IGN.Com recently posted some details about Cartoon Network’s upcoming “giant robot guy fights equally gigantic monsters” animated series Sym-Bionic Titan:
“The series follows the lives of Ilana, Lance and Octus, three alien teens that crash-land on Earth while attempting to escape an evil General who has taken over their home planet, Galaluna. Ilana, princess of Galaluna, Lance, a rebellious but capable soldier, and Octus, a bio-cybernetic robot, must now blend into everyday life in Sherman, Illinois (sound familiar, John Hughes fans?). Posing as high school students, Lance and Octus work to conceal Princess Ilana from General Modula and his hideous space mutants sent to harm the sole royal heir of Galaluna. When called into battle, our Galalunians are outfitted with individual armor that provides more than ample protection. It's when the gravest of danger appears that Octus activates the sym-bionic defense program and Ilana, Lance and Octus come together to form the spectacular cyber-giant Sym-Bionic Titan. It is in this form that they battle the most evil of beasts. The voice cast includes Brian Posehn (The Sarah Silverman Program) as Octus and John DiMaggio (Futurama) as King & General Steel.”
The show really seems to be aiming for an “old school”, Ultraman-ish vibe, but that’s not a bad thing by any means. The cartoon’s creator, Genndy Tartakovsky, has proven his geek worth in his previous efforts Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Sym-Bionic Titan ends up sporting a fair number of references and homages to old giant monster movies and Japanese superheroes.
2 comments:
This is awesome. However, I can help but be reminded of Cartoon Network's last "old school giant robot vs. giant monster" TV series Megas XLR which also contained numerous in jokes and references to Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, and anime and yet began to grow stale after the first dozen or so episodes.
Genndy Tartakovsky, however, is a competent storyteller and so hopefully this series won't have the same problems as Megas XLR.
And speaking of Megas XLR, why has this show never received a DVD release from Cartoon Network?
Justin has a valid point, but since this IS Gendy it will be well done, even if it only lasts a season.
I love the emphasis on civilians in that clip, and the awareness that people are going to die implied within it. So few shows (US or Japanese) bother to consider how dangerous these fights are to the people around. That was one of the (many) reasons I adored GaoGaiGar- they placed a huge emphasis on the issue of how to keep the monsters and battles from killing people while still trying to defeat them.
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