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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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 dhrachth
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[series:603#962] | ||||||
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Fighting, fighting, more fighting, plus a little meladrama. If you loved the first Kikaider, you might like this or you might not. It doesn't follow the other story in any direct fashion, there's not the same complexity of character, but it is still Kikaider.
Last updated Thursday, September 11 2003. Created Thursday, September 11 2003. | ||||||||
| Buy | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
 Anshii
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[series:603#810] |
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Plot? Kikaider 01 - The Animation ... it doesn't need a plot! Throw in a bunch of androids, a dash of angst, and lots of explosions ... that's all you need! Right? It sounds like I don't like this OVA, but that's not true. The truth is, after the overly cerebral Android Kikaider TV series, this OVA is an interesting change. The story in the TV series is completely ditched save for one detail -- a villain from the TV series factors heavily in the OVA's razor-thin plot. New androids are introduced, and new robots appear to challenge Jiro and his burgeoning "family" (all apparently designed by Kikaider's creator). Much fighting ensues. I will say this: the ending was shocking and definitely among the most interesting endings I have ever seen in my many years of anime viewing. That is why I gave the "episode story" a higher score than the "series story"; the last episode is among some of the greatest 25 minutes I have ever seen. Typical cliches in the "robot who wants to be human" genre are turned on their head, and Kikaider is revealed to be something truly frightening in the end. Kikaider 01 - The Animation is definitely for Kikaider fans and those who want to skip the cerebral series for the kick-ass action of the OVA! I gave it a "buy" rating despite its flaws; you might want to rent it first to be sure that it is what you want to see. Last updated Friday, August 22 2003. Created Friday, August 22 2003. | ||||||||
| Rent |
 Stretch
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[series:603#628] | ||||||
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As soon as I saw Jiro get jumped by the "flying stingrays" in the opening scene of Kikaider 01, I knew this show wasn't exactly going to be up to the standards of the original. Kikaider no longer seemed to have any deep emotional issues to struggle with, no indecision, no doubts--the bad guys are now clearly bad, so why not destroy them all? I don't mind a fair amount of violence in my Anime, if it's tastefully portrayed (I thought the fight with the four color-coded Hakaiders in episode two was pretty cool), but when blades detach themselves from a motorcycle, and somehow reform into a flying buzzsaw that scythes through robots like a knife through butter, I mean, that scene could have been used as a textbook example of gratuitous violence. On the bright side, I think Kikaider 01 partially compensated for the loss of thought-provoking drama through the comedy that the new charachter Ichiro brought with him. This fellow may lack a conscience circuit, but he's clearly had both humor and impetuousity circuits installed! I think that a little of the philosophical depth of the original series was regained in the final episode, but 25 minutes certainly couldn't match a series that was literally swimming in sophistication all along. Kikaider 01 is worth watching at least once, and being only a third as long as it's predecessor, that doesn't represent too great a committment. My favorite line: "These weapons really get me HOT!" 7/03 Last updated Sunday, February 24 2008. Created Monday, July 14 2003. | ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
 Kari
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[series:603#798] | |
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This is a continuation of Kikaider...obviously. I think it's better than the first show because it's a bit more violent, and that's fine with me...senseless plot be damned. The animation and the colors are nice. All the characters basically look alike. For example, Bijinder looks like Mitsuko from the first show, and Ichiro looks like Jiro. There are a few more new characters in this series too. Amongst them is a guy who strongly resembles Elmer Fudd. I have no complaints about the dub. Once again Jiro was voiced by David Wittenberg. Wendee Lee voices Bijinder, and she's always great when she voices a character. Crispin Freeman voiced Rei Kikaider, a quiet but cool character. You can buy this for $5.00 - $15.00, so why not? Last updated Friday, November 17 2006. Created Wednesday, July 02 2003. | ||||||||
| Rent | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
 AstroNerdBoy
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[series:603#436] | |
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This is the OAV continuation from the Kikaider: The Animation series. Since I saw this on Cartoon Network, I'm thinking that it had to be edited for time but until I see exactly how long the OAV series episodes are, I won't know for sure. Either way, it was hard for me to make a final call on whether to "Rent" or "Watch" the series. In the end, I chose "Rent".
Jiro is back and his bike is suddenly souped up. How? We don't know. But he has a girl named Reiko who's protecting a young boy named Akira whom he's just rescued from robots which are based on sea creatures (rather than the insects and animals from the first series). Apparently they all want Akira but no one knows why. Eventually they are aided by the mysterious priest Fuuten (?) and Kikaider learns he has a brother named Ichiro, or in his battle form, Kikaider-01. Later, they are aided in their mission by Rei/Kikaider-00 and opposed by a whole slew of evil robots. For me, this show was a fall off from the original TV series. For starters, the depth of story that the original had is not here. Jiro was on a journey of self exploration and that was an interesting journey. The writers try to pick this up, but it doesn't really work simply because this series is an action/fighting series. At times we get glimpses of interesting robot mentality as it seems Jiro has the ability to affect his fellow robots and make them grow beyond their programming, making them more human. Unfortunately, this was never really explored and in it's place, more fighting and explosions were added. Also, there's Professor Gil's son Akira. Apparently he was born/created in order to be the final piece of Gil's ultimate weapon. OK, that I'll buy. What I didn't buy was how he was supposed to work. It made no sense and actually went against Gil's philosophy that robots are simply there to obey orders and not have emotions. Why make a robot weapon with a child in it's core who can have wildly varying emotions and thus go out of control? Sadly, this is where the writing failed as it everything is contrived. I mean after all, you have to have a valid reason for chasing some young boy with armies of robots. The final problem I had was a complete lack of exploration as to where Kikaider had been after he left in the TV series. Apparently he has no memories of Mitsuko or Masaru. At some point, the priest gives Kikaider the "Pinochio" book that Mitsuko always read to Masaru. Apparently it was found in Mitsuko's house which was now abandoned. What happen to her, her brother, and their father, Kikaider's creator? Sorry mate! We need that time for more pointless action sequences. Maybe that's why they got rid of those lengthy transformation sequences. I would swear that the music from this has been lifted from the Inuyasha series! Normally, music doesn't stand out to me, but often, I could close my eyes and upon hearing the music, I would wait for Inuyasha or one of the characters from that story to start talking. Hmmm... Bottom line: I enjoyed this OAV sequel, but it is a sharp falloff from the original as far as the story is concerned. If you like plenty of fights, action, and explosions, this will be up your alley for sure. Last updated Friday, August 22 2003. Created Saturday, June 28 2003. | ||||||||
