S6E3 - TOMINO-THON! Invincible Steel Man DAITARN 3 (1978) History & Review

“Exhilaration, humor, and pathos” – these are the three pillars Tomino Yoshiyuki outlined in a pre-production memo for the series that became 1978’s Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3. And the 40-episode show that followed very much fulfilled those goals, as this blend of super robot and Kamen Rider-style super hero action – also taking copious influence from the worlds of Star Wars and James Bond – is a fun and, in the end, surprisingly impactful series. It’s also the show where Tomino drilled down and learned how to perfect an episodic TV formula, telling a different and distinct story every week. While it gets off to a slow start, Daitarn 3 gets better and better as it goes on, building to a finale that proves to be one of Tomino’s finest directorial efforts, and which signals the full artistic flourishing of the man who would create Gundam.

Enjoy, and come back next week as we arrive at the dawn of the new anime era: 1979’s legendary Mobile Suit Gundam!

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:37

Intro and History: 0:01:37 – 1:27:25

Eyecatch Break: 1:27:25 – 1:28:10

Daitarn 3 Review: 1:28:10 – 2:41:53

End Theme: 2:41:53 – 2:44:02

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