Line #53 Anime/KotetsuJeeg


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/JeegClassic.jpg]]
2
3	->''"BUILD UP!"''
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5	''Kotetsu Jeeg'' (鋼鉄ジーグ, Kōtetsu Jīgu), more commonly known as Koutetsu Jeeg, Steel Jeeg or even "El Vengador", is another classic HumongousMecha anime created by Creator/GoNagai in cooperation with Tatsuya Yasuda. The anime TV series was produced by [[Creator/ToeiAnimation Toei Doga]]. It was first broadcast on [[Creator/TVAsahi NET]] in 1975. The series lasted for 46 episodes. Steel Jeeg also ran as a manga in several children's publications.
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7	Essentially a CombiningMecha HenshinHero series, it told the story of Shiiba Hiroshi, a car racer who's [[WeCanRebuildHim reconstructed as a cyborg by his father after being mortally wounded in an accident]]. As a cyborg, Hiroshi's capable of transforming into the eponymous Kotetsu Jeeg, a steel robot head that combines with a variety of external parts to form a giant robot and fight the minions of Queen Himika, leader of the Jamatai Kingdom.
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9	The series received a sequel, ''Kotetsushin ("Steel God") Jeeg'' (sometimes just ''Shin Jeeg'') in 2007, taking place in another continuity, fifty years after the original and featuring both new and classic characters.
10	----
11	!!The original ''Anime/KotetsuJeeg'' features examples of:
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13	* AcePilot: Miwa, who pilots the Big Shooter jet.
14	* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: The Jamatai Kingdom. It slightly subverts the trope, since they used both advanced technology AND magic.
15	* AirborneAircraftCarrier: Orochi, a flying fortress shaped like the mythological beast. It has several serpent-like heads that can move and attack independantly.
16	* ArmCannon: The Jeeg Bazooka. It returned in the sequel, transformed into a {{BFG}}.
17	* AntiVillain: Flora and Takeru.
18	* BadassBiker: Hiroshi Shiba not only is this with a CoolBike but also he is an amateur racer.
19	* BareHandedBladeBlock: A subversion. In the ending credits, Jeeg blocks a downward, vertical swing... by crossing its forearms above its head. Of course, given that Jeeg is a robot, hence [[MadeOfIron it is not made of flesh]], it is not worried about the weapon slicing it, and the blade shatters upon impact.
20	* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: And so can Hiroshi, although slightly justified since he's a cyborg.
21	* BattleCouple: Hiroshi and Miwa.
22	* BeneathTheEarth: The Jamatai Kingdom were a subterranean civilization. They had attempted to conquer Japan in ancient times but they were defeated and fled underground. BigBad Queen Himika definitely harbored a grudge afterwards and longed for revenge.
23	* {{BFG}}: The Jeeg Bazooka is larger than Jeeg itself in both series.
24	* BigBad: Queen Himika, until the second half of the series where she is replaced by the Dragon Emperor (aka Ryuu Teio).
25	* BossSubtitles: Done with the Haniwa Phantom Gods.
26	* BrainUploading: The Prof. Shiba who, before his death, transfer his consciousness and memory into a computer.
27	* ButtMonkey: Don in the original series.
28	* CallingYourAttacks: It is a SuperRobot show, after all
29	* ChainsawGood: The Earth Parts give Jeeg chainsaw arms.
30	* ChestBlaster: The "Spin Storm", Jeeg's ultimate weapon. Emitted from a hole in Jeeg's belly region, a large red/black electromagnetic whirlwind crashes into the targeted enemy, often completely obliterating it.
31	* CombiningMecha: An interesting version: Hiroshi is a {{Cyborg}} who transforms into a giant head, which then combines with man-made parts to form a HumongousMecha. In the [[{{Revival}} Revival-slash-AlternateUniverse]] sequel Koutetsushin Jeeg, a transforming motorcycle forms the head of the titular mecha, which otherwise functions exactly like its precursor.
32	* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Hiroshi appears to have been designed after Music/ElvisPresley.
33	* {{Cyborg}}: Hiroshi was turned by his father into this.
34	* DetachmentCombat: Given that Jeeg is able to use magnetism to pull its body parts together or replace them, it also can use them like weapons separately or shoot them (sometimes it did that with just its head!).
35	* DisappearedDad: Dr. Shiba, who emotionally disappeared at first (he and Hiroshi are on really bad terms since Hiroshi can't forgive him for always being away from home), then physically disappearing when The Empire he's been researching about comes back and says "HeKnowsTooMuch". A badly wounded Shiba barely manages to reach his home and dies in Hiroshi's arms. In a subversion, his mind is uploaded in the series's main computer, thus he still can act as TheProfessor. (Though he ''does'' get called out more than once by his aidés, and once ''epically'' by his wife/widow/Hiroshi's mother. [[ParentsasPeople which he takes, openly admitting he's not the best dad.]].)
36	* DoAnythingRobot: Jeeg is ''very'' modular: it can detach and reattach its parts like Lego bricks. Therefore, as long as they can get the right parts to the battlefield, Jeeg can change form to meet any situation.
37	* EvilIsHammy: Queen Himika.
38	* ExpositoryThemeTune: "Just you watch, the Haniwa Phantoms will be completely destroyed. Run forth, Banban Baban! Big Shooter, swifter than the wind. Build up!"
39	* {{Expy}}: Himika looks an ''awful'' lot like [[Anime/CuteyHoney Sister Jill]]. Mecha Don is essentially [[Anime/MazingerZ Boss Borot]] on a formula 1 car.
40	* UsefulNotes/FormulaOne: With Hiroshi and Don being race car drivers they did drive these in the original series.
41	* GratuitousEnglish: ''BUILD UP!'' and ''CHANGE CYBORG!''
42	* HeroicBSOD: Hiroshi suffer this several times. From wanting to be a normal human to being afraid to die fighting the Dragon Emperor in the last episodes.
43	* HeroicSacrifice / SuicideAttack: [[spoiler: In the last episode, the computer-Shiba launches an attack with his personal airship against the Orochi flying fortress. Unfortunately the Dragon Emperor escapes before the explosion]].
44	* HomeBase: The Build Base for the heroes. An ElaborateUndergroundBase for the villains.
45	* HotBlooded: Hiroshi is very emotional and passionate. In fact Go Nagai actually wrote him to be even more hot blooded than Ryoma and Koji themselves, which isn't hard. Afterall Hiroshi doesn't need to breathe air.
46	* HotbloodedSideburns: And the sideburns, of course, go without mentioning.
47	* HumongousMecha: Partially averted. Jeeg's surprisingly short for a SuperRobot - comparable to the average RealRobot, in fact.
48	* IAmNotLeftHanded: Many baddies manage to stop Jeeg from forming, only to realize in horror that Hiroshi doesn't NEED to form Jeeg to kick your ass. CHAAAAAAAAAAAAANGE CYBOOOOOOOOORG!!
49	* IceQueen: The Princess of Snow from episode 10.
50	* KidHero: Averted. Hiroshi is twenty-five years old and looks his age, if not even older.
51	* KryptoniteFactor: In the original series Steel Jeeg was weakened when making contact with electricity as it affects the magnetic power that binds his body together. Episode 5 also reveals that strong magnetic storms like solar flares prevent him from combining (at least until they made a special coating spray).
52	* LikeBrotherAndSister: The relationship between Hiroshi and Miwa.
53	* TheLostLenore: [[spoiler: At some point in the series, Himika revives a very badass Yamatai general named Takeru, whose wife had died years before he did. Then, Takeru met Miwa and was shocked to see that [[IdenticalStranger she looked exactly like his beloved.]] [[LoveHurts Unsurprisingly, it ended in tears]].]]
54	* LostTechnology: Dr. Shiba finds several ancient mysterious magical artifacts and hieroglyphs during an archaeological expedition. His findings provide evidence that the ancient lost kingdom of Jamatai that thrived in the south of Japan has survived, and its Queen Himika is preparing to invade Japan. Of course, his reaction was using that lost technology to get a countermeasure ready (i. e., turning his eldest son into a cyborg capable transforming into a HumongousMecha when said son has a life-threatening accident)
55	* MadeOfIron: The series name ''is'' "Steel Jeeg"
56	* MagicSkirt: Miwa has a very short skirt (especilly her pilot uniform), but never PantyShot.
57	* MarriedToTheJob: Hiroshi didn't know why his father was always working. After several years, he decided he didn't care. When he learns his reasons, he kind of forgives Prof. Shiba, but his mother still called her husband out.
58	* MechaExpansionPack: Jeeg had first the Jeeg Drills, a set of weaponized rockets that doubled like ThisIsADrill, and later it had the Earth, Marine and Sky parts, three sets of armor let the HumongousMecha fight on land, sea and air, along with [[TransformingMecha transforming]].
59	* MechaShow
60	* MentorOccupationalHazard: Happened twice [[spoiler:with the same person.]] Professor Shiba is murdered in the first episode. However [[CrazyPrepared he had the foresight]] to make a backup of his personality in a computer in order to help and guide his son [[TheHero Hiroshi]] [[spoiler:and then it committed a {{Heroic Sacrifice}}]].
61	* MetaMecha: In ''Manga/SuperRobotRetsuden'' -- a Creator/KenIshikawa AffectionateParody / {{Crossover}} of several Creator/GoNagai {{Mecha Show}}s -- ''Anime/MazingerZ'', ''Anime/GreatMazinger'', ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'', ''[[Manga/GetterRobo Getter Robo G]]'' AND ''Anime/KotetsuJeeg'' rode a ''ridiculously, impossibly, massively huge'' TransformingMecha in the FinalBattle.
62	* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Dr. Shiba. He was an archaelogist, but he could also heal his son's scarred body, make a cyborg, build giant robots and flying vehicles, and transfer his mind into a computer.
63	* {{Orochi}}: Used as the main antagonists' flying fortress in the original series with a cameo in the new series. It doubles like CoolAirship and AirborneAircraftCarrier.
64	* OurCentaursAreDifferent: The mechanical horse Antares allows Jeeg to become a powerful centaur armed with a drilling Lance. The module is launched by Big Shooter, once launched the horse retacts its head to allowd to connects directly to Jeeg. The module can act independently and is able to fly in the air.
65	* ParentalNeglect: Prof. Shiba was so committed to building Jeeg he neglected his family.
66	* PromotedToParent: Hiroshi looked after his mother and little sister after his father's death.
67	* PowerFist: Their fists are also reinforced to cause bigger damage.
68	* RazorWings: The Sky Parts.
69	* {{Robeast}}: The Haniwa Phantoms
70	* RocketPunch: Dynamite Punch and Knuckle Bomber, the latter using both fists clasped together
71	* SculptedPhysique: [[CoDragons Asamo's]] body seems done from brown, angled rock, with crystals jutting out of his head and back.
72	* ShoutOut: Don and Pancho appear to be named after, and, to a degree, based off of the eponymous protagonist from Literature/DonQuixote and his sidekick, Sancho Panza, as Don is a tall and skinny fellow whose convinced he's far better and cooler than he actually is, yet Don is far less delusional than his namesake is, and not nearly as surprisingly skilled and competent. Ironically, he's one of the few people to ''know'' that Hiroshi Shiba is Jeeg, and [[CassandraTruth hell-bent on exposing the truth about him]] because of this, and Pancho is a short, squat man whose a BigEater, much like Sancho is commonly depicted as.
73	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Sometimes romanized as "Steel Sieg", which does make a bit more sense.
74	* TagalongKid: Mayumi, Hiroshi's little sister. She was more endearing and more lovingly naive than her counterparts in other Creator/GoNagai works.
75	* ThisIsADrill: The Mach Drill, a pair of rockets Jeeg attaches to his arms so he can fly to his enemy and drill through them.
76	* VolcanoLair: Queen Himika's HomeBase was inside a volcano.
77	* YamatoNadeshiko: Hiroshi's mother, who gets a CMOA for [[spoiler: openly calling out Dr. Shiba in his treatment of Hiroshi]]
78	----
79
80	!!The sequel ''Kotetsushin Jeeg'' features the following tropes:
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82	* AlternateContinuity: ''Kotetsushin Jeeg'' presents significant differences with the original story. For example, the presence of a still living Senjiro Shiba, the father of Hiroshi. Also, the return of Himika who is not dead as narrated in the first series. The new series ignores the existence of the Dragon Emperor.
83	* AmazonBrigade: The Build Angels, a trio of women who act as recon pilots, air support, and additional muscle for Build Base.
84	* BadassNormal: The Build Angels again, and many, many more.
85	* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: The Build Angels, consisting of Mitsuko Yagyuu, Tatsuko Mido, and Monko Saotome respectively. Yagyuu is the most traditionally feminine and soft-spoken, while Tatsuko Mido is shown to be the smartest and most well-educated out of the three, and Monko Saotome is the physically largest and most visibly muscular, and carries a lot of pride in her strength.
86	* BoisterousBruiser: Monko of the Build Angels.
87	* CrossoverCameo: This being a Go Nagai title, there are at least a few.
88	** Notably, [[Anime/MazingerZ Kouji Kabuto]] and others are visible during a scene in episode 13 of ''Kotetsushin''.
89	** Also, Kouji is seen in the first episode amongst the cheering crowds.
90	*** To go into more specifics, [[CameoCluster multiple characters from all of Go Nagai's works appear in the crowd]], such as Daemon Abashiri and his sons, Kichiza and Goemon Abashiri from the ''Abashiri Family'', ''Manga/ViolenceJack'', as well as Jim Mazinger, complete with him with his version of Kouji Kabuto riding on his shoulders, Higegojira and Old Man Umbrella from ''Shameless School'', Taikyokuken from ''Guerilla High'', the eponymous hero from ''Henchin Pokoider'', and even Go Nagai's own AuthorAvatar, among others.
91	* CoolBike: Kenji's motorcycle from ''Kotetsushin'', which transforms into the head of the new Jeeg.
92	* DefaceOfTheMoon: The final battle leaves the moon with a debris ring orbiting it.
93	* DistaffCounterpart The Build Angels are often considered a gender-swapped version of the [[Manga/GetterRobo Getter Team]].
94	** Saotome and Mido actually are GenderFlip versions, but not from Manga/GetterRobo. They are originally characters from Go Nagai's manga Gakuen Taikutsu Otoko. Their names [[LazilyGenderFlippedName are dead giveaways]].
95	* DoingInTheWizard: [[spoiler:In ''Kotetsushin'', we find out that Himika and everybody that's presumably mystical are really aliens. The Bronze Bells were the reactors for an ancient ship. The Dragon Emperor isn't mentioned at all, either.]]
96	** Although possibly a subversion in that the Jama Kingdom are still said to derive their powers from sorcery.
97	* ExpositoryThemeTune: "Shapeshifting demonic evil, an evil presence approaches. / No need for questions, no need for pity. End this at once! Miraculous power, a soul of anger / with the storm, with the lightning / Transform! Become a God!"
98	* ExpyCoexistence: Goemon Abashiri makes a cameo in the crowd at the very first episode, but later on there's a soldier whose an expy of him, with the only difference being his slightly darker skintone and buzzcut, as well as wearing green military fatigues. Likewise, his brother, Naojiro Abashiri also cameos alongside Goemon with their father Daemon, but a much older version of him is a seperate character as well.
99	* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Subverted: Kenji's forced to take control of the new Jeeg when a Haniwa Phantom God attacks, but in the next episode it's revealed that he had been intended to be the pilot all along -- the attack simply forced the New Build Base crew to put him into the robot sooner than planned.
100	* GrievousHarmWithABody: (Early on in ''Kotetsushin'', Kenji decides to use one of Jeeg's arms to bludgeon a Haniwa Phantom God to death)
101	* HomeBase: In ''Kotetsushin'', a VolcanoLair.
102	* LadyOfWar: Captain Yagyu of the Build Angels.
103	* LegacyCharacter: Kenji, the successor of Hiroshi.
104	* MarshmallowHell: Kenji is the target of this... [[spoiler:from Monko, much to his dismay.]]
105	* {{Miko}}: Tsubaki's part-time job, since her grandmother Miwa "Micchi" Uzuki has become a Shinto priestess.
106	* OlderAndWiser: Micchi was a supporting member of the crew in the original series but has become TheCaptain by the time the sequel starts.
107	* RedShirtArmy: Subverted in early episodes of ''Kotetsushin Jeeg''. The JSDF -that usually is utterly useless in most anime shows- display competent tactics in their battle against Himika's Haniwa Genjin, and although Jeeg spearheads their attacks, he can't do it alone. They pay a high death toll, of course, but they are not completely exterminated.
108	* RipVanWinkle: [[spoiler:Tatsuko Mido and Monko Saotome of the Build Angels were originally JSDF pilots who barely managed to escape when the Zone was forming in Kyushu, to discover that decades had passed. Later, after the Zone engulfs New Build Base, they discover the surviving JSDF forces found within the zone had only spent a few days there. Similarly, Hiroshi.]]
109	* ShoutOut:
110	** When Kenji's Jeeg combines with Balba, its arrangement is vaguely reminiscent of ''[[Anime/GreatMazinger Archduke Gorgon]]''. The Haniwa Phantom he defeats in this form, Banshouraguu, also heavily resembles the Great General of Darkness, also from ''Great Mazinger''.
111	** Did anyone else get a stint of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam a certain slapping vibe]]'' when Kenji's Jeeg kicked Asano in the face?
112	---> '''Asano''': You kicked me! Not even Queen Himika has ever kicked me!
113	*** This is also a shout-out to the fact that Amuro Ray's seiyuu was the voice of Hiroshi in the original Jeeg.
114	** In the final scene of the last episode, ''[[Anime/MazingerZ Kouji, Sayaka and Boss]]'' can be seen walking among the multitude.
115	** In the final episode of Koutetsushin, one of the Build Angels remarks "Looks like we'll need a blade that smites evil spirits".
116	* SilverVixen: Micchi's facial features have hardened with age and her hair's changed, but she still looks great [[spoiler:([[SensualSpandex especially when wearing her old pilot suit]])]], and Hiroshi is quite happy to see her again after being unsealed.
117	* SuperMode: The Koutetsushin Jeeg; overlaps with EleventhHourSuperpower, since it only appears in the final episode.
118	* ThisIsADrill: The Mach Drills, though the Earth Parts also grant Jeeg a pair of ''drill legs''.
119	* TimeDilationField: One of these was used to [[SealedEvilInACan seal evil in a can]] in the backstory for ''Kotetsushin'', sealing the entire island of Kyushu within the "Zone" for fifty years.
120	* TransformationNameAnnouncement: Kenji swiftly learns to shout "'''Koutetsu Jeeg!'''" after transforming.
121	* {{Tsundere}}: Tsubaki from ''Koutetsushin'' is an example of the "Sweet" Tsundere, who doesn't hide her affection for Kenji, but also doesn't hide her anger when he does something stupid or perverted.
122	* TwoGuysAndAGirl: Kenji, Kyo, and Tsubaki in ''Kotetsushin''; Kenji and Kyo are inseparable rivals despite their different social standings, and Tsubaki is close to both of them in different ways (working with Kyo at Build Base, while being Kenji's childhood friend and {{Tsundere}} minder).
123	* UndyingLoyalty: Queen Himika's generals, but Ikima in particular takes this above and beyond. [[spoiler:In the final battle, not only does [[MadeOfIron he survive the destruction of TWO warships]], he also goes on to fight Kenji and Hiroshi man-to-man, and when ''that'' doesn't work he eventually [[TakingYouWithMe self-destructs in a last-ditch effort]].]]
124	* UnknownCharacter: Miwa's husband doesn't appear, for no apparent reason.
125	* WhamEpisode: Episode 10 of ''Kotetsushin''; [[spoiler:Tsubaki gets possessed by Himika, who then extracts ''both'' Bronze Bells, Kyo reveals he (and the Jama Empire as well) is not only an alien, but also Kenji's uncle AND reveals that Kenji himself is half-alien, Tsubaki descends from a clan of priestesses that have protected Kyo's bloodline, and Build Base gets destroyed. To top it off, Kyo sacrifices himself so that everyone can escape.]]
126	* YamatoNadeshiko: Miwa, as she grew into a graceful and serene {{Miko}} and [[TheCaptain Captain]] who is ''very'' into the whole "core of steel" thing.
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Context Anime / KotetsuJeeg