Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu

Gaiking is extremely enjoyable, but does require the same kind of acceptance of genre tropes as most "traditional" super robot shows, as its a genre I like though this is something of a non-issue for myself (and really should be a non-issue for anyone - its like watching a slasher flick and complaining when someone goes off alone). The robot designs are fairly "retro" in appearance, which isn’t overly surprising as this is a "re-imagining" of an earlier anime series (one which you don’t need to be familiar with). The animation is fluid and the plot development, while not amazing, is certainly a cut aboveaverage with some nice twists and a fairly interesting setting explanation (I found it particularly interesting as it would be eminently thieveable for an rpg setting). It also avoids some plot clichés which I find annoying, particularly the protagonist whingeing about having to kill - while it works in some contexts it often feels forced and so I’m glad Gaiking didn’t really bother it (as I don’t feel it fits). In terms of giant robot action Gaiking certainly delivers, nearly every episode a new weapon or combination or mecha is revealed and its all done in a very enjoyable fashion. In many ways I rate giant robot shows (and a lot of other things) by how many times they make you think "Fuck yeah" (or your affirmative phrase of choice) and Gaiking is packed with moments like this. Its intro is also worth a mention, Super-Robot shows tend to have cool (for certain values of cool) intro's with amazingly cheesey lyrics and a veritable symphony of hair rock, in fact I've watched or purchased some shows based purely on the intro alone. Gaiking's intro is among the very best, while the song is catchy enough it’s the manner in which it ties into the intro animation that really sells it (it’s the island exploding, just does it for me).