Giant Robo: A 20th Century Mecha Retrospective

Рет қаралды 74,822

Күн бұрын

Get an Exclusive NordVPN deal here: nordvpn.com/blunova. It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee!
Take a trip through the 20th century history of Japanese popular culture to uncover the origins and legacy of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Giant Robo.
Introduction - 00:00
Golden Age Comes to an End - 02:44
Monster Boom - 03:29
Toei Enters the Monster Boom - 06:03
Meet Giant Robo - 08:46
Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot - 17:50
70's Tokusatsu and Super Robot Boom - 18:27
Setting the Stage for a Late Century Reinvention - 20:01
Do You Remember Love? - 23:31
Mecha Anime - 25:03
OVA - 27:11
Yokoyama's Legacy - 30:44
The Day the Earth Stood Still - 35:08
Conclusion - 41:06
Thumbnail Artist:
Klenda Vee - / klenda_v
Special thanks to the following individuals and I highly recommend checking them out:
Petsu-chan: / petsuchan
Daimos Z: / shindaimosz
Usys 222: / usys222
Felipe Q: / felipeonodera
Triblast: / triblast28
#GiantRobo

Пікірлер: 188

@Blunovain Жыл бұрын

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@yourpianobestie Жыл бұрын

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@jojobizarrelivingstone594 Жыл бұрын

I like that artstyle in the thumbnail (ik it's from the manga not you)

@nozarashi4329 10 ай бұрын

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.

@jonathanmulondo9206 Жыл бұрын

Giant Robo is to mecha what devilman and cutie honey were to Japanese superheroes. A major influence

@ShinGoji1987Official Жыл бұрын

100%! I absolutely love Devilman and Cutie Honey too

@Media-ym7dw Жыл бұрын

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.

@dugonman8360 Жыл бұрын

@@Media-ym7dw agreed but I think what makes Devilman so good is moreso it's content rather then it's concept.

@hanolodo Жыл бұрын

Agreed. I gotta check out Giant Robo and Devilman one of these days

@AoiHeartStranger 11 ай бұрын

Mazinger Z exists though

@Anon26535 Жыл бұрын

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.

@DubiousFIN 11 ай бұрын

Huh?

@turbostrike1632 Жыл бұрын

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.

@mattmaddogwheaton4724 Жыл бұрын

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.

@toku-punk Жыл бұрын

Well said indeed

@NebLleb Жыл бұрын

Don't forget the _original_ Mobile Suit Gundam (and a fair few of the followups, both UC-set and AU)!

@mattmaddogwheaton4724 Жыл бұрын

@@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?

@user-co3uc8vt7e Жыл бұрын

I'd place it higher than NGE and LOGH.

@TIGERZY2K Жыл бұрын

Giant Robot is one of the most criminally underrated Japanese Tokusatsus of all time.

@minicle426 Жыл бұрын

Gransazers

@steveczap Жыл бұрын

I’ve worked on three horror host programs over the years and Voyage Into Space was always the most requested movie.

@VoltitanDev Жыл бұрын

Giant Robo is one of those shows Toei should give a second chance.

@skylordianandy2644 Жыл бұрын

Is it possible to achieve happiness without sacrifice? Giant Robo says no.

@usys2226 Жыл бұрын

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!

@Villagerwarrior Жыл бұрын

6:30 That straight up look like Gan-Q from Gaia. What's cool is that the kaiju used here exist before Gan-Q.

@cynga7035 Жыл бұрын

41 minutes of Giant Robo?? We eating good…

@kuma2448 Жыл бұрын

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.

@YeungSze Жыл бұрын

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.

@yeahsamweller8671 Жыл бұрын

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

@ShinGoji1987Official Жыл бұрын

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

@flyingningahero5961 Жыл бұрын

Giant robo is the greatest ova ever made and I will stand by that I need it to be completed

@adamteeee Жыл бұрын

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

@goldenpigstudios Жыл бұрын

Kyu Sakamoto Great choice of music

@courtneyxchrono4135 Жыл бұрын

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!

@RhythmOSauce Жыл бұрын

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

@heyitsdarknessyouroldfrien3396 Жыл бұрын

Now I understand where the mecha inspiration for the Big O came from. Great video.

@Tripledashhh_ Жыл бұрын

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

@gp01fullbernern Жыл бұрын

praying this video brings more attention to the BEST ANIME OF ALL TIME..

@Koenshakuable Жыл бұрын

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!

@baconsarny-geddon8298 Жыл бұрын

I only know 'Day the Earth Stood Still', (and GinRei Special), but DtESS is absolutely epic.

@Hawkatana Жыл бұрын

5:52 I legitimately can't see this scene without hearing that MST3K line over it.

@DaimosZ Жыл бұрын

"They took out the Hitler Building!"

@elvisrodriguez9351 Жыл бұрын

The way they incorporated Chinese heroes was amazing! I love this anime

@duncanmoore3780 Жыл бұрын

I own that OVA, I picked it up on a whim and LOVED it.

@julienthijs1271 Жыл бұрын

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 ...

@MJRLHobbyStuff Жыл бұрын

My man. The quality of these videos are absolutely amazing. Mini documentaries. You are a true pro

@krono5el Жыл бұрын

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

@raptorskilltor4554 Жыл бұрын

I’m currently watching Gigantor and I love it

@ribaldi 11 ай бұрын

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.

@DIOBrando-ij2bp Жыл бұрын

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.

@_BillyMandalay Жыл бұрын

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.

@keypath4389 Жыл бұрын

i always feel full after watching blunova video

@Wigglez323 Жыл бұрын

I remember watching one of the Giant Robo anime’s on the sci-fi channel back in the 90s

@DaimosZ Жыл бұрын

Glad I could help out on this long video. Was worth the wait I'll say!

@stevenrosello4948 Жыл бұрын

Gotta give credit. One of the better nord vpn ads i've seen 😂

@spitflamez Жыл бұрын

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.

@gridman887 Жыл бұрын

i actually was able to watch giant robo when i was younger on a random tv channel, i loved it lmao

@exanhighlander6236 Жыл бұрын

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

@rickytoddbotelho9555 Жыл бұрын

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.

@adamteeee Жыл бұрын

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!

@edwardhernandez224 Жыл бұрын

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!

@DaJinx1 Жыл бұрын

Giant Robo is my favorite anime!

@brianharris7986 Жыл бұрын

Damn! I really appreciate the effort and work you put in on this. Top notch stuff.

@jubei208 Жыл бұрын

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.

@richmcgee434 Жыл бұрын

Nice work, really went above and beyond on your research here.

@stevesasaki2454 Жыл бұрын

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.

@lucianobarbosa4045 Жыл бұрын

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!

@thenemosix6835 Жыл бұрын

Fantastic! Thank you to everyone involved.

@austinmitchell2652 Жыл бұрын

Excellent research and excellent video!!

@robertoacevedo6247 Жыл бұрын

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 .

@thomaswhite6202 Жыл бұрын

Absolutely stunning work ❤

@1971thedoctor Жыл бұрын

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

@the_synthusiast Жыл бұрын

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.)

@Titanic_Tuna Жыл бұрын

This was a fantastic video, I will definitely be watching more of your content. 👍

@Revanxbone Жыл бұрын

Really Greta video! Makes me want to seek out a blu-ray of the OVA

@sukamii Жыл бұрын

Fantastic video, starting Giant Robo tomorrow

@RarebitFiends Жыл бұрын

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?!)

@popcultureoverdosed Жыл бұрын

The giant robo ova should be watched by everyone due to being one of the best pieces of animation of all time.

@venomouslizards Жыл бұрын

God I love this show.

@Alex-17720 Жыл бұрын

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.

@richrocm5814 Жыл бұрын

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.

@troygaspard6732 Жыл бұрын

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.

@kernsanders3973 Жыл бұрын

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.

@kweassa6204 Жыл бұрын

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.

@siamiam Жыл бұрын

excellent video

@ciabaale Жыл бұрын

Great video 👍

@pablocasas5906 10 ай бұрын

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

@gridblaze6573 Жыл бұрын

I really like Giant robo's design

@elijahzilla619 Жыл бұрын

Man I just wonder who will win the battle giant Robo or Godzilla (Showa)

@WillieHoward954 Жыл бұрын

This toon was amazing.

@popehentai Жыл бұрын

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.

@Breamin Жыл бұрын

I use to watch that show all the time as a kid.

@user-co3uc8vt7e Жыл бұрын

Yasuhiro Imagawa is an obscure genius of adapting others' works. Sad to know that his projects invariably fail to make commercial success.

@VoltitanDev Жыл бұрын

If Mazinger Z is the father of super robots Giant Robo and Tetsujin 28 would be the grandfather.

@WanArk86 Жыл бұрын

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.

@patty0135 Жыл бұрын

one of my favorites that and ultraman every Saturday after cartoons

@madmachanicest9955 Жыл бұрын

I am a huge Mecha fan so I know most of this all ready

@SS-hz4jo Жыл бұрын

I watched this on tv. Thanks for the history lesson.

@yourpianobestie Жыл бұрын

YES FINALLY!!!

@johnnygnoneeded Жыл бұрын

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! ;)

@madmachanicest9955 Жыл бұрын

My good do you remember love still looks amazing

@robertnovich4137 Жыл бұрын

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.

@akaiseigo Жыл бұрын

This was a relevant anime in the 90s. It may not well-received in Japan but in the U.S. that is.

@teddyinjapan Жыл бұрын

Most anime fans know and love this animation.

@scifiguy26 Жыл бұрын

Very informative video Great 👍 I hope you do one on the history of space battleship YAMATO one of my favorite animes ⚓

@paulforder591 4 ай бұрын

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! 💓🤖🚀🤖🚀

@SwiftJustice Жыл бұрын

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.

@VJFranzK 8 ай бұрын

35:00 GR 1 the animation was a high point! that's where they should continue

@alexandreturcotte6411 Жыл бұрын

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 ( kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Z5-DeKplq9u0gXk.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!

@madmachanicest9955 Жыл бұрын

Ok I love the sponsor gimmick make it a giant monster move promo was funny and Claver