GIANT ROBO THE ANIMATION - The Day The Earth Stood Still Episode. 3 Announcement! The Electromagnetic Net Wire Operation Converges on Shanghai... The World of Giant Robo - The structure of the B.F. Organization vs. International Police Organization "Giant Robo World" is the "impending future" whose structure differs only slightly from that of the real world. It should properly be called a "parallel world" future story. The science is more advanced than our own, but the overall feel of society is like the old days from the Taisho to the early Showa Era, the image of floating along in time, with something dark hidden somewhere. However, the logic and ethics unfurled there are not at all different. There is both love and hatred, and the daily lives of the people can be said to be exactly the same as our own. However, freed by the invention of the completely pollution-free, completely recyclable Shizuma Drive, mankind has for the first time in history broken through to the road to peaceful coexistence. Nothing has been stated thusfar about why an evil apparatus like the Big Fire Organization would be established in such a society. However, they are solemnly attempting to lead the humanity, barely stable, down the road to ruin with their giant robots, built with mysterious retro technology, and their Experts, people with superhuman powers. And the leaders of the nations of the world, barely aware of the existence of the B.F. Organization but bleak of spirit because of its scheming, created the International Police Organization by mutual assistance treaty to counter the B.F. Organization's killer abilities. However, as its name suggests, it is not a military. Their guiding principle is to uncover and overthrow the B.F. Organization's plans until the bitter end. In compensation, the superhuman power-bearing Experts gathered to defeat the super powered agents of the B.F. Organization were granted special international investigative jurisdiction. This was done because of the menace posed by the B.F. Organization, whose shadowy maneuvering supersedes national borders. This chapter, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is the fiercest skirmish between the two sides, and occurs just before the final battle, but up until this point the B.F. Organization has held the definitive upper hand in the struggle, and the International Police Organization has been forced to take a decidedly second place. This is due to the terrifying intricacy of the B.F. Organization's plans, as well as the fact that the International Police Organization, on the defense, has had to take a reactive posture, as well as the fact that the powers of the B.F Organization's agents, topped by the Magnificent Ten, far surpass the that of its opposition. Because of this, International Police Organization branches all over the world have already lost many high-ranking Experts, and some branches are said to have been wiped out completely. Among those damaged, the Europe branch's means of surveillance have begun to grow weak due to the strong B.F. Organization activity in that area, and the fatal mistake that permitted the construction of the Giant Monster Sphere could be said to be caused by this. However, the number of Experts at the Peking Branch is not inconsiderable; it is the last branch which still has the power to freely oppose the B.F. Organization. This is due in part to the zealous efforts of Chief Chuujou and Taisou, and in part to the fact that it is the Expert's so-called second homeland (south and north, the two geographically closest places to Ryouzanpaku [4] and thus the most frequently used), but the main reason is probably because they have in their hands the world's mightiest robot, Giant Robo. It is said that it was the obtaining of Robo that truly allowed them to be able to oppose the operations of the B.F. Organization. But, Giant Robo... Since the founding of the B.F. Organization, GR has been the name by which the plan that is the very will and objective of the ultimate ruler, Big Fire, was known. Kusama Daisaku, as Robo's controller, is unaware of this mystery, as it is hidden within Big Fire's heart, and it is uncertain whether or not this story will shed any light on it. But what is certain is that it is a plan of terror of the very highest order. A variety of mysteries besides this will be addressed in Monthly Comics GENKi (a supplement of Kadokawa Shoten's "Monthly Newtype") in the comics version of the story, but since the anime from here on out will follow a different direction, the areas where the anime story has been changed are many. In particular, I can say that the objective of the Earth Cessation Operation has been changed; and the appearance at the end of the story of the secret leader of the International Police Organization, Rai-se the Yellow Emperor, differs radically. However, that Robo is partners with Daisaku, and that the fight with Big Fire will continue, is entirely unchanged. As the struggle to the death is enacted, what will the boy, Kusama Daisaku, achieve? As the story unfolds in its due course, expect this fight to grow up to be depicted. Survey Postcard Q&A Director Imagawa Answers Your Questions! ---------------------------------------- - Please please include a picture of Albert in the First Pressing Special pinups! Gunma Prefecture, K.F., female Okay. I want one too. (laugh) - Aren't there anyone besides Chinese and Japanese in the International Police Organization? Didn't Yokoyama have any Caucasians working for justice? I thought I remembered some being around... Kanagawa Prefecture, S.T., male Well, Yokoyama's works _do_ have quite a few Japanese and Chinese in them, and they are pretty suitable for the story. Besides, I personally loved the "Suikouden" that Yokoyama drew (I especially adore the story where Taisou and Tetsugyuu are traveling together). So, I really wanted to draw them at least once. - So why, in the Bashitarle Phenomenon before the Shizuma Drive was completed, did _all_ the power sources the world over stop? Are you going to explain it in the series? Robo can still move, so shouldn't the other nuclear power sources have been okay too? Fukui Prefecture, H.F., male First, let me make clear that there are a number of differences between the Phenomenon being produced now and the Tragedy from 10 years ago. In short, although at the time of the Tragedy of Bashitarle almost all the power sources on earth stopped (a few things like the Electromagnetic Net Wire Maker were still able to move), please think of the field produced by the Giant Monster Sphere as only stopping Shizuma Drives. At this point, over 99% of the world's energy sources have been converted to Shizuma Drives, so this is quite effective. Moreover, since Genya wants to exact revenge on those who have obtained a peaceful night because of the Shizuma Drive, it is likely he deliberately planned things this way. Also, "The Day the Earth Stood Still", while an allegory for the fact that they are trying to make almost all the sources of energy become motionless, is not supposed to mean that they are literally trying to stopping the Earth's rotation. Since there are people who appear to have misunderstood this, I will take the liberty of reexplaining. My apologies if the contents are easy to misunderstand. - Most anime these days seems to follow some set direction, and most of the things that anime-loving people are rabid over I just find boring. Please go on making gratifying, interesting works like "Giant Robo". Aichi Prefecture, Y.K., female From the outset, I wanted to try to make "G. Robo" into something different from the mainstream. So when I get letters like this, it really makes my day. - I was really waiting for this to go on sale. 44 minutes, gone in the blink of an eye[3]. Episode 3 will go on sale in June (it turned out to be August, sorry!), and I'm waiting for it eagerly. Shizuoka Prefecture, T.M., male Keep waiting, okay? (laugh) I want to make a serial drama with "crying blood and dancing flesh", so I'm ending each episode in a way that leads into the next one. Maybe it's a bad thing to release the story of one episode every half year, but I think part of the interest of a serial drama lies in that very fact. - I wish you wouldn't just stop with the "Day the Earth Stood Still" chapter of the "Giant Robo" series, but would go on by any means and make time to animate the rest of it. Oosaka Prefecture, K.Y., male I'd love to make "The Birth of Zangetsu the Midday" and show it to everyone. Also, "The Plan to Assassinate Daisaku - the Canary Penitentiary", "The Boy of Three Days", "The Greatest Battle in History - Kanshin vs. Koumei", "The Boy Detective, Kindaiichi Shoutarou, Appears!", and "The Siege of Babel." - To Kusama Daisaku's seiyuu, Yamaguchi Kappei, your voice is the only one really different from all the others in the show. Emphasizing the fact that there is only one child amongst many adults in the show, I said to Yamaguchi-san "I want an adult to play the voice of a child". In practice, when a single boy of around age 12 mingles with adults in conversation, that boy's voice alone becomes something different, and even makes one feel a sense of childishness at times. So, it's not surprising that people would find it "different" - in fact, that's what I wanted you to think. - I read the last chapter in "Comics GENKi". ....Don't kill Ginrei! Aichi Prefecture, S.N., male I've already decided what I'm going to do. Hmmm.... I've prepared a completely different scenario, so please look forward to it. - Please don't let the quality go down. The longer the series, the easier for it to be discontinued, so please continue all the way to the end. Gifu Prefecture, Y.O., male Certainly, it's not a good thing to make a work over this span of time, and it's hardest for the staff when a work is halfway through. However, "G. Robo"'s contents are intricate and labor-intensive., and this is a work made with complexity in opposition to a superficial treatment. The staff will probably end up getting scattered to the four winds, but the most encouraging thing in times like that is hearing from all of you. So, please keep sending letters to the staff. We'll be waiting eagerly to hear from you directly... - Boring as hell! Nothing but explanation, and the story isn't going anywhere. Even if the story more or less matches the Yokoyama stuff, if I had my way it would unfold more dynamically... Kanagawa Prefecture, N.N., male To be sure, I feel a certain sense of interest in the way Yokoyama-sensei keeps stretching the interest out for the reader. But, in the final analysis there are differences in the expressive methods of anime and manga. In short, parts that aren't bothersome in manga become majorly inconvenient in anime. Not to mention the fact that "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is an episode in the latter part of the series, and even if there had been a TV series the things we had to explain at the outset would still have had to be elucidated. Of course, one could say that it's the fault of employing this irregular sort of storytelling, but not only did I start out this way, if I don't portray the world precisely something will be left out in the latter parts. So, if it bothers you, I'd like you to somehow keep this in mind while watching. - I'm not convinced that the B.F. Organization has only one objective, and I'm also not entirely sure about Fogler's objective. I doubt it's merely domination... Toukyou Prefecture, K.K., male Yes, that's correct. It's only natural that you should have suspicions, and I intend to address this in upcoming episodes, so please look forward to them. That's what I find so enjoyable about "serial dramas". - Please put in more scenes with fights between robots. Toukyou Prefecture, K.K., male There will be episodes down the road where robot combats are more numerous. However, I intend to divide the times where I reveal the robots' existence. After all, it's not just the robots, but also the characters and the world model that make the creation of such a story possible. - Please make the previews more like the length of the one in Episode. 1. Mie Prefecture, K.O., male I'm truly sorry. To be honest, Episode. 1's preview was sort of an experiment, and doing it every time would be pretty difficult. - If possible, can you finish by the end of the year...I guess not, huh? Fukushima Prefecture, H.A., male Sorry, we can't... Please, bear with us. - I thought it was a shame that the form changed so many times. But, to have Yokoyama Mitsuteru's world depicted by such a high quality work...I can't find the words to express my gratitude. By "the form changed so many times", do I take it you mean the good and bad points about the character designs? I'd like those who have the comics for "Suikouden" and such to do a visual comparison, and I think you'll find that Taisou and Tetsugyuu as they appear in the anime differ more than you might think. Then why not change their appearance more? That's because I took the essence of the Yokoyama characters. However, by adding a bit of modern animation technique to Yokoyama-sensei's characters, I think they can become that much more appealing. Where should I get the balance between the basic characters and modern techniques? That's subject I'll have to keep thinking about as things progress. - I want a plastic model of Robo. Kanagawa Prefecture, K.S., male I want one too. I want a Uraenus too. Super-Alloy would be nice too. (laugh) - The review of the previous episode is too long. Oosaka Prefecture, M.Y., female (other) We attached a digest of Episode. 1 to the previous episode (ep. 2), but that certainly wasn't just a watered down version of the contents. Because of Director Imagawa's idea of making it "more engrossing", we put it together. There may be people who find the previous episode digest to be too long. However, based on consideration of how to make the material so that it is "engrossing" for the viewers, the people on the production side have concocted it with the idea of making "Giant Robo" all that much more enjoyable in mind. (Producer Takanashi Makoto, Bandai Visual) Electromagnetic Net Wire Maker[1] --------------------------------- A self-propelled machine that, depending on the mass of the target, can envelop and render it powerless using magnetic field lines; a usual array uses tens of them. Since it was built ten years ago, it does not depend at all on the Shizuma Drive. A machine barely possible at the time of the Tragedy of Bashitarle and few in number, it was prepared to be sent into the heart of the Tragedy to contain the experimental reactor. It's very dated in its construction, but because the Giant Monster Sphere is surrounded in a field that only stops Shizuma Drives, it was brought back into service. Greta Garbo ----------- An ultra-large style airship belonging to the International Police Organization. It may seem like a rather primitive thing for the Experts to be riding around on, but is used because it would be too unrealistic to carry the 10,000 ton Giant Robo aerially any other way (even for the Shizuma Drive). Is only equipped with rotary machine guns for self-defense and has limited maneuverability, but because of its internal combustion propulsion subsystem, it is capable of moving in the Anti-Shizuma Field of the Giant Monster Sphere. Go the Scholar -------------- Chief Scientist for the Peking Branch of the International Police Experts. Although an Expert, he is not particularly physically capable, and will only fight with his fans when his life is in danger or faced with no other alternative. Believing himself to be opposed to evil, he never lets his emotions surface carelessly and projects an image of placidness and tranquility. This was why the people at the base refer to him as "Professor Go". However, when the subject of the Tragedy of Bashitarle comes up, he undergoes an unbelievable transformation from his normal self and shows an incredible passion. It would appear that something happened in his past. His nickname is "High Wisdom Star". Age 28. Chief Chuujou[2] ---------------- The taciturn head of the International Police Organization's Peking Branch. He is an Expert with powers that surpass Tetsugyuu and Taisou, but because their strength is too great noone has actually seen him go out and fight. Since he rarely ever lets his emotions show, he is called "Silent Chuujou", but it is thought this may also be due to his having prohibited himself from using his powers recklessly. Furthermore, his past before joining the International Police Organization is unknown. Age 45. Chapter/Tracks -------------- Side 1 1. Opening Title 2. Opening - Main Title 3. Unease 4. Doubt 5. Funeral 6. Status Quo 7. Operation 8. Orders 9. Skepticism 10. Stance 11. Fissure 12. Rationale 13. Past 14. Parting 15. Seduction 16. Eye Catch (A-type) Side 2 17. Eye Catch (B-type) 18. Regression 19. Approach 20. Deployment 21. Forecast 22. Landing 23. Encirclement 24. Commencement 25. Revival 26. Status 27. Explosion 28. Warning 29. Reappearance 30. Annihilation 31. Fall 32. Metamorphosis 33. Collision 34. Rout 35. Hunt 36. Rampage 37. Defeat 38. Subtitle 39. End Title 40. Preview Translator's Notes ------------------ [1] The English reads "Electromagnetic Net Wire Machine", but the Japanese clearly says "Maker", and I'm sticking with that out of a distrust for anything romanized in this series. [2]The English reads "Commander", but the Japanese is much more like "chief". Crossreferencing a table of Japanese military ranks did not produce any justification either. So I've left it as "Chief", especially as it seems a bit more suited to rolling off the tongue of such people as Tetsugyuu. [3] The phrase used here ("atto iu ma ni") literally means "in the time it takes to say Ah!". Japanese is fun. ^_^ [4] Ryouzanpaku is the name of the mountain fortress where the 108 Heros in "Suikouden" hid out...conveniently imported for this story. ^_^;