First Thoughts - Heroman

As time went on I often complained to my friends of the good old days of super robot series, wishing for more series like Mazinger or Tetsujin to be released once more. Well with Bones new title 'Heroman' may be the step in the right direction of reviving the dying genre. So I took it upon myself to watch the first two episodes that have been released.

Joey Jones, a young orphan boy, lives with his grandmother while working at a restaurant in the West Coast City. He also attends school with his friends Lina, a rich cheer leader, and his best friend Psy, who uses crutches to help him walk. He's often bullied by Lina's older brother because their family thinks that because Joey is poor and uncultured, that he is a bad influence on her. We're also introduced to Matthew Denton, Joey's science teacher, Who's been experimenting with extraterrestrial communication which later brings the Skruggs to Earth.



Upon hearing of a new toy robot called the Heybo, Joey believes that getting one will make his life better, turning him into a hero to protect his friends and family. However, he cannot afford to buy it on his meager salary. His luck changes when he picks up a broken down Heybo abandoned by a school bully after it got hit by a car. He tries to fix it using the power of SUPER GLUE, he decides to name the toy Heroman.

With the help of Heroman, they're able to rescue Lina and her father after they get in a car accident. We also get a better example of both Heroman's and Joey's abilities when they later fight off three aliens sent by the Skruggs as a pre-warning to their upcoming invasion of Earth.

Now I have to say I really enjoyed the first few episodes. The series has beautiful animation and fantastic music that really pull you into the series. Most of the characters seem pretty interesting, but that's mostly because of their "interesting" haircuts. The series seems to get back to the old school super robot feel, with the kids controlling the robot from the sidelines rather than piloting inside the robot. A style which I haven't seen in a show in a long while, since after the success of Gundam most mecha anime felt the need to have the robots be piloted so I'm glad Heroman is taking a chance.



What really stood out to me as the series really tries hard to make you believe this series takes place in America but it rather feels like the Japanese interpretation of America. With palm trees along every street and most kids would eat hot dogs or hamburgers. There are some cases where it feels out of place such as the classroom which still feels like a Japanese classroom just based on the atmosphere and the Teacher's behavior.

The series is written by BONES and Stan Lee, you read me, the famous comic writer who created Spider-Man and the X-Men is assisting for the writing for this show. You can tell at times the series feels like something out of a comic book based on Heroman's origin of being struck by lightning to gain his powers. Not to mention like all Stan Lee's creations, he makes a special cameo appearance!



Something I must point out is the fantastic music that was composed by "METALCHICKS" and "MUSIC HEROES". The music is fun and catchy and really was the key factor for pulling me into scenes. Like in the first episode, while the most Heroman did was pull the top of a car the music made me feel that every moment of it was completely epic, this is a show I would definitely download the OST to. Also the opening "Roulette" is by Tetsuya, the bass player for the band L'Arc~en~Ciel, which is a very fun tune that really psyches me up to watch the show. The series roles the credits with the song "Calling" by FLOW. With the help of these famous J-Rock musicians makes the shows music much more impressive.

Despite Joey's feminine looks, Psy's crazy hair and the fake American feel we still get a half-hour of action and adventure. The show's proving that it will be a fun ride and I think we all need to laugh the American stereotypes that are shown With a show that calls back to the classic super robot while fighting off bug like alien invaders, you cannot MISS this show if you're at all interested in anime or giant robots.