The Influence of Johnny Sokko

From what I've learned, Giant Robo exists in three incarnations. It started out as a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. Next came the 60's live action show, Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot, which appeared both in Japan and then on U.S. television in the 70s. Then for a long time there was nothing, until director Imagawa resurrected Giant Robo and many of Yokoyama's other manga creations in Giant Robo: The Animation.

I have never seen Yokoyama's original GR manga (and probably never will) and I wasn't around yet when Johnny Sokko was on the air. However, thanks to David Haug, I was able to obtain a copy of the entire Johnny Sokko series for a very reasonable price.

If you're thinking of buying Johnny Sokko in the hopes of getting a cool live-action version of the anime Giant Robo, beware, it is actually quite different. The story is much simpler, and the acting and special effects are, well...You'll either laugh or groan. As crazy as it all was, I personally liked it, and I now see why so many adults who grew up watching Johnny Sokko cherish the series.

For your information I have created a list of things I noticed in Johnny Sokko that carried over in some form to the Giant Robo anime. There are some spoilers here. ('Giant Robot' refers to the robot of the 70's and 'Giant Robo' refers to the robot of the 90's.)

• Johnny Sokko's name is Daisaku in the Japanese version.

• The evil organization 'Gargoyle' is known as BF dan (BF Organization) in the Japanese version. The members of Gargoyle salute their leader by raising an arm with the hand outstretched (like Genya, Alberto, and Ivan from episode 1).

• Giant Robot is known as Giant Robo in the Japanese version. (These three things I found out because now and then the English voices would oddly stop, and the original Japanese dialogue came through.)

• The remote-control wristwatch is the same, and the boy-robot friendship is too for the most part. It is even said of Giant Robot at one point that it "almost acts human, that robot".

• GR-2, the robot with a crescent blade on its head, makes two guest appearances. In Johnny Sokko it's called Torozonn and Giant Robot rather violently destroyed him.

• The organization of justice which Johnny is a part of is called Unicorn. It's probably more than coincidence that several of the robots in the Giant Robo anime (including Giant Robo himself) have a gold crest emblazoned on their foreheads picturing the head of a unicorn.

• Giant Robot is nuclear powered. He also grunts as an affirmation, flies, carries Johnny in his hand, eyes flash when activated, etc.

• Giant Robot was built for destructive purposes but was 'stolen' (voice-registered to Johnny) and converted to do good.

• There is an episode where Giant Robot is in chains that I found to be very reminiscent of Giant Robo episode 6. There is also an incident where Robot gets his eyes burned out that reminded me of the episode 7 hole-in-the-face.

• This is probably a long shot but there is a mummy villian wearing a trenchcoat who looks a LOT like the bandaged Murasame Kenji of episode 5.

Here are some things in Johnny Sokko that are very different from the anime!

• Unlike Daisaku, Johnny Sokko is a force to be reckoned with even without the robot. The kid can chuck grenades with the best of 'em! He also has a gun and a jetpack.

• There is no mention of a 'Shizuma Drive'.

• Giant Robot's fighting style is a lot more active: Wrestling, pinning, hurling monsters, narrowly dodging attacks, kicking, headlocks, basically using any method possible to win. His abilities are also different from Giant Robo's and include such talents as Eye Lasers and Flaming Breath.

• The top bad guy, Emperor Gillotine, is from outer space and sort of resembles an octopus (or a guy in a really funny costume).

• None of the main good characters (the Unicorns) die, which is particularly amazing considering all the shooting that goes on in this show. However they have some very close calls, and Johnny appears to have been shot in the last episode (don't worry, he's fine). Many nameless Gargoyle and Unicorn agents got plugged full of lead, I'll admit that.

• Instead of cliffhangers, Johnny Sokko episodes tend to end with everyone standing around smiling and waving at Giant Robot.

And what I thought were the most memorable scenes:

• Giant Robot carrying an entire cruise ship.
• That weird noise whenever the Unicorns made their official hand gesture.
• The jet planes that resembled SR-71 Blackbirds.
• Whenever the voices suddenly went Japanese.
• The UFO that blew up for no apparent reason.
• The little birthday celebration Unicorn threw for Giant Robot.
• How Jerry Mono says something can't happen and then it usually does.
• The very fact that Giant Robot flies at a speed of Mach 19.
• How monsters that appear to have been totally destroyed return in later episodes.
• When Johnny actually lost the wristwatch.
• The clarinet that shot bullets when it was played.
• The house of evil nuns.
• The clearly Egyptian pyramids in Saudi Arabia.
• The last episode (sniff, sniff).

Back to Main