"Jaianto robo" (1967) TV series 1967-1968

Creator:

Mitsuteru Yokoyama

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

11 October 1967 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A young boy aids in the fight against a mechanized terrorist organization as the sole controller of a prototype giant robot.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Giant Robot | Manga | Based On Comic | Kaiju

Cast

Mitsunobu Kaneko

...

Daisaku Kusama / ... (unknown episodes)

Also Known As:

Giant Robo
Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot (USA)

Runtime:

30 min (26 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

American-International Television (AIP-TV)

Quotes:

Unicorn Chief Azuma: It's almost dawn, get rid of that eye.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Iron Giant (1999)

a good movie for the kids

This is no great movie and many adults will find themselves quickly bored. However, considering this was aimed at kids, it's a pretty good flick--especially since it breathes some life into the moribund Japanese mega-monster genre.

Johnny is a cute kid who discovers a giant flying robot who he is able to control. The kid uses the robot for good and they become friends (or at least as close to friendship as you can get with a giant flying robot). Does this sound familiar? To those out there who have kids, it should as this idea was completely ripped off in the movie The Iron Giant. It does for Johnny Sokko what The Lion King did to Kimba the White Lion (i.e., American studio steals the idea blatantly and the original writers and actors are screwed).

FYI--this was a movie AND a television series. I think the movie was actually just pieced together from the TV show. I saw the movie and never really had a desire to watch the TV show, as it came out in the US when I was about 15--and I thought I was way too old and too cool to watch a kids show (or so I hoped)!

Hmmmm. I've done a lot of reviews, but I notice there is no rating button for the film. In that case, I give it a 6.