quality and expiremental technique is unrivaled, and the story, wich revolves around the Shizuma Drive, a seemingly clean and perfect source of energy, wich carries a terrible price,takes many twists and turns. Each charecter is dynamic and whole.....there is no good vs. evil here, more like two sides with different ideas of how things should be fighting for dominance. Thought-provoking, inspiring, tragic, and riveting, Giant Robo is a must for anyone who loves a good movie-animated or not. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

the low point, so far
As I make my way through the entire series, I must say Volume 5 is the worst, so far. Containing the penultimate battle (I'm assuming), new character after new character are introduced--unestablished for those who had never seen the live action show. It gets tiringly ridiculous.

While I do enjoy GIANT ROBO, and believe it is a series to be seen, the meandering plotline could use some heavy editing. My biggest suggestion for enjoyment is to simply ignore all the holes and plot faux pas, and just enjoy it for what it is.

Having watched 5 videos worth of animation, I just wish the story were tighter, with the history a bit more fleshed out.

amazing! Definitely a must watch
Simply put, Giant Robo is the embodiment of all things i love about anime! It has the most amazing story lines, breath taking battles, and characters that you feel compassion toward. i must admit that at first, i was discouraged from watching this show based on it's animation style. But looking back now, i realize that i was fool!

Giant Robo is one of the most exiting, and flawless anime i have ever seen. You cannot call yourself a fan of anime unless you have watched this show! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

I really like it, but it's a bit absurd...
I've been watching the GIANT ROBO series pretty avidly, and I look forward to the next two installments. But as far as stories go, GIANT ROBO really goes over the edge, into the absurd.

Aside from unestablished characters and weapons popping up left and right, characters who seem to die miserable deaths magically reappear again and again. Maybe it will all be explained by the end, but I sort of doubt it.

GIANT ROBO is loaded with great things anime to bring you back for the next episode, but aspiring writers should in no way use this rambling train wreck as any type of model for plot development.

It's fun, campy, action packed, and pretty damn convoluted. This episode climaxes with one of the most self-reflective, heroic demises I think I've ever seen.

Japanese cartoons are funny. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

a great, disorganized rush
Let me first start out by saying that I really like GIANT ROBO. It epitomizes what you'd expect from a great Japanese robot cartoon...but it comes at a strange price.

I've watched 4 of the 7 episodes in the animated series so far, and it's not exactly the easiest story to follow. I mean, it's easy enough to figure out (I never saw the live action show), but the repeated addition of unestablished characters and weapons at pivotal moments is near ridiculous. So much so, in fact, it becomes charming.

The soap-operatic characters are great (though thrown in from left field), the design is great (post-AstroBoy), and the story has just a bit more "absurdity" thrown in than you'd expect...which all adds up to a campy flood of japanimated goodness.

The infrequent, but present "bad" language is also funny. It's rare, and almost out of place when the 4 letter words appear. They're nothing drastic, but when they're uttered, they're glaringly obvious.

OUTLAW STAR takes itself pretty seriously, cat-people aside...COWBOY BEBOP is serious, but extremely self-aware...THE BIG O is serious to the point of being cheesy...while GIANT ROBO turns the serious dial up to "11", giving it a really enjoyable near-ironic feel.

If you're an animator, there's a lot of really great stuff in these videos, particularly when the opera music starts playing over the exploding landscape.

Not to be missed. Just be prepared for a lot of hysterical, heroic self-doubt; martyrdom; cackling villians; story non-sequitors; and Ginrei's insanely short skirt.

I wish I could give this more stars
This is, perhaps, the most spectacular anime I have ever seen. Its plot is rich and complex, but ambiguous enough to let you fill in the gaps with your imagination. My first impression watching it was that I had been dropped into a story already full of history. The characters were unusual, their special abilities enjoyable in their own right. The environments were colorful and suited the story well. I highly recommend the japanese dialogue version, as some of the english voice acting tends to be ill-suited for the atmosphere of this OVA. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This is truly great Anime
This whole series is excellent - I recommend it to anyone who likes GOOD anime. This is one of the best anime series in existence. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Outstanding, Brilliant, Couldn't Have Been Better!!!
After basically waiting two long years to see how it would end (like any other anime series out there is any different in keeping you in suspense) we finally see Genya put those IPO vigilantes at his knees leading to a somewhat unique ending putting to rest this chapter leaving you wanting more. The series has kept you thinking on what will happen next. It keeps you wondering what the end will be, well, as you'll see, it is and it isn't what you expected, which is basically the icing on the cake in this well thought out story. And after that, you're left with a whole new set of questions, not that they're from sloppy directing but as a door to the next chapter.

An epic tale of fathers, sons and convenient plot lapses
After one of the longest waits in cliffhanger history, Mitsuteru Yokoyama finally binds together the Byzantine plot twists, devious red herrings and artful feints of his magnum opus into a tidy, explosion-studded package of rubber science, revisionist history, lung-busting script exposition, dropped threads, scrubbed pay-offs, unmotivated violence and convenient, Deus-Ex-Machina appearances by characters who were either a) previously unintroduced or b) previously introduced, but dead. If you thought it was weird before, hang on to your dress shorts and radio-control wristwatch. Teen angst-master Daisaku ramps-up the Adolescent Torment Index by becoming hypnotically fixated on the pointless rhetorical question, "Can happiness be achieved without sacrifice?"; while Giant Robo develops the useful but highly suspect ability to become about five times bigger than he was the last time the Eye of Folger kicked his rivet-studded butt, without anyone else appearing to notice. Long time fans, especially, will pay good money to stand in line at the "Bitch-Slap Professor Go for a Dollar" concession, after holding his hand through :60 minutes of blubbering, whining guilt and scenery-chewing self-doubt.

Nonetheless, it's worth the wait. Fabulous animation, soaring orchestral cuts and non-stop action keep the viewer adhesed to the screen, despite the fact that none of what's happening makes a lick of sense. The episode's self-aware humor and infectious, over-the-top brio are excellent compensation for its technical flaws, and even the flintiest critic would have to concede the impossibility of crafting a totally satisfying resolution to the Olympian expectations raised by the first six episodes. In the end, it doesn't matter. Buy it, load it, crank up the Surround-Sound and prepare to have your wires thoroughly tweaked.

Finally, if there is an overarching moral lesson to the two-fold Tragedy at Bastarlle, it seems to be this: If your mortally-wounded/expiring-from-grief father lays an apocalyptic, life-altering death-bed rap on you, remember to ask questions before he cacks up the other lung. Or at least take good notes. ... Read more