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Nothing like some “throwback” anime is there? With the current trend for love of ‘70’s styles and music, why not animation? It seems to make sense, especially now that all of us who were young enough to love these shows are now willing to shell out mad coin on anime… well at least I am… geez, heroin would be a cheaper addiction or maybe Faberge eggs. The style looks definitely reminiscent of older shows like Astroboy (‘60s, I know), Kimba, and the other great android anime, the original Android 009.

Episode 01: The Lonely Puppet

Series opens with typical mad scientist stuff – Genius Dr. Komyoji is completing his masterpiece “Jiro”, a humanoid robot with extraordinary strength when his experiment is interrupted by Professor Gill, another mad scientist. Prof. Gill is bent on stopping Komyoji’s experiment and chases after him with his giant robots. Komyoji’s children – older daughter Mitsuko and son Masaru are now distraught over the disappearance of their father who is now suspected dead.

Scene breaks to a young man waking up in a field near a pond; the man doesn’t know where he is or who he is (or why he has a guitar strapped to his back). After a series of incidents while walking around, he comes to realize that he has tremendous strength but becomes distraught when he accidentally breaks some bird eggs. (Hints of Frankenstein's monster.) Wandering into the ruins of Dr. Komyoji’s lab, the man realizes that he’s been here before and arrives to stop a giant robotic rhinoceros from attacking Mitsuko and Masaru. Seeing the man demonstrate his obvious power, Mitsuko believes that this man is actually Jiro, and she instructs him on how to release his powers.

Episode 02: Mad Machine

Jiro returns to the Komyoji home and after spending time with Mitsuko and Masaru, he begins to understand that he is different than his “siblings”. Mitsuko spends more time looking over the specifications that her father left on Jiro, and discovers that Jiro’s conscience circuit is damaged. Making 

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things more complicated is that fact that removing this circuit will cause Jiro’s destruction. While discussing the possible scenario’s Jiro senses that they are being watched by a robot, and he charges out of the house after it.

After trying to engage the robot, Jiro is overcome by a sonic attack  being created by Prof. Gill and knocked out. Back at the house, Mitsuko is drawn upstairs by a noise and discovers the robot that Jiro ran out after, a giant robot praying mantis. Leading the robot away from Masaru, Mitsuko runs away from the house towards a utility shed where she is saved by Jiro who rejoins the fight. Temporarily disabling the robot, the pair escape on board a motorcycle that was stored in the shed. Now alone, Mitsuko and Jiro discuss the concept of a conscience and strategies to repair Jiro’s until Prof. Gill uses another sonic attack that causes Jiro to try and strangle Mitsuko. Regaining control, Jiro releases Mitsuko before she is killed but Mitsuko orders Jiro to stay away from her. At this moment, the mantis attacks again forcing Jiro to transform.

Returning to Mitsuko, Jiro is told again to stay away from her. Choosing to disobey the order, Jiro takes the motorcycle and claims that he is not going to follow anyone’s orders good or bad and drives away.

Episode 03: Stray Sheep

A lonesome Jiro spends his days wandering the nearby town, while searching for a new home or a reason to exist. His mood remains dark as he continues to feel isolated from everyone surrounding him. Mitsuko and Masaru hire a local detective to find their “brother."

Meanwhile, the town is being terrorized by another of Professor Gill’s robots, a giant spider that has been killing people and generally messing up anything it finds. While running away from the detective, Jiro comes across the spider robot who tries to destroy him, but not before filling in some of Jiro's past.

Although Jiro manages to escape once more, the detective now knows Jiro’s secret and promises to Mitsuko that he will find her brother, but insists that he needs to know more about Jiro to help her.

Episode 04: Mirror

Mitsuko continues to work with the detective to try and find Jiro. Jiro has been wandering the town as usual, but now that he has learned to play his guitar, he has added melancholic music to his repertoire.

Managing to find her brother one more time, Mitsuko tries to convince Jiro to come home but he is once again controlled by Prof. Gill’s sonic attack and tries to choke her again; this time Jiro shows more control and stops himself from strangling Mitsuko.

Another robot appears to challenge Jiro; this time a giant ant which can spew acid from its mouth. Taking the battle into an abandoned building, Jiro and the ant battle through the structure destroying large sections of the structure despite the homeless denizens that are squatting there. Seeing the transformed form of Jiro, the people there believe him to be a monster and flee in terror. After surviving the attack from the robot ant, Jiro flees from his sister and the detective believing himself to be a monster.

Android Kikaider is a series that patterns itself after Pinocchio unabashedly (naming the conscience circuit after Jiminy Cricket as well as having Mitsuko reading the book to Masaru at night) but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Stories that question the idea of a soul or existentialism are always welcome, especially when they come in this sort of a wrapper. The animation is decent, not amazing and the story does have a definite “mopey teenager” vibe to it, but if you can deal with those points the show is excellent.

- Tazman

(March 6, 2004)

“Can you tell me why the Soviet Union broke up?”

“Uhh, 'cuz their drummer died? Dude! I totally guessed.”

              - Professor and Sanford (3-South)

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