Iron King was a superhero TV series about a man named Goro Kirishima who can turn into a giant cyborg called Iron King and his cowboy partner, Gentaro Shizuoka. The main threat in the show is the Shiranui Clan who plan to take over Japan because their ancestors were banished by the Yamato clan (Present day Japanese people). To do this they use mechs which each of the clan members has. It’s a basic with a grudge of a motive but it still works since this show lasted from October 9, 1972, to April 8, 1973, and produced a total of 26 episodes.
When the show starts we get to see the ridiculous costumes of the Shiranui Clan, they wear spandex with egg-head-looking helmets. The only cool part about the Shiranui Clan is the giant robots each of them own. They are controlled with a fire remote and have pretty decent-looking appearances and powers. Some can suck things and others can cut things down. The way they use mini sets with these are also amazing and do good on the destruction.
The first episode does well at explaining the main cast but let’s dive in further on the main two. Gentaro is quite clever and strong because not only did he find the hidden Shiranui Clan members he also managed to win a fight against five to six of them head-on. Even when faced with danger he still fights like how he fought Vacu-Mirah, the giant robot with a hand that sucks in everything and he even managed to get away. A girl was stuck under a tree and he decided instead of running from the robot, he was going to try and help her instead of being a coward.
The two main characters are also pretty solid and well-written. We have a cowboy ranger who is cocky and is an agent trying to take down the Shiranui Clan. I don’t like him that much since he thinks he is big and bad but he isn’t a terrible character. Next is Goro who is the Iron King. I love the concept of him saying Iron Shock and transforming using his hat. It’s a creative idea to make his power source water and when he is in human form leaves him dehydrated. He is a funny and nice character and is my favorite out of all the cast due to his personality and his costume design. He also has one of my favorite all-time moves in any show, the Iron Kick. The reason I like it so much is that he does 2 to 4 flips before kicking the enemy and launching them or just kicking them so hard it doesn’t even show him kicking them.
In conclusion, the show is pretty good and deserves a reboot. It has amazing fight scenes and an ok story. It would be amazing to see the show with today’s graphics and CGI bringing all the robots and Iron King back from the dead for one final show.
