Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot

"That giant robot is under your control Johnny. The unicorn organization works for world peace. Will you join us Johnny Sokko?" -Head of Unicorn-

"The world needs your help now Johnny. The Gargoyle Gang wants to conquer the Earth. They will strike again with strange and terrible weapons."

"I will join you. I want to help save the world."
-Johnny Sokko-





Aww shucks Johnny that's great!

The arrival of the mighty Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot (1967-1968; Giant Robo in Japan; 26 episodes) was something akin to a Christmas miracle.

To say that I loved Johnny Sokko as a kid would be an understatement. It ranked high alongside classics like Starblazers (1979-1984) and Battle Of The Planets (1978-1980) (both of the aforementioned series completely ignored from proper DVD treatments here in North America never mind Blu-Ray). The transfer for this series, released by Shout!, sadly leaves a lot to be desired but it's something and likely the only chance to see it. Faint praise I know.



For those of you familiar with Johnny Sokko you likely grew up in a world populated by Gamera and the glorious fantasy and kaiju works that hailed from Japan. In fact, you'll love just saying Johnny Sokko even today. Jerry Seinfeld once said he loved saying the word Salsa. But Sokko is pretty fun too. Sokko - Sokko - Sokko! It must be an 'S' thing. You see, it's a blast! And so is this little known kaiju classic series, once deemed to be fairly risqué with its level of television violence here in the states, Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot kicked much childhood ass! You can see the glorious fun of the series in the images (not extraordinary quality I know) here taken from its first two episodes, Dracolon The Great Sea Monster and Nucleon The Magic Globe.



Johnny Sokko and Unicorn battle the evil Guillotine and his Gargoyle Gang and henchmen Spider in this exciting fantasy adventure that unabashedly takes a page from all kinds of sources for its own gonzo good fun.

There is the giant robot of course which is piloted by a child, but not in the cockpit sense anime fans have come accustomed to and know and love, but rather by a wrist watch communicator.



Any number of robot anime can see an influence from Johnny Sokko (or Giant Robo), but Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot (a Toei production) take a page from the likes of any number of kaiju pictures in Japan and owes a debt of gratitude to the likes of Ultra Q (1966; on DVD and being released on Blu-Ray in 2019).

There's even similarities to Science Ninja Team Gatchaman in formula. Unicorn is a kind of G Force and Guillotine is like the Luminous One while Spider plays Zoltar and the Gargoyle Gang the Spectran Goons. You can see the endless, clear influence of one Japanese fantasy production on another. Look no further than Tetsujin 28-go (known in the USA as Gigantor), a manga from 1956-1966, for inspiration here.



But this pastiche of all sorts of Japanese pop culture aside, Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot still manages to be a fairly wild, good time.

With protagonist Johnny Sokko as the hero representative of children everywhere it's easy to root for him along with Giant Robot. We cheer for them in much the same way children bonded with guardian Gamera and later with Godzilla. The adults in the series are second fiddle to the seemingly more clever Johnny SOKKO!



Toei Company's Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot was sheer gonzo fantasy within the kaiju eiga genre, the progenitor to the company's own Kamen Rider (1971-1973) and Power Rangers (1993-). It also drew very clear lines between good and evil something often absent in today's programming. But for a brief moment in history this was a short, shining spectacle that stood as a beacon of the best in children's entertainment.

Director: Manuel San Fernando. Writer: Reuben Guberman.