Sunday, 08 April 2012 19:25

TURN A GUNDAM:   The last mention on this list!  OK.  So maybe this robot isn’t all that gigantic but this unassuming Gundam, despite its relatively small stature and armaments, is one of the most powerful if not ‘the’ most powerful robot on this list.   How can this be?  The Turn A has a secret weapon called The Moonlight Butterfly which disperses nanomachines that spread throughout the planet and can stop all known machines from functioning.  The only way to really counter The Moonlight Butterfly is to prevent its activation in the first place.  You don’t want to go up against something like that. 

As always, I hope you enjoyed this and check out the anime from which the list has been pulled from.  Any and all comments are welcomed as long as they aren’t disrespectful to anyone.   If there are other robots that you feel I have missed please comment on them.  Take it easy or, as I like to say, ‘take it light!’ 

Here is alink to a battle scene from the anime Turn-A Gundam!!   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=CSi8epWcBFc&feature=endscreen

Tuesday, 06 March 2012 07:36

The last hope for mankind’s survival against an organic fleet of alien beings bent on exterminating all humans on earth is the Gunbuster.  Gunbuster is a magnificent space opera and Hideaki Anno’s (Neon Genesis Evangelion) directorial debut so it is no wonder I like it so much.  Gunbuster follows the rise of the daughter of a space admiral, named Noriko.   Noriko is chosen among the best and brightest of the human race to pilot a giant robot and possibly the Gunbuster robot that will be the main force against the alien horde. 

The Gunbuster single-handedly destroys legions of alien space fleets that would have otherwise sliced and diced through Earth’s defenses like a lightsaber through butter.  If you have ever seen the anime, which is slightly campy but has a serious tone to it, you know what I’m talking about.  Thanks to human ingenuity towards the development of effective weapons, the Gunbuster is equipped with homing lasers, buster missiles, a (corny) buster shield, and a buster collider (which sends electric particles into it’s target via extending rods from it’s limbs and summarily causes it to explode.) as well as other arsenal. The Gunbuster was even able to withstand, function within and protect its fearless pilots against super high levels of gravity.   Although the Gunbuster has all of this weaponry the OVA only shows it in action once or twice so don't get too hyper. 

 This is one of my favorite giant robot anime OVAs (only 6 episodes).  How can I like this if it only has a couple of giant robot fights.  Well, I would have to say it is mostly the dramatic story that makes this anime worth watching.  One reason I love this series is that it really shows the struggle that Noriko goes through to be number one and her determination to find or avenge her father as well as impress her instructor and peers.  Another is that it is a reflection of reality.  In the series the recruits/soldiers leave for a long time to come home to earth and find that a lot has changed.  It really gives that feeling of being somewhat displaced from society and current events as well as being disconnected from the lives of those close to you.   This is something that our military members or any military members that are deployed for extended periods experience.  The end of this is a tear jerker so be prepared to enjoy another fantastic giant robot epic.  This anime shows some nudity so this is not for kids and definitely for a mature audience. 

Link to the fight scene in Gunbuster:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gm6czdcp3k

Friday, 02 March 2012 23:55

“Crush them, Giant Robo!!”  That would be the last phrase you would hear before you were forced to scramble for your life or confront the behemoth called “Giant Robo.”  That is if you belonged to the terrorist organization called Big Fire.  Giant Robo was originally a live-action show that aired in Japan in 1967 and later in the U.S. in 1969 but grew in popularity and eventually was aired in India in the early 80s.   

Robo made the transition to an anime OVA series in 1992.  The version I remember most (and in my opinion was the deepest and perhaps most confusing as far as plot) was the 1990s OVA series (although I do remember seeing the live-action, also known as tokusatsu, episodes from time to time). Giant Robo was armed with a chest, back and finger missiles, eye beams, a flame-thrower, bazooka cannon, and various other weapons such as the “Burnign Cross” technique.  Robo also had a jet pack that afforded him flight.  In addition, Giant Robo receives commands from a boy via a wrist watch and acted as the boy’s body guard and instrument of justice. 

The OVA series takes place in a retro-type or futuristic earth (no doubt, an ode to the original series) where an alternate source of energy called the Shizuma Drive ends the need for power throughout the world.  The “Drive” is a non-polluting and renewable enery source that eventually powers everything in the world including airplanes, land and sea vehicles.  The discovery of the Shizuma Drive nearly destroys the world and in the context of the story Big Fire plots to recreate the event.  

Big Fire, with its soldiers, giant robots and elite super-powered human generals, will stop at nothing to destroy the world for reasons unknown.  The International Police Organization together with the superhuman group called the Experts of Justice are all that stand in the way of Big Fire and world destruction.  This series is admittedly a little dry during certain parts but if you have a more analytical and scientific mind you may find those parts entertaining. 

The series is overall a great one to view, in my opinion.  People die in this series so in that since it is close to the live-action series.   The live action series had more violence involved with it than the average kids show during its time on the air.  There are lots of great action scenes that rival those of the more popular anime. When Giant Robo went toe-to-toe against other robots it was always an epic struggle.  It is a show you should put on your list of ‘must watch’ anime.

Check out the EPIC opening to the OVA series of Giant Robo:

English-     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5mWD3TfRnI

Japanese with Subs-    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiTKfVU1J94

Tuesday, 28 February 2012 07:01

Hooked on Anime will be featuring a short series of articles about the biggest and most well known giant robots in anime.   A short article will be shown every couple of days in 4 seperate articles.  Enjoy!  ^_^

VOLTRON:  I will start with a classic.  The Defender of the Universe needs no introduction but I will say a little about him for those who may have been hiding in a cave or are not old enough or big enough an anime fan to know.  Voltron is composed of five robot lions that each have unique weaponry according to their strengths and can unite to form one of the most formidable and iconic symbols in American anime history.  Volton had missiles, a flame thrower and many other weapons at its disposal but most notable is its ‘blazing sword’ which was the finishing weapon for most battles against Robeast (cross between a robot and a beast).  The enemies of Voltron have always dreaded the forming of this legendary robot as it would almost certainly spell defeat for them. 

 In Japan, this series was known as Go-Lion but was changed for English audiences.  The space explorers that pilot the lions of Voltron found the ancient guardians and decided to become the guardians of the universe.  According to the series there are more Voltron robots spread throughout the universe but only 2 versions of the anime reached U.S. shores.  Check out the link below for the opening and closing clips to this legendary series!

Here is the link to the awesome opening and ending to the American version of Voltron:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clm29r9qfgQ

Now for those of you who are not up to speed with the classics or for the 'old schoolers' I decided to also blog about one of my personal favorites, BIG-O (Showtime!)

BIG-O:    BIG-O…. butt.   Hahahaha!  You read it right!  Ok, I’ll get back on subject here.  To me, BIG-O is an ‘anime noir.’ It has all the elements of a traditional film noir.  It has Roger Smith who is the hero trying to solve the big mystery and of course it has the femme fatal, the corporate big wig and various other elements that compose a film noir. 

The BIG-O is the main (and one of many) megadueces (not the peace sign) that appear in the self-titled show.  BIG-O is armed with various weapons like lasers and chained projectiles (anchors??) and a punch that would pulverize the mightiest of robots.  Although the origin of the megaduece is unclear, (possible spoiler) it seems they were giant war robots that were designed to wage war.  BIG-O with Roger Smith as its pilot would put a hurtin’ on most robots but not all.  Along with the thrilling robot action the mystery behind what happened to the people of Paradigm city and how they lost their memories and of how these megadueces appeared is enough to keep you interested and entertained.  If you catch the whole list you will see that there are robots powerful enough to turn BIG-O into a ‘big smoking pile of…’   Fill in the blank!  At least as far as robot against robot.  But when it comes to having a well rounded story along with good action, mystery and suspense, BIG-O has it in spades.

Opening to BIG-O:

Japanese version of season 2  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z8HYr20usw 

English version of season 2  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsJj7qR6Djw

This conludes the first installation of the four part article series.   Hope you enjoyed it.   Please feel free to leave thoughts in the comment sections of any article.