Tetsujin 28-gou (2004)

Having never seen the original Tetsujin 28/Gigantor, I came into this series not really knowing what to expect. The result was one of the best mecha anime I've ever seen, and I don't consider that an exaggeration.

The story is a complex and emotionally-charged one, set immediately after the Second World War and focussing on the American occupation of Japan and its reconstruction. This is handled tastefully and without pulling punches - and although the show is heavily supernatural (drawing on Yokoyama's original ideas and elements of Imagawa's earlier Giant Robo), episodes such as "The Melancholy of Dr Black" and "The Glowing Entity" have both alternate ... history elements and science fiction elements, resulting in some powerful scenes.

To mention too much of the overarching plot would ruin the impact of the final arc, but one of the strengths of Tetsujin 28 is the way in which short plot arcs, one-off enemies and a series-long intrigue are all resolved in due time. Similarly, the robot itself is rarely the sole focus of an episode - for a portion of the show, it is not present and does not fight. This allows the series to focus on its characters, a varied and well-developed group from the constantly conflicted protagonists Shotaro and Dr Shikishima to even the more comic figures of Ohtsuka and Ms. Takamizawa. The enemies all have their own tragedies and intrigues, and as a result the show rarely feels like a simplistic rogues' gallery pitted against an elite heroic group.

The art style is a matter of taste - it has the big-eyed, expressive style that evokes early cartoons and animation, a far cry from Giant Robo's gritty and dynamic style or G Gundam's colourful and madcap designs. This is a strength of the series to my mind, since it really shows what it is - a child's eye view of terrifying and moving events. However, it will not appeal to people who prefer the heavy-lined and detailed style of 80s OVA animation.

In terms of music and sound, Tetsujin also excels. The opening theme is an upbeat march that puts many super robot theme tunes to shame in its cheerfulness and heroism, and this contrasts starkly with the world the series creates. The incidental music is period-appropriate and provides a good sense of drama without being overbearing.

To summarise, Tetsujin 28 is pretty much required viewing to any mecha fan. It draws on the very roots of the genre, and the mind of the great Yokoyama - mixing it with Imagawa's own genius. As a simple super robot remake it outdoes Shin Mazinger, but Tetsujin can be considered more than that. It's a show which challenges the idea of the super robot genre by setting it against a backdrop of conflicts and tragedies that no robot can easily fix.

This was my first series I finished watching in 2010 and what a treat this was! I’m actually quite glad the OP was so misleading, this is a great series, it’s touching, interesting, well written, and varied. This is how series remakes should be.

Plot: 9
The plot is divided into clear arcs, the first 5 episode arc being an 10 rating without a doubt to me. There’s only one episode I could call truly throwaway, it’s not bad per se, but just that one episode is rather cliche ridden and unecessary. The rest of the series, while never being quite as good as the first 5 ... episodes, are still phenomenol in their own right, they all connect to an overall tale while at the same time being interesting in their own right and most of the arcs end shockingly tragically. That’s another thing, this isn’t necessarily a kiddy show, it might be drawn that way, but it takes its audience very seriously and never babies us through or betrays us. I think a few points were a bit made up at times, but when everything else is written this good, just run with it and enjoy yourself. It’s the type of series that will make you think during it when you’re done while never detracting from the entertainment value.

Characters: 8
Characters aren’t quite as strong, but each contribute to whatever situation they’re in very well. Shotaro Kaneda isn’t exactly convincing as your average 10 year old, but he’s still interesting and well developed as he comes to terms with his feelings about the whole situation involving Tetsujin. The best character is probably Kenji Murasame, who looks exactly like his Giant Robo incarnation does except without a French accent. His problems with Tetsujin are a lot different when compared to Shotaro’s and watching Kenji learn if people can be trusted in certain situations is great. Everyone else is well enough and a lot of the story arc characters are actually very interesting, but Kenji and Shotari own the stage here.

Presentation: 8
The soundtrack is the first thing I want to mention, it’s really really good, the OP and ED are both old school sounding classic type epic good and the rest just fits so well. The ED is my personal favorite piece without a doubt, it fits the series like a glove as does the rest of the soundtrack. Now, animation and art on the other hand? It’s all solid, but nothing spectacular and is clearly went for a distinctive old-school type look that some series still go for nowadays.

Overall: 9
The story is such an emotional and deep powerhouse here that I can’t help but give it a 9. The good characters are really good and the not as great ones still help out. Pardoning a single worthless episode, the story is just a masterpiece unto itself, it more than makes this series worth watching, multiple times even. It’s not at all a kiddy series once you’ve gotten past the character designs and the story will prove it to you by being dark and thought provoking.

Note: this review contains some spoilers beyond the premise but does not discuss conclusions of character or story arcs. It also refers to other works directed by Imagawa.

Built to contribute to the Pacific War effort but only completed after the Japanese surrender, the titular robot in Tetsujin 28-go (2004) was left on an island, abandoned now that it was without purpose. Ten years later it is resurrected, but what place does it have in this new era of peace for Japan? More than just a plot device or action scene prop, the nature of the mecha itself is examined in this series: its reason for ... existence (or lack thereof), especially as a metaphor for real world technology, and its relationship with both its controller and society. This and much more is explored in this adaptation of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's 1950s manga by renowned director Yasuhiro Imagawa.

I will be honest: coming into Imagawa's Tetsujin adaptation as the last of his mecha projects I viewed, my expectations were mixed. Though I had read some praise for it, it's also his least popular mecha series in the west by a decent margin. Can that be explained by the mere fact that Tetsujin 28-go's following is almost non-existent? Possibly. Lacking both the popularity of a franchise like Gundam or Mazinger Z, or the high budget epic allure of Giant Robo, that Tetsujin 28-go would slip through the cracks into obscurity is understandable. Nevertheless I thought that if it were truly great it would at least have a little more recognition. That seems to have been a mistake: this is certainly one of the finest mecha anime ever made, and debatably Imagawa's best work.

It's "debatably" mostly because I'll be the first to defend Giant Robo's greatness if it's brought into question, but also because if you are familiar with his works, he implements variety while sticking to common elements, making comparing them in the first place a bit of a pointless exercise. Giant Robo, G Gundam, and Shin Mazinger Z may all be mecha series with various stylistic intersections like martial arts but their goals, tone, scale, and more differ wildly from each other. The same is true for Tetsujin 28-go, which I'm inclined to say separates itself the furthest from any of the previous mentioned. Like the other mecha projects he wrote in addition to directing (all of them except for G Gundam), Imagawa is extremely ambitious here. It's not the ambition that led to the seamless blending of characters from multiple works into one bold epic narrative as with Giant Robo, nor the reminagining that centers events around a secondary antagonist from the source while attempting to cram as many plot twists as humanly possible into the story as with Shin Mazinger Z. What Imagawa is going for in Tetsujin 28-go, and I'm glad to say that he succeeds magnificently, is thematic focus. There are specific ideas here which he wants to explore, and does so extremely effectively. Though I can't say how much of it is taken directly from Yokoyama, having not read the manga (which isn't available in English at the moment), the auteurist aspects of the direction still solidify this adaptation as Imagawa's through and through.

There's a solid cast of characters here, but two of them deserve the most attention for their importance both narratively and thematically: Shotaro Kaneda, the boy detective and our protagonist who finds himself in charge of operating Tetsujin No. 28, and Kenji Murasame, the ex-intelligence officer.
Shotaro is born at the end of the war and, with no parents to guide him, must decide his own morals in this new "peaceful" post-occupation era. Fortunately for him, he has some help in the form of Police Chief Otsuka and Professor Shikishima. Kenji, meanwhile, has lived through it, lost friends and family, and during his experience developed a deep disdain for any and all weapons of war. Tetsujin is no exception, and early on his driving motivation is to destroy or otherwise rid Japan of it. But the story has other plans, and the same events that become instrumental to developing Shotaro's values simultaneously test Kenji's: the post-war era as experienced by both the youngest generation and its predecessor.

The series grounds its plot in real historical context, referencing events such as the Mitaka and Matsukawa trail derailment incidents of 1949, the space race, the Ueno zoo animal euthanizations, and of course the war itself. A recurring element of the series is that many of the antagonists Shotaro faces are normal people transformed by their involvement in these events: circumstances forced them to do bad and their lives were irreversibly changed as a result, and they find themselves incompatible with the new era defined by optimism and progress; emblematic of the maturity of the work is the fact that while it may take pity on them, the series never excuses their actions. The past in Tetsujin 28-go has an unavoidable influence on the present, whether it be good or bad, and through the eyes of Shotaro we learn about the nature of the society Yokoyama would have been experiencing firsthand and writing about - notions present on the role of technology and foreign influences in Japan at the time, as well as its place in the world post-war perhaps reflect real anxieties that were in the public consciousness - and we witness too the effects it has on our protagonist.

Despite the giant robots this is very much a noir series tonally, and in typical detective noir fashion there are revelations when it becomes clear that the nature of the situations Shotaro faces are more complex than first anticipated, and/or previously unknown information comes to light. These are handled with ample amounts of foreshadowing so while the reveals may be surprising they never come across as unjustified or out of left field. I said I don't like to draw comparisons but when it comes to this I can't help but comment on (and praise) the level of restraint here compared to the later Shin Mazinger Z.

The animation is never spectacular, but Imagawa's talent for shot composition is on full display here and with excellent background artists supporting him the series is always visually captivating (here is an album containing a few shots from the first episode, plus others from throughout the series that don't spoil anything: https://imgur.com/a/usbqxPi). The setting of 1950s Japan, rarely utilized in anime, provides the opportunity for equally unique locations: the industrial docks and factories, the tram-laden streets of Tokyo, the lower class settlements. Simplistic character designs faithful to the original manga as well as the use of the same opening theme from the 1963 anime give it a retro feel. Being an early digital series it's unfortunately stuck in standard resolution, but this is not a complaint I can hold against it.
The score is effective and well suited to the noir tone of the series, adding tension to scenes when needed and enhancing dramatic moments, with a few memorable recurring tracks. Supposedly David Bowie's song "Space Oddity" played during a certain scene in episode 11 during the anime's television broadcast but it was replaced on the home media releases, and that version isn't available to view anywhere. What a shame.

Without spoiling, the ending of the series provides a satisfying and extremely memorable conclusion to the themes it's been pondering since the first episode, as well as completing Shotaro's coming of age. This is one that will likely stick with the viewer for a good while after finishing, but then, I could say that about the series as a whole.