Product Details

• Format: Animated, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Limited Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English, Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
• DVD Release Date: September 27, 2005
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009PW01I
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,376 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Japan Greatest Hero, June 25, 2006

By 

Gord Wilson "alivingdog.com" (Bellingham, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tetsujin 28 - Monster Resurrected (Vol. 1) + Series Box (DVD)

The title of my review comes from a small tote bag I got in Tokyo depicting Tetsujin 28 AKA Iron Man no. 28 AKA Gigantor. Two robots, Astro Boy and Gigantor, appearing in 1964 and 1966 respectively, are indelibly burned into the American consciousness. Drawn from the manga of Osamu Tezuka and Yokoyama, they gave us our ideas of the boy robot and mecha.

Both originally appeared in black and white on mid-'sixties TV. Both were produced for U.S. audiences by Fred Ladd. Gigantor came through Trans-Lux, best known for distributing Felix the Cat. NBC bought all the episodes of Astro Boy, colorized and reran them. Recently there have been both revivals and reversions of both heroes. Astro Boy is available on DVD in the original shows (the red box) and in new shows shown on Cartoon Network (the black box). With Gigantor, it's a bit more complex.

Rhino has released all 52 original black and white Gigantor episodes in two DVD sets. A new color series, The New Adventures of Gigantor, aired in the '80s and was rerun by the Sci-Fi channel in the mid-'90s. I don't know if that series is related to this one or not.

Tetsujin 28 is Imagawa's anime take on Yokoyama's manga. It's in Japanese with Japanese and English audio tracks and English subtitles. The opening theme, sung in Japanese, sometimes shows the English translation and sometimes the Japanese. The shows take place in post-war Japan and have the 50's look of Tintin. The story line is adult anime with Tetsujin 28 having been built as a war machine. If he's no. 28, there must have been 27 other attempts. Not all of the "iron man" projects were robots, however, a Dr. Franken (Frankenstein) made his monsters from corpses.

Unlike the Gigantor shows in which Shotaro (Jimmy Sparks) mans the control box to enable his robot's "fight for right against wrong," here the boy detective is far more conflicted, struggling with conscience and his boyish reactions to the aftershock of the war and the scientists' insistence that "we had no choice".

The five episodes in volume one complete a complex and intricate story arc, setting the scene for more Gigantor-like stories. This edition includes an attractive box which includes the first volume and can hold five more. The series is rated 13 and Up for "Violence and language." That means the occasional "hell" and "damn" and the noir '50s style of everyone smoking. Like much anime, this series pushes all the hot buttons and may be too intense for younger kids. Older kids and anime fans, however, will enjoy this imaginative and thoughtful introduction to Japan('s) greatest hero.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible!, October 1, 2005

By 

The Chebb (Japan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tetsujin 28 - Monster Resurrected (Vol. 1) (DVD)

This is basically the untold story (at least in the U.S.) of the big blue robot and the boy detective in postwar Japan. If you liked the Giant Robo animated OVAs, you will enjoy this faster paced, beautifully animated retro series - with the classic Japanese theme song intact , this is a series not to be missed!! WOW!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Giant Robo meets Grave of the Fireflies, November 13, 2005

By 

Angelcake - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tetsujin 28 - Monster Resurrected (Vol. 1) (DVD)

The people who created the stunning 'Giant Robo' series have returned with yet another allegorical super robot masterpiece. This particular series is based on the debut manga of Mitsuteru Yokoyama (who also created Giant Robo, Babel II, and Red Shadow), that brought him national acclaim and created the giant robot genre in one fell swoop . It is unique, in that combines the excitement of giant robots with a post-war story not at all different from Grave of the Fireflies. It beautifully portrays the feelings of a nation still demoralized and battered 10 years after there defeat in WW2.

I heartily recommend this work, and hopefully, if this is successful enough, perhaps someone will begin to bring Yokoyama-san's manga to the U.S.!