| Tosho
Daimos
By Jeffrey Couto
The Story
Tosho Daimos, the third entry in what is known
as the Nagahama Tadao Romance Robot Anime Trilogy (Combattler
V & Voltes V being other 2 pieces of the trilogy), centers
around the Brahmin race, a civilization that lost its home
planet and came to Earth in search of a new home. Although
initial talks between the winged Brahmin people and Earth's
representatives were relatively peaceful, conspirators in
their ranks found a way to get rid of the king and start a
war against Earth.
Earth's weapons are no match for these invaders
and soon many cities fall to their giant robot weapons. In
the midst of this chaos Ryuzaki Kazuya, a young martial expert
and the son of a brilliant scientist, becomes the pilot to
a secret weapon developed by his late father, Tosho Daimos,
a powerful robot that will be Earth's last hope in the fight
against the invaders. However as the battle progresses Ryuzaki
finds himself falling in love with Erika, the Brahmin princess
and a strong believer in the peace process. Will their love
be able to thrive as their people fight each other in a battle
for planet Earth?
How Good is it?
Tosho Daimos is a must see for all super robot
fans as it embodies everything that made classic super robots
great while adding a very involving story of love, politics
and war to the typical mix. Unlike many of its predecessors
Tosho Daimos seems to have a very good grasp on solid character
development and a good pace for the main story.
Characters & mechanical designs are specially
noteworthy. Daimos itself is a very elegantly designed robot
with somewhat of an unusual color scheme. (mostly red with
some black and white). The way the robot is controlled is
also very unique relying mostly on the pilot's own skills
as a martial arts master. In a way this system for controlling
the robot preceded many future shows including the popular
G-Gundam, albeit the system used in Daimos has the pilot sitting
down while using his arms for the most part, unlike the full
blown standing method used in G-Gundam.
The animation is very good for its time, featuring
a solid frame rate and some very stylish pencil shading for
certain sequences. The robot fight sequences in this program
are also some of the best ever to be featured in a super robot
show, with many intriguing uses of Daimos martial arts moves
and weapons (I specially liked several of the poses Daimos
strikes as he defeats his enemies).
I would also like to commend the designers
of the enemy robot of the week, for making some very interesting
robots for Daimos to fight, usually having some really unique
attacks and weapons to fight our heroes with.
My Opinion
Love super robots or classic Japanese animation?
Then make sure to check out Tosho Daimos, you will be glad
you did! Just make sure to watch it all the way to then end
as the action and story get more intriguing with every episode.
Jeff
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