(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . IAN 6/10 – Some light humor: Panda-Z, The Robonimation [1] ['Tippy', 'Dan K'] Date: 2026-06-09 Today some totally absurd Anime humor. But good Classic Rock. Sit back and relax! 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 Noddy Hi, I’m Itzl! As you can see by Itzl’s concerned look, this group (Itzl Alert Network, or IAN) is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by heat, blizzards, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other things that could keep us off DKos. If you’re not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care! Send us a message if you want to publish a diary or have a cause to share. Head group admins FLSNMom at www.dailykos.com/… or Art Ah Zen at www.dailykos.com/… 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 ICYMI, here is a ridiculous but very funny Anime that first aired back in 2004. It’s hilarious send-up of the traditional Mecha Animes of giant robots. In fact it parodies the original Japanese Mecha toon, Mazinger-Z, created waaaay before the Gundam franchises or the US Transformers and other Giant Robots of toon-world. It also parodies various aspects of Japanese and Western culture, like the old, wise Sensei (Grampa Panda), the naive but brave young hero (Panda Taron), the stogie-huffing, cigarette-puffing Japanese executive (here mockingly rendered by the ersatz general Dr. Jangarly, who shorts out when his robo-dome fills with smoke), and even Star Wars (hugely popular in Japan), is nothing sacred?? But then again, self-parody is a healthy cultural self-reflection. The story takes place in Panda City on Robonimal Island, where the good guys and their fans live. Then there’s the bleakly volcanic Warunimal Island nearby, where the baddies and their slaves are. Everyone’s a robot of some kind and are easily shorted out by water, so when the cute little Fire Bear Robonimal comes out in his red suit with mega-hose in response to the slightest blaze, all are immobilized and a truce ensues. Hmmm, maybe we should send him to the Middle East. Anyway the intent is just mayhem and absurdity and good clean fun with the accent on absurdity, like that French play where the townspeople gradually and inexplicably turn into rhinos. Like the play, this plot also has subtle undertones of anti-fascism, with the Warunimal slaves complaining their masters are idiots; sounds familiar! Otoh the ‘good guys’ have a charming naiveté, like our hero Pan-Taron who pilots the Mecha Panda-Z. Here he is in Panda-Z fighting the Bull Mecha Moujumbo, with the Warunimal General Mougyu controlling it. Fans and slaves from both sides cheer on: The backstory is, Taron‘s grandpa Dr. Panji is the head of Panda Labs where he engineers new robots and ways to beat the Warunimals. Besides their evil generals like Rubyraby and Mougyu, the Warunimals are led by the dark-cloaked Skullpander, who wears a red-eyed Panda skull rather like Darth Vader’s helmet. It is hinted that Taron’s missing father may be under the cloak, presumably creating all these conflicts and challenges to cure the Robonimals of their good-natured naiveté. In one episode the evil Generals look under the cloak and pass out from sheer shock. Grandpa assures Pan-Taron that his dad will return one day, but our young hero is blissfully unaware of where he went to. Here’s another absurd fight scene; the bad but sexy, seductive Pink Bunnybot Rubyraby pilots her giant Mecha Rubyrabeauty who knocks over Panda-Z with her boobs! He seems to like it… but recovers quickly. Rubyraby often flirts shamelessly with Taron. He is secretly flattered but says he prefers Rabinna, the angelic nurse-bot of Panda-Z Labs, which infuriates Rubyraby no end. Here’s another good one, Midnight Angel. Grandpa appears to be whacked out on something. The episode starts with him going out late at night, presumably on a date to whom he’s bringing a gift; looks like a box of candies maybe. But wait, did he eat an LSD-laced bonbon? The good Doctor looks at a Panda-shaped building and it comes alive. He realizes he’s unwell and returns to the lab to lie down, unwittingly barging into others’ rooms. Then he climbs some stairs that look like Escher’s ‘Relativity’ and falls through a doorway. We see that Panda Labs is really 4-dimensional, like a tesseract; as Gramps flies through one door he emerges from the opposite side. Finally he sort of comes out of it outside, looking up at the stars, and collapses in front of the Lab. Taron dutifully drapes his blanket over Grandpa and bids him good-night. What a trip! 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 Original music for the series by the group JAM Project – Voyager (here’s the complete long version, very good Metal Rock actually; nice chords). JAM [Japanese Anime Music] is a famous J-Pop Supergroup who write many Anime songs in 80s-90s style Metal Rock. They collaborate often with Western artists and groups like Animetal USA, doing a joint tour here in 2012. ‘Voyager‘ by JAM Project, Lyrics: Come on baby do the rock and roll The moon is high and the sun’s just coming down Come on baby are you rock and rollin’ Let me take you to a futureland Fly on a magical ride Huntin’ for paradise From dark night until twilight There ain’t nobody who can stop us now Find the light the brightest starlight Wow yeah….you’ll wanna go there one more time Rock and roll! Can you feel it now Just spin around We’re goin’ around and around Like a ball! Are you movin’ now? Just spin around We’re rollin’ like a rolling stone The world keeps spinning around God it’s you yeah! Ride on time are you ready to go The heat is high and my friends are coming down I got chills and it’s multiplyin’ ‘Cuzz I can feel the future waitin’ for us Fly on a magical ride There is a paradise! Chase the light till morning sunlight We’ll find a future where the sun goes up Find the answer with your own eyes Wow yeah, there’s a world that waits to be found Rock and roll! Can you see it now Just spin around We’re goin’ around and around Like a ball! Is it happening now Just spin around We’re rollin’ like a rolling stone The world keeps spinning around God it’s you Fly on a magical ride Fly on a magical ride Huntin’ for paradise From dark night until twilight There ain’t nobody who can stop us now Find the light the brightest starlight Wow yeah….you’ll wanna go there one more time Rock and roll! Can you feel it now Just spin around We’re goin’ around and around Like a ball! Are you movin’ now Just spin around We’re rollin’ like a rolling stone Rock and roll! Can you see it now Just spin around We’re goin’ around and around Like a ball! Is it happening now Just spin around We’re rollin’ like a rolling stone The world keeps spinning around God it’s you Save us now! 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 Amen to that, brother. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/9/800030341/community/ian-some-light-humor-panda-z-the-robonimation/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/