Crayon Shin-chan: Serious Battle! Robot Dad Strikes Back

The Nohara family lives in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture: Five-yearold protagonist Shinnosuke and his father Hiroshi, mother Misae, and younger sister Himawari. One day Hiroshi returns home transformed into a robot. While at first the family is bewildered, they gradually come closer together due to the struggles of “Robot Dad”. However, the whole thing was part of a plan by an organization aiming to restore their ideal of paternity in Japan. The Nohara family learns this when Robot Dad goes out of control. They also discover the real Hiroshi is still alive. Robot Dad is shocked when he finds out he is just a copy but then confronts the secret organization in order to protect his family. This is the twenty-second in the Crayon Shin-chan series, though the first to turn the spotlight on the father, Hiroshi. It is a portrayal of fathers and children today, depicting Hiroshi trying to be the father regardless of his transformation, and Shinnosuke naturally accepting him.

Scriptwriter NAKASHIMA Kazuki’s structuring is superb and I can really feel the important elements of entertainment being utilized. Among these, the appeal of the characters is abundant. A good work has to have loveable characters. By depicting the lifestyles of such characters, the audience naturally feels empathy towards them and wants to give them support when the home comes under attack. And once your appealing characters are complete,you should later let them run free in a miniature garden (that is, the format of a work). With their charm, they will eagerly start to play for us without hindrance. I felt this very strongly in this work. To make an appealing world it is important to express human elements very carefully. Shin-chan himself, the “teamwork” of the family, and the momentum of movement that is one of the fortes of animation – all this seems to be in sync with the teamwork of the actual production staff, with the optimism of the creators coming through in the final animation. It is a rare thing to see a work with such a strong sense of the makers’ passion. (MORIMOTO Koji)