Bigger than big, taller than tall and faster than fast, that was Gigantor, the gigantic robot. One of the earliest anime cartoons to become popular in America, Gigantor featured the aforementioned robot who was about three stories tall (or not; his size seemed to vary) and very powerful. For all his strength and might, Gigantor had no will of his own and could be controlled by whoever used his remote.

Jimmy Sparks was a young boy, son of the scientist who created Gigantor, and was the robot’s primary controller. He often rode around on Gigantor and the pair flew to wherever evil needed a good thrashing. They teamed up with Inspector Blooper to fight crime and defend people from villains like the Evil Robot Brain or alien invaders from the planet Magnapus.

Kids loved the show when it debuted on syndication in 1966, but parents and television critics were not very impressed. But what do adults know anyway? It was a giant robot and it just doesn’t get any better than that. The franchise was revived in the early 90s in The New Adventures of Gigantor which aired for four years on the Sci-Fi Channel.