ROBOT CARNIVAL
A Tale of Two Robots
This comedy short is from the 1980's anthology anime Robot Carnival. "Strange Tales of Meiji Machine Culture: Westerner's Invasion" (明治からくり文明奇譚〜紅毛人襲来之巻〜, Meiji Karakuri Bunmei Kitan: Kōmōjin Shūrai no Maki, retitled "A Tale of Two Robots, Chapter 3: Foreign Invasion" for the Streamline dub) is set in the nineteenth century and features two "giant robots" directed from within by a human crew of teenage kids. In the style of a movie serial of the sound era, a Western mad scientist in his giant robot attempts to take over Japan but is challenged by locals operating a "machine made for the parade"—a Japanese giant robot. The style of this segment is somewhat reminiscent of a Japanese World War II-era propaganda film. Despite the title of this segment, there is no known prequel or sequel. The Westerner speaks English in the original release.
Robot Carnival was the anime that most got me into the medium and still to this date it's an utterly fantastic short film collection from start to finish.
ReplyDeleteHell, I even own both the DVD and BluRay versions.