Tobor the 8th Man

This was a tough one for me to watch. This was mainly due to the anime being older. But a lot of the plot during the episodes was just so silly. And I have seen a lot of silly anime before. I was half confused and half laughing at the episodes that I watched. I knew going into the anime that I wouldn’t be watching what I usually watch. So, I did brace myself for the storyline, although there was rarely one, unless it was a mini-arc that linked episodes together. And, of course, there was nothing wrong with this, but I was waiting to see if there was going to be something solid in this.

Instead, I was more of a tagalong, following a story that jumped from one story arc to another. I didn’t see a clear end goal for this one. While the episodes were silly, and some of the dialogue was outdated (which is to be expected), it was still a good anime to watch. Those mini arcs really brought the characters to life and solidified their relationships with each other. Those moments between Tobor and his crew were always funny. I did enjoy their banter and talks when it came down to the episodes.
I wish the English dub had done a better job of renaming these characters.
Tani – Professor Genius
Tanaka – Chief Fumblethumbs
Sachiko – Jenny Hartsweet
Ichiro – Skip Pepper
I’m not sure who thought these names were good, because they make me cringe over how they were picked. I understand that this anime was done back in ’63, and the English dub was shaky, but come on! Chief Fumblethumbs? That’s really all they could think of? There had to be someone who had vetoed them, cause it was ridiculous to hear them when I was watching the episodes.

The opening song was just as silly, too, but it was so catchy. I would catch myself humming it during work. I think that’s what kept me watching the anime. I enjoyed singing along with the opening song. I really couldn’t help it; I even did a little jig with it, too. The voice acting, like most older dubs, was overdone. They really leaned into the dramatics back then, but that was to be expected with this one. The black-and-white animation was good. I did enjoy having the softer greyscale. It really helped with resetting my eyes, since I watch a lot of fast-moving animations.
Tobor gives you a genuine look into an anime that was brought forward and has been one of the original anime to watch. It has also been considered one of the earliest cyborg superheroes, which predates Kamen Rider. Shockingly, I found out something interesting, which was always fascinating to see these facts about older anime series that came out. I’m sure that there are many more that I will be watching soon. I really hope that they don’t give the others silly names. I don’t think I will be getting over what the writers did with those names.