646f9e108c When terrorist groups, evil criminals and aliens become too strong even for Earth's over-stretched armed forces, the virtually-indestructible robot, Gigantor, is built to combat them. I saw this about twice in the UK back in the 1960s, but it disappeared from our telly schedules for some reason, they must have been pilots which were dropped.<br/><br/>I enjoyed it so much I never forgot about it, wondering for years what happened to "gigantor" So we in the UK never got to enjoy the series, and I searched for it, even asking my parents about it.<br/><br/>My 10/10 is a five year olds vote.<br/><br/>It looks awful to an adult, but was top stuff for a youngster, and here I am decades later wondering if I imagined it because no-one else I know who lives over here can remember it. Although the series as aired in these United States didn't feature the all-important first episode (the episode in which we learn the how and why Gigantor came to be), GIGANTOR was one of those pivotal teleshows that influenced much of what has followed. There would be no GETTER ROBO or BIG O or TRANSFORMERS or any other such mecha, were it not for GIGANTOR. The idea of a kid ("Jimmy Sparks") controlling such power with what amounts to nothing more than a joy stick was one of the things that kids like myself responded to back when the show first aired. (And, of course, there was that catchy theme song…) Subsequent shows (and features, including the live-action version I've commented on here on the IMDb) delve a little more fully into the aforementioned how and why of the big guy, but few are as charming as the original. If the series has a flaw, per se, it's the fact that Gigantor is little more than a machine to be used as his controllers see fit. (And it was just that vital bit of Humanity that makes ASTRO BOY as enduring- and as superior- as it is… in my own, ever-humble opinion.) Still, being the First counts for something- and there's some (for the time) innovative animation worth seeing. All in all, not a bad way to spend an evening.
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