Tetsujin 28-Go Review - 85/100
After watching the new Mazinger, and realizing how well it was written I started to wonder whether the director, Yasuhiro Imagawa, might have created similar shows. After all, he also was behind Giant Robo, so he seems to have a knack for these mecha series. And it turns out that he did: in 2004 he directed and wrote a remake of Tetsujin 28, the very first mecha anime that was ever created. And I must say, after watching it: it’s just as good as the new Mazinger, if not better.
The problem with the new Mazinger is that it had a very restricted audience: if you didn’t get that it was a homage, you wouldn’t enjoy the series, and the silly overblown bits will probably turn off a lot of people, not knowing whether to take it seriously or not. Tetsujin 28-Go however is different: do NOT make the mistake that this is going to be a fun little series just because of the very simple drawings. This series is dark, deep and thought-provoking, and has no intention of making fun of itself. It stands among remakes as Casshern Sins, that take the basic premise of the series that they’re based on, and create an engrossing story that can even be watched if you have no idea about what it originally was about.
It’s very easy to think that this is yet another one of those simple “boy meets robot, they fight crime”-series, in which science is evil, however this series goes much deeper than just that. Shotaro indeed is a very young boy who is a genius detective, but at the same time he hardly has any childish antics that get in the way of the story. The series plays ten years after the end of World War II, and it really makes the most optimal use of the setting it’s in: it shows a Japan that’s on the verge of becoming one of the world’s economic superpowers, and it doesn’t just question the limits of science in this process, but it also looks at themes as creators versus creations, and the struggle of those who were born after the war, and those who witnessed its horrors, and contains a deep analysis of these themes.
This series is mostly made up of short arcs, ranging from one to three episodes in which Shotaro gets sent in to take care of some kind of case in which some scientific invention has been lost control of. Most of the arcs are relevant to the main story, and even the ones that aren’t are really well written. Especially the episode about the zoo-keeper deserves to be a classic. The final climax for this series is well built up and really manages to bring the whole series together, though the ending could have been less rushed.
It does have its faults, there are a few things that don’t make sense here and there, and Shotaro sometimes sends Tetsujin in for tasks that aren’t really fit for a giant super robot. Shotaro himself is also a bit unbelievable as a ten year-old. I know that he’s a genius and all, but he hardly has any child-like traits, and he even can perfectly drive a car! Children at his age should be busy being child. Not fighting crime.
I’m surprised that this series has flown so much over the radar, especially with the cult status that Giant Robo has. Tetsujin basically took the strong and intricated story of Giant Robo, and removed all of the over the top homages to overly manly giant robot shows, and instead played this setting straight. The result was epic, and recommended for anyone who’s in for a dark story. It’s not perfect, but there really is a lot to like. The animation is well done, despite the at first sight simplistic character-design, and the soundtrack also is really good, featuring a bunch of top-notch tracks.
| Storytelling: | 9/10 |
| Characters: | 8/10 |
| Production-Values: | 8/10 |
| Setting: | 9/10 |
What little I’ve heard about this series has always been positive, making your recommendation one more reason to put it on my watch list. The fact that it’s a different and more down to earth take on the story is worth keeping in mind, but it should hopefully make this just as interesting in the long turn.
Comment by Camario — September 14, 2009 @ 20:26
Watching the chief of police’s secretary hitting on Shotarou throughout most of the series made me realize where the term shotacon comes from.
Comment by primeparadigm — September 15, 2009 @ 1:58
watch some other super robot stuff
mazinkaiser
new getter robo
getter robo Armageddon
are the ones I’ve watched so far and are all pretty good. The main characters for the getter robo series actually surprised me a bit with how cool they were. Ryoma is a badass.
Comment by cody — September 15, 2009 @ 17:13
Glad I read your review! I tried it out as a result and actually found one of my favorite series to date.
Comment by CJ — May 5, 2010 @ 0:17