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Logo-heroThis article is about a show in the Tokusatsu Super Hero subgenre.

Giant Robo
Anime Version

Giant Robo (ジャイアントロボ Jaianto Robo) is a 1967 television series based on the manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. It was adapted for American television in 1969 as Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot

Plot[]

Earth is invaded by an interstellar terrorist group from Planet Gargoyle, Big Fire, led by Emperor Guillotine. Hiding his spaceship at the bottom of the ocean, Guillotine issues his orders, capturing scientists, as well as hiring other aliens from different planets to create an army of monsters that will rampage on Earth. Participating in the Unicorn Branch Organization in Tokyo, a young boy named Daisaku Kusama, who becomes U7, aids the fight against the alien terrorist organization as the sole controller of a prototype Pharaoh-like giant robot, originally created for Big Fire's purpose of world domination.

Characters[]

Unicorn Branch Organization[]

Giant Robo (The Giant Robot)[]

Unicorn Agents[]

Big Fire (Gargoyle Gang in the English Version)[]

  • Emperor Guillotine

BF Members and Agents[]

  • Spider, a BF captain who is killed by a spray of acid from Ikageras in episode 7.
  • Piranha: One of the BF soldiers and a lieutenant.

Commanders[]

  • Doctor Over (Doctor Botanus), a silver-skinned alien from the far planet who is capable of teleportation. Following the second death of his monster Satan Rose by Giant Robo, he is killed by Emperor Guillotine as punishment in episode 17.
  • Black Diamond (Harlequin): Another Big Fire commander from Planet Gargoyle, who is fascinated with playing-card suits.
  • Red Cobra (Fangar, Dangor the Executioner), a bizarre alien. It is stated in the Japanese version that he is a rebuilt Black Diamond after he died offscreen.
  • Mr. Gold (Goldenaut), an armored knight.

Monsters (Kaiju)[]

  • Dakolar (Dracolon): Appears in episodes 1 and 11; swims, has tentacle arms and spits sand.
  • Globar (Nucleon, Radion): Appears in episodes 2 and 20; resembles a walking limpet mine.
  • Satan Rose (Gargoyle Vine): Appears in episodes 3 and 17; powers include fast growth, constricting tentacle-like vines, suction flowers, and lava bombs.
  • Lygon (Ligon-Tyrox, Lagorian): Appears in episodes 4 and 10; powers include a forehead horn drill, mouth flames, a wrecking ball and swimming.
  • Gangar (Gigantic Claw): Appears in episodes 5 and 18; powers include flight, missiles and a rope.
  • Dorogon (Dragon, Stalker): Appears in episodes 6 and 21; powers include flight, swimming, missiles, invisibility and the ability to consume aircraft and ocean vessels.
  • Ikageras (Scalion): Appears in episodes 7 and 26; powers include swimming, hurricane winds, and acid spray.
  • Doublion (Double Head): Appears in episode 8; powers include head rotation, a sticky petroleum-based liquid, and mouth flames.
  • Sparki (Tentaclon): Appears in episodes 9 and 22; powers include levitation, electric tentacles, and rays.
  • Unbalan (Amberon): Appears in episode 12; powers include self-mummification, resistance to electricity, and photosynthesis.
  • Ganmons (Opticon, Opticorn): Appears in episodes 13 and 26; powers include levitation, retractable legs, a vacuum, a searchlight, and an energy ray.
  • Iron Power (Iron Jawbone): Appears in episode 14; powers include flight, teeth, and body separation.
  • Icelar (Igganog): Appears in episodes 15, 24 and 26; powers include burrowing, freezing winds and low body temperature.
  • GR-2 (Torozon): Appears in episodes 16 and 19; powers include an electric boomerang, burrowing, and eye lasers.
  • Absorption Monster: Appears briefly in episode 17 to absorb all the water from a lake so that the second Satan Rose can be grown.
  • Calamity (Cleopat): Appears in episode 22 with armor that reacts to long-range attacks.
  • Hydrazone (Hydrazona) Appears in episode 24; powers include an acidic body, freezing breath, and swimming.
  • Draculan: Appears in episode 25; powers include size-changing, vampirism, a shield, and a rapier.

Cast[]

Japanese[]

  • Mitsunobu Kaneko - Daisaku Kusama
  • Toshiyuki Tsuchiyama-Giant Robo (suit actor)
  • Koichi Chiba-Narrator, Dr. Galtur
  • Akio Ito-Juro Minami
  • Shozaburo Date-Commander Azuma
  • Tomomi Kuwabara
  • Hirohiko Sato
  • Yumiko Katayama-Mitsuko Nishino

English[]

  • Bobbie Byers - Johnny Sokko
  • Paul Brown[1]-Jerry Mano
  • Mark Harris[1]-Various characters

Episodes[]

  1. Dracolon: The Great Sea Monster
    • Japanese Title: Great Sea Animal, Dakora (大海獣ダコラー Dai Kaiju Dakora)
    • Air Date: October 11, 1967 (Japan), 1969 (USA)
  2. Nucleon: The Magic Globe
    • Japanese Title:
    • Air Date:
  3. The Gargoyle Vine: A Space Plant
    • Japanese Title:
    • Air Date:
  4. Monster Ligon-Tyrox, A Strange Monster
    • Japanese Title:
    • Air Date:
  5. The Gigantic Claw
  6. Dragon: The Ninja Monster
  7. Our Enemy: Scalion
  8. The Challenge of the Two-Headed Monster
  9. Tentaclon: An Electric Monster
  10. The Transformed Humans
  11. The Terrifying Sand Creature
  12. Amberon: The Synthetic Monster
  13. Opticorn Must Be Destroyed
  14. The Monstrous Flying Jawbone
  15. Igganog: The Ice-Berg Monster
  16. Torozon: An Enemy Robot
  17. Destroy the Dam
  18. X-7, a Mysterious Enemy Agent
  19. Metron, the Mysterious Space Man
  20. Beware the Radion Globe
  21. The Terrifying Space Mummy
  22. Clash of the Giant Robot
  23. Dr. Eingali, Master of Evil
  24. Hydrazona, a Terrifying Bacteria
  25. Drakulon, Creature of Doom
  26. The Last of Emperor Guillotine

Notes[]

  • This is Toei's first tokusatsu with a Giant Robot fighting off evil forces.
  • This is also Toei's first tokusatsu with themes that are now commonplace in their tokusatsu programs such has featuring group of costumed heroes fighting off a superpowered terrorist groups, villians employ monsters to attack cities and sometimes grow them to giant size and the heroes summon a giant robot or a vehicle to fight off the villains kaiju/robot.
  • It also had a general influence on tokusatsu and mecha anime for years to come such as having the main hero shout out the attacks of the robot, featuring a robot with a rocket punch attack and a signature style of bittersweet ending commonly seen in mecha shows.

External Links[]

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