nce upon a time, in a universe slightly simpler and more attractively designed than our own, a scientist named Shizuma developed a cheap, efficient, non-polluting energy source. He was hailed as the "Energy Messiah" and his invention ushered in a Golden Age of prosperity. Unfortunately, an evil group--ludicrously named "Big Fire!"--conspired to create a giant floating sphere that would cancel the Shizuma drives, effectively causing a worldwide blackout and putting Earth in the hands of the one megalomaniacal group foresightful enough to stockpile non-Shizuma energy sources.
Fortunately for the world, Interpol has assembled a band of godlike "Experts"--incredibly powerful people who will stop at nothing to foil the plots of Big Fire! (There's no exclamation point in the subtitles, but the characters can't seem to refer to the group without yelling.) Most of these Experts are fast-moving, energy-flinging, weapon-twirling, spell-casting marvels of nature, but one is simply a 12-year-old boy whose father bequeathed him a dour, silent, giant robot that responds only to his commands.
Of course, wherever there are godlike good guys, there are godlike bad guys, and Big Fire!'s Magnificent Ten are no slouches at energy-flinging and weapon-twirling themselves. The heady battles between the two groups reach increasingly impossible scopes with each successive episode in this series, as the characters face surprisingly serious (and wholly Japanese) issues of duty, honor, and filial respect amid the gigantic explosions and world domination tug-of-war games.
Slap-happy but sophisticated
The bulk of Yasuhiro Imagawa's masterwork Giant Robo has been available since 1995 in English-dubbed format, but Manga has only just gotten around to releasing a subtitled edition. It's a good time to look at the series again, as the concluding chapter of the story is finally due out this September (both subbed and dubbed). It's also a good time to invest in a personal copy--this one subbed tape encompasses three of the old dubbed volumes.
And Giant Robo is certainly a series that bears buying and watching repeatedly. The plot sounds goofy, and the individual characters, with their house-sized egos and larger-than-life powers, certainly support that impression. But this is also a beautifully released piece of uniquely strange science fiction, one with a vision as unique as its oddball stars. The design in particular--a retro blend of '40s science, '60s character concepts, and semi-Victorian futuristic devices--looks like something Jules Verne and Winsor McCay might have cobbled together after a long look at the Tokyo skyline. Imagawa himself has admitted (in Anime Interviews) that Giant Robo was patterned after a tractor.
In fact, the odd blend of periods and the cartoony bent of the characters makes this seem like a slap-happy kid's show at times. But it's a lot more sophisticated. From the gorgeous classical score, orchestrated by the Poland National Warsaw Philharmonic, to the uncompromisingly tragic deaths of some of the main characters, Giant Robo is a heavy series with light-hearted touches. Not the least of which is all the yelling. GO BIG FIRE!
