New Getter Robo

[areaseven]

Shin Getter Robo ( 新・ゲッターロボ )

Dynamic Planning/Brains Base/Bee Media/Bandai Visual, 2004

Geneon Entertainment, 2005

Directed by Jun Kawagoe (Getter Robo Armageddon, Transformers: Energon)

Rated 16-Up for extreme violence and gore, nudity, mature situations and strong language.

"CHANGE! GETTER ONE!"

Earth is terrorized by demonic beings known as "Oni." With majority of his robots being decimated by the Oni, Professor Saotome acquires the services of three men - delinquent martial artist Ryoma Nagare, crime lord Hayato Jin and monk Benkei Musashibou - to pilot the powerful Getter Robo and crush the Oni threat before all life on Earth is lost.

"GETTER BEAM!!!

Story: B

If you thought Getter Robo Armageddon had a dark atmosphere to it, you haven't seen this new TV series. The Oni are, by far, the most gruesome set of villains in any of Go Nagai's super robot titles. As a matter of fact, the violence and gore levels of New Getter Robo are so high, it makes Fist of the North Star look like A Little Snow Fairy Sugar.

Story-wise, New Getter Robo appears to have a plot direction - unlike Getter Robo Armageddon, which went nowhere in the second half of the series. Hopefully, this new series will leave fans extemely satisfied in the end.

Animation: B-

While much of the animation is smooth and stylized, the artwork is a bit messy (and I'm not talking about the overall body count). The new Getter Robo design really matches the dark setting of the series.

Soundtrack: B+

Try Force is credited in composing part of the soundtrack, but don't expect the techno-style music heard on Heat Guy J. Instead, New Getter Robo uses an orchestral score that's pretty good, but not as memorable as that of Mazinkaiser. The series also has a couple of catchy theme songs from JAM Project.

Cast

Reprising their roles from Getter Robo Armageddon are Hideo Ishikawa as Ryoma and Naoya Uchida as Hayato. New Getter Robo also features Kiyoyuki Yanada (Leon in Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, Zabine in Mobile Suit Gundam F91) as Benkei, Takako Honda (Kiriko in Shinkon Gattai Godannar!!) as Michiru, and Yoshitaka Arimoto as Professor Saotome.

The Bottom Line

It may be bloody as hell and gruesome as Ogrish.com, but New Getter Robo appears to be the best of all the recent Getter Robo installments.

Reference

Anime News Network

Edited July 5, 2004 by areaseven

[Vinny]

I just finished watching episodes three and four, and they are taking it in a direction different then the comics. And episode four hints at there being more to Getter Rays in this show, too.

And you are kind of exagerating on the gore...

[areaseven]

In an interesting turn of events, the licensing rights to New Getter Robo did not go to ADV Films. Instead, they went to Geneon Entertainment. Looks like Geneon is Dynamic Planning's new best friend.

[mpchi]

Looks pretty gorey to me. People being decapitated, limbs & torsos flying off, people being killed for fun...

Watched up to the 3rd episodes. I think the animation is excellent, especially compared to all the other Getter series. Smooth, dynamic, and dramatic. The character design is very close to Ken's(forgot his last name) manga style, while the personalities of the characters are wilder than ever. Interesting to see how this series will turn into towards the end.