Ah, classic anime. Sometimes it can just be nice to rewatch something that you vaguely remember that you enjoyed at the time, but most of the details for it have become a distant memory. Kishin Corps was a series that I owned on videotape (you know, those black boxes that contained tape and that you put into a machine called a VCR to show videos). A couple of weeks ago I visited the Dutch Comic Con, where my eyes fell on the dvd boxed set for this 24 year old animeseries. I could not believe my eyes to be honest, and I decided to buy it. I just simply could not resist. But is this series still as great as when I first saw it, or has age caught up with this one?
Kishin Corps takes place during the Second World War, albeit a very different one from the one we read about in the history books. We first meet up with a young boy called Taishi who is entrusted with a mysterious black box by his father. The train on which they are travelling together suddenly gets attacked by the Kanto army. While fleeing for his life, a second party appears, but this one of extraterrestrial origin. A furious battle ensues, in which Taishi only just manages to escape, but then gets cornered. Just when things become extremely desperate, the heroes of the series appear: the Kishin Corps. Taishi then gets caught up in the middle of an adventure the likes of which he has never experienced before in his life. The black box that he has in his possession, contains alien technology, that becomes the focal point for a power struggle. With both the Aliens and the Nazis trying to achieve world domination, the only hope lies with the members of the Kishin Corps and their powerful robots. Will they be able to stop the tides of war?
Kishin Corps is a very unique series. While this anime is set during the WWII era, we get a very different take on it. This is a Mecha series, but we don’t get the fast robots that you might be used to. No, instead we get towering robots that move slowly, and let the ground shake with every step they take. The robots are seriously cool and gorgeously designed, and those alone make this anime well worth watching. Most of the characters are very colourful, and one of the highlights of this series. It is really fun to see how Taishi grows from a very innocent young boy, into a more mature man by the end of the show. The members of the Kishin Corps themselves also each have their own unique traits. I do have to say, that I would have liked to have seen some more background for them. There are real life figures that also make an appearance, like Albert Einstein and even Eva Braun, Hitler’s mistress. Although most of them are completely different in the way that history remembers them.
This being a 24 year old series, the animation style is pretty dated. This is old school anime and it shows. It did not detract me in any way from the series itself though. The soundtrack for this anime is very cool, and often reminded me a bit of Indiana Jones if I were to make a comparison. As far as the storyline goes, it starts off pretty well, but towards the end, things were rushed a bit. As such I felt the ending was poor, and honestly was not as good as I remembered it. It is funny how your mind can play tricks on you, with things such as this. Still, if you like classic anime, and also enjoy alternative history storylines, this series most certainly is a treat. With a cast of cool characters, high speed action, and big robots that smash the life out of each other this classic is still worth the watch. If you prepare yourself for an ending that could have been handled better, you might get a kick out of this 7 episode series.
I give Kishin Corps a 8 out of 10 score.
This one I’d never heard of (though hardly surprising given the limited access to anime in Australia in the 90’s). Sounds like it might be worth checking out if I ever come across it.
Thanks for sharing.
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It is old, but still quite good. The robots in this series are pretty much the most unique Mecha I have ever seen in an anime, and that alone makes it worth it 😊
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I have not hear of this one
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Very nice I think I’ll give this mecha a try.
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Thanx, it may be an old series, but still worth the watch. I hope you will enjoy it 😀
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Dutch Comic Con!! How awesome! Did you document your trip in a blog post? I have never been to one. On the topic of Anime, this past weekend I got to watch one called Big Fish and Begonia. You have to check it out. Very beautiful! I want to watch it again already hehehe..
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Haha, no unfortunately I did not. In june I am going to visit a really big anime con here in Holland, and I will be doing a post for that one 😊 Dutch Comic Con, most certainly was a lot of fun. I hope you will get a chance to visit a con near you sometime.
Thank you for the recommendation. I have never heard of that one, but I am going to try and track it down if I can 😀
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Dutch & Holland, such unique places. I wish to have a chance to travel there someday haha.. I know there is a Comic Con or Book Con somewhere in New York. It’s a flight to get there. Do you have to get on an airplane to go to those places or is it a driving distance for you?
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Well, I hope you do too. It can be a cool place to visit 😊 Dutch Comic Con was about half an hour drive from my hometown, so went their by train 😀
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As if Nazis weren’t bad enough, people have to fight aliens too? That’s harsh, man. 😀
I haven’t heard of this one until now but it sounds pretty good. I can definitely understand the appeal of wanting to revisit a barely remembered anime from the past. And wow, VCRs. Those bring back (very vague) memories.
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Haha…yeah what has the works come too right? Nazis and aliens../seriously who comes up with combinations like those. I had to look it up on Google what a VCR was….they have pictures for it 😂😂😂
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This happens to me quite a lot. Things I used to watch in my childhood and thought were so amazing and wonderful turn out to not be so fabulous as I watch them now hahaha But that’s part of life, I guess.
I’m not super into classic anime but I have to say it has its charm and a certain feel that the ones produced nowadays don’t. Like they’re all the same, mass-produced and without an ounce of love and uniqueness added to them. It just felt like people enjoyed their work more in those days.
I personally haven’t watched this one but I think it would be a must watch for any mecha fan. Great review, of course 🙂
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Thank you for your very kind words again. As for classic anime, it pretty much depends on what series it is. Some of them are very dated, but there are definitely a few that are still very much worth the watch 😊
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Agreed. I’m not incredibly picky about art but sometimes it’s such an eyesore that it’s hard to enjoy the anime, no matter how well written or amazing.
Still, there are many awesome ones out there that I really would enjoy watching again and again and would never feel like they’d need to be redone. The nostalgia factor always helps, of course 😛
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Given how WWII played out I am surprised Japan would make an anime set during that time period. I might enjoy this show, as I have a soft spot for slow plodding colorful mechs, ever since I watched Mazinger Z.
Yeah, sometimes revisiting a cartoon from your youth can suck when you realize it isn’t as good as you remembered it. Man was I relieved that when I bought the Robotech DVDs and discovered it still holds up (even if the visuals are very dated.)
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Okay…in case you don’t know this: I am a MASSIVE Robotech fan. I have a ton of merchandise consisting of novels, comics, action figures, toys, trading cards, and of course the dvd sets. I have been a fan since I was 10, and I am now 41..so go figure 😀I don’t know it just gets into your blood or something, I don’t know 😉
As for this one: it really still is quite a fun watch. Especially the robots themselves are seriously awesome. The ending isn’t very good though, but besides that it is pretty okay 😀
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