Nostalgic Anime Retrospective No. 6: The Original "Police + Robot" Movie!　The "sex appeal" of "Technopolis 21C," shown only once in the morning!

Veteran writer Keisuke Hirota takes a nostalgic look back at the anime works of the past in this "Nostalgic Anime Retrospective. The live-action movie "THE NEXT GENERATION PATLABOR: Capital Decisive Battle" has been in theaters since May 1. In this issue, we look back at " Technopolis 21C " (released in 1982), which was an earlier "police + robot" combination than " Mobile Police Patlabor.

In 1982, " Mobile Suit Gundam III: Meguriai Uchu Hen " was released in the spring and " The Super Dimension Fortress Macross " began broadcasting in the fall, marking the beginning of the "second cycle" of the robot animation boom. In "Meguriai Uchu," Seira-san's nudity was seen in a new drawing, and in "Macross," the heroine is an idol singer. ...... I don't have to put up with much more, do I?　The heroine is an idol singer in "MACROSS".　Such a mood was beginning to prevail among anime fans. It was a bubble. It was a peace-loving mindset.

Of course, there were those who opposed the self-indulgent attitude that "as long as there are cute girls and cool mecha, I don't care what the theme is," and I was more of a "hardcore anime fan. Technopolis 21C" was first shown in an anime magazine (I think it was "Monthly OUT"), where the intricate mechanical design by Studio Nue was revealed. A life-size robot whose joints move as realistically as a human ...... This is new. I have a feeling that a new era has arrived. But be quick to be surprised. The design was annotated with a note that it was intended to be a live-action robot. It is no longer an animation. It is a live-action film. RoboCop" was released in 1987, so it was still in its infancy. It is too far ahead of its time!

Speaking of "life-size robots," a remake of "Astro Boy" was broadcast on TV in 1980. However, the robots in "Technopolis 21C" are not anthropomorphic like "Atom. They are human-sized high-tech mecha, human-shaped precision instruments. Moreover, they are made of light metals and special plastics. The core unit, including the head, can escape when the body is damaged. The idea of detailing was also excellent. The generic name "Teknoid" is also cool. The character division of male Teknoid "Blader," female Teknoid "Scanny," and giant Teknoid "Bigoras" (......) is a bit cartoonish. I was surprised at the sense of "femininity" in Scanny's face, with no eyes or mouth, pigtails and proportions.

I was amazed at the "womanly" sense of the film. ...... has never come up with a live-action project, no matter how long I wait for it. I thought to myself, "Oh, it's been a while since I've read anything about 'Technopolis 21C' in an anime magazine." But it seems that it will be released as an animated movie after all. The character design is by Yoshitaka Amano, so I'd be a fool if I complained, but it looks like Tatsunoko all at once. Technopolis 21C" was not "modern" (early 80's style), but more like 70's. ...... such an atmosphere was certainly in the air from the magazine. And released only on morning shows?　Only one morning show in movie theaters?　I was a junior high school student, and even I thought, "Oh, they don't expect it to do well at the box office," and "Isn't this project a bit of a failure?" Even as a junior high school student, I felt as if I could guess what was going on behind the scenes.

However, I wanted to support the project itself, so I went to the morning show. The movie was apparently originally produced as a TV special, and the quality of the artwork was not so good. Nevertheless, the movie has a dry taste like an American detective drama (all the characters in the movie are in English), and the plot, in which the main character is a mecha "a high-tech tank hijacked by terrorists and running amok in the city," is also favorable. And I was surprised to hear Ryusuke Obayashi (who later played Captain Goto in "Mobile Police Patlabor") and Saeko Shimazu voice the bladers and Scanny, respectively. Despite the fact that the Tekloids have a small vocabulary and little characterization, they were properly cast with famous voice actors!　I was more impressed by the gap and perversion of Ms. Shimazu's inorganic voice for the robots, as I was then dazzled by her sexy voice playing Shinobu in "Urusei Yatsura". I was so fascinated by the gap and the perversion of her voice.

Perhaps Studio Nue designed Scanny as an attractive "female character. Moreover, they set her hair in pigtails as an exploratory probe, posing as if they had designed her with intelligence and logic in mind. I have learned from ...... that it is more profitable to be "hard-core" at first glance, rather than overtly flattering to be "popular with otaku," because the sexiness and rawness are conveyed more intensely.

(Text by Keisuke Hirota)