Name(s): Giant Robo the Animation: The Day the Earth Stood Still / Giant Robo the Animation: Chikyuu ga Seishi Suru Hi / ジャイアントロボ THE ANIMATION 地球が静止する日
Format: Original video animation [OVA] (7 episodes)
Studio(s): Phoenix Entertainment
Related: Giant Robo Side Story: Ginrei (1994-1995)

I was a little disappointed that I went into this expecting a mecha/sci-fi anime and found out that those elements were diluted by a truly chimerical combination of different genres. If anything Giant Robo is more of an action/superhero series, but it’d be belittling to what makes it unique to give it only one distinction.

As is often with OVAs, Giant Robo‘s aesthetic values are higher than usual for anime, and indeed some of the best I’ve seen out of the medium. My personal love for the retro 70s art style side, the whole thing is beautifully colored and animated, intelligently mitigating the lower framerates to less action-filled segments.

The whole over-the-top nature of this series lends to characters that scream their distinct designs, strong personalities, and dialogue at the viewer, making a memorable cast despite the brevity of many of their appearances. Of course, Alberto the Impact takes center stage as the coolest, naturally.

Giant Robo itself is a pretty badass mech, an odd super robot in that it outwardly resembles a realistic one in its basic iron-clad design. Ironically, it’s this simplicity when combined with its fantasy powers and subtle emotions (not unusual for super robots to have them, but they’re expressed more conservatively) that make it stand out. That, and its huge, stoic monolithic presence. I’m reminded a ton of The Big O itself. Again, though, I’m sad it often felt more like one of many plot gears rather than the primary focal point. I guess that at least goes with how it’s interesting they portrayed it partly as a practical tool.

With all praises out of the way, I’m let down a little by the fact that for all of Giant Robo‘s amazing sense of style, it tries to balance absurdity with drama. For the most part it does this remarkably well, but I had trouble buying into the motivations of a lot of the characters, and if I can’t do that, I get into the story less as a whole. At times I wanted the melodrama to end and the plot to move on to something else, having difficulty getting myself emotionally invested in the passion of the characters themselves. I do have to give the series credit though for having one of the most clever endings I’ve seen in an anime. Worth trying for everyone, one-of-a-kind and transcends genre clichés as it much as it pays homage to them.