Product Details

• Actors: Ray Owens, Billie Lou Watt, Peter Fernandez, Gilbert Mack, Sonia Owens
• Writers: Ray Owens, Billie Lou Watt, Peter Fernandez, Sonia Owens, Fred Ladd
• Format: Animated, Box set, Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Unknown)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Rhino Theatrical
• DVD Release Date: October 22, 2002
• Run Time: 650 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006L93A
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,758 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Gigantor - Boxed Set 1 (Episodes 1-26)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Late baby boomers and early Gen-Xers grew up singing the Gigantor theme song: "Bigger than big / Taller than tall / Quicker than quick / Stronger than strong." Based on a 1956 manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Gigantor was animated for Japanese TV in 1963 as Tetsujin 28-go (Ironman #28). This reedited and dubbed version, which begins with episode 27 of the original series, ran in syndication in the U.S. from 1966 through 1974. Near the end of World War II, a group of Japanese scientists experimented with giant robot-weapons. In 2000 A.D. the son of one of those scientists owns the final prototype. Jimmy Sparks uses a remote control with a primitive joystick to command Gigantor. With scientist Dr. Bob Brilliant, dashing Dick Strong, and comic police officer Inspector Blooper, Jimmy embarks on a series of standard adventures. He battles smugglers, evil scientists, megalomaniacs, and assorted other bad guys, most of whom want to gain control of Gigantor.

Unlike the fantastic mecha in later anime series, Gigantor looks like he was modeled after the Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz: pointy nose, hinged jaw, tubular limbs. The animation is extremely limited, with repeated footage, dialogue over still artwork, and static shots in which only the characters' mouths move. These early black-and-white cartoons have campy retro-nerd appeal, especially for adults who watched the series as kids. (Unrated; suitable for ages 7 and older: minor violence, tobacco use, ethnic stereotypes) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Greatest Cartoons of All Time, November 3, 2002

By	"madnessmark" (Maple Grove, MN) - See all my reviews

After the success of Astro Boy in both Japan and the United States, a new anime series was born. It's name was Tetsujin 28 or Iron Man 28. In 1965, it came to the states under the name Gigantor. Now, for the first time in 37 years, you can re-live the experience that drew a crowd of many children.

Despite the age of the material, Gigantor is quite amazing. At first, it sounds pretty simple. A 12-year-old boy named Jimmy Sparks pilot pilots a giant robot to help catch the bad guys. However, each episode has enough plot twists and action to keep any viewer glued to the screen. Following Jimmy Sparks on his adventures are other characters with odd names including Bob Brilliant, Inspector Blooper and Dick Strong. Even the villains have odd names like Cats Meow and Swami Tommy.

Keep in mind that this show was distributed before TV stations started having censorship laws so don't be surprised when you see someone smoking a cigarette. Also, there is one episode where Jimmy Sparks helps a bunch of cowboys by shooting at some indians so you might be offended by some of the racism in these episodes. My only problem with this show is the music. It sounds good, but do they always have to put the same melody into each song?

The extras (yes, there are extras) are on discs 1 and 4. The first disc features commentary by the original English director, Fred Lad, on episodes 3-5 which feature the villain The Spider. Lad mostly talks about how four voice actors did all these voices, but he does make some comments on how he Americanized it and why some changes were made. The extras on disc four include a lengthy interview with Fred Lad, an interview with an old anime historian (I don't know why they included this) and a biography on the original Japanese creator. I enjoyed the interview with Fred Lad since he has done lots of research on Tetsujin 28 including the sequels to it, but the anime historian interview feels like stating the obvious to all anime fans.

Overall, I enjoyed Gigantor and I think anyone can appreciate it, regardless of the fact that it is in black and white. Highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rock'em Sock'em Robots?, October 23, 2005

By	Ronnie Clay "R.C." (Winnsboro, Louisiana) - See all my reviews

Who wouldn't want a remote control towering machine that's as big as a skyscraper, flies, fights and can do anything you want? I recall his cartoon being played on Sci-fi weekday mornings after Robotech. It was originally a black & white comic called Tetsujin 28 or Iron Man 28 turned to cartoon series "Tetsujin 28-Go," the animation similar to Astroboy. Eventually it became "Gigantor" a few years later. The plot consist of a young boy, Jimmy Sparks controlling the huge robot Gigantor Dr. Brillant created the robot, and acts as a mentor for Jimmy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gigantor rocks!, August 6, 2005

By	J. S. Parlow - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A little strange at first but after a while you warm up to the big metallic guy! I'm new to G but my wife's a gigantic fan (ha!)and the quality of these DVDs is exceptional. Enjoy!