Proto Tetsujin #28

 

When Fred Ladd imported the cartoon that became Gigantor over here in 1964, he only used 52 episodes.  The first 26 episodes were not used for "a variety of reasons."  I always wondered what they looked like.  Thanks to the internet and some great fans, a few subtitled episodes have showed up.  I have an issue of Xenorama getting prepared for sixty years of Gigantor.  I have been a fan of the character for almost my entire life, and this research is fun.I found the first two episodes of the show online, and I can see why these episodes were not used.  The characters look different and the animation is far more limited.  Tetsujin himself looks a bit different as well.  He has no rockets on his back, so cannot fly.  He is also a lot slimmer here.  Figures, when you get popular and make money, it goes straight to your waist.  Oddly enough, Shotaro has a much rounder figure.  The human characters all look far more cartoony as well.  If the first set of episodes all had this aesthetic, I can see why Fred would have chosen later episodes.