Reviews

Tetsujin 28-gou (2004) is a reimagining of the original manga. Taking place in the 1950s, it draws heavily from the two most famous arcs in the manga to tell its own original story. Like the manga, its one-part mecha story and one part hardboiled detective story. One thing that this adaption adds is emotional depth. Shotarou seems more vulnerable, more flawed, and more human here. The story as a whole is more emotional, with more focus being on the characters compared to the action, and with the characters personal motivations and backstories playing a larger role than usual. Many of the episodes are genuine tearjerkers. The mystery element is also played up, with plenty of twists in the second half of the show. The atmosphere of post-war Japan is played up in this adaption. The atmosphere of a Japan which is rapidly recovering from the war and rapidly changing is central to the story. Change is a major theme, with the old Japan slowly being replaced by the new. And much of the conflict in the story comes from relics of the war which must be discarded in order for the nation to move on, whether those relics be people who refuse to or wartime superweapons which ought to be destroyed.