Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Ichiro Mizuki? He is, truly, the king of mecha theme songs. In particular, he seems to be the key representative for the Mazinger series and other really old mecha series themes.
Other than Cybuster, which is an SRT original, all the songs here are from other anime. One of my favorites is “I Am Great Mazinger,” because a chorus of children join Mizuki in the song’s refrain. It’s super cute. The children also sing the whole ending song with Mizuki (“My Mazinger Z”). That’s even more cute.
Mizuki-san takes a rest for a few songs, including the “Getter Robo” theme, the “Dunbine” song, and some of the later tracks. Hironobu Kagesan and MIO are the pinch-hitters of this album, and they do a remarkably good job.
But, you know, a lot of people probably have a hard time getting over the distinct, over-dramatic style of these vocals. If that’s how you feel, take some time to listen to the fun and exciting trumpet parts, the decent guitar licks, and the rest of the instrumental work. The instrumentals are some of the catchiest parts of the songs.
And these songs, in case you didn’t know, are some of the most catchy in the world. They were designed to make you sit down and listen, since they are mostly opening themes from ’70s anime.
This albums was the first of two SRT vocal albums, and this one’s entitled “Robonation.” Indeed, it is a worthy collection of songs about the world of giant robots. But, unless you’re into giant robots or catchy theme songs, you probably won’t enjoy this album.
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