Giant Gorg

Giant Gorg is a rather rare kind of anime even by retro standards - one of perhaps very few anime that would classify as pure "adventure". Being made in the early eighties, it gives off the kind of charm you'd expect in a Steven Spielberg sci-fi film from those times - a hair-raisingly perilous journey undertaken in search of something unknown, something wondrous, all the while being chased by nefarious baddies with vested interests. While the setup itself may not sound especially original, what the show really has going for it is its consistent degree of physical realism and attention to detail. Its taut andsure-handed pacing also lends it the feel of an extended movie rather than a multi-episode anime, imparting it with a certain wide-eyed immersion that you don't often come across in the medium these days. After Dr. Tagami, a researcher studying mysterious relics in the Austral Islands, somewhere in the remote South Pacific, dies under suspicious circumstances, his son Yuu travels to New York City to meet with Dr. Wave, a colleague of his father's, as per his last wishes as expressed in a letter to Yuu. Almost immediately, they run into hired goons who want to do them all in (Yuu, Dr. Wave, his sister Doris and Argos, their ferocious and trusty Great Dane) and cover it all up as a construction-related accident. These men are hired by GAIL, a seemingly all-powerful megalocorporation which holds most world leaders in its pocket, including the US and the (then-existing) USSR. Its power is such that it is able to secure the cooperation of pretty much all the major world powers in keeping the very existence of the Austral Islands a complete secret from the general public. Fearing for their lives, Dr. Wave contacts a man known only as the "Captain" - a former military veteran and mercenary-for-hire - who agrees to bodyguard them and smuggle them into the Austral islands under GAIL's nose. GAIL, as it so happens, have interests there that are deemed important enough that its chief executive Rick Balboa entrusts no one except his own grandson, Rod, to take over operations on the islands, to which of course he travels in a supersonic private plane. Now the thing you need to know about this anime is that it kicks off into high gear right from the get-go: the setup I described above takes barely 2 or 3 episodes to get established, and before you even know it you're pushed right into the heart of the adventure. And it's here that the show absolutely excels: it involves you in the nitty-gritty of the action, engaging you in the team's logistical hurdles of getting past a powerful and well-connected cartel, only to head straight into the perilous unknown where they have an even more overwhelming presence. Even in the Austral Islands, where GAIL's scale of operations is quite simply staggering, the show manages to pull off a convincing job of creating realistic odds and plausible circumstances for a small group of unlikely adventurers to survive and elude a group of ludicrously well-armed and professionally well-co-ordinated adversaries. It is not simply the case that they are able to do so by a string of favourable coincidences - in fact, there are times where even small mistakes set them back significantly. Rather, they are shown to survive through the use of seasoned tactics, as well as extensive inside knowledge of the island's geography to their advantage. Which now brings me to the characters. Some of them might feel pretty "stock": the pure-hearted and intrepid young lead, the obligatory female lead of similar age to the male lead, the nerve-wracked scatterbrained scientist constantly complaining about his lot, the sprightly sidekick ever in rivalry with the lead, and of course the level-headed and street-wise veteran without whose sure-handed competence our heroes wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of surviving. Once again, they distinguish themselves not in their originality but in their consistency and realism: none of them act unrealistically for the circumstances they're put into, or veer off-character for sake of plot convenience, and that applies right down to the minor lackeys. That being said, some are fleshed out in noticeably greater detail than others, sometimes having hidden sides to them. The Captain in particular stands out - this captain be no Haddock, rest you assured. A weather-beaten hulk of a man, he is shown to be unflappable and calculating even in a pinch, and cannily wily in his tactics. What really stood out for me was how believable it felt even when he single-handedly took down multiple enemies, including in hand-to-hand combat - he looks and feels like someone who could actually pull off something like that in the real world. The antagonists on the other hand, are surprisingly refreshing in their originality, and the way they play off each other feels believable and engaging. The standout among them is Rod Balboa - especially as voiced by Ikeda Shuuichi, the iconic voice of Char Aznable from the Gundam franchise. I can't imagine another voice actor who could have pulled off the role in his place, honestly. Yet another millionaire playboy at first glance - impetuous, hot-tempered and reckless at times - he displays unexpected sides to himself over the course of the show. His brattish exterior belies a keen intelligence - a quick grasp of and adaptability to any situation he's put into - which is one of the reasons his grandfather personally entrusted the project to him. He also has his pride as an individual, as opposed to an heir - when Yuu angrily calls him a murderer, he menacingly growls back at him, "I had nothing to do with your father's death - peg me together with those corporate pawn-pushers again and the kid gloves are off, you understand..?" This pride comes into play later on in the show, when key developments alter the stakes dramatically against his favour. Another notable mention is one Lady Lynx, a mob boss with her own hidden past, and an axe to grind against GAIL. And finally, there's Gorg itself - more Giant than Robot, more Godzilla than Gundam. It doesn't appear until well into a third of the show, by which time you have all but forgotten about it - which makes for great effect when it finally does make its entrance. In fact, part of me didn't even want to remind you of its existence even at this point so I wouldn't ruin the experience for you. It's a truly awe-inspiring presence, with its imposing size and overwhelming power - something ironically rare to find in a medium littered with giant fighting robots. There's more to Gorg than brute strength, though - it has some wicked physical talent, as well as sound tactical intelligence and situational awareness to complement the Captain's manoeuvres aboard the military vehicle they commandeered earlier on. It also has an agenda of its own - where it ultimately leads them makes for the show's turning point. There is a reason I bring this up, because it is at this point that things do turn a tad bit cheesy - and here too, not unlike in a classic Spielberg mold. I must note however, that it's nevertheless a fairly restrained affair by the standards of similar fare, and despite feeling a little overwrought at times it never at any point feels out of place in the context of the plot developments. Another thing to note here is that despite the screaming voice of unabashed idealism literally ringing through your ears at this point, the show doesn't descend into cliched tropes even from this point on: even as the plot reaches its climax, the stakes feel as uncertain as ever, which is precisely what gives it a level of tension you wouldn't usually expect to find in a show like this. Final words: I honestly didn't expect to enjoy a show like Giant Gorg quite as much as I did, jaded as I've grown over the years. While not the most original in its premise, it does stand out as a modest but solidly put-together work moreso than anything else. Aspiring to be no more than a low-key adventure story at the end of the day with a bit of sci-fi thrown in for good measure, its appeal is fairly understated.