Gigantor
Originally a comic called Tetsujin 28 (or Iron Man 28)
and later turned into a cartoon series called Tetsujin 28-Go,
this Japanese creation eventually became Gigantor for the
Western market.
Gigantor was a giant robot who was - as his theme song stated -
"bigger than big, taller than tall, faster than fast and
stronger than strong." The big/tall/strong chap became one of
the first Japanese cartoon exports to capture the attention of
western viewers.
Initially designed to fight in World War II, Gigantor was
originally destroyed by American troops. After the war, his
creators rebuilt him and decided to use the giant to help
Inspector Blooper and the Japanese police in their fight against
crime.
Jimmy Sparks (now there's a good Japanese name!) was the son of
the man who created Gigantor. Jimmy controlled the robot and would
often ride around on him as they saved the town from evil.
As with
Astro Boy, viewers were enamoured with the distinctly
different animation of the series, which included creative camera
angles and never-before-seen shots like a point of view from the
villain's mouth!.
Gigantor was the first in a long line of friendly giant robots,
which also included Frankenstein Jr, Johnny Sokko’s Flying
Robot and The Iron Giant.
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