Anime Abandon - Android Kikaider: The Animation 

I liked this as a teenager and, after collecting all four of those fancy holo-covered dvds, I still love this series a lot over ten years later. I know it can come of as melodramatic shlock to some, but it's MY melodramatic shlock.

*Sage:* What is a man? *Dracula:* A miserable pile of secrets. But enough talk, have at you!

Kikaider is the reason robots should never cry, cause once they do they never stop

I do miss this kinda character design. You just don't see it anymore.

So she bangs what is essentially a look alike robot of her dead half brother she previously didn't know anything about? Nice. Anime, please, never change.

A well timed Robot Chicken clip always puts a big dumb smile in my face.

Involving the Citizen Kane thing, that IS explained. Late in the film, one of Kane's butlers explained he was the one who heard and was in the room with him. We couldn't see the the butler because of the angle of the shot.

WHY YOU HURT ME SAAAAGE dammit lol I had a feeling this would be the case. Even as a 14 year old watching Kikaider in that summer of 2003 late at night I knew it was overwrought and melodramatic. The thing is though I was moody teenager so I loved that shit and thought it was DEEP AND COMPELLING. Oh well, Kikaider might be trashy melodrama, but like someone else said its MY trashy melodrama. The themes are on the nose, the allusions barely that they're so obvious and transparent, but.... its charming to me. It's delightful in its innocently naive, uninspired dullness. It's trying to activate your almonds and is just really bad at it, and this is why it appealed to 14 year old me, because 14 year old me couldn't critically think about the finer details and implications of this kind of writing and took it all at face value as DARK DEPRESSING DRAMATICS. That all said, I think the OVA's ending is great. Or rather that small bit where Kikaider crushes Gil's head and how Gil's submission circuit, which was meant to corrupt Kikaider and turn him evil, ends up synergizing with his conscience circuit, and he realizes that being human isn't just being good but also actively resisting the desire to do harm onto others.... and having the wisdom to know when yes, you HAVE to do "bad" things sometimes for the good of others. It still speaks to me today. EITHER WAY looking forward to Wolf's Rain boiiiiii

"Is this my voice?" You missed a perfect spot for the "is this a bird?" meme.

I love the art style and robot character designs for the show. Something about that stuck with me all these years. Plus the OVA Kikaider 01 had enough action to keep me entertained. I still have fond memories of this and the 2001 run of Cyborg 009, but this is definitely tough to go back and rewatch. I typically stick with the OVA when I want to revisit.

I spent about half this video confused as to how I didn't remember Kikaider when I was glued to my TV every time Toonami was on when I was a kid. Then I saw the snot-nosed brat blaming Kikaider for his own stupidity and it all came flooding back at once. This show's melodrama pissed off nine-year-old me so much that I repressed my memories about it until today! IIRC kid me thought that this was directly connected to Cyborg 009 anime from around the same time because of the art style (I didn't quite understand the concept of different creative teams adapting work from the same creator) and I was so baffled at how Kikaider could be so dull and frustrating compared to 009, which I adored.

We've all had that stage where we thought anime was so great that we'd watch literally anything anime.

13:03 What sci-fi anime can't be complete without some good old robot sex.

Hey Sage, I happened to notice you have DVD release of Ringing Bell on your shelf. You know, the 'first shock movie aimed at children'? That movie written by a real child soldier of WWII as a way to communicate how it felt to side with evil and commit war crimes too horrific for a kid to comprehend? And after writing it he did almost nothing but cutesy harmless banana cartoons until he died a few years back? Any chance we'll be seeing a discussion on that one in the future?

I honestly kinda love the art style of this show. It leans towards being very cartoony and exaggerated, but also just being really cute and innocent at it's core, while still retaining a level of practicality, detail, and grace. And I think there's something about that, contrasting with darker and more philosophical themes that just make it so captivating to me.

"I have yet to throw down my notes, and just rage quit an anime" Uh... Remember Jungle de Ikou? Yeah.... Maybe you shouldn't.

I loved this as I kid, alot like Pilot Candidate, but unlike Pilot (which I still think had a awesome premise but terrible execution) I still can look back and watch this and see why I liked it. Also, that Kikaider theme still gives me chills

*Me seeing this:* *>Procides to go cross eyed at the amount of angst.* God this is so melodramatic it's painful. *Also me a person who likes Casshern Sins and Nier: Automata:* Can I request a form to hug Casshern and 9S?....please?

Speaking of nostalgia, I saw Astro Boy when I was a kid, a decade later when I was in high school this show popped on TV. I was moving away from shounen anime at the time, hell, I think I had already given up on Naruto and One piece at the time but this show and it's similarity with Astro Boy hit me like a ton of bricks. It took me the better part of the first episode to realize what this show reminded me of and an internet search after it had ended to realize why. Shotaro Ishinomori, the man who created this franchise was Tezuka's assistant when he was making Astro Boy, he in fact worked on Astro Boy. This anime was meant to commemorate the older anime Shotaro Ishinomori had made with this character, but for me, a novice that had never heard of him, this anime was a commemoration for Osamu Tezuka. I'm sure Metropolis or more likely the new Pluto manga would have served the same purpose a few years later, but at that time this anime was something I watched religiously. It didn't matter that it wasn't at the same level as Cowboy Bebop, or Paradise Kiss, or The Big O, or even The daughter of Twenty Faces, it was in the style of Tezuka, it was dealing with robots and had character designs and fashion like I hadn't seen since Astor Boy in my earliest memories. It was something I HAD to watch, and yet something I only vaguely remember, actually I think I remember my sister making fun of me for watching this as religiously as I did more then I do anything story wise... God dammit Sage, why'd you go and bring this anime up, now I'm gonna end up rewatching it and the magic is going to go away forever.

21:06 Oh...Oh, poor Steve Blum. You deserve so much better than...this.

It's like the cartoon/Sentai troupes and serious/edgy troupes are constantly fighting with each other.

Shotaro Ishinomori created an entire genre that's impressive

Here's the Thing about Kikaider's Guitar that was left out from the Live-action series. Music Affects Kikaider! Both for Positive and Negative as he is able to Transform with and without it. And he uses to damage Gil's robots by messing with their Circuitry. Hakaider, since he was built by Gil was meant to Counter Kikaider by using the Flute that Gil uses! Man, this is just sad, I liked the final episode of this series, but goddamn...had this fucking series gotten the full 25 or 50 episodes, this could've been better.

I'm really happy with how you covered plot holes in this episode. It isn't that plot holes exist, because you can find them anywhere, it's the abundance of them or the size/severity of them that distracts from the story and ruins the sum of the product overall. If you have so many plot holes or plot holes that are so immense that the sum of the film/show cannot distract from them, then you've messed up!

Why do I feel like this anime is just badly written angsty fan fiction seeing how Kikaider is an emo robot who wants to be like the humans and his half sister is this useless whiny idiot who falls in love with him despite the fact that he tried to kill her a few times, has an annoying younger brother who hates him for killing his friends and let’s not forget that Kikaider is modeled after her half brother she never knew about. I can’t tell that’s the cliched “kind hearted damsel” sleeping with an angst fueled robot or artificial being or the incest seeing how they’re brother and sister and yet the anime never points it out.

Despite how vague my memories are of this show, I can recall wanting to tune in to see where it went. But based on what I am seeing of it, here, I have to wonder if this is a case of the source material not updated properly to (then) modern sensibilities, much in a similar fashion to the more recent Devilman: Crybaby.

I could never really get into Wolf's Rain. The only draw for me were the voices that I recognized from other shows. Mostly Hige's voice being Tai from Digimon.

It's unfortunate, because I actually really, really like the concept of a robot programmed to do good only achieving humanity by having evil implanted within him. It could have been an interesting concept to focus on, how no man is pure and that "evil" emotions like hate or selfishness are an important part of what makes us human. What a waste of a good idea.

Kamen Rider Gaim: "i gave Kikaider the name Jiro because he reminds me of my dead pet dog" Kamen Rider Duke: "i am also now Hakaider!"

OH THATS what that anime was. I just remember the design of the robot and the guitar playing. And something about killing their brothers and sisters but that might have been a different show on Adult Swim.

9:34 ...A miserable pile of secrets?

I remember watching this Anime when I was a Kid, I had no idea what was going on but I've still enjoyed it.

"Is not suited for college film students" Ha! Joke's on you: I'm graduated. *cries in unemployment*

I'd never even heard of this series but I can certainly understand that feeling of originally loving a show only to end up kicking myself for ever feeling that way with the series Tokyo Underground (the only series I can think of where the opening lies to you).

No this was made to honor Ishinomori. Why? Cause the anime is pretty accurate to the original Manga.

Kinda looks like the emo version of Cyborg 009.

If Kikaider was going for a fairy tale parallel then it really should have taken a page from Jin-Roh.

I remember only catching episodes here and there and finding it insanely hard to follow for how blatantly simple the story was. Like, maybe this was due to the attempts to make it seem deeper than it was making it worse than it could've been, or maybe it was the animation, but to say the least I struggled to figure out what was going on during the last episode. I mean there's no motion when some attacks are done to some of the characters, they just kinda explode or get a limb chopped off or something. It made me feel dumb not being able to follow it, but now I can see it was mostly just due to the show being very poorly made.

Excellent ‘stache, Sage! I’m never confident enough to rock a mustache. I opt for keeping a full beard. Movember is a great cause. My grandfather and father-in-law are both cancer survivors. Android Kikaider: I had pretty much forgotten about this anime until watching this review! Honestly I couldn’t even remember it’s title. As I watched this episode all the memories came back. Like you, I too remember “liking” the show when it aired. I liked the (supposed) pathos and the broody characters. Also, I’ve always liked acoustic guitar playing melancholic tunes. I did and still do like the art style. I’m pretty sure I also liked Android 009, though I don’t really have much memory of that one either. It’s an interesting experience going back and watching an anime again that you remember liking but only watched the once - especially when it’s been many years. The cracks are certainly more visible. Even seeing the clips here, I can tell where the show really doesn’t hold up. I’m still going to feel nostalgic about the show and that era of Adult Swim, but I’m also well aware of my rose tinted glasses. I’m having a similar experience with a show I’m re-watching, but not as extreme. It’s been a few years since I’ve watched it, but the advancements in viewing technology haven’t been kind to it. Get Backers (if you’re interested in which show) doesn’t look great on my HDTV. You can really see where they used cheap animation and low frame rates. You could tell before, but it’s even more apparent on a larger HD screen. It’s still one of my favorites; though, I prefer the manga. The show was definitely toned down for a younger audience like a Fox Saturday morning cartoon. But the characters and situations are still interesting enough to keep you watching. I recently discovered the whole thing is on Amazon video and have been rewatching it even though I have all of the DVDs. Anyway, great episode as always, Sage! I’m interested in the next episode. I never really got into Wolf’s Rain when it aired, but I had friends that did. I’m not sure I ever finished watching the show.

Dear, God... As much as I love the works of Shotaro Ishinomori's works, this Kikaider anime only served to constantly confound me at every turn. I was fairly young at the time and could barely make out what was going on for most of the show... But one of the things that stuck with me after seeing this series. Is realizing that my introduction to(implied) intercourse was seeing an anime girl bang a robot... O_O; I really hope the original manga and toku series wasn't as convuluted...

I just dig your reviews. I didnt' have cable in early 2000s so admittedly I only saw anime I bought at the time. So this was a good view to what you guys had.

I remember having vague memories of this show's trailers. It almost felt like a fever dream until I saw the main villain then I knew this was an actual thing and not some fake memory.

Cool stuff! Love the new opening, too! :3

I really don't remember this show but I do remember watching cyborg 009 (2001). I really loved it, but they never released a box set, and I wish they would. Side note: yaaas. Wolf's rain. Are you ever going to review S-Cry-Ed?

You're a superpowered robot with emotions... WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO BE HUMAN?!

When the Japanese does melodrama, they not only swim in it but they sink into the abyss and slowly at that! It's reasons like this is why I could never get into Kikaider or even its live action predecessor. Watch METALDER: a 1980's live action series heavily inspired by Kikaider but is way more entertaining and with a fantastically large cast of fun villains.

Omg Wolf Rain! Really hitting me straight to the nostalgia Sage! I can't wait for the next episode.

the one thing I remember about this series is getting BORED towards the end. really bored

ya i remember trying to remember this show i when searching for it and finding all kinds of shows looking for it like guyver thinking it was the show i was looking for but when i did actually find i remember liking it never thought it was the best but it was ok

I wonder if you'll review Banana Fish when the series comes to an end.

So hype for the Wolf's Rain review!!!

I wish you'd tell more about the backstory of the stuff you review. Like how Kikaider was mostly known to be a Sentai show like Kamen Rider? I know the manga came first but the live action is the most well known adaptation. Also, I wonder how the hell these humanoid robots turn into metallic ones.. that oddly have glass parts, it seems?

Do Turn A Gundam - it's called "mustache gundam" - would fit the month ;)

Oooh, NOW, I remember this anime! Yeah, I never watched it. 😏

Definitely a reminder of how awkward and flat early digital animation was.

the character design of this anime don't match with the backgrounds at all. Nothing seem to have any consistency in the art design

Yeah Wolf Rain! I've been always wondering if Sage would ever do an review of it and now finally its going to happen. Can't wait for it. :)

Oh man, I can't wait for the next one!

A chip off the old motherboard? I believe those are called "daughterboards."

Just noticed the Noein dvd's in the background. Any plans reviewing that? I love that show! Rewatched it several times over the years.

6:29 the way I see it: Writing a story is like setting up a stunt. The story needs momentum the clear the gaps. The reason James Bond is not dead or scarred up like Veitnam war veteran is because it is entertaining to see him survive. Goku is not overpowered so long as he has a new exciting fight to have. It does not matter where the Cybermen came from last season, just where the cybermen came from today because they are a threat to the doctor today. We like to think Entertainment is world building, but all entertainment is in its purest form is just a clown telling a story: a bit of attention, investment, and not letting you get bored. (I feel the sudden need to kill Michael Bay................time for me to take my happy pills)

God this anime. I have tried to find this anime on several occasions and I was convinced it was a fever dream.

I wouldn't be so hard on the anime telling the story of Pinocchio in setting up its themes. It is important to remember that this was never made with a Western audience in mind. It was made in Japan for a Japanese audience that does not have extensive experience with old European folk tales.

6:40 a year and a half late, but there in fact was a character that heard him say rosebud, the butler. he isn't shown on screen but he does say in testimony that he was there when kane died and heard him say rosebud. your point still stands but your example does not

I am dead at 21:10. That execution was just perfect!!! Never change Sage, never change!!

One third of VR Troopers was adapted from a homage metal hero series Metalader.

To the people of Hawaii, the 70's live action series was like Marvel at the time, but it was made for kids and teenagers.

I'm a bug Kikiada fan and I've heard of the anime but never seen it and after watching this I'm not sure if I ever will. Still, great episode as always man!

The one thing about the 4 episode OVA I questioned is why did Jiro and others act like it was a big deal to protect Akira? Akira had no personality and was constantly being held by Reiko like a lifeless doll. Instead why wasn't it Reiko they needed to protect? Again Akira was kind of there

A comment below got me curious about the manga, so I looked it up and found a total of 2 chapters online. :/ But even with just 2 chapters, the way it tells its story feels very different. Jiro acts more frustrated than mopey about his situation IE after this realization 11:02 he actually DOES go straight to Mitsuko in the hopes she can make him normal. Also, Mitsuko doesn't initiate needless multi-episode drama by insisting Jiro's just a machine, which causes him to wander off in the first place. Again, just two chapters, but it feels so much more different than the anime, and really lends credibility to the idea that this series was needlessly padding itself out with forced drama and the mopey-mopes. Oh, and Gemini WAS a play on Jiminy.

You made some fair points. I liked the old school art style a lot and the OP music. I saw it briefly after Big O aired on sundays but never religiously watched it until a few years ago and I liked it.

Sealab 2021 > Rick & Morty. Fight me.

I was wondering when we were going to get to the one after this. I had this weird feeling we'd already talked about it but I guess I'm mistaken

A recap in a thirteen episode series? Reminds me of the filler episode in the twelve episode Hand Shakers.

oh my god YES I LOVE WOLF'S RAIN! it has a.. lot of problems to say the least but I LOVE IT IN SPITE OF THOSE PROBLEMS! I'm so excited for you to review it!

Oh baby I'm ready for some wolf's rain, got that same box set. I see you didn't wanna cop the couple hundred for the old DVD set. That is one of the most beautiful yet depressing shows out there, perfect to go next to the Gustav Dore depictions of hell I just framed on the wall.

I totally forgot Kikaider was on Adult Swim. I think that says a lot.

OMG Wolfsrain!!! I LOVE IT. It was the first Anime I ever managed to buy, back when I was 12. Haaah memories T.T Its so beautifully gothic. It gas a 2 part Manga adaption(I think, don't shoot me) that was very well drawn but with a different story arc. Sure it had its issues(a bit slow in the pacing sometimes) but I still like watching it today 15 years later.

can you review the 2000 cyborg 09? iam not american so idont know if it aired in adult swim

Oh my god .......thank you Bennett Im serious here when i was a kid (6 years) this was the real piece of anime I've ever watched and i had never found out it name till now......it has haunted me forever not remembering it it was a late night at a hotel and im like yea animations so again thank you And also fuck me whoa this was something

I mostly just remember thinking how dope that guitar jingle he would play was. I remember liking the show and then when I realized what looked like the show ended after maybe 13 episodes I just didn't care. And then I think I saw later that that brother villain guy was still the main bad guy and the show doesn't really go anywhere. I could be making up some of this lol

Yes You will be reviewing Wolf's Rain. YESSSSS 😁

Hey, just wanted to say, I love your videos! Also, would you maybe be interested in doing Record of Lodoss War?

you were able to stay up that late?! I remember trying to stay up to watch this but I never could, I always fell asleep on the couch

Kikaider was a strong start that kept me interested and wanting to know where the story went through to the end of the first part with its sort of cliff hanger ending... then it got to the second part (OVA where he teams up with the beta version of himself and the successor version and the two other girls androids) and fights Professor Gill/Hackider Cyborg and it becomes like a free fall off a cliff that finally ended with me hitting the bottom. I wish I had just stopped when I assumed the series ended.

You know that whole magic flute plan is VERY flawed... He'll get tired of playing it eventually, and once that happens there's nothing stopping him from getting FLCL'd in the face.

The special that Sage didn't watch? A crossover with another work of Shotaro Ishinomori...Inazuman.

The guitar and opening hooked me lol

that episode special that they never released over here, from what i gather, its a crossover with another ishinomori toku hero, the one known as Inazuman, basically a lightning moth mutant

Think I identified with this so well when I was younger was just because of the tone it felt really melancholy. Teenage angst man.

You can also learn that from sailor Moon.

No doubt one of your most savage reviews. I remember seeing advertisements for this show on Toonami, but never had the chance to actually watch it. After watching this review, I’m glad I didn’t. But this does make me worried about the 2003 Cyborg 009 anime if you ever get around reviewing it. Will it be a better experience, or will it be just as bad as Kikaider?

Wow you really tore this apart.

What happened to the yellow cap in the background?

Dude, you rocked the stache look. You should have kept It.

I never saw this, but I watched Cyborg 009. I remember liking it but I can't remember why. Maybe that's my rose-tinted show.

Now I'm curious as to what Sage thinks about the major plot twist of Gad Guard

I always skip to the last part to see what you'll review next. I am glad you are finally going to discuss *that* anime.

Watched your intro and such and since you announced this review last week, I've been racking my brain trying to remember the details of this anime and, if I'm being fair? Yeah, I don't think this would hold up like it did when I saw it. Even when the series first came on, I found certain aspects annoying and stupid (like the guitar). The angsty "what is human?" plotline also got annoying. I mean I think it's overused in this kind of story as it is, but Kikaider kicked it way up. I also got thrown off by the follow-up. This was before I fully grasped the concept of OVAs, spinoffs, etc. but I was completely lost during the second Kikaider series.

13:08 yup that's the perfect clip to sum up the sex scene