If you are not overly familiar with mecha anime and manga, then Tetsujin 28 may not seem all that important and look even somewhat dated. However, it’s this design and the series named after it that effectively birthed the concept of mecha across the world.
Back in 1956, the manga artist Mitsuteru Yokoyama penned a new series. Called Tetsujin 28, it featured a huge mecha that could be remotely controlled. Originally created by Dr. Kaneda for use in World War 2, it later fell to his son Shotaro to use Tetsujin 28’s powers for good during peacetime.
The manga was hugely popular and later spawned not only a live-action drama in 1960 but also an anime series in 1963. The latter also came Westward as Gigantor.
The importance of Tetsujin 28 as a series cannot be emphasized enough, as it is the starting point for mecha pop-culture in Japan as well as across the world.
This is not to say that Astro Boy did not have an important part in Tetsujin 28’s creation but unlike Astro Boy, the titular mecha of Tetsujin 28 had no soul and wasn’t sentient. In fact, much of the drama in the series was when the bad guys managed to capture the remote-control unit and cause all manner of havoc.
You see, Tetsujin 28 was the start of controllable and pilotable machines that had no mind of their own and were simply ciphers for their characters, which in this case was Shotaro.
Anyway, as you can imagine Tetsujin 28 has been a huge part of Japanese pop-culture now for over sixty years, with all manner of follow-on series and the like. However, for me, the 2004 reboot written and directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa, of Giant Robo fame, is something that has a special place in my heart.
Not least because it meant that the wonderful game developer Sandlot could make its own excellent PlayStation 2 game of the series (shown below) but also because it resulted in a new Soul of Chogokin toy.
The original release of this toy was back in 2004 to coincide with the series and had somewhat muted colors. However, it was almost entirely made of diecast and had light up eyes to go with it.
As Soul of Chogokin releases go the original GX-24 Tetsujin 28 was a proper toy that was not only a great display piece but also something you could properly play with.
So when Bandai Spirits announced it was going to update the old Soul of Chogokin release with a new color scheme and other features, I was suitably elated.
This new toy is very sturdy and again almost made entirely from diecast, which makes it quite weighty. Considering that the nature of the design is quite simple, the sculpt here is very faithful to that and wonderfully retro with it.
Detailing is similarly straightforward but entirely accurate. The gimmick of the eyes lighting up is still present and done by using a switch on the back. The eye color change is also still available when you place the remote-control unit next to the chest but now you also get sound effects of Tetsujin 28 making its well-known “gao” noise.
The articulation is also the same as the original release and very comprehensive. The joints are also ratcheted and make that nicely reassuring click as you move them around.
In terms of other accessories, you get a nice stand as well as a small figure of Shotaro to scale with Tetsujin 28. You also get a large remote-control unit as well as a variety of hands and a damaged arm part.
The only minor point that is worth considering, is that you also receive a selection of plastic plugs on a sprue that are meant to fill the screw holes across the back of the toy. You don’t need to use this if you don’t want to but they definitely make a difference if you want to display the figure.
Overall, this is a much-welcomed update to a classic toy of a hugely influential mecha design. The additional sound effects and updated color scheme are a great new addition. So even if you are not really into mecha, this is one of those toys that is worth having just because of what it represents historically and also because it is just fun to play with. Now if only Bandai Spirits would hurry up and release a Soul of Chogokin Black Ox toy to go alongside this one.
This Soul of Chogokin GX-24R Tetsujin 28 toy is available from Amazon for around $122. In addition, the 2004 reboot is also available on standard definition Blu-ray from Right Stuf Anime.
Disclosure: Bandai Spirits sent me a sample of this toy for the purposes of this review.
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