Customer Reviews

Getter Robo Armageddon - Power Pack (Vols. 1-4)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well its been a while since anyone put anything in the commentary, but enough of that lets talk Getter Robo. Is it good and worth buying the whole set, you wonder, or is just another robot anime that just cant cut the cake with what the fans want? Another thing why is it so freaken cheap? I am happy to say that it is awesome, the first three episodes alone get you into the action. The story may not make since then, but it will unravel over time. To be honest you should not pay to much attention to the storyline, and just let the whole thing flow for you. This kind of robot anime aint for the story driven kind of people anyway. Great action and it actually makes me want to look into the earlier series that are out there even if they may not be as action packed as this. Very brief nudity, not to much to make you cover your eyes or something and very gore, not for the kiddies. Why its cheap to buy, dont know dont care worth every penny and more. Other robot animes to look out for like this are Godannar and how could I forget Mazinkaiser.

OK, first of all, this movie is really only for fans of giant robots, and definitely NOT FOR CHILDREN. This is not Gundam Wing!! The cast isn't really all that well developed, and apparently leans heavily on you knowing them from the original series.

However, if you liked the old "Force Five" cartoons as a kid, then this will be right up your alley. The action is incredible, and the new Shin Getters are soooooo phat. The story is really hard to follow, but I get the impression that it's not because of the dub. The visual style may freak you out a bit at first as it has a definite retro feel, but I found myself loving it by the end of the series. The interviews with the voice actors are a nice touch as well.

In short, just sit back, and enjoy the chaos!

Back in the 1970's, Go Nagai made a couple of giant robot series including Getter Robo and Getter Robo G. Then, in the 1990's, he went back to all his original series from the 70's and turned them into warped anime with cursing, nudity and plenty of violents. Getter Robo Armageddon is no exception.

The story takes off right after the Moon Wars (which was originally a CD drama). The three original Getter pilots have all disolved, but a new group of Invaders come back to Earth and now it's up to Ryoma, Hayato and Musashi to combat them, while at the same time fighting their mentor, Dr. Saotome. The easiest way to describe the story is just wierd and violent. Most of the stuff in these 13 episodes don't make any sense at all, but, frankly, it doesn't have to. 70's mecha shows didn't have to make a lot of sense and they did fine. Getter Robo Armageddon trully understands what 70's giant robot shows were all about before Gundam rolled along.

The animation is smooth and very vivid and the soundtrack is done perfectly featuring some nice guitar. Action-wise, you should be pretty impressed with Getter Robo. There is always atleast two kick-butt fights an episodes. In fact, the last episode is nothing but action. The best part about all this is that it never gets boring. It's always insane and intense no matter how many times you watch it.

ADV took great care into bringing this series to the US. There are a lot of good extras on the discs including textless openings and closings, LD covers and inserts, production sketches and interviews with the dub cast. It looks like the guys at ADV had a lot of fun working on it. And when the fans are having fun and the guys who work on it are having fun, you've got a perfect title.

So should you buy it? If your a mecha fan, yes. If you like tons of action, yes. However, if you want a well told story with lots of character development, look somewhere else. This ain't no Gundam. Overall, Getter Robo is the mecha fan's ultimate anime. Especially to those who were big fans of the original 1970's series.

Before purchasing this power pack I was a Getter Robo virgin, I had never seen an episode. I had only seen the ADV preview, and read the reviews found on Amazon. I was willing and able, it was time for some Getter action!

Day 1: My Power Pack arrived in the mail and I watched the first episode, I was confused and felt like I was missing a huge plotline.

Day 2: Episode 2 was exciting and I liked the animation, but I still felt lost in plot details missing from the previous series.

Day 3: All notions of loss of plot went out of the window, as I watched the remaining 11 episodes back-to-back. Plot lines began to be explained. They began yelling "GO GETTER TOMMAHAWK!" and other weapons of their choice. The excitement levels grew. By the final disc of 3 episodes I was yelling "GO GETTER RAY!" with them.

It is not the most menatlly demanding anime, but is very visually intense. I was very impressed by my Getter Robo experience, and would recommend this to mecha fans. Be warned there is a lot of violence, although of the monster/fantasy variety, lots of chopping up, exploding heads etc.. It has a suggested rating of 15+ so be careful of young kids watching this. For those who crave action which never lets up this is for you!

Loved it. Must see for mecha anime fans. Physics aside this is a good anime with the culture you expect from a Dragonball Z release. Loved the mechas and brought back 70s nostaglia and an opening for younger gens.

Action, Violence, and Getter, What is not to love? I found the dubbed a little lacking as dubs go, but hey, the sub is fine and it does not diminish the show by any means, If the plot were a little bit easier to understand this review would have to be 5 stars. Being beautiful in its own crazy, gory, getter way, the show is beautifully made and is a fine set to add to my collection!

Let's try and be clear about something. Sometimes stories take time to tell. The creators of this series apparently forgot this fact, and just made the series. It doesn't help that the original director left after episode 3.

After reading R. Chiu's explanation of the plot, most of it now makes sense. However, in the final episode, things take a turn and end up somewhere around 2001: A Space Oddysey. <Spoiler> After defeating the series' final villain, they contain the explosion, and travel to a different dimension, where the original team realizes they were meant to stay and fight forever against an army of monsters.</Spoiler>

Aside from that, excellent action, very confusing plot, three main robots. Mute the audio, put on some heavy metal, and play. It's a smorgasborg of explosions and destruction.

Created almost 10 years ago, this OVA (original video animation) is apparently acclaimed as the one of the best action robot animes ever made. I just "discovered" this series recently and enjoyed every second of the show. I give Getter Armageddon Full marks for the Action and Style, 8.5/10 for the Story (if you understand it, I did after watching it the second time). Oh, and Full marks again for the superb Value of this power-pack box. The never-ending action and intensity keep you constantly on the edge of your seat. (In my case, it made me stay up late a few nights while watching many episodes back-to-back.)

Like many others, I think the story-telling could have been better. Not that the story does not make sense (once you understand it), it is the way they explain the plot which is quite confusing. I suspect the creators of the anime intentionally confuse viewers to create suspense!? My second-time viewing resolved many mysteries. Since this OVA was made like that of a movie instead of a typical TV series, you can't expect the same down-time (like in a 50-episode Gundam series) to explain everything. Perhaps the directors want viewers to capture the messages depicted on the screen without saying it out loud.

Definitely what are being said (or screamed, actually) out loud are the array of weaponry during the electrifying combats. WARNING: It will take a while after you finish watching Getter Armageddon to get screaming like "Getter Beam!!!", "Change Getter One!!!" out of your head. So you get an idea of the intensity and the energy level of this series!

Don't let the imperfections of the story-telling take anything away from the quality of the series overall. The impressive battle scenes, the bravery and never-say-die attitude of the Getter team (particularly its leader Ryoma) and the power of the Getter Robos leave a lasting impression. If you understand the plot, the story could actually be quite captivating. Getter Armageddon is definitely a must-watch for action fans! Nothing seems impossible in the world of the Getters. Adrenaline rush guaranteed!

THE PLOT: My two-cents to help viewers with troubles understanding the story. The real Dr. Saotome is not a bad guy. Noticing the re-emergence of the Invaders after the death of his daughter Michiru, the doctor vowed to avenge by creating the Shin Dragon, a giant battle machine formed by integration of hundreds of Getter machines. Saotome's plan was to use the high concentration of Getter energy from Shin Dragon to attract all the Invaders to the earth and kill them. But the doctor was infected by Invaders himself while preparing the Shin Dragon. What viewers should also understand is that Saotome after episode 3 is 100% "invaderized", before that he was only semi-infected. So he alternated between the good doctor who tried carrying out his Shin Dragon plan when he could control his mind and the crazy scientist whose righteous heart was completely tainted by his hatred of Ryoma and Hayato for the Michiru incident (even though he understands that the Invaders were the ones who caused his daughter's death). Shin Dragon, originally created to combat the Invaders, thus became the huge threat to the human race, until the Getter team wrested control over it from the three invaderized scientists towards the end of the series.

The sequence of events are as follows:
1. Michuru was invaderized during a flying practice and committed suicide.
2. Doctor Saotome found out Cohen and Stinger (the 2 scientists he worked with on the Getter Robo developement) are the real enemies and vowed to avenge.
3. Saotome was killed by Hayato. (Either Hayato killed his clone OR the real Saotome was killed by an invaderized Hayato but revived by Dr. Shikishima.) Saotome escaped from the scrutiny of Cohen and Stinger.
4. The real Saotome started creating Shin Dragon secretly. He also built Shin Getter to protect Shin Dragon until it is ready.
5. Saotome entrusted the real Hayato and Dr. Shikishima to create the 3 pilots for Shin Getter by using the DNA's of Ryoma, Hayato and Saotome. These 3 includes Go who was also created with the ESP power to activate Shin Dragon.
6. Saotome pretended to be a bad guy, took the DNA tubes and unveiled Shin Getter. He did not explain to Ryoma because Shin Dragon was still not ready to fight the Invaders.
6. The half-invaderized Saotome (and Musashi) was killed in Getter 3 by the 2 failed clones.
7. The invaderized Cohen and Stinger directed the UN's nuclear bomb to destroy Shin Dragon. Shin Dragon's Getter Ray polluted the earth.
8. Shin Dragon reappeared after 13 years. The Saotome also reappeared to finish his plan to activate Shin Dragon (and also absorb all the Getter Rays accidentally emitted from the nuclear explosion 13 years ago)
9. The original Getter team used Shin Getter to defeat the invaders and helped Getter Dragon complete its evolution.
10. Shin Getter and Shin Dragon then fought the invaders, Cohen and Stinger near Jupiter. After the battle, the Space was opened up by an explosion.
11. The Getter team was invited into the new dimension by the Getter Emperor (the giant battleship towards the end of the episode) to fight the villains with the many many Getter heroes they have not met before. The new dimension was closed after the villains have been locked up.

Action, action, and then action.
The original Getter Robot comic books were written by Nagai Go, in seventies.
And then TV series came - Getter Robot & Getter Robot G (As Starvengers, in USA)

This new OVA anime is a story about new robots (Shin Getter Robot & Shin Dragon), fighting 'Invaders' in a parallel world, a bit different from original TV setting.

Characters are based on original TV series(though their personalities are slightly different from those of original series), but you wouldn't see enough character development in this OVA, because the story omits many things, assuming you have seen the original series. Some might get confused by this lack of information.

But if you have seen the original series, it'd be one of the most satisfying experience, I guarrantee.

A must-have DVD for robot anime fans. Great opening theme song too. And don't expect it to be a direct continuation from the Getta Robo & Getta Robo G TV series. It's sort of an alternate darker side of the Getta Robo universe so don't let it confuse you. But if you've never seen the TV series, it's a good idea to know a little background history about the main characters. It is assumed that you know who the characters are so there wasn't enough character development in this 13-episode OVA.