Newbie’s Manual to Tetsujin 28

Today's beginner's guide to Tetsujin28 covers all of its anime entries and provides a recommended watch order. They'reall about a young boy, usually named Shotaro, with a 28-ton remote control robotclobbering bad guys. The general idea is that Shotarou's father was oneof the engineers creating the Tetsujin line of war machines intended for use inWWII. This, is their 28th and final model. This is the introduction I wish I had whenbeginning Tetsujin 28 1963. Similar to the 60s Cyborg 009 and GeGeGe no Kitaro, there's nointroduction. It just starts right in the middle of the story, literally. The English localization,Gigantor, begins on episode 42 of the 98 episode original, a fact I didn't know until I decidedto rewatch the entire anime raw. Sadly,.

The original isn't any different despite beingtwice its length. It's just a poor introduction that assumes you've read the manga, thoughthe dialogue possibly added extra context. Nevertheless, the story we get is a bi-episoderevolving door war-themed world domination villains with tanks and mechanical dinosaurs.The parts that interested me the most were the other Tetsujin models since they're the closestwe got to visual exposition. Not to mention the English localization took heavy libertieswith its dialogue. I guess it could be fun for anyone with a guilty pleasure for bad dubs,but its novelty wears off after a few episodes, unlike its closest competitorsAstro Boy and 8-Man, both from 1963. In fact, even the original Japanese version palesin comparison to these anime as they both feel.

More mature. If you haven't seen my beginnersguides, they're both comical and action-packed, but Astro offers valuable anti-war, racism,and government corruption messages, to name a few. Although 8-Man wasn't nearly as thematicallymature, it offers the most intense action, dynamic recurring villains, and an adult protagonist.Comparatively, both versions of Tetsujin 1963 feel like a vapid Saturday morning cartoon fortheir rinse-and-repeat conflicts. Sure, their enemies wear military uniforms, but there's nomessage I could infer. Although meaningless action doesn't inherently make an anime bad, 1963 doeslittle to compensate, and its age isn't helping. Overall, I give the original Tetsujin28 a 5/10. I did not enjoy watching it, and I can't recommend it unlessyou're a vintage anime otaku,.

Even then, it's one of my least favorite60s anime, so there are far better options. Thankfully, its 1980 reimagining offersmuch of the same nonsensical antics but with a more palatable platform. There'salso more detailed characters, a subtle, overarching story, and beautiful visualsremastered in HD. Now, Shotarou returns as an independent orphan living in a logcabin in the woods next to his girlfriend. While 1963 offered littlestructure for the franchise, the 1980 reimagining benefits from having aclean slate. Instead of being purely episodic, its plot is structured similarly to modernepisodic anime of the same length. It alternates between recurring villainsand total absurdity in its first half,.

Followed by a linear arc introducingmysterious enemies threatening the planet. Unfortunately, this freedom alsohinders it regarding characters, a recurring constraint prevalent in most entriesconsidering they're rarely fleshed out and exist purely for brand recognition. Despite this, Iactually enjoyed several of the antagonistic characters introduced around the halfwaypoint. Unlike our main characters, there's some complexity and drama to their backstory, alongwith moral ambiguity, to keep things interesting. Thankfully, the main appeal of1980 isn't its story or characters; it's the total absurdity of itsepisodic content. It's so quirky and unpredictable that I'd almost putit into the same category as Daitarn 3..

It puts the Tetsujin up against mummies,vampires, zombies, and the grim reaper. Another of its strong points are its visuals. Thisis the only Tetsujin series with an HD remaster, and I'm glad because I enjoyed its early 80saesthetic. Interestingly, this was the first time artist, and animator Maeda Minoru workedon an anime and was also his only role as mechanical designer. As a result, we get somepretty unique-looking mechs. Although this was Minoru's only mech anime, you've likely enjoyedhis works without realizing it, considering he was the animation director and character designerfor much of the Dragon Ball anime franchise. I didn't go back and watch any Gundam orMacross remasters to verify, but my first reaction was that this was probably my favoriteearly 80s mech anime in terms of color and picture.

Clarity. Overall, I give Tetsujin 28, 1980,a 7.5/10 for its visuals and oddly enjoyable, nonsensical plot. Thankfully this remaster isavailable on blu ray from Discotek, who recently licensed all of the Tetsujin anime for a physicalrelease, minus 1963, and I don't blame them. Unfortunately, there's another Astro Boy situationand if you've seen my beginners guide and top comment you'll understand. I began the Tetsujinproject about 4 months ago with an expected completion date of mid-December, but it didn'twork out that well because of other projects and things going on in life. The script wasmostly done by then and I unfortunately had to watch Tetsujin 28 FX raw because there wasno translation for it beyond the first episode. Around the time I was almost done with it, lo andbehold, theres news of a Discotek release of the.

Blu ray. It's an uncomfortable situation for mebecause it comes out at the end of the month and I don't want to hold up the 1960s project any moreso I'm just going to tell you what I thought about it raw. I still thought it was pretty good, Istill thought I was capable of understanding things through the visual context, but don'twatch it raw if you don't speak Japanese. The 90s anime is a sequel to theoriginal, following Shotarou's son, in command of a new and period-appropriateTetsujin 28 model. Thankfully, you don't need to watch the original to understand the sequelbecause the basics are covered through flashbacks. All I can reliably say is that it'sstory is a mostly linear narrative with a few unexpected events featuringmany colorful and quirky characters,.

Some side characters even undergo dramaticcharacter development. However, what surprised me the most about Tetsujin FX was how similarits aesthetics were to the Yuusha franchise. I mean, just look at this. To me, it feels likethese designs and transformations were created by the same people who worked on the Yuushafranchise, but sadly, I couldn't find any link on anime databases. I was also surprisedto discover stereotypical nation-themed mechs, similar to G Gundam, and a mech controlledby a guitar, like Macross 7. However, Tetsujin FX predates both. More than anything,FX makes me curious about earlier mech anime, since my understanding is so limited and there mayhave been a common influence, maybe Transformers Super God Masterforce could have been one ofthem? I don't know. While it's unfair for me.

To give Tetsujin 28 FX an official review score,it felt like a 7.5/10. It could have been higher, but you know, the language. I'll rewatch it whenI get the blu ray and it will probably be higher. I enjoyed watching the original Tetsujin, themachine, in color for the first time. I enjoyed seeing Shotarou as an adult, as a father and hispersonality mellowed out a lot. I liked seeing the side characters develop because it was prettydramatic and intense scenes from what I can tell from the visual context. Just some the twists andturns and whatnot, it seemed really interesting so I'm looking forward to that, but this isthe most I can say having seen it only raw. Comparatively speaking, Tetsujin 28 2004is the most faithful to the original anime, but it overhauls everything creatinga serious and emotional experience. It.

Takes the original premise of the story andsome of the ideas behind some of its arcs and gives it a more modern and seriousspin that I think has the most mass appeal in the franchise.Thankfully, Tetsujin 28,2004 is the most progressive and balanced entry in the franchise, overhauling its characters andcreating a serious and emotional experience. My favorite aspect of 2004 was the importanceit placed on Shotarou's background, building mystery around his father's work. Admittedly,it's the first time in the franchise I felt interested in its iconic characters becausethey were fleshed out and had a purpose greater than pure recognition value. Additionally,its anti-war themes are more pronounced, asking whether someone's intent makes somethinga tool or weapon and whether that justifies its.

Production. These issues circle in Shotarou'shead as he questions his resolve and efficacy. 2004 also overhauls its side characters,focusing on their dramatic stories throughout several mini-arcs, fitting neatly within itsoverarching linear plot. Although I enjoyed the importance of Shotaru's history, I preferredmost of its side characters, especially Kenji, a pacifist who often finds himself at oddswith Shotarou over his views on weapons. Despite their stark ideological differences,Kenji understands Shotarou isn't fully aware of the history he supports. As a result,their dynamic develops as the story unfolds. Unfortunately, this degree of writing prowess wasinconsistent in its second half. For starters, episodes 12-16 were enjoyably dramatic yetout of place for being the only episodic,.

One-off stories featuring new andinconsequential characters. It felt like the narrative build-up screeched to ahalt for a few episodes preventing me from enjoying them to their fullest and causingconcern over if the main plot would continue. Its main plot returns in episode 17, beginningwith unnecessary foreshadowing that literally spoils its ending. If you'd like to avoidthis, skip past its opening to around 2:14, and you should be fine. It makes me questiontheir thought process considering its final arc is saturated with uninteresting yet convolutedvillains and an underwhelmingly abrupt conclusion. Although its final arc featured some intensebattles with the most mechs on screen at once, the entire 2004 series was consistentlythe most beautiful and well-animated in.

The franchise. I loved how they illustratedthe duality of tool and weapon in Tetsujin, giving him this ominous aura in several episodes.The severity of these conflicts is further depicted by low camera angles, contrastingthe size of fragile humans against massive, hulking war machines. 2004 also best displays thebrutal nature of war through robots struggling against each other in hand-to-hand combat,destroying parts of their body in the process. Its combat feels raw and visceral in ways manyother mech anime with lasers and swords lack. Overall, Tetsujin 28 2004 isn't perfect, but it'sintense, mysterious, and emotional enough for many to enjoy. I give it a 7.5/10. You may alsoenjoy its spinoff movie, Tetsujin 28: Hakuchuu no Zangetsu. It follows the 2004 anime but branchesoff, forming its own timeline around the halfway.

Point. Superficially, I think it's an enjoyablemovie primarily for its beautiful presentation. I don't know about you, but if I feelunderwhelmed by an anime's ending, I expect any subsequent content to rectify theseissues, like with Macross 7 Dynamite 7. Otherwise, it's a misguided effort, likeputting rims on a hoopty. So if you're going to make an anime after theanime ends and its ending was underwhelming, maybe they didn't think itwas underwhelming in Japan, but I did. I think that movie could go andflesh out a lot of characters. We need an epilogue for this because it kinda just endsand it's so abrupt and I don't like that. I digress, the 2007 Tetsujin movieoffers nothing to its source material.

But thematically appropriate yet redundantanti-war messages. I would say it's almost detrimental as it's a “what if” scenarioimagining if Shotarou's father adopted a son. I felt this contradicts his undyinglove and desperation that motivated him to create a war machine out of hope fora better future in the anime series. I give the tetsujin 28 2007 movie a6/10. It's a fun watch if you don't have any eccentric hangups over 2004's conclusion. Overall, each entry in the Tetsujinfranchise is good for its time, and most are still enjoyable today.As for my recommended watch order, it relates to your tastes since most entriesfollow popular trends for its period.

If you love late 70s mech anime, like Daitarn 3,then you'll enjoy 1980. If you love the Yuusha and 90s Gundam aesthetic, then the 1992 anime is foryou. However, the average viewer will likely enjoy 2004 the most for its visuals, characters,lore, and shorter episode count. Lastly, if you think you'll hate the anime anddon't want to try it, I'd recommend the 2007 spinoff movie since it contains theessence of Tetsujin and is well-animated, though you'll have to skip its opening since itspoils the ending of the 2004 series. However, it will at least familiarize you with the franchisewithout requiring any serious time commitment. Since I'm ad-libbing so much of this videoalready, I may as well add something that I don't know how I forgot because it'skind of hilarious in a bad way. Tetsujin.

28's protagonist Shotaro, the 10 year oldboy is the origin for the term shotacon, if you don't know what that is, Google itbut you're probably going to be added to some sort of list for doing that.Basically the term shotacon was originated in 1981 in a magazine I couldn't findany further context to that in the Wikipedia page that I read because I did not want to investigatefurther because there's probably some extra context out there I'm just too afraid to findit. Maybe it's a joke, maybe people were upset that they changed his character design from thisto this or it could have just been something that changed over the time that was totally innocentin the beginning. Maybe because Shotaro was like a template for further anime characters from thatpoint since he was as generic as they come, but.

I don't know it is what it is and shotacon isshotaro complex stuffed together and now you know If you decide to watch any of these anime, comeback and let me know what you think. Thanks for watching, and thanks to Nea Chanand everyone listed here for their Patreon support. I'll see you soon withthe Beginners Guide to Jungle Taitei.

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