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Robots and anime go hand in hand like wasabi and ginger. So when I saw that the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center was putting on something called “A Robot Trifecta,” I knew I had to be there. It was the JACCCs first attempt at a free outdoor summer event, with the idea being to “bring the community together, get them out to do something different,” according to the sushi chef who hand crafted a delectable spicy tuna roll just for me. The screening took place in an outdoor courtyard in LA’s Little Tokyo. Surrounded by restaurant patios, steaming noodle bowls and boba tea, we sipped Japanese beer and took a seat on the steps to be entertained by three classic robot-based anime series—Astro Boy, Voltron and Gigantor. A DJ spinning ambient electronic tunes set the mood as the sun set and people settled in to their places with chairs, blankets and pillows brought from home.

The screening started off with Astro Boy, a Japanese television series that first aired in 1963 and which introduced the world to the aesthetic of anime.  We watched the original 1960 edition, in which Dr. Tenma, Astro Boy’s creator, sells him to a cruel circus owner when he realizes that Astro Boy will never grow or experience the world like a normal human child. Next we saw the unedited Japanese version of Voltron, during which DJs Rani D and Akaider spun a live soundtrack to complement the tale of five pilots and five robot lions who form Voltron to protect the planet Arus from evil King Zarkon. And finally, there was Gigantor, a story about a remote controlled robot that 12-year-old Jimmy Sparks uses to fight crime around the world, which aired in the US in 1966.

Though the aesthetic and scope of each piece was different, the theme of robots saving the day, of machines triumphing over evil (and sometimes over mankind itself) was the same. So even though I’m typing this on a computer that can probably do more in sleep mode than what Astro Boy creators envisioned him being able to do in 1960, that sweet little robot still wins out in my mind. Because unlike this sleek silver contraption, Astro Boy has the ability to get people outside, under the stars and snuggled up next to their loved ones in the year 2009. If that’s not a superpower, I don’t know what is!

Words by Christine Spehar, photos by Curious Josh

 

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