Yasuhiro Imagawa is no stranger to making raw, testosterone filled, classic mech anime. Therefore it's quite unfortunate that most of his works have been held back by something, be it Mazinger Shougekis lack of a second season, or Fighter G Gundams ties to the greater Gundam franchise. Giant Robo suffers from no such issues.

Visuals Being an OVA it had itself around an entire year for each episode, none of the episodes being restricted in terms of length or censorship or whatsoever. This facilitates the greatest strength of Giant Robo the Animation, that being the visuals. Imagawa's expertise is able to shine through completely, crafting one of the most interesting anime to just look at. While I can not recall a scene that is particularly dated, it feels extremely refreshing that this show manages to look so good without any of the modern tricks (see Bones webgen animations in MHA or Ufotables overuse of special effects in KnY).

Probably the best missile spam I have ever seenThe story Being based on the Giant Robo manga from 1967 it's fair to not expect a lot. The plot containing all the genre staples such as absurdly powerful energy sources and an opposing force looking with a goal as simple as "world domination lol". However the anime famously draws it's inspiration from a lot more than just the original manga, which elevates primarily the characters. Little things like the incorporation of samurai and wuxia elements into Tetsugyu's character really go a long way into crafting a cast with a fairly enjoyable dynamic. If you liked the shuffle alliance in Fighter G, expect more of the same.

Thankfully, the plot advances itself and actually sheds light on the shizuma drive and deeper motivations of the main antagonist. Don't get me wrong it's definitely still a character-driven story, but I definitely wouldn't get distracted by the plot, or even call it bad.

Can't forget best girl GinreiIn Conclusion No matter wether you consider yourself a mech fan, a fan of old anime "aesthetics" or just a fan of good looking shows, Giant Robo should definitely be a must watch for you. If the show hasn't hooked you on it's visuals alone within the first few minutes, you won't get much else out of it, but the visuals do really make it worth your time. (Also I forgor to mention the antagonists are extremely blatantly nazis and it's really fucking funny)