Gigantor
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Bigger than big, taller than tall, —The American version's Bragging Theme Tune
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Over the buildings he soars —Rough translation of the Japanese version's Bragging Theme Tune
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Gigantor -- Tetsujin Nijuhachi-go, or "Iron Man #28" in the original Japanese -- was a Humongous Mecha controlled by a young boy, Jimmy Sparks (Shotaro Kaneda). They lived on a remote island with Jimmy's uncle, a scientist, and fought crime. Originally set just after World War II, the English dub portrayed the show as being set in the then-future year of 2000. Based on the original manga by Misuteru Yokoyama, it is one of the first popular anime to air in America, in both its original form and in the revamped New Adventures of Gigantor originally produced in 1980, and aired internationally in the late 80s/early 90s. It was also given a live-action adaptation in 2005.
In late 2009, the city of Kobe in Japan completed a statue of the robot. It is full size, 60 feet tall and weighing in at more than 50 tons. Just looking at it [dead link] shows how impressive a real-life Humongous Mecha would be.
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- Shotacon: Shotacon gets its name from Shotaro, who is considered the prototype for the boys found in the genre. It has since evolved, however.
- Super Robot: Gigantor created the Super Robot, which Go Nagai's series would expand upon.
- Adorably Precocious Child -- Shotaro is an excellent example.
- Alternate History: -- At least in the 2004 version, it's mentioned that in 1945 the Japanese attempted a last ditch attempt to stop the Americans by launching the other Tetsujin models on the West Coast. It didn't work.
- Humongous Mecha -- the first.
- The Kid with the Remote Control: Possibly the Ur Example, at least in the mecha genre.
- Nuclear Weapons Taboo -- In the 2005 series there's the Sun Bomb, powered by an element (Bagume) that can only be kept stable in water, no less.
- Macekre -- Eventually inverted by the aforementioned 2004 series, which not only is truer to the original Japanese version (including retaining the characters' original Japanese names), it was even released under the original name of Tetsujin 28 in North America.
- Product Placement -- In the original Japanese version, there's a sponsor spot (just before the opening proper) for the Japanese candy company Glico (makers of Pocky). It goes "GURIKO! GURIKO! GU! RI! KO!" ("guriko" being the Japanese pronounciation.)
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: In the 2004 series, the Mafia steal the remote control box and are able to control Tetsujin. During this time, Tetsujin's eyes turn red, with no In-Universe explanation as to why.
- Shout-Out -- Anime classic Akira makes a Shout-Out to Gigantor with some character names: Shotaro Kaneda and Akira Shikishima.
- Twenty Minutes Into the Future -- in the Gigantor dub. The original version was set around the end of World War II (or about a decade after it in the 2004 anime), also making it the earliest (if not the first) example of a Macekre (see the YMMV page).