Search - King of the Braves Gaogaigar: Heir to the Throne, Vol. 1 on DVD

A Historic Super Robot Show.

Paul Sebert | Barboursville, West Virginia USA | 11/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Throughout the 90s the venerable "Super Robot" genre of anime had entered something of a decline. While this had lead to some interesting deconstructions of the genre such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Giant Robo, more traditional entries in the field suffered. A throwback to the kinds television programs which gave Americans the Shogun Warriors toy line and Voltron, GaoGaoGar is simple and unpretentious: it's a program about a cool looking robot having fight scenes with bizarre monsters.



While competing shows in the genre were unsuccessfully trying to shovel nihilistic themes onto a children's genre (*cough, cough* Getta Robo Armageddon) GaoGaiGar applied a back-to-the basics formula, mixing in well staged fight scenes with an over-the-top approach to weapon and mecha design which was later imitated by Gear Fighter Dendo, Gravion, and Goddanar. Though the plots are relatively simplistic, they carry an interesting underlying theme of corruption and redemption. The "Zondar" monsters which GGG fights are kaiju-sized embodiments of human vices, frustrations, and failings taken from innocent victims.



GaoGaiGar holds an interesting place in the history of the super robot genre because it marks both the end of the Takara's long-running "Brave" series of mecha shows, and the beginning of modern Super Robots. Though it's animation lacks polish the show's eclectic cast of characters, immense fight scenes, and completely over-the-top mentality make GGG a crowd pleasure. Die-hard fans of the Super Robot genre, or anyone giving a serious look to anime history of the mid-to-late 90s should give the show a look.



Fans of the horror anime-series Betterman may also want to give the show a passing glance as it takes place in the same continuity according to both series producer Sunrise's Studio 7, though aside from a few winks and nods in the latter GaoGaiGar Final OVA we don't see an official crossover between the shows."

GaoGaiGar is a must own for Super Robot fans.

Thomas Boyer | 08/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"GaoGaiGar is a series that fans of Super Robot should own. Not only is it a fun series, it pays homage to classic super robot shows. This series isn't well known but it's well known to the mecha/super robot fans on the internet. The characters are great and very likable. The first half of the show is good. The second half is amazing from what I hear. Id say if your fan of Super Robot or want to get into the genre, id say check this one out. There are some reviews on here that are pretty negative, but this show always isn't a hit for everyone. Also it's by Sunrise, so when you hear the OP song, it will get stuck in your head for days."