 Trade In This Movies & TV Item for $4.50
Trade in Giant Robo: The Animation (Thin Packaging) for a $4.50 Amazon.com Gift Card that can be redeemed for millions of items store wide. See more Movies & TV eligible for trade-in
|
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Editorial Reviews
GIANT ROBO:COMPLETE COLLECTION - DVD Movie
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So much more than it appears... and one of the greatest animes of all time!,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Giant Robo: The Animation (Thin Packaging) (DVD)
Giant Robo: The Animation: "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is, on the face of things, an anime adaptation of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's classic manga of the same name, most familiar to American audiences as the inspiration for a late 60s-early 70s TV series, released stateside as "Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot". But the GR OVAs (Original Video Animation) ended up being so much more. Director Yasuhiro Imagawa (who went on to make quite a career out of retro mecha anime) was not allowed to use any of the supporting cast and situations from the manga/TV show, but instead turned the production into an homage to all of Yokoyama's work, combining character's from throughout the artist's body of work into an all-new story. From the original GR, only Daisaku Kusama ("Johnny Sokko" on the TV show, Robo's 12-year-old controller), the titular mecha, and the name "Big Fire" (originally the entire villain organization in the manga/TV series--called "Gargoyle" in the US--but used in the anime as the name of the evil BF Group's leader) remain. But the genius of the show is not in its ability to adapt a beloved property from years gone by but rather in its determination to turn everything the viewer would expect from it on its head. The whole thing is so unexpected that it really takes until about the fourth episode before it becomes clear that, in Giant Robo, anything is possible, nothing is sacred... and no character--especially none of the heroes (the Experts of Justice)--is safe. You won't see anything coming in this one, I assure you.
Whereas most anime action series have the requisite wacky action episodes that showcase the fun, humor and excitement to be had by all the colorful characters and then transition into the serious climax towards the end, Giant Robo is all climax. The openings of the OVAs hint at dozens of mecha battles that have taken place in the past, with images of BF robots that we never see in the videos themselves (but look closely, because every opening is a little bit different, with different mecha offering tantalizing hints at the adventures Daisaku and Robo have had over the years). The experience is of coming in on a long-running anime in the last few episodes--the episodes where you find out all the secrets and learn that these seemingly fun-loving heroes are flawed--and often in GR, tragic--characters with pasts and backstories that are much richer than anyone could have guessed. The music is a combination of the mecha shows of the past and operatic pieces that are amazingly unique for an anime and adds to the grandeur of the storyline being told. It's a shame that the previous reviewer seems to have only watched the first episode or so. This anime deserves better than that. If you are a lover of anime (especially an old school anime fan) this is one you simply cannot miss. Be delighted by the colorful cast of characters... but don't get too attached to any of them. You won't see where it's all going until it's almost done, and by then, you won't be able to look away! Great, great anime!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
stunning, a masterpiece,
By Lars Kingbeard (Galipoli) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Giant Robo: The Animation (Thin Packaging) (DVD)
Giant Robo features top-notch animation, an excellent story, brilliant direction, and some of the best action sequences I have ever seen in an anime, or in any film for that matter. The animation style is unique and charming, although it may seem overly simple at first. It soon becomes clear, however, that the apparent simplicity allows the animation to be far more fluid and dynamic than what you find in most anime. There are quite a few grand rotational shots that really bring the characters to life. The Orchestral score by the Poland national warsaw philharmonic adds an impressive gravitas to the proceedings. Thankfully, anime works has included the original dub by manga which I find to be far superior to their own dub. On the whole Giant Robo is a thoroughly entertaining show as well as an artistic tour de force. The current price for this box set makes it one of the best deals you will ever find.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best seven-hour long Japanese superhero movie ever made (Chinese warriors and robots included),
This review is from: Giant Robo: The Animation (Thin Packaging) (DVD)
Yasuhiro Imagawa, director of G Gundam, Seven of Seven and (later) Shin Mazinger, wanted to do a take on old-school mangaka Mitsuteru Yokoyama's "Giant Robo." But he was told in pre-production that he could not use any of the supporting characters from the manga or its live-action version. A lesser artist might have despaired. Imagawa, in a moment of inspired genius, decided that if he could not use characters from the manga or the live-action version he would instead use characters from Yokoyama's entire body of work. This is why in addition to the adventures of Daisaku Kusama and the Giant Robo of the title, there are also Chinese warriors, martial-art masters, suit-wearing psychics and, of course, robots. Giant Robo was originally planned to be part five of a six part epic, so many of the characters in the story make only brief cameo appearances. Other characters allude to past encounters which are never entirely explained, and unfortunately have never been depicted. To make things worse, the show doesn't actually end. True, the main story does resolve, but it ends on a major cliffhanger that obviously foreshadows a grand ending which never came.
So Giant Robo obviously isn't a perfect production. But despite the obstacles standing against it, Giant Robo is one of the best anime of all time. Not everyone will agree, as it takes a certain kind of person to appreciate the genius that Giant Robo offers. But if any of the following items catch your attention, you might very well agree: -It has quite possibly one of the best soundtracks of any animated show ever made -The action sequences exude enough sheer creativity and daring for five or six shows of its type -The characters are remarkably well developed and are in no way perfect, or even immortal -The plot actually makes sense, and has a number of mean twists that are hard to see coming -Even the plot holes that exist in the story line can be hand-waved by the sheer exuberance of the piece -Besides the fact that the ending is a cliffhanger, the climax itself is worth the price of admission -One of the characters has the ability to psycho-kinetically slice people in half by snapping his fingers -It's only twenty dollars In summary: If you're willing to take Giant Robo on its own terms, you might just be pleasantly surprised. Actually, scratch that. Giant Robo is probably one of the best shows of its type to ever come out of Japan and any fan of Japanese animation worth his salt owes it to himself to watch it at least once. You have no excuse: watch it! It's genius. Addendum: By the way, if you've watched Gurren Lagann and loved it, this is more of the same. It's just fifteen years older.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
