Kotetsu Jeeg ran from October 1975 to August 1976 and had 46 episodes. I’m only halfway through the show so I can’t give my impressions of the story but I think I know why it’s one of the mecha shows that is not well remembered after it went off the air.
The Jeeg robot tried to do something different but didn’t pull if off. The color scheme was quite different from its contemporaries by being yellow and dark green. Although different, it wasn’t attractive. Also, the show began when Great Mazinger was still airing and it was terribly derivative.
1) The Big Shooter, an aircraft that carries Jeeg’s body parts to the place where it needs to form, travels down a rollercoaster track deep underground just like the Brain Condor fighter craft that docked in Great Mazinger’s head.
2) The opening credits looks and has a theme song so similar to Great Mazinger’s that it makes one wince.
3) The hero works with an attractive woman his age that is distant and demands he become stronger and more dedicated, just like Jun in Great Mazinger.
4) There is an annoying, loud character that declares himself the hero’s rival but is so weak he’s no competition. Just like Boss in Great Mazinger.
5) The would-be rival has an even weaker sidekick with a runny nose, just like Nuke in Great Mazinger.
6) The would-be rival builds his own giant robot (Mecha Don) and tries to fight evil better than the hero but gets easily swatted by each attacking villain. Just like the pink-headed Boss Borot in Great Mazinger.
7) The hero’s robot issues out from an impressive modern-looking science institute with its own defenses.
8) Each episode the villains try to either lure the hero’s robot into a trap or smash the science institute.
9) The enemies use a circular flying fortress to attack or support their giant robot/monster.
While I’m enjoying Kotetsu Jeeg I can understand why it didn’t gain a place in the fan’s hearts after it went off the air.
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