Getter Robo

Getter Robo is one of the most important and legendary series ever made, and I'm shocked at how unpopular it is on this website. With Getter Robo Arc finally getting an anime adaptation that will finish the story, I figured it was time to go share some thoughts on this franchise with each entry. Getter Robo is the lovechild of co-writer Go Nagai and writer/artist Ken Ishikawa. Ishikawa, unfortunately, passed away before he could finish the manga yet despite that, Getter Robo has preserved through the years with multiple OVAs over the decades. But here everything starts, and while it's far from perfect, it does a good job setting up such an iconic series.

STORY: 7 - Getter Robo's influence is vast in the mecha genre, both in and out of Japan. It introduced the concept of separate combinable transformable mechs into one large one. Voltron, Transformers, Macross, Mobile Suit Gundam, Gunbuster, Gurren Lagaan, and even Megas XLR are just some of the series whose existence is directly owed to Getter Robo. But this is a humble start, and its genius doesn't show much here. A majority of this manga is your typical good vs evil fight with over the top stereotypical villains who comically laugh and have absurd names (Reptiloids? Really?) as they plot to take the Earth away from humans, so naturally the humans fight back. But you're not here for the story, you're here for the mech fights, and there's plenty here. That being said, the story does have some interesting developments, particularly in the middle and especially towards the end. The writers do some pretty bold stuff especially in regards to one of the main characters that makes for something a bit more than mindless action.

ART: 8 - Getter Robo looks like your typical early 70s manga, but it has excellent paneling and the fights are very easy to follow. It is a bit inconsistent at times, but not in a way that's bad per se, just different. There can be great detail when there needs to be, particularly in regards to gore and mechs. I love all 3 of the Getter's designs, and when combined, Getter Robo has a pretty unique look. It uses an ax! How cool is that?!

CHARACTERS: 6 - Admittedly, Getter Robo's characters are far from great, but our three main pilots are a lot of fun regardless. There's Ryoma Nagare, Hayato Jin, and Musashi Tomoe. The introductions of these characters are super memorable, and I love how absolutely crazy and violent they act. They're not your typical mech heroes that became popular after. They really help sell the humans as the underdogs in this war. I like how the Getters they pilot reflect their personalities. Getter 1 is all-around strong and can fly while Getter 2 is built more for speed and Getter 3 is stockier. Frankly, I can't remember too much of the villains. They're just fodder for the most part, but I do like how the Reptiloids are able to corrupt humans, and this comes into play in a very interesting way. As expected, the strong heroes get all the attention, but they're lots of fun.

ENJOYMENT: 8 - Getter Robo is just such a cool series. It gives you exactly what you want out of a big mecha action. A big hurdle for me though was how long some chapters can get. I know that's typical for the time, but it can really hurt pace if you try to read a bunch of them at once. I suggest you take your time with it. The pace is insanely fast despite the long chapters and it can be kind of hard to follow at times, but if you stick with it, the finale will be well worth it.

OVERALL: 7 - Getter Robo is a lot of fun, and while I like it a lot, it just doesn't compare to its future sequels and frankly, to some of the stuff it inspired. Still, it's well worth reading not only because of how influential it is to the genre and medium but because it really is just a fun time! Even after over 45 years, the classic Getter Robo still holds up, and I think a big part of that is due to how unique and just flat out crazy the protagonists are. But yeah, you're pretty going to want to read this so that you can get to the much better future entries.

Story: The plot is very interesting, and considering the time it was made (In the 70's) it is actually the original thing that inspired many of the popular animations today, such as Transformers. Though this story has a good plot and many twists, it's rather predictable and sterotypical for the modern day reader. You have the villians who yell "Muahahahahahaha!" and tell the world of their evil schemes. Not to mention the series cuts off and you have to obtain the sequal that wasn't made for many years later. In the beginning of the series, the scenes jumped around a lot and it was rather confusing to tell what exactly was going on. There are other problems with the series such as how things seem to come out of no where. There is a scene where a third getter robo appears and automatically wins a fight for the heros. It felt like lazy writing after the author put himself in a pinch with the manga. Along side that, the dialogue seemed a bit immature and sounded like things a 6th grader would say, especially with the characters who are a little too prideful for their own good. This series has its eye rolling moments. On the other hand though, it has some very interesting moments where you get into it and have to wonder what will happen next. There are many twists and the author gets carried away with killing off people and bringing some back. Typical, yes, but not everyone comes back every time.

Art: The art isn't a personal favorite, but a popular style for it's time. This manga has a tendency to be graphic and the author isn't afraid to show characters dieing a slow and painful death, everything from being ripped apart to being burned alive. The only real complaint I had on the art was that at one point in the series, the art changed drastically. I struggled to figure out who was who and when I looked at it the first time, I wondered if I was looking at the right manga. For one chapter, it was a completely different art style then it went back to normal after that, except the character Musashi.

Character: The characters were poorly developed. You had villians called Reptiloids, which sounds weird. They are the stereotypical villians that foil their own plans by shouting them to the world, primarily to their main opponents. The main character acts like a 6th grader who feels he is invincible and can stop any force and do anything. The author also has a problem with making some of the characters all knowing. As an example, a teenage boy who is smarter than the average teenager, but who can perform autopsies on a body and know exactly what he's doing. This wouldn't bother me so much if the author didn't work so hard to back up most of his ideas with science, but he some times over steps the realistic boundaries and character traps he puts himself in.

Enjoyment: This series is good once you get through it, but it really took a lot for me to sit down and read it. Once I read it, I determined it was an ok series, but not one I would personally read through again.

Overall: Overall, it was a decent series, I would suggest it to people who are really into mechs. It's a classic for the genre and those who are into it may have a better appreciation for it. The development itself was sloppy and poorly put together, but the story potential is good enough to keep reading it. It's also short enough to give it a chance then you can decide later if you want to continue on to the sequel or not. Though it wasn't great, it's still a classic. It has made an impact on my view of mechs.