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SUMMARY

In the year 2000, the shadow of evil still looms over the peaceful planet Earth.  All over the world, crazed mad men, master criminals, and deadly invaders attempt to take control of the Earth.

Fortunately, the people of Earth are not alone in their fight.  The citizens are protected by the "great big robot" known around the world as "Gigantor".  Owned and operated by 12 year old Jimmy Sparks, this young man (along with Dr. Bob Brilliant, Inspector Blooper, and super spy Dick Strong) is ready and willing to protect the innocent, and to "fight for right, against wrong!"

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: Well, these are direct transfers of the source material, so no clean up has been done. The source prints are full of scratches and nicks, and the DVD shows every single one.  As this series was in Black and White, any worries about color errors are nonexistent.  There are no noticeable pixels or technical errors.     

AUDIO: The English 2.0 track is very clean, despite this series being 30+ years old.  The mono hiss usually associated with older shows is absent, giving us a crisp and clear sound.

The audio commentary by Fred Ladd is also well done, with his voice in the foreground, and the movie audio in the back.

EDITS: Well, there were quite a few changes made to the actual episodes.  By his own admission, some episodes have new endings so that the episodes could stand alone on their own.  Majority of the episodes were either changed, or deleted all together.  While the purist may go home crying, those of us who don't know any better will not find too many obvious cuts.

EXTRAS: On disc one, there is an audio commentary with writer/director/producer Fred Ladd.  On the fourth disc, there is a video interview with Fred Ladd, another interview with animation historian Fred Patten, and a text article from Manga Max Magazine.  However, the "photo gallery" is missing, despite it being listed on the cover.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: Despite the modification of the original "Iron Man 28", Gigantor still retains the "spirit" of the original Japanese classic.  The themes of "love, honor, and humanity" that writer Mitsuteru Yokoyama infused in his original creation are still there.

Unfortunately, there is very little in the way of character development.  From episode one to episode 26, everyone is exactly the same.  The same goes for plot development.  Despite its sterilized nature, each episode is exactly the same.  Villain arrives, Gigantor temporarily defeats his minions.  Jimmy and his friends investigate, call Gigantor, destroys the villains big weapon.  Back in the 60's no one cared.  For the anime savvy of today, the repetitive nature may drive people nuts. 

ACTING: I am impressed that only 4 actors were able to carry this entire series.  Billie Lou Watt, Peter Fernandez (Speed Racer),  Gil Mack, and Ray Owens had to do every single character!  While the acting may seem a little hokey by today standards, at the time, it was top notch.

The only problem I had was Billie Lou Watt's Jimmy Sparks in the early episodes.  Her voice for him seemed a little too "flemy" for my taste.

FAN SERVICE: None what so ever.  

CONCLUSION:

Gigantor is a classic.  Like Astro Boy or Speed Racer, fans of this series remember it as the series that got them into anime.  Thanks to Rhino, new and old fans can discover this classic.

I missed out on Gigantor.  I was not even born when the series was originally aired, and the local TV station only showed reruns of Speed Racer.  So, when Rhino sent me a review copy, I was curious to find out why this series had such a loyal fan base.

Part of it's appeal is that Jimmy Sparks is what every kid aspires to be. He can kick ass, he's does the right thing, and he has earned the respect of the adults he works with.  The fact that he has a big honkin robot is incidental.  Another factor is that the action was pretty intense for 60's television.  There were tanks, robots, UFO, and all sorts of various machines beating the crap out of each other.  You also had gun battles, judo moves, and even a knives throwing huntress to add spice to this series.  Think "Mickey Mouse" could do that stuff....I think not!

While I enjoyed Gigantor, watching it in one sitting is not a wise idea.  The plot is very formulaic, with each episode the same as the one before it.  While the original "Iron Man 28" series was written in a series of story arcs, they still followed a basic formula.  When Fred Ladd brought the series to America, he had to re-write it for the syndication market. That way, you didn't have to know what happened in the episode before it to understand what was going on.  It also meant that there is a lot of "exposition", which would pop up in some unexpected places.

It's amazing how many power mad villains with lots of money there are out there.  Jim and his friends can't even sit down for a cup of tea or visit a foreign country without being attacked.  

I would also be paranoid about flying.  One, because every time Jimmy flies a plane, it's attacked.  The other reason is that a 12 year old boy is flying a jet and controlling Gigantor at the same time.

You can see how Gigantor would influence characters from later series.  In the episode "Force of Terror", the mysterious men in black look a lot like the "Invaders" in Gate Keepers.  Some of the designs of the space ships would appear in other anime series.  As this is the first "giant robot" series, it established the "boy and his robot" motif that exists to this day. From 1972's "Manzinger" to "Evangelion" Gigantor was "Bigger than Big"!

The actually quality of the DVD is quite superb.  Using the original 16mm print, we have perhaps the cleanest looking transfer we will ever see.  There are still scratches and film grain, but the transfer itself is great.

Gigantor is truly the seed of our anime past and it should be the very first volume of your anime collection.   While newer anime fans may find this series silly and "outdated", those of us who have been around will feel the love and sing..."Gigantor....Gigantor...Gigaaaaantor!"

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