A young boy aids in the fight against a terrorist organization as the sole controller of a prototype giant robot.A young boy aids in the fight against a terrorist organization as the sole controller of a prototype giant robot.A young boy aids in the fight against a terrorist organization as the sole controller of a prototype giant robot.
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Giant Robo was a comic which was first featured in a weekly comic magazine "Shonen Sunday" in the late '60s by comic artist Mitsuteru Yokoyama, then turned into a TV series. Yokoyama drew another comic featuring a giant robot under a boy's control; the "Gigantor" (Tetsujin Nijyuhachi-go) which also became a TV series (four times). Giant Robo was supposed to be a weapon for the bad guys, but because U7 (Disuke Kusama) first spoke into the wrist watch remote control, it only obeyed his command. Like Gigantor, its first incarnation to TV was acted by a real live actors, then the second series was animated. I have memories of this series like many people who wrote here including having a crush on U5. I don't know what it is about these classic Japanese TV sci-fi but there's something that leaves a lasting impression on people. Yokoyama has another comic with giant robot obeying master's commands (Babyl II or Babyl Nisei) which also became a TV series. He is considered along the likes of Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy), Ishinomori Shotaro (Kamen Ryder, Kikaida, Go Rangers, Cyborg 009), and Fujiko Fujio (Obake no Q-taro, Doraemon) as a founding father of genre we now call "Manga", and has legion of fans around the world. Just a great show from a great comic artist.
This is a weird one, from back in the late 60s you have this Japanese import, about a kid, a Casio-watch controlled 100 foot flying robot, a guy in a real bad Squid/jellyfish papier-mache mask who shakes a trident alot(he's the evil villain, Emperor Guillotine!), fakey rubber suited monsters, a group of terrorists who shoot plastic machine guys, and intend to take over the world with their 9 inter-changeable members, a '58 Bel-air and some godawful monsters.
You have to see it to believe it-the dreaded Nuclion, a bowling ball/landmine/baby toy from outer space(!!) which rolls downhill and crushes an onslaught of plastic tanks before being hauled up by Giant Robot, who then drops it onto the '58 Belair that the 'Gargoyle Gang' have helpfully piled into(actually, the last guy diving for cover dives UNDER the car...oh its a scream...)...
You have these villains...fanger, silver-faced DrBotanus, who is some kind of Evil Plant wiz, a panther-griffin cross who likes eating toy trains whole, a giant eye Opticus(oh that one is a scream!), and this short guy with a peg-leg, who is sposedly a master of disguise(!?)...God, WHAT were they thinking??
Guys get killed and come right on back without explanation. Take 'Beatnik Man'-one of the head Gargoyle Gang guys. Has the shades, bad greasepaint beard(troweled on by the looks...) and beret. I think he winds up quite dead at least 4 times-shot up by a plastic machine gun, caught in an atomic cherry bomb explosion(don't ask), flattened by Nuclion, etc. At the end, he is now wearing a goatee, but its our guy, Beatnik Man in the flesh...
Bad models, bad acting, bad dubbing--and as a kid, I loved every minute of it! People Do remember it, not from its name but from the content, of seeing Giant Robot(who looks like a silver George Washington in a King Tut get-up...),who flies, shoots missiles outta his fingers, etc.
It is kinda fun in a MST3K way, but not more than that.
I give it *** stars outta **** on the hilarity scale, *1/2 in the actual quality scale. Its a hoot. Yes! See it if you can or dare.
You have to see it to believe it-the dreaded Nuclion, a bowling ball/landmine/baby toy from outer space(!!) which rolls downhill and crushes an onslaught of plastic tanks before being hauled up by Giant Robot, who then drops it onto the '58 Belair that the 'Gargoyle Gang' have helpfully piled into(actually, the last guy diving for cover dives UNDER the car...oh its a scream...)...
You have these villains...fanger, silver-faced DrBotanus, who is some kind of Evil Plant wiz, a panther-griffin cross who likes eating toy trains whole, a giant eye Opticus(oh that one is a scream!), and this short guy with a peg-leg, who is sposedly a master of disguise(!?)...God, WHAT were they thinking??
Guys get killed and come right on back without explanation. Take 'Beatnik Man'-one of the head Gargoyle Gang guys. Has the shades, bad greasepaint beard(troweled on by the looks...) and beret. I think he winds up quite dead at least 4 times-shot up by a plastic machine gun, caught in an atomic cherry bomb explosion(don't ask), flattened by Nuclion, etc. At the end, he is now wearing a goatee, but its our guy, Beatnik Man in the flesh...
Bad models, bad acting, bad dubbing--and as a kid, I loved every minute of it! People Do remember it, not from its name but from the content, of seeing Giant Robot(who looks like a silver George Washington in a King Tut get-up...),who flies, shoots missiles outta his fingers, etc.
It is kinda fun in a MST3K way, but not more than that.
I give it *** stars outta **** on the hilarity scale, *1/2 in the actual quality scale. Its a hoot. Yes! See it if you can or dare.
This was one of 3 shows I first remember watching, from the age of 2-6 years, and was my absolute favorite. The other two shows were Speed Racer and Batman.
I have not seen an episode of Johnny Sokko and His Giant Flying Robot, (as I remember it called), since I was about 8 years old. Through the years,I have mentioned it in conversations with others and surprisingly have never run across anybody who remembers it. Sure was cool to find it on this sight along with a couple positive comments! Let's hear from more!
P.S. Batman was campy and Godzilla's special effects were just as dated as 'Johnny Sokko' but look at the legends they've become. In my memories, Johnny Sokko is right there with them.
I have not seen an episode of Johnny Sokko and His Giant Flying Robot, (as I remember it called), since I was about 8 years old. Through the years,I have mentioned it in conversations with others and surprisingly have never run across anybody who remembers it. Sure was cool to find it on this sight along with a couple positive comments! Let's hear from more!
P.S. Batman was campy and Godzilla's special effects were just as dated as 'Johnny Sokko' but look at the legends they've become. In my memories, Johnny Sokko is right there with them.
If you like Godzilla, Giant Robo, Ultraman or any other big monsters that fight and save the world then this is the best best. Sure it's old and campy...but it's a lot of fun. I have old tapes that I pull out every once in a while. Still enjoy the show. Sure they didn't have the greatest special effects but who did back then? Everyone complaining about how the monsters or explosions look shouldn't compare the show to present day shows but others from the same period. This is good.
This had to be one of the weirdest shows to ever come from the Land of the Rising Sun. If anyone today were to try to promote a show featuring a ten year old kid and his flying robot, that person would either be thrown out on his ear or have the guys in the white coats come and pick him up. However, this was an enjoyable show featuring not only some crazy action, but some of the wildest monsters ever created for the whole kaiju eiga genre. The only thing that undoes this show are the poor special effects. However this show is still a cult classic and for the life of me I don't know why this isn't shown on television anymore.
Did you know
- TriviaFormer Guns n' Roses guitarist Buckethead, a big fan of the TV series, has made several references to it within his music career. This includes naming his 1994 album and early band "Giant Robot" after the titular character. He often plays a rendition of the TV series' theme song during his live shows and also uses stock footage from the TV series in the background of some of his live shows on a large screen behind him if the venue he is performing at is capable of doing so.
- Alternate versionsVoyage Into Space (1970), a "featurization" of five of the 26 episodes of the TV series (namely, episodes 1, 2, 10, 17 and 26) edited to fit a two-hour time slot (including commercial breaks), turns up occasionally on TV.
- ConnectionsEdited into Voyage Into Space (1970)
- How many seasons does Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot have?Powered by Alexa
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