Maguma taishi

Ok, so this is a series, and I admit I have only seen two episodes of it, but I think it's enough to be able to say, as a huge anime fan, that this is just VILE. Terrible animation, stupid storyline, it just looks incredibly tacky and even the biggest anime fans I think would be hard pressed to find any worth in this. If you must watch it, I suggest you just catch it on TV or something, don't spend your hard-earned pennies on this rubbish!

As a child, I remember rushing home from school to see "Space Giants" (Monstruos del Espacio in Spanish), a cool series about a golden giant named Magma, his wife Mol and son Gam, and Goa, the evil villain they fought.

Of course, being based on a 40-year old TV show, it's not surprising to see that this franchise is practically unknown to new generations, even though Magma Taishi was created by the legendary Osamu Tezuka (of Astroboy fame). So you can guess I was pretty excited when I learned of the existence of an animated series produced by Bandai Visual and Pioneer.

The animation is great for an early 90's series and all key elements are here; the supersonic whistle used to summon the heroes, kaijou (monsters), and the evil Goa (aka Rodak). Only if you have read the manga or watched the classic 1966 live action series can you fully appreciate the value of this production which I was lucky enough to find at the Mandarake store during a recent trip to Tokyo.

It's too bad only 13 episodes were produced! It's not Ultraman but this brings back lots of nice childhood memories. If you are like me (I'm 36, btw) then take a trip down nostalgia lane with Magma Taishi. I hope we get more of Ambassador Magma in the future.

When I was very young, like 7 young my mum came home one day with a video tape. I looked at it and wondered who Ambassador magma was, and in the next few hours I nearly wore that tape out. I loved it and even now that I am 20 I still find it very enjoyable.

Shows like this are under-rated by the new generation of anime lovers who see it as old with bad animation but to be fair even if a show is out of date you still have to appreciate the art and imagination the people who developed in had put into it.

Overall this is a brilliant remaster of magma taishi and I for one can honestly say that this is one of my favourite and most cherished animes and childhood memories.