Difference between revisions of "Heroman"

Revision as of 18:21, 23 September 2010

Genre

Action, Mecha, Sci-Fi

Sum it up in a Sentence:

A boy's toy gets struck by lightning, which turns it into a giant robot, and action and adventure ensues.

Main Description

Joey Jones is a young man from California and a pre-teen with a capital SUCKS. He's a skinny, effeminate pushover who gets picked on by the richer, bigger kids at school; his parents are dead and his grandmother's a bit... off, so he has to make ends meet by busboying a cafe; he admires a girl in school who's totally out of his league; and spends what little free time he has hanging with his best friend and dreaming of a life he cannot have. All of this changes when he witnesses a new mechanized toy being broken and thrown away by his daily tormentors, and, knowing an opportunity when he sees one, nabs it and dubs it Heroman. Of course, being no inventor, he is unable to make it work as it did, and then he accidently leaves it by an open window during a sudden thunderstorm...

Heroman is the result of a collaboration between BONES and famous American comics creator Stan Lee, and has been described by some as what would happen if Giant Robo were crossed with Spiderman and sprinkled a bit with Digimon and set in Superhero America. It is AMERICA as fuck and SUPERHERO as fuck and ANIME as fuck as well, and is laden with conventions from superhero comics and mecha series, as well as several shout-outs to many Sci-Fi stories and Marvel Comics characters. An interesting series to watch to see how it both plays with and subverts expectations for the genre.

Characters

Joey Jones

Poor orphan from California, and winner of the Superhero Lottery for this show. Orphaned at an early age, he greatly admires his father, whom he never knew, and secretly wishes he were more like him. Unfortunately, genetics being a traitorous whore with no respect for narrative and a wicked sense of humor, he favors his mother instead. As in, looks exactly like her. This has not helped his standing in school. A sweet tempered, shy young man, he's pretty much resigned himself to his lot in life as a have-not, until a freak accident grants him a giant robot who follows his every command.

Heroman

The aformentioned giant robot. Decked out with the American Flag colors and a somewhat judgemental stare, he is gifted with great strength and size. Having been created through lightning, he also has powers including (but not limited to) electric blasts, magnetism, and wall crawling. Absolutely devoted to the protection of Joey, and not much else.

Simon "Psy" Kaina

Joey's best friend and partner in heroism. An older brother figure, provides advice and support to Joey, and is eager to help him in his endeavors. An accident removed his ability to walk unassisted, but that does not preclude him from... well, anything, seemingly.

Lina Davis

Joey's classmate and secret crush, who secretly has noticed and likes him right back. A cheerleader from a well to do family, Lina is quite popular in school, and Joey, being a poor, awkward geek, isn't quite sure how to approach her. Fortunately, she gets into trouble, and Joey's first act of heroism with his robot is rescuing her, which pretty much takes care of that problem.

William "Will" Davis

Quarterback of the football team, Lina's older brother, and Joey's worst nightmare. He never lets Joey forget that he's a poor, skinny nerd, calling him worthless every opportunity he gets, and takes GREAT UMBRAGE at Joey's having a crush on, walking with, speaking to or indeed being in the same hemisphere as his beloved sister. Is rarely seen without his clique of rich, obnoxious bullies, one of which (Nick de Carlo) was the previous owner of Heroman.

Professor Matthew Denton

The science teacher at Joey's school, and frequent mentor to Joey. Is actually quite brilliant, but will probably never rise higher on the science totem pole due to his... eccentricities. His attemps to contact extra-terrestrial life is what brings about the events which create Heroman.

If You Liked This, You Might Like...

• Giant Robo

Personal Opinions

Resurgam40

I liked this show rather more than I was expecting. It's not brilliant, and it doesn't really make you think, but then it never really tries to be anything other than what it is: solid, mindless fun. It's also very well animated, has a really good soundtrack and some excellent fights, not to mention the most sympathetic and realistic depiction of America that I've seen in anime. The plot is very simple, and the characters, while not very dynamic, I found to be likable in their own way, and none of them seemed to be completely braindead, and that's always nice. However, there are parts in the middle where it gets a bit muddled about what it wants to do, and it makes great set ups that go nowhere. The themes don't really go beyond the surface, you can sum up most of the characters with a sentence, and the ending banks on potential of a continuing series, which I have never liked. But all in all it has a charming innocence about the whole thing which kept me watching and sincerely enjoy doing so, even if in some ways it does shit all over itself. Because of that, it never really rises in quality very far beyond "pretty good," but you know what? That's all right. At least it's trying something new and different as opposed to the legion of shounen and shoujo clones cluttering the market. So, if you're reeling from all the dark and serious, thought provoking shows of such head-crushing depth that your brain starts leaking out your ears, this is for you.

Links

• Official Site
• ADTRW Thread