Giant Robo Review By Rashad Moore

	Audience:	PG
	Genre:	Sci-Fi/Drama
	Usual Running Time:	__
	Contains:	__
	Rating:	A

Probably what was one of the most underated anime series ever, Giant Robo takes a seemingly simple concept and manages to become one of the best stories anime has ever told. With it's strange and wonderful mix of retro "Astro Boy" design, chinese culture, retro futuristic setting and classic and intense mecha action, Giant Robo weaves a classic tale of friendship, betrayal, power, fatherhood, sacrifice, evolution and the classic struggle between good and evil into one hell of a must-see anime.

This anime involves the son of a famous scientist, Daisaku Kusama, who gets caught in the middle of an ongoing battle between the Experts of Justice and Big Fire, a worldwide organization who wants nothing more than world domination. Daisaku is forced to fight after the murder of his father, who puts Giant Robo in his possesion. But there are many secrets kept between Big Fire themselves, and a certain few are plotting to bring down the latest energy craze of the millenium, the Shizuma Drive, which has its own dark past.

Giant Robo, while very simplistic on the exterior, hides an epic adventure, which spans many themes, Chinese folklore, Sci-fi trappings, retro mecha anime and some of the most intense action scenes you'll ever see, all executed flawlessly into one unforgettable OVA. It also contains a very rich and fully realized story, a feeling that is further driven by its awesome retro-futuristic setting mix of asian, french and 40's and 50's art deco culture, add to an awesome scale. The mechanical designs themselves are relatively simple, but never fail to capture an immensly powerful feel, especially Giant Robo himself. The entire series took 8 years to complete from beginning to end, but it was well worth the wait, nothing ever falters in quality and even the ending itself was very well done and resolves the story very well. (Although the resolution of the Shizuma Drive contained a bit of Deus ex Machina.) It also manages to bring up a whole batch of disturbing new questions as well. (Which will probably be answered in the sequel.) What makes Giant Robo so great is that its like nothing you've seen before. The characters are unforgetable and very well done. You manage to care for the characters and feel sorry when they go. (And trust me, characters start dropping like flies in the middle of the series.) There are also some socially redeeming themes as well, such as the cost of revenge over a loved one, sacrifice for a more important cause and becoming a boy and turning to a man, and doing so too quickly. Also it's not like anything you've seen before.

The animation screams perfection. The action scenes are carried out on a much epic scale and are extremely intense and the fight scenes are so powerful that it feels like the entire Earth is shaking.Giant Robo is cinematically impressive and a treat on the eyes. The character design,(done by Lunar's Toshiyuki Kubooka) are very well done and extremely diverse, all of which are exceptionally driven by the heroic, stirring and powerful orchestral score by Masamichi Amano.

Undeservingly underated, (Overshadowed by Evangelion and Escaflowne.) Giant Robo is ranks among one of the best animes ever. Rich and massively executed in scope, thoughtful, and emotionally realized, its a stirring epic hidden under a simplistic veneer. It is something everyone should see and will be well remembered to those who see it.

Available from Manga Entertainment. Image shown is not created by atek studios. Review by Rashad Moore