Being as hopelessly addicted to Super Robot Wars as I am, I really wanted a good way to get into the Getter Robo series, which unfortunately, isn't the easiest task when taking into account media that's been officially translated to English and is legally available is barely in print. Fortunately, New Getter Robo is a fun and succinct way of being introduced to the series premise. It's a Saturday morning cartoon, the twist being that the protagonists are either morons or bloodthirsty crazies, or somewhere in between - totally unconscionable shit-heels either way. Therefore, as events escalate from dealing with the creature of the week tochilling visions of apocalypse and deicide, there's an overabundance of blood and testosterone on the way. And yes, it's plain awesome, ASSUMING that the show can carry it's own premise.

It does, mostly, with a few caveats. I love how Ken Ishikawa's artstyle is interpreted, keeping the abundant scuff marks and the psycho grins in tact, but the animation and the design work is sometimes a step or two behind the story beats. It's a problem, especially, when the story develops in such a gonzo fashion, and you can't help but feel that something that's meant to inspire awe, just ends up feeling plainer and plainer, until it peters off into a borderline lame conclusion. I mean Christ, how do you get me to check out of the act of killing God?

There's probably better Getter stuff out there, and I'm looking forward to trying to find it for myself. For the time being, Shin Getter warmed my blood enough.