Shin Tetsujin 28 Go: The New Adventures of Gigantor

Super Robots are not for kids, are they?

A few days ago I run into a bootleg copy of Ironman 28. The 3 disc DVD set features the entire 52 episodes of what was originally known as Tetsujin 28 Go, the 1980 remake of the 1963 anime of the same name that like its predecessor, was based upon Mitsuteru Yokoyama's 1965 namesake Manga. 

During the early days of Anime culture, most of the series that made it outside Japan, were heavily modified to appeal western audiences, so American audiences got The New Adventures of Gigantor, while the Latin American one got Ironman 28. 

The 1980-81 Shin Tetsujin 28-go (New Tetsujin 28) series was created with 51 color episodes based on a modernized take upon the original concept art. In 1993, Fred Ladd and the TMS animation studio converted the series into The New Adventures of Gigantor and had it broadcast on America's Sci-Fi Channel from September 9, 1993 to June 30, 1997. Rubén Veloso produced Ironman 28, the Spanish version of the series which broadcasted in Mexico, Venezuela, Chile (my home country), Peru & Costa Rica during the early 90's. The Italian version of the anime was known as Super Robot 28. 

This case can transform into Tetsujin's control station.

a Weaponless, yet powerful ally.

Plotwise, the series follows 10 year old Shotaro Kaneda, who is the  son of the late Dr. Kaneda. He is Tetsujin's assigned controller, with a deep emotional attachment to the robot. Shotaro is a boy detective famous throughout Tokyo, and in the manga, 1963 series, and 2004 series, can be seen frequently driving a car. The mission this under aged hero has is a very dangerous one: protect the world from hi-tech terrorists with the aid of the clumsy police chief Ootsuka, and Professor Shikishima, Dr. Kaneda's assistant. 

The Anime takes place during the early 2000's, where mankind has developed super powerful alloy technology that allows it to build not only state of the art vessels and cars, but also mass destruction weapons. Apparently, this technology is available to everyone since every episode features either a single person destroying cities or a major crime organization the likes run by Prince Gula & Space Demon King.

Your father thought you were more capable than fully adult scientists.

Hey kid, wanna buy some drugs?

The fact that a super powerful robot (weaponless by the way) was in charge of a 10 year old boy instead of more capable hands, makes this series a complete joke of itself. What was Dr. Kaneda thinking when he built the robot thinking of his inexperienced, underage son? I guess we'll never know. Throughout the 51 episodes the show lasted the world seemed to be a warzone. Within each episode entire cities were destroyed. Although we never got to see graphic violence, it is pretty clear destruction was of apocalyptic proportions, which is why I think only those who were kids when this show aired for the first time, could find nostalgia value re watching this anime. The adult world is depicted as being completely incapable of doing a god damn thing right. Nevertheless, terrorists & crime organizations seem to be the only adult people well prepared to cause massive mayhem. On the other hand, the adults on the good guy side, seem to be very weak and powerless. Even those who built Tetsujin are completely useless when disaster happens. Now, I'm saying this from my adult point of view, and perhaps the fact that the bad guys were the powerful and smart ones, while the good guys were helpless as a baby, is a metaphor of growing up and becoming less innocent and a lot more hypocritical, but that is only my opinion. 

From a kid point of view, Shin Tetsujin 28, has all you want. Little talk and loads of action. Unfortunately, there's a lot of what made the show cool in the early 80's that makes it look like crap today. 

Tell Tetsujin to get me some donuts.

Fists of steel.

The series was created by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and broadcast as New Iron Man 28 in Japan between October 3, 1980 and September 25, 1981. The opening theme was Taiyo no Shisha Tetsujin Nijūhachi-gō ( Solar Messenger, Iron Man 28) by Junichi Kawauchi. In some episodes of the Western version of the series you can actually hear it playing in the background while our super robot fights evil doers. The two ending themes were Kibō ni mukatte 〜 Shōtarō no tēma (Theme of Shotaro: Towards Hope) and Muteki no Tetsujin Nijūhachi-gō (The Invincible: Iron Man #28), also by Junichi Kawauchi.

Now, the reason why I'm reviewing this Anime is purely a nostalgia thing.  Would say no to piloting your own super robot? Obviously, no kid in the world could refuse such offering. 

As stated above, the fact that a kid is the lead in a world of useless & mean adults has always being an Anime thing. Even in hentai, characters are too young for the things they do, and perhaps that's one of the key things that made Anime so popular in the past. The fact that characters are your age (well, not anymore in my case) may deliver a certain sense of "I could do that" or "Hey, If this kid can, why can't I?". 

Tetsujin go go!

Life size Tetsujin.

What makes Tetsujin 28 a historical Manga is the fact that the first humanoid giant robot ever created it is in fact Tetsujin 28; who was controlled externally via remote control by an operator. The first occurrence of mecha being piloted by a user from within a cockpit was introduced much later in the manga and anime series Mazinger Z by Go Nagai, first published in 1972.

Tetsujin, much like Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy, was influenced by the artist's wartime experiences. In Yokoyama's case, this was through the bombing of Kobe in World War II.

As he had written in Ushio magazine in 1995, "When I was a fifth-grader, the war ended and I returned home from Tottori Prefecture, where I had been evacuated. The city of Kobe had been totally flattened, reduced to ashes. People said it was because of the B-29 bombers...as a child, I was astonished by their terrifying, destructive power." Another influence on Tetsujin's creation was the Vergeltungswaffen, a set of wonder weapons designed for long-range strategic bombing during World War II, and the idea that Nazi Germany possessed an "ace in the hole to reverse [its] waning fortunes". The third work to inspire Yokoyama's creation was the 1931 film Frankenstein, which shaped Yokoyama's belief that the monster itself is neither good or evil.

 

The Latin American version of the Anime.

OST cover art.

Overall, Shin Tetsujin 28 Go, is an Anime from a bygone era only bygonners could appreciate the way it was originally meant to be. 

Here's the original opening:

Here's the original ending:

Here's the New Adventures of Gigantor opening:

Here's Ironman 28 opening:

Here's the 2005 live action movie trailer: