{[['
']]}
']]}
This epic fantasy series from Toei Studios aired from 1967 to 1968 and garnered even more fans in after-school reruns throughout the 70s. Collected here for the first time on DVD are all 26 episodes of explosive kaiju battles, nefarious alien takeover plots and mind-blowing heroics from jet-packed Johnny Sokko and his equally airborne friend and protector: Giant Robot!
A megaton punch of metal-plated, missile-shooting, monster-bashing retro nostalgia awaits former '70s kidvid fans and new viewers alike in Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, which compiles all 26 episodes of the tokusatsu classic's presentation on American TV. Conceived by Toei Company producer Toru Hirayama (Kamen Rider, Super Sentai Series) and manga artist Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Giant Robo, as the series was known in Japan during its 1967-1968 network run, offered an appealing spin on the premise of Yokoyama's previous creation, Tetsujin 28-go/Gigantor, via a loophole clause that granted complete control over the titular, pharaoh-esque robot to the first person to speak into its remote-control device. That duty falls to young Daisaku Kusama/Johnny Sokko (Mitsunobu Kaneko), who is subsequently inducted into the secret peacekeeping organization Unicorn in order to thwart the Lovecraftian alien Emperor Guillotine, who employs an army of monsters in his plans for world domination. What follows is a heady pop-culture sugar rush that combines Ultraman-style giant monster brawls with Bondian spy thrills and a massive dose of adolescent wish fulfillment as Johnny and Giant Robot take on not only Guillotine's human henchmen, the Gargoyle Gang, but also an increasingly bizarre (even by tokusatsu standards) menagerie of creatures, from the colossal eyeball known as Opticon to acid-spouting starfish Scalion, a huge metal claw, an oversize jawbone with eyes, a competing giant robot called Cleopat, and the blue-faced space vampire Drakulon (not to be confused with another foe, the piscine Dracolon).
The action is frantic and plentiful, and the silent but stalwart Giant Robot makes for an ideal fantasy playmate/hero, which should increase the show's appeal to modern younger viewers (though parents should be aware that there is also an awful lot of gunplay between Unicorn and Gargoyle agents, with the latter frequently ending up dead). Older fans who remember the series from syndicated broadcasts in the '70s and '80s, as well as airings of the compilation film Voyage into Space (which is unfortunately not included in this set), will undoubtedly be pleased to have the entire series run in one DVD set after being unavailable for years outside of grey market or online sources. The individual episodes retain much of the show's vibrant color palette (though the title sequences show considerable wear) as well as an opening logo from Orion Pictures, which acquired the series through its purchase of the American International Pictures library. There may be some consternation over the fact that the four-disc set includes only the English-dubbed version of the series presented by American International Television and not the original Japanese-language edition, but having the show in any format should be reward enough for most viewers. The set also includes typically exhaustive liner notes by Japanese fantasy film and television expert August Ragone, who provides detailed information on the series' creation as well as an episode guide and a rare interview with the late Kaneko.
Post a Comment