MEDAMONTH:Giant Robo(Anime)

 Hello and welcome to the final review for MEDAMONTH! 

As many of you might already have figured out, I'm a big fan of robots and AIs, especially those that are of human size and/or constantly interact with humans. However, that does not mean I don't enjoy my share of giant robots. Cue today's subject, an early 90's OVA by the name of Giant Robo. What is this about? Well exactly what it says on the tin...well sort of.

Giant Robo is a seven episode OVA that came out in the early 90's. It revolves arround a young boy, Daisuke, who can control Giant Robo, the world's strongest robot and a memento from his father. Daisuke works alongside the Experts of Justice, who are a force that fight against Big Fire, a terrorist organization hell bent on world domination. So as one can see, the anime is very, and I mean VERY 90's like. If you like older anime, you will love Giant Robo as it contains literally everything that there is to love about older anime. Giant robots? Check. People of various nationalities with stereotypical powers? Check. Evil organization with no clear goals? Check.  Cheesy dub moments? Check. Fan service? Well actually, that one isn't really all that present, honestly. Anyways, the anime itself manages to be quite entertaining with a great dub as well as fantastic animation  and music that will leave you on the edge of your seat during battles. Sadly though, most of these battles won't involve the "promised" giant robots. In fact, even though you are presented many giant robots during the opening, very few robots appear in the anime, with most of them only appearing for a good three minutes at most. However, considering the story takes place during an energy crisis, it's understandable that people wouldn't send their very energy consuming robots out for battle unless they really needed the extra power.

Speaking of the anime's story, it's quite good, though you will be yelling at the screen near the end because of all the cliff hangers. Many events are set into motion near the end of the anime and are never given any time to even start. It's a shame to see the story just stop when it did, especially when most of the characters and events near the end feel like they where just pulled out of nowhere.

Seriously, who are these guys?

Another thing to mention about the story is just how dark it is. If you're going into this expecting a "12 year old saves the day" type show, well you are in for a heck of a mood whiplash. Yes, the 12 year old Daisuke is a key player in the events that save the day, however, many of the characters he interacts with will not see him save the day. The story starts off with a very light hearted feel, which is reflected with it's art being light and colorful and with allot of the events of the first episode taking place during the day time. However, as the OVA continues, the story takes a turn for the darker. People die, there is constant fighting, people want to kill each other and quite a few more dark twists rise up and are even reflected with the animation's colors becoming darker and more gritty, as well as most events now taking place during the night or under a dark, cloudy sky. Many of the characters add to this darker side of the anime as well, having very heavy back stories of having lived in what can only be described as a post apocalyptic world. Needless to say, the story is not all daisies, rainbows and unicorns. In fact, it's the complete opposite and it does said job quite well. However, there is one major issue I have with the story: It's slow. The anime is composed of seven 45 minute episodes which felt like they where dragging along a way too much. I would often check how much time had passed and how much was left since it felt like it was just going on forever. It's a thing I tend to dislike in general and it doesn't help when you have an early episode which contains a 10-15 minute clip show of the events of the previous episode.

Overall, Giant Robo was a good show that contains everything that's great about 90's anime. The dub is great, the animation is fantastic and the plot will keep you interested throughout the OVA. However, the slow story, as well as the mess of cliff hangers and plot holes it leaves, can easily leave you frustrated as to how boring and incomplete the anime feels at times. Still, if you like older anime or are into the giant mecha genre, the ova is a must watch, if not a must have.
 Final Verdict: 7/10
Pros:
+Good story, interesting characters.
+The animation is amazing.
+The dub is great, both for the good and for the bad bits.
Cons:
-The show feels really really slow.
-TOO MANY CLIFF HANGERS AND PLOT HOLES!
-Too many characters are introduced at the very last minute.    

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