October 4, 1974 (1974-10-04) – March 25, 1977 (1977-03-25)
Ganbare!! Robocon (がんばれ!!ロボコン, Ganbare!! Robokon, Do Your Best!! Robocon) is a Japanese tokusatsucomedy family robot television series created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by Toei. It ran from October 4, 1974, to March 25, 1977, on NET TV.[1]
Moero!! Robocon vs. Ganbare!! Robocon (燃えろ!!ロボコンVSがんばれ!!ロボコン, Moero!! Robokon tai Ganbare!! Robokon) December 10, 1999, Toei released the direct to video movie where the Robocon of the 90s meets the original Robocon from the 70s.
In 2006, Cartoon Network planned to develop a western animated adaptation titled Robocon! The series would have been set in a futuristic city called Neo-Con City. The series never went beyond an animatic pilot.[3]
A recent film Ganbareiwa!! Robocon: Oo-la-la! Lovable Soupless Tantanmen!! Chapter (がんばれいわ!!ロボコン ウララ〜!恋する汁なしタンタンメン!!の巻, Ganbareiwa!! Robokon: Urara~! Koi Suru Shiru-Nashi Tantanmen!! no Maki) was released theatrically on July 31, 2020. It is paired with the anime films Jintai no Survival and Sprin' Pan Mae e Susumō!.[4][5]
Plot
Robocon is a G-class robot from the first generation of robot school. He came to the human world for practical training with his friends from robotics school. As a result of the lottery, Robocon will be staying at the Kurihara family in Otara City. Each day's actions are graded by Mr. Robot Gantz-Sensei, the homeroom teacher at the robot school, and those who score 100 points receive a heart mark. If you collect 10 heart marks, you can graduate from robot school as an A-class robot. The story depicts a robot contestant who strives to become an A-class robot with his "robo guts" even though he gets into various troubles every time.
Characters
Robots
Robocon (ロボコン, Robokon): A robot who lives amongst humans and aids them as part of his studies at Robot Academy. However, Robocon is a screw-up and is afraid of cockroaches. He can transform into the Robocon Car.
Gantz Teacher (ガンツ先生, Gantsu Sensei): The robot teacher of Robot Academy who built all his student robots, who he accesses via the Scoring Connecter to check their "study" of the week.
Robin: A ballerina robot and Robocon's love interest. Her mission is to attend ballet class.
Robopu: A robot with a teapot for a head.
Roboinu: A dog-like robot who wears a bucket on his head.
Robopecha: A medic robot with a medical needle in place of his right hand.
Robogari: A teacher robot with a lightbulb-shaped head. He always gets a perfect score, which annoys Robocon.
Roboton: A construction robot with a hammer for a face.
Robodoro: A frog robot.
Robosho: A firefighter robot.
Robopar: A robot who often falls apart when distressed.