Giant Robo (tokusatsu)

Plot

Earth is invaded by an interstellar terrorist group, Big Fire (the Gargoyle Gang in the English version), led by Emperor Guillotine. Guillotine spends most of his time in a multicolored space ship hidden at the bottom of an Earth ocean, from which he issues his orders.

The group has been capturing scientists to create an army of monsters to rampage on Earth. A boy named Daisaku Kusama (Johnny Sokko (acted out in the original series by Mitsunobu Kaneko, with actress Bobbie Byers providing his English-language dialogue)) and a young man named Jūrō Minami (Jerry Mano, a member of the secret peacekeeping organization Unicorn) are shipwrecked on an island after their ship is attacked by Dracolon (a sea monster) and captured by Big Fire. They end up in an elevator leading to a complex where a Pharaoh-like robot is being built by captive scientist Lucius Guardian, who gives Daisaku and Jūrō its control device. Guardian helps them escape before he is shot to death; before he dies, he triggers an atomic bomb which destroys the base. The explosion activates the robot, which obeys Daisaku. The boy is invited by Jūrō and his chief, Azuma, to join Unicorn and fight Big Fire with Giant Robo.

Gargoyle Gang

In the US version, the Gargoyle Gang is an ambitious, but incompetent, group with a high mortality rate. They wear Soviet and Wehrmacht military uniforms, Central American guerrilla clothing, and Italian designer sunglasses. The members of the gang all have explosive devices implanted in their bodies, to be detonated if they are captured.

Monsters

In each episode, the Gargoyle Gang sends a monster to attack its enemies:

Emperor Guillotine

Guillotine is a blue-skinned alien who has tentacles extending from the bottom of his head. He wears a long robe, carries a staff with a white orb at one end and can grow to a great height. Guillotine leaves day-to-day matters in the hands of commanders:

Arsenal

Giant Robo has a number of weapons, including finger missiles, a back missile, a bazooka cannon, radion eye beams, a flying-V missile, a flamethrower and electric wires.

Alternate versions

The series, first broadcast in the United States in 1969, peaked in distribution from 1971 to 1974 and was in syndication through the early 1980s. Giant Robo was broadcast in India from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. It aired during the early 1970s in Australia, Malaysia,Throughout the Latin American world, Brazil, and in the United Arab Emirates during the late 1980s. In 1970, several episodes were edited together to create the 95-minute film Voyage into Space. A 10-minute highlight version of Voyage into Space was created for the Super 8 home-movie market during the early 1970s by Ken Films.

Home media releases

Toei Video released the series on LaserDisc in Japan during the 1990s. It is also available on DVD. In 1990, the English-dubbed version of the series was first released on VHS by Robo Video, consisting of its first fourteen episodes on two volumes, made in England for American release. Then in 1995, the series was re-released through distribution by Orion Home Video, containing eight episodes (some out of broadcast order) on four volumes (two episodes on each videocassette). On March 26, 2013, Shout! Factory released the 26-episode, four-disc Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot - The Complete Series: Collectors Edition on DVD in Region 1.

Violence

Although the series was violent by 1960s American standards for children's programming, in Japan it was no more violent than other tokusatsu airing at the time. Gunfights are staples of each episode, and the show's two child leads (Johnny Sokko and Mari Hanson) were frequently seen shooting with the other Unicorn agents. In one episode, Johnny and Mari are captured and tied to trees by Gargoyle, and are within seconds of being executed by a firing squad when they are rescued by Unicorn agents. Nearly every Japanese anime exported to the United States during that period was edited for violence, but in Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot a minimum of violence was removed. In addition to dubbing American voice actors for the US version, many of the show's sound effects were remixed or re-recorded.

Episodes

The following episode titles were transcribed from the on-screen title cards of the US version. They are in their original US and Japanese broadcast order, verified by previews for next episode at the end of each one:

Related series

GR: Giant Robo (GR ジャイアントロボ, GR: Jaianto Robo) is an animated TV series written by Chiaki Konaka (Serial Experiments Lain, The Big O) and directed by Masahiko Murata (Jinki:EXTEND, Mazinkaiser). At the dawn of the 21st century, Earth is overrun by giant robots. Daisaku Kusama encounters the titular Robo in Okinawa ruins. Beckoned by forces he cannot understand, Daisaku is made to bond with Robo and defend his homeland from the incoming evil.

In popular culture

Frank H. Wu, a Johnny Sokko fan as a child, describes several episodes of the show in his book Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White.

Guitarist Buckethead named his early band and second studio album after the series, including several references to characters and events from the TV series in his music.

Punk band The Vandals recorded "Big Bro vs. Johnny Sako" on their 1984 album When in Rome Do as The Vandals.