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:

The Bionic Woman

Bionic teacher, Bionic woman.

What could be better than starting 2017 with a brand new review? Nothing, right? So here we are again revisiting some of the most fantastic and iconic live action series from the 70's: The Bionic Woman, the very first TV spin-off that outdid the original series it spawned from. Starred by the beautiful Lindsay Wagner, the series followed the story of Jamie Sommers, a former tennis player who suffered a tragic parachute accident that had her upgraded into a bionic woman with the same state of the art technology had Steve Austin (Lee Majors) become The Six Million Dollar Man. Unlike any other series at the time, The Bionic Woman had characters from both series interacting throughout the 58 episodes the series lasted, thus creating the first  live action cross-over series (Marvel TV/Film cocksuckers should know better!) The show premiered in 1976 and became a massive success in the USA & the UK. 

The Bionic Woman was not only the show that pioneered and paved the way for shows with strong female leads, but did so at a time when The Women's Movement was knocking down walls and breaking stereotypical barriers like never before (much like Jamie Sommers did!!). The irony is that this all happened by accident, as the Sommers character was supposed to die off in the original Six Million Dollar Man series. Well that might have worked in some shows with some characters – but enter Lindsay Wagner who stole America's hearts overnight. Every man wanted to marry her, every woman wanted to be her. If you are of a…eh hem…a certain age, you'll remember that time when the nation immediately fell in love with Ms. Wagner. In fact I know we were all in love with her because I'll never forget being so incredibly heartbroken as a little kid when Jaime Sommers "died" in the show.

a life changing accident.

State of the art technology.

Well it turns out I wasn't the only one with a bionic crush. Families and kids everywhere bombarded ABC with fan mail to keep Jaime and the series alive. As clever as studio execs think they are, they had no idea what they had on their hands and did not foresee how the series would have such a tremendous impact on a generation - and go on to become a tour de force in television pop culture for women and men alike.

As a kid I wouldn't be born until 1981, so I watched The Bionic Woman during re-runs in Chile, my home country. You see, the sick dictatorship that had our country by the balls from 1973 to 1989, was so powerful, they controlled all the media, which in a way, was the very thing that allowed millions of Chileans to discover and/or revisit series from the 60's, 70's and of course the 80's. Our son of a bitch dictator didn't want any form of art to be related to what was going on back then so, he agreed on broadcasting everything foreign just because. Little did he know, many shows discussed the very issues he tried to keep from the country. He's fucking dead now, so let's move on to our review...

Jaime & Co.

Rock lifting.

This show was so dynamic it resonated with both kids and adults alike; there was something for everyone. It was clever, funny, thoughtful, exciting, and quite possibly most of all – 'dark'. The thing that was so intriguing about these cyborg characters was that they were humans who ended up with some special strengths and gifts, but they were extremely flawed compared to your stereotypical 'super hero'. In our minds it was very easy to relate to these characters because all of us saw ourselves in their position if we had a horrible accident and woke up one day with super strengths and a ton of responsibility to our fellow mankind. We watched Jaime get amnesia and forget about her love Steve Austin. We watched her reject her bionics and almost die from the very same gifts that she would go on to battle the evil forces of the world with. We watched her struggle from leading a normal life as a school teacher on one day, to battling fembots and saving the world the next.

But unlike the types of strong women you find in most film and television series today, this woman's key gift was her 'girl next door' flare. And that was her greatest appeal. In fact it's important to note that unlike superhero stories today, the bionics were a secondary character to the show (which is exactly why the re-launch of The Bionic Woman miserably failed on all levels). The bionics may have been a fantastic eye catching weapon; but they provided so much more; for instance – 'comic relief; (cut to Jaime using her bionic arm to whip up an omelet or clean her house). The writers were insightful enough to understand that if any of us wound up with these special gifts, they would probably be used in unsophisticated ways to get us through a painstakingly typical boring rough day. 

You better do your homework kiddo.

Max, the bionic dog.

Unlike the highly sexualized female leads we see on film today, Lindsay Wagner was a combination of incredible beauty and cool sweet charm. Whereas hair and wardrobe take center stage to female characters in our post-modern era, her gifts revolved around her inner strengths the most notable being her magnetic personality. Her smile was her deadliest weapon. And it were these exact traits along with her incredible acting skills that enabled her to win an Emmy for this iconic role. In fact you could easily relate this win to the Oscar nominations Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie received for Stephen King's "Carrie". These were the types of television and film genres that would most likely be overlooked for such prestigious awards – but were handled so brilliantly by the actors that nobody could deny giving credit where credit is due and offering accolades that the performers greatly deserved no matter what the genre.

As above mentioned, The Bionic Woman had crossover characteristics that went far beyond the crossover episodes we've been seeing lately in superhero shows. The characters of Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson) & Doctor Rudy Wells (Martin E. Brooks) appeared playing significant roles during most of the 3 seasons the show ran. Also, When the series changed networks from ABC to NBC for its third and final season, Anderson and Brooks became the first actors in history to play the same characters on two different TV series on two different networks as they continued to appear in The Six Million Dollar Man which remained on ABC.   In addition, when the series changed from ABC to NBC, Lee Majors no longer guest starred on The Bionic Woman because he was still under contract with ABC. Since he was the main character ABC would not allow the crossover, and vice versa with Lindsay Wagner.

You do know I'm faster, right?

Boring work out.

In the last episode ("On the Run"), Jamie is called "Robot Lady" by a little girl who has learned about her bionics. Like Steve Austin in the original book Cyborg, she has to come to terms with the fact that she is not quite human. After three years with too many assignments to allow her time to herself, she resigns. However, the people in charge decide that she cannot just be allowed to leave and want to put her into a safe community where they can keep their eye on her. She goes on the run but later realizes that she is still the same woman, despite her mechanical parts and goes back to work for the OSI, but with fewer missions and more time to herself. The final episode was acknowledged to have been inspired by The Prisoner as Jaime is similarly being pursued by entities concerned about the secret information she possesses.

Despite being on different networks, both The Bionic Woman and The Six Million Dollar Man were simultaneously cancelled in the spring of 1978. Unlike The Six Million Dollar Man, which ended with a standard episode, "On the Run" was written and filmed as a resolution to the series.

Send in the fembots!

Hi-tech can look really ugly.

Later, Three made-for-TV movies were produced that expanded the "bionic family" and explored a rekindled love between Jaime and Steve.

In the first reunion, The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987), Jaime and Steve are reunited after nearly ten years of living separate lives. Jaime's memory is fully restored (according to Oscar, Jaime was involved in an explosion at the American Embassy in Budapest and "she remembered everything" after she recovered from her concussion) and she tries to reconcile her feelings for Steve while at the same time helping train Steve's son Michael in the use of his own recently acquired updated bionics. Jaime challenges Michael to a friendly race. He overtakes her and she makes the comment that she feels like an "obsolete model". Michael is kidnapped by Fortress. Steve and Jamie along with the Air Force infiltrate the abandoned glass factory to "rescue" Michael.

The second film, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, (1989) introduced Sandra Bullock as paraplegic Kate Mason who becomes a next-generation bionic woman and Sommers again helps train the neophyte cyborg.

In the final reunion film, Bionic Ever After? (1994), a computer virus corrupts Jaime's bionic systems. Dr. Wells informs Steve that "she may never be bionic again," but Steve's main regard is he wants her alive above all else. She undergoes a major upgrade, which not only increases the power of her bionics but gives her night vision. Finally, after so many years of waiting around, the bionic couple say their "I Do's".

Natural beauty.

Super women from the 70's.

Like its parent program The Bionic Woman spawned its own line of toys. Kenner produced a 12-inch doll of the character, with similar features to the Steve Austin version (bionic modules and removable bionic limbs), except instead of a bionic eye the doll's head would click when turned, simulating the sound of Jaime's bionic ear. Accessories for the doll released by Kenner included additional fashions, and a Bionic Beauty Salon playset.

A metal lunchbox for children was available, as was a vinyl story record produced by Wonderland Records. Kenner produced a series of stickers and temporary tattoos featuring Jaime Sommers individually and with Steve Austin.

A board game based on The Bionic Woman series was also created. It was sold by Parker Brothers in the US, and was a 2–4 player game suited for children between 7 and 12 years of age.

In July 2016, prior to Comic-Con International, the New York Times ran a story about Dynamite Entertainment. In it, best-selling author Andy Mangels was revealed to be writing a prestigious new intercompany crossover mini-series for the company, in conjunction with DC Comics: Wonder Woman '77 Meets The Bionic Woman, bringing together the Lynda Carter television character with Lindsay Wagner's fellow 1970s television super-heroine. 

 

Barbie who?

Retro poster.

Overall, The Bionic Woman stands tall among some of the greatest Sci-Fi TV series from the 70's and from any decade. The charisma Wagner had as the leading role, plus the supporting cast and the variety of stories that ranged from weekend camps to stopping nuclear missiles from falling in L.A. guarantee a show that even on 2017 can entertain the most avid Science Fiction/Comic Book fans of all ages. 

Here's the original opening from the series:

Some TV ads promoting the wonderful Kenner toyline:

The original TV bumper from ABC:

The DVD advertisement:

A brief behind the scenes featurette:

And last but not least, a collection of bloopers: