To call it "bizarre, wacky, and unbelievably-surreal" would only be selling it short.

Super Robot Red Baron is quite possibly the most mind-blowing Japanese kiddie show from the 70s that has (as of this review) ever made its way to the shores of the States(even "Ultraman" pales in comparison!)… and it’s nothing but pure, unadulterated fun!

Here, allow me to spill some of the really interesting details here:

The evil Iron Alliance steals a couple hundred giant robots from some sort of Giant Robot Expo.

Iron Alliance front man Dr. Deviler (Hiroshi Ikaida) instructs his numerous helmeted minions to kidnap Kenichiro Kurenai (Nobuyuki Ishida), the scientist that has secretly been constructing Super Robot Red Baron, the new mechanical defender of the Earth (Japan must be a very big and sparsely populated place for people to just construct gigantic, technologically-advanced, non-military marvels like that).

The exit of Red Baron’s base is remarkably similar to Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds.

Five of our human heroes (Yosuke Okada, Rei Maki, Pepe Hozumi, Hisashi Kota, Tetsuya Oshita) change into their SSI (the Secret Scientific Investigation team) outfits simply by getting into a fight.

Mari, the female SSI team member (Maki) gives us the first of many (glorious) upskirt panty-flashings within the first seven minutes!

The SSI has a grand piano room that turns into a computer (with the music rest acting as a monitor!).

A sixth good human, Inspector Ippei Kumono (Isao Tamagawa), dresses like Inspector Clouseau, rides a bicycle (complete with a siren and an image of a bear on the back) and can fly whilst on his bike with by flapping his umbrella up and down! The umbrella also fires outgoing bullets and repels incoming ones!

A bad lady guest star (Chidori Tashiro) wears faint clownish makeup and is dubbed by a deep-voiced male actor.

The words "Robot Punch" often appear onscreen when our mechanized hero engages in battle and has to use his knock-out thump (which, surprisingly, isn’t as impressive as one would think it would be - it’s more like a Joe Besser slap half of the time).

Evil robots split up into separate pieces… all of which are capable of connecting and subsequently attacking (e.g. two legs turn into a jet-powered boomerang!).

The SSI has a nifty little armored/armed car that could give James Bond’s Aston Martin a run for it’s money (especially if a stuntman is driving the Bond car on-location in Italy).

Dr. Deviler’s huge-ass base of operations is beneath the ocean so he is seen sitting in front of an aquarium (and he points at the screen a lot - I guess that’s all one can really do to emote when you’re shown in the shadows).

"Look, we paid for a fisheye lens, so we’re going to use the hell out of it!" Yes, the famous fisheye lens (a popular item in the late 60s/early 70s gets plenty of use here).

The SSI leader (Okada), who also happens to be the sibling of Red Baron’s creator, watches in horror as his older brother is blown to bits by the Iron Alliance.

Don’t fret: I didn’t give anything away - these events take place in the first two episodes, kids - and there are 37 additional episodes that follow!

Now then: throw in plenty of poorly-choreographed martial arts action, cheesy 70s music, crappy special effects, fashion violations in the guise of costumes, and outrageous dialogue on top of all of that and you have a series that was so good, it even spawned two spin-off series!

Go, SSI, go!

Presentation
Super Robot Red Baron - The Complete Series is shown in its original Standard television format (1.33:1) with the good ol’ Japanese Mono Stereo track - complete with random sound effects mixed in to give the soundtrack realism (but instead create an overall sense of confusion). I was in hysterics when enemy robot Hiryu tore off Red Baron’s arm, hit him on the chest with it only to hear the sound effect of a ricocheting bullet from an old western (not to mention the distinct sound of flatulence that accompanies evil robot Goryu footsteps)! Fear not, non-Japanese speakers, English subtitles are provided (like it really matters).

Extras
There are no Bonus Features included on any of the six discs in this set, but there is an impressive 20-page booklet. The first part of the booklet explores (in great detail) the creation and evolution of the series (this portion is written by August Ragone, author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master Of Monsters) and the second portion lists the series’ numerous (notable) guest stars.

The Bottom Line
If you’re a fan of those odd giant robot shows that the Land of the Rising Sun has warped the minds of several generations with, you owe it to yourself to pick up Super Robot Red Baron - The Complete Series, a bottle of Absinthe, and an ounce of your favorite greenery (it’s the only way to travel with something this wild). Enjoy.

		Super Robot Red Baron - The Complete Series
4		Feature - Caution: may cause incoherency, blindness, and the urge to play with toy robots.
3		Video - It was filmed on 16mm for Japanese television in the 70s - what’d you expect?
3		Audio - Over modulated, but clear (again: 70s Japanese TV here, kids).
2		Extras - It may just be a booklet, but it is nevertheless a great booklet!

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