Tetsujin 28: The Movie

Quite a few adults will remember the exciting Japanese Cartoon, Gigantor. This black and white show with simplistic animation and wacky voice acting was one of the first of the now popular Japanese Anime shows to be produced and also one of the first to make it to the United States.Although dead here, Gigantor lives on in Japan as a cultural icon similar to how we view classic heroes like Superman, though across the Pacific Gigantor is known as Tetsujin 28 (Iron Man 28).If you have any fond memories of Gigantor, this film will really bring them out. The characters and robots are designed specifically to look like their cartoon counterparts and though the tone is a little more serious than the cartoon had ever gotten the movie will still have you recalling the old show with the silly looking robots punching each other back and forth and chucking one another into buildings. The story is slow at parts and the robot fighting becomes less exciting as the movie wears on once the initial shock has worn off. That’s not to say it isn’t’ impressive. The evil robot “Black Ox” will definitely have you drooling during his first attack on Tokyo.Although the robot computer generated graphics is odd at first, the sense of scale is incredible and far superior than most live action Japanese movies of this type (Name just about any Japanese giant monster movie). The acting is dry occasionally, and at times there is a lot of over-acting but keep in mind that this is a kids movie.Even so, if you’re a fan of Gigantor you owe it to yourself to import a copy of this movie since it’s doubtful we’ll see it in the States. If you don’t have many fond memories for the flying-metal-Homer-Simpson of a robot then you might want to stay away from this one.