Shin Super Robot Sunday: Super Robot Red Baron

Coming off the success of tokusatsu shows like Iron King and the non-giant robot Silver Kamen, Senkosha Productions would follow up with Super Robot Red Baron, which began airing on Nippon Television on July 4, 1973.

       

 

Perhaps the most notable staff member who was involved in the creation of the show was Ryu Noguchi (the pen name of manga artist and illustrator Masaru Noguchi). After working as an assistant for Shotaro Ishinomori for a time, he went independent and illustrated the manga adaptation of Alistair MacLean's 1955 novel HMS Ulysses for Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Red Baron was his first television work, where he created character designs. It was the start of a long and successful career in tokusatsu production, and he would work on the Kamen Rider, Metal Heroes, and, most significantly, Super Sentai series. He even did creature designs for Resident Evil in the 90s. 

As for the show itself, Red Baron tells the tale of the the evil Iron Masked Party led by Dr. Deviler/Devilar, who have stolen a bunch of giant robots from around the world and their designers and plan to use them to conquer/destroy the Earth. Kenichiro Kurenai, the designer of the the titular Red Baron (the last robot not stolen), makes it so only his younger brother Ken can operate it, before being kidnapped and killed by the Iron Masked Party. Ken, already a member of the Secret Science Investigation (SSI) group of crimefighters/spies/ninjas, takes control of the robot and uses it to defend the Earth, first against the Iron Masked Party, then against the Space Iron Party, commanded by Giras Q. 

 

After a slow start, the show was a success and was extended from its initially planned 26 episodes and introduced an entire new faction (the Space Iron Party). Ultimately the show ran for 39 episodes, apparently only ending when one of the main sponsors went bankrupt. Senkosha Productions would make spiritual sequels, but those are stories for another time. 

       

 

The comparisons to Mazinger Z are unavoidable. A hot blooded hero inherits a powerful robot made of a special metal (in this case Baronium) that he has to use against a secret society bent on world conquest. What's different here is the presence of the SSI. They're an Ultraman style support team of agents in snappy uniforms and their own character arcs and personalities. There's the strict but kind captain Daigo, the hot-blooded marksman Tetsuya, comic relief brawler Daisaku, Mari, a high kicking photographer and sort-of love interest for Ken. Aiding them is Inspector Kumano, a somewhat silly police officer on a bicycle who has a sword-cane in his umbrella and a gun in his bicycle pump.

       

As for the Red Baron itself, its a 40 meter (131 ft) tall, bright red colossus with a staggering array of weapons ranging from missiles, to beams, to kicks, to a rocket punch (called the Baron Punch). Its powered by a nuclear reactor, can fly at Mach 10, and after an upgrade, is capable of space travel. Fairly standard kit for a super robot. 

 

While overshadowed by bigger contemporary tokusatsu franchises, Red Baron did get a western DVD release in 2010 that included the entire series in one cheap boxed set. For whatever reason, the sequels did not. 

 

Next time on Shin Super Robot Sunday: Things get spooky as Mazinger Z runs across some deviltry.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Robot_Red_Baron

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AD%E3%83%9C%E3%83%83%E3%83%88_%E3%83%AC%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%83%90%E3%83%AD%E3%83%B3

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%8E%E5%8F%A3%E7%AB%9C

http://classichenshin.com/kewalaka/redbaron/index.htm

Shin Super Robot Sunday: Babel II

Mitsuteru Yokoyama wasn't done with the giant robot genre after Tetsujin 28-go and Giant Robo. In July of 1971, Babel II began publishing within the pages of Weekly Shōnen Champion, another shōnen adventure manga, that ran until May of 1973. On January 1st of 1973, an anime adaptation directed by Kozo Morishita and produced by Toei Animation began airing on NET. 

 

       

5,000 years ago, an alien named Babel crash landed on Earth. Equipped with advanced technology and psychic powers, he constructed a gigantic tower to send a distress signal to his home planet. Unfortunately for him, it was destroyed just before completion. Forced to give up, Babel settled down and married an Earthling girl and used what remained of the Tower to create three protectors who would aid his descendants.

In contemporary times, Koichi Yamano is an ordinary Japanese student who is plagued by strange dreams that are affected by signals from the Tower of Babel. Koichi is one of the strongest descendents of Babel, developing a multitude of psychic and physical powers ranging from ESP to regeneration to super strength, and more. The Tower recognizes Koichi as being the second coming of Babel due to his power (a Babel Junior or Babel II, if you will), and dispatches the three guardians to aid him, because another, evil, descendent of Babel, Yomi. Yomi was summoned to the tower previously, but the computer judged him unworthy, and he tries to take over the world by infiltrating governments with robotic humans to exert his influence. He's also got an army of larger robots for general destruction.

 

Koichi's three guardians are: Rodem/Lodem, an agile, shapeshifting creature that is the smartest of the three and most commonly takes the form of a black panther; Ropross/Lopross, a giant robotic pterodactyl that can fire beams and rockets; and Poseidon, a giant silver humanoid robot that is primarily built for aquatic combat but can stomp around on land too. Poseidon carries a lot of visual similarity to Giant Robo, with a regal face and finger missiles, and a rounder barrel-shaped body reminiscent of Tetsujin 28. 

 

The show ran for a successful 39 episodes. Yokoyama wrote a sequel in 1977 called His Name Is 101, in which Koichi is imprisoned in a secret CIA facility where his blood is used to infuse agents with psychic abilities (which is not the most far-fetched thing the CIA has done). Registered as Subject 101, Koichi escapes and has to fight various evil “Espers” (psychics) on his own, since his three companions are locked up in a vault by the CIA. This sequel was noted as a darker story, and didn't receive an animated adaptation. 

        

 

While not a huge impact on the Mecha genre like Yokoyama's previous works, Babel II was still significantly influential. Hirohiki Araki of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fame homaged Koichi's school uniform with Jōtarō Kūjō's outfit in the Stardust Crusaders (AKA "the one everybody knows about") story arc. Rugal Bernstein from the King of Fighters fighting game series, is accompanied by a black panther named Rodem in another direct homage. The only Western release of the show seems to have been Babil Junior, an Italian dub which The show received a Blu Ray video release in Japan in 2015.

       

Next time on Shin Super Robot Sunday: Tsuburaya Productions brings the heat. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babel_II

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%90%E3%83%93%E3%83%AB2%E4%B8%96

https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2015/09/18-1/babel-ii-tv-anime-receives-japanese-bluray-boxed-set

  

Shin Super Robot Sunday: Iron King

Last time I hinted that the next entry would be a Go Nagai story, which turned out to be wrong. I was looking at an outdated chart and for that, I apologize. There's one more tokusatsu show to cover before that. 

Iron King was produced by Nippon Gendai and Senkosha, and aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) starting on October 8, 1972 and running for 26 episodes. A spiritual follow-up to the previous Silver Kamen show, both shows had former Tsuburaya Productions employees working on them. Iron King's design in particular resembles a bunch of Ultraman designs, particularly Ultra Seven.

     

The plot revolves around secret agent Gentaro Shizuka of the National Security Organization, who dresses like a singing cowboy (this makes some sense because pop singer Shoji Ishibashi played him) and his sidekick Goro Kirishima (who's dressed like a mountain climber) investigating terrorist threats. These threats take the form of the Shiranui Clan, descendants of a race of nomads that were exiled 2000 years ago by the Yamato Clan, the ancestors of the modern Japanese people. The Shiranui Clan are back and they want REVENGE. To that end, they deploy armored ninjas who can summon and control giant robots to overthrow the government. 

Naturally, to stop a giant villain you need a giant hero; in this case the titular Iron King, a 45 meter (148 ft) tall red and silver cyborg who can can brawl and produce energy blasts and beams. Surprisingly, its not the heroic Gentaro who transforms, but rather the goofy Goro, who activates the transformation by touching the medals on his hat and shouting “Iron Shock!” 

The Iron King form is powered by water, and Goro can only maintain that form for about a minute before becoming dehydrated. Human form Goro is incredibly thirsty as a result. Gentaro isn't helpless against the giant enemies, and wields the Iron Belt, which can turn into a sword or a whip, and is capable of damaging giant enemies. 

 

After the Shiranui Clan are defeated, a new threat arises in the Phantom Militia, who use dinosaur-themed giant robots, and subsequently the alien Titanians, who can assume giant insect forms. 

      

The most obviously robotic enemies were the Shiranui Clan's, with names like Vacumira (who has a powerful vacuum hand), Jairoges (who has a cutting hand), Silver Rider (who's got wheels instead of legs), and Double Satan (who can make duplicates of itself). 

Yes. DOUBLE SATAN. 

While the show was one of many, many tokusatsu series from the 1970s, it managed to see two video releases in the west. First in 2007, from BCI Eclipse, and a 2010 release from Mill Creek Entertainment.

 

Next time on Shin Super Robot Sunday: Crabsticks.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_King

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Iron_King_(character)

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%82%A4%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AD%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0

Shin Super Robot Sunday: Astroganger

The first full-color animated giant robot anime debuted on October 4, 1972: Astroganger, from an up and coming studio founded by former employees of Toei Animation and Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production called Knack Productions.

  

Astrongager is notable for not being based on an existing manga (unlike Testujin 28-go), and follows the adventures of Kantaro Hoshi, a young boy who comes into possession of the eponymous giant sentient robot made of “living metal”: Astroganger (or Ganga for short). It turns out his deceased mother, Maya, was an alien scientist who fled her planet's destruction by the evil alien race known as the Blasters. She and her husband, Dr. Hoshi, built the robot to protect against the Blasters should they ever make Earth their next target. 

Naturally, the Blasters make Earth their target, and Kantaro learns the secret of his heritage and teams up with the robot to defend his planet.

  

Astroganger himself is a 40 meter (131 ft) tall blue and red robot with a flesh-colored, expressive face. With no onboard weapons, he fights spaceships and enemy robots in hand-to-hand combat and can fly (similar to Tetsujin 28). Unlike Tetsujin, Ganga can talk, think, and feel pain. When the robot is summoned, Kantaro merges with the badge/gem on Ganga's chest, enhancing the robot with human reflexes and intelligence. 

The show would see international releases in Korea, Italy (as Astroganga), Spain (as Astro Gungar), and in the Middle East (as Jongar), where it seems have been quite popular.

(This is a fan tribute remake of the show's opening) 

The show ran for a modest 26 episodes, but was immediately overshadowed by the show we'll look at next time, and largely became forgotten, aside from a few curiosities.

In 2017, an animated .gif of Ganga running toward an enemy turned into meme. Also in 2017, a deluxe (read: expensive) Soul of Chogokin style figure was released in Medicom's Carbotix line.

Weird memes and expensive collectibles aside, the most surprising Astroganger news is the most recent. On April 10 of 2020 (nine days before this post was written in an amazing bit of coincidental timing), Discotek Media announced that Astroganger would see a release of the entire series on a Standard Definition Blu Ray with English subtitles on June 30, 2020. 

Knack Productions would go on to a long history in anime, working with many major figures in the industry, including other super robot shows. However the studio earned a reputation for lower quality work, especially with Chargeman Ken!, a non-super robot show about alien invasions being fended off by a child hero with notoriously low budget animation.

  

Next time on Shin Super Robot Sunday: The Golden Age of Super Robots begins with a man named Go.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroganger

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%AD%E3%82%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AC%E3%83%BC

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knack_Productions

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/running-ganger-%E6%AD%A2%E3%81%BE%E3%82%89%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84

https://www.facebook.com/Discotekmedia/posts/3352060024823068

Shin Super Robot Sunday: Ultraman Ace

1972 would prove to be a watershed year for Mecha as a genre, as the Giant Hero tokusatsu subgenre exploded with competitors to Tsuburaya Productions while Toei Animation would usher in a sea change for the genre at the end of the year. 

But first, on April 7, the next installment in Tsuburaya's Ultraman franchise would launch: Ultraman Ace.


 

Once again, giant monsters threaten the Earth, however this time, they are being orchestrated by an extradimensional entity known as Yapool. Blurring the line between collective and individual, Yapool is a cunning and intelligent shapeshifter, with more than a little demonic aspects to the character. 

Yapool, conquerer of dimensions

In an initial attack, two civilians, Seiji Hokuto and Yuko Minami, are killed while saving a bunch of orphans, and are given a new lease on life by the newly arrived Ultraman Ace. Ace merges with both of them and grants them a pair of Ultra Rings, which can summon the hero in times of need. Together, the two humans join the Terrible-monster Attacking Crew (TAC) to defend the Earth from terrible monster attacks. 

The show marked a number of changes to the series, most obviously a pair of humans being able to form an Ultraman, including the first female human host of an Ultra. She would be written out of the show later, leaving Seiji to be sole host, but a deuteroprotagonist was a bold move. Yapool would be the first of many overarching series villains for the franchise, and would himself/itself return in future installments. Also notable is the appearance of the other Ultras. Whereas previously, one or two would show up occasionally as guest characters for an episode here or there, the previous four Ultras; Ultraman, Ultraseven, Jack, and Zoffy (who appeared in the last episode of the original Ultraman and hadn't had his own show), made much more frequent appearances as supporting characters. 

It also introduced the Father of Ultra, who outranks all of the previous Ultras, has a pair of sweet horns and sideburns, and is also a giant Santa Claus.


 


As for robots, one of the franchise's most iconic moments comes during episodes 13 and 14. Yapool uses a fake Ultra Sign to lure the Ultra Brothers to a desolate planet called Golgotha in an anti-universe while a monster is sent to Earth. Ace is sent back to Earth to deal with the threat, but the other four Ultras are captured and crucified by Yapool. Yapool then deploys a red and gold robot called “Ace Killer.” 

Ace Killer was built specifically to kill Ultras, and drains the powers from the captured Ultra Brothers, destroys a robotic replica of Ace, and is ultimately destroyed by the real Ace, who has been powered up by the remaining energy of his captured brothers.

 

Ultraman has always reflected strong Christian themes thanks to series creator Eji Tsubaraya being a devout Catholic, and the crucifiction of the Ultra Brothers goes all-in on the Christian imagery and symbolism, and would remain deeply baked into the franchise. Ultraman Ace would be the last Ultra series overseen by Eiji's son Hajime Tsuburaya, who would die of a cerebral hemorrhage in February of 1973. The company would continue onward, with Ultraman firmly entrenched as its flagship series. 

Next time on Shin Super Robot Sunday: The first full-color super robot anime.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraman_Ace

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Ultraman_Ace_(series)

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Ultraman_Ace_(character)#1-piece%20Type

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Ace_Killer

Shin Super Robot Sunday: Mirrorman

By 1971, tokusatsu was firmly entrenched as a genre. The consistent success of Ultraman led to competitors and imitators. Shotaro Ishinomori's Kamen Rider, which debuted in April of 1971, was about a masked, motorcycle riding crusader of justice with a grasshopper themed costume, and would spawn its own massive franchise as a result. However, Kamen Rider is regular sized, and it will be a while before one of those series gets the spotlight on Shin Super Robot Sunday. 

In December of 1971, Tsuburaya Productions would debut a spinoff of Ultraman, which was based off a manga from 1969. More serious in tone than (most) of the Ultra series, Mirrorman, told the story of Kyôtarô Kagami, a photojournalist who learns he's the half-human son of a fallen hero from the 2nd Dimension: Mirrorman. Set in the 1980s, this new Mirrorman must grapple with his destiny as Earth's only hope against a hostile alien race known as The Invaders.

     

Mirrorman takes place in its own self-contained universe, and wasn't part of the Ultra franchise per se. Armed with powers similar to Ultraman's, but with the ability to reflect attacks, travel through mirrors, and other light and mirror themed abilities. He doesn't fly, but he can run at the speed of light. Fighting alongside the Science Guard, the first half of the series focuses more on investigations and serious storytelling. 

Much like Mighty Jack, the ratings began slipping, partly due to a boom in other superhero shows like Silver Mask, which was a direct competitor for viewers. The course of the show was changed to a more traditional tokusatsu show with fewer recurring monsters, stronger themes of good vs. evil, and Mirrorman himself got an equivalent of an Ultraman's color timer; meaning he had an operational time of three minutes before a bomb implanted in his superhero body would explode. 

Alongside an array of giant monsters that challenged Mirrorman, there was also the robot kaiju, Noah. A female robot disguised as a human to infiltrate and brainwash a marching band into being agents of the Invaders. Naturally, she can transform into a giant robotic beast form standing 45 meters (146 ft) tall that can shoot missiles and energy beams.

     

Mirrorman would run for a very respectable total of 51 episodes, but it didn't catch on like Ultraman, and the character wouldn't be revisited until 2005, with a three episode direct-to-video miniseries called Mirrorman REFLEX (which was later edited into a movie). This series had a brand new Mirrorman with a design closer to the manga's and a darker tone similar to the first half of the show's. The series taps into Japanese mythology, so no giant robots, but it was worth mentioning because he looks damn cool. 

Mirrorman would get revisited yet again, but we'll get to that when we get to that. 

Next time on Shin Super Robot Sunday: Tsuburaya plays an Ace. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirrorman

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Mirrorman_(character)

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9F%E3%83%A9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Noah

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Mirrorman_REFLEX_(film)

Shin Super Robot Sunday: Return of Ultraman

Eiji Tsuburaya may have passed away in 1970, but the production company he founded continued on under the leadership of his son, Hajime Tsuburaya. Ultra Seven was intended to be the last of the Ultra series, but the young franchise's popularity ensured that it would be revisited, and on April 2, 1971, that took the form of Return of Ultraman (Kaettekita Urutoraman).

Originally planned to focus around the return of the original 1966 Ultraman, it was decided early in the production for the main character to be a New Ultraman, just one with a very similarly designed costume. He would eventually get the official name “Ultraman Jack” in 1984 for licensing and merchandising reasons. He's not referred to as Jack in the series itself, but that's what I'll be using for simplicity's sake. 

It begins simply enough: giant monsters emerge and start fighting each other, and young race car driver Hideki Goh sacrifices his life saving a kid and a dog from falling wreckage. Touched by his heroics, Ultraman Jack bonds with the dead man, reviving him in a manner similar to the first Ultraman. Together, they join the Monster Attack Team (MAT) dedicated to protecting the Earth from increasing kaiju attacks. 

Able to transform into Jack by sheer force of will instead of a talismanic device like the previous Ultras. Armed with a similarly large set of powers and abilities, this new Ultraman would also be the first one to interact with Ultras from the previous series, officially unifying the franchise. Ultraseven would even give Jack his signature piece of equipment, the Ultra Bracelet, which could produce a variety of specialized weapons such as shields, spears, whips, bombs, boomerangs, and a cross (remember that Eiji Tsuburaya was a devout Catholic).

        

While not as robot heavy as Ultra Seven, this show did add one new giant robot to the franchise: Builgamo. 

A 55 meter (180 ft) combining, piloted robot, it was used by Alien Baltan Jr., the son of a Baltan alien who was killed by the original Ultraman. Builgamo was disguised as a building before beginning its assault, and was able to fight Jack until the MAT team members inside the robot were able to escape. The robot could fly, shoot destructive beams from its antennae, but by far its most useful feature was its incredibly tough armor.

         

Next time on Shin Super Robot Sunday: Tsuburaya holds a mirror up to Ultraman.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_Ultraman

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Return_of_Ultraman

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Ultraman_Jack

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Hideki_Goh

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Builgamo

Shin Super Robot Sunday: Mighty Jack

Tsuburaya Productions' next series would be a significant departure from the Ultraman format. Eschewing the giant monster format, Mighty Jack would be about an elite team of superspies called Mighty Jack and their giant flying battleship/submarine Mighty/Mighty-Gō and assorted smaller specialist ships. Mighty Jack does battle with the evil secret organization Q, which is bent on world domination. Eiji Tsuburaya himself was apparently quite proud of the show because it focused on the human characters instead of weekly giant monsters. Aimed at an older audience than the Ultraman series and drawing heavy inspiration from Thunderbirds, Mighty Jack began airing in April of 1968.

   

The Mighty itself is a 235 meter (771 ft) long and 41 meter (135 ft) tall behemoth that can fly at Mach 2.8, powered by a mix of nuclear and solar plasma engines and a bunch of conventional and super science weapons. It does not, however, transform into a giant robot.  

Originally planned as a 26 episode series, poor ratings led to its cancellation after 13 of the 45 minute long episodes aired.

That wasn't the end of the show, though. Staff and cast were changed, and the show's format was radically changed. Mighty Jack was still an organization that fought against Q, but the target audience was now younger kids, and this time, there would be giant monsters and a generally lighter tone. The show would be reborn as Fight! Mighty Jack and picked up immediately after Mighty Jack ended. Episodes were shortened to 24 minutes, but this revamped version of the show successfully ran for 26 episodes, wrapping up in December of 1968. 

What makes this entire show relevant to this project is one of the monsters from Fight! Mighty Jack was the Big Q (or Big Queen) from episode 22. A 55 meter (180 ft) tall silver robot with super strength and a big pair of floodlights on its head. Built by the widows of Q agents who were killed by Mighty Jack (I'm working from a translation of the Japanese Wiki page, so some of the details might be off), the plan was to stomp around the city and plant a white flag on the top of Tokyo Tower to signal Mighty Jack to surrender. It was eventually blown up in battle. 

 American audiences will be more familiar with the 1986 adaptation by Sandy Frank Productions. Frank, a veteran sales executive who had worked for Paramount and NBC, was also responsible for bringing Science Ninja Team Gatchaman to the US as Battle of the Planets in 1977. His company has multiple licensing deals for localizing Japanese movies in the United States, most notably the Gamera series. 

The Mighty Jack “movie” was one of the company's lesser efforts. It took the first and sixth episodes and slapped them together with little context, poor pacing, and bad dubbing. This would be prime fodder for Mystery Science Theater 3000, and the show was riffed twice, first in 1989 on KTMA (during “Season 0” and next in 1991 during Season Three of the show proper. 

Mighty Jack would be one of studio founder Eiji Tsuburaya's final projects, and the last one covered by the scope of this project. He would pass away in 1970 at the age of 68. 

 Next time on Shin Super Robot Sunday: A Flying Dutchman and her ghost captain.

 Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mighty_Jack

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Mighty_Jack_(series)

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9E%E3%82%A4%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Big_Q

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Frank

https://mst3k.fandom.com/wiki/MST3K_314_-_Mighty_Jack

Shin Super Robot Sunday: Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles

Superheroes were big in 1966. The decade had started out with DC Comics revitalizing their superhero stable with new versions of the Flash, Green Lantern and more. Meanwhile, the publisher formerly known at Timely and Atlas comics renamed itself to Marvel and cemented its own legacy with The Fantastic Four. Batman got a revitalizing shot in the arm with a live-action TV series. The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man would get cartoon shows in 1967, but between then was Hanna-Barbera.

Founded by Tom & Jerry creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1957 as H-B Enterprises, became Hanna-Barbera Productions Inc. in 1959, and had a knockout success in 1960 with The Flintstones. The studio then cranked out a staggering number of successful (or at least memorable) shows from Yogi Bear to The Jetsons to Jonny Quest.

1966 would see Space Ghost (created by DC Comics veteran Alex Toth), which would usher in a new blast of creativity from Hanna-Barbera with subsequent superhero shows like Birdman and the Galaxy Trio and Mightor. Space Ghost had a solid visual design and mixed super heroics with teen sidekicks, space opera, and a funny animal sidekick, which helped set the formula for the company's more “realistic” shows down the line.

But there was another Hanna-Barbera superhero show that was produced in 1966 and aired on CBS. Sharing a September 10 air date with Space Ghost, Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles was a curious double billing of super hero comedy. A total of 18 thirty-minute episodes were produced over two seasons, and the show was split up into two parts.

The Impossibles were a musical trio of musicians inspired by mod fashions and 60s rock and roll that became a trio of superheroes who fought silly villains.

Frankenstein Jr. on the other hand, was the invention of boy scientist Buzz Conroy (and his father Professor Conroy) who controlled a giant, friendly flying robot with an energy ring and together they fought mad scientists and monsters.

That sure sounds an awful lot like 1964's Gigantor, but there are notable differences.

Rather than simply taking cues from Frankenstein, Franky is a giant, friendly looking robot Frankenstein's monster with a domino mask and a cape. Franky also has more than just his fists at his disposal, including a number of useful gadgets.

There's not a whole lot to discuss about the show, considering its overall short episode length. Its cult status ensured occasional the occasional home video release and an appearance in the 2016 crossover comic Future Quest, which was a mashup storyline where numerous Hanna-Barbera heroes like Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, the Herculoids, and Frankenstein Jr. had to team up to stop a villain that threatened the world.

The show IS notable, however, for its cast. Aside from diminutive voice actor Dick Beals (who made a career of voicing kid characters including Buzz on this show) and the Impossibles being voiced by tremendously prolific voice actors Paul Frees, Hal Smith, and Don Messick, the show was a breakout voice acting gig for Frankenstein Jr's voice actor: Ted Cassidy.

Who's Ted Cassidy?

Does this ring any bells?

Already famous as Lurch (and Thing) on The Addams Family (1964-1966), Cassidy's huge size and huge voice made his portrayal as Lurch an icon, but the show ended in 1966, and he became a regular voice actor for Hanna-Barbara throughout the rest of the 60s and 70s (among other acting gigs including several appearances on the original Star Trek) until his untimely death from surgery complications in 1979 at the age of 46.

On the next episode of Shin Super Robot Sunday: Yokoyama returns.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein,_Jr._and_The_Impossibles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cassidy

Shin Super Robot Sunday: Ambassador Magma

I messed up slightly on last week's preview since there were a couple more things to cover before the follow up to Tetsujin 28-go. We'll get there soon enough, but first a lesser known work by one of the most important individuals in the world of manga.

Manga writer/artist Osamu Tezuka has a well-earned reputation for being the “God of Manga” and the “Japanese Walt Disney” for works like Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. Astro Boy in particular, which began as a manga in 1952 and was later turned into a show, would have a huge influence on the mecha genre, despite the titular character being an android and not at all humongous. Respect is most certainly due, but the character is outside the scope of this project.

Astro Boy, in case you didn't know what he looked like.

What is inside the scope is another series by Tezua: Maguma Taishi (translated to Ambassador Magma).

First published in Shōnen Gaho magazine in 1965, the series ran until 1967. On July 4, 1966, a live-action, color tokusatsu television from P Productions (an anime and tokusatsu studio) which aired on Fuji TV, beating out the first Ultraman series by a matter of days (we'll get to Ultraman in some capacity eventually).

Historical footnotes aside, the plot of Ambassador Magma is that young Mamoru Murakami (and his parents) are warned by the arrogant Lord/Emperor Goa of his impending invasion and demonstrates his power by transporting the family to a jungle and destroying a dinosaur that threatens the kid. Mamoru's father is a journalist with international connections, and Goa gloatingly wants him to spread the word.

Help arrives in the form of a 15 meter (50 ft) tall golden giant who can transform into a rocket. This is the titular Ambassador Magma, and despite being an artificial being created from metal who can transform into a vehicle, is “not a robot.” Magma is the creation of an ancient wizard named Earth who lives deep underground and protects the planet. Magma is accompanied by his human-sized wife Mol (who looks like a normal woman in a silver jumpsuit with antennae) and eventually his son Gam (a kid made in the image of Mamoru with a helmet and antennae). All three can transform into rockets, but only Magma is huge. Mamoru is given a whistle that he can blow to summon members of the magical robot family; one toot for Gam, two for Mol, and three for Magma. Over the course of the show's 52 episodes, Magma and family would fight the giant and human-sized monsters sent by Gao to conquer Earth (the planet, not the wizard).

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In addition to transforming into a flight form, Magma also possessed great strength, could fire a volley of missiles when he opened his chest, and could shoot energy/electricity bolts from his antennae. For the show, mostly he wrestled with giant dinosaur enemies. He also had a mane of glorious golden Fabio hair.

The show was a success and subsequently dubbed into English and aired in the United States as The Space Giants as early as 1970, then subsequently dubbed into Spanish as Monstruos del Espacio (Monsters from Space) or in other English speaking markets as Space Avenger. Most of the show remained the same, but the the names were changed: Gao became Rodak, Magma became Goldar, and Earth became Methusan (the wizard, not the planet), for example.

Ambassador Magma doesn't hold a candle to Astro Boy in terms of lasting impact, but it did usher in a number of firsts for the post-Tesujin 28-go mecha genre. A sentient, transforming giant “robot” with a mystical origin instead of a purely technological one. The mystical aspect is similar to the Daimajin trilogy of films (also released in 1966) where a giant stone statue is animated by an angry mountain spirit and wreaks havoc on Feudal Japanese warlords/bandits. (As cool as Daimajin is, I have to draw a line somewhere, and he's much more of a golem than a mecha). These aspects would be downplayed in subsequent mecha shows for a time, but mystical mechs would come back in a big way later on.

On the next episode of Shin Super Robot Sunday: Hanna-Barbera. Seriously.

Sources

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B0%E3%83%9E%E5%A4%A7%E4%BD%BF

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B0%E3%83%9E%E5%A4%A7%E4%BD%BF_(%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%83%9E)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Tezuka

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061299/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambassador_Magma