HEROMAN - Episode 16

After all those episodes on the run from government agents, the previous instalment of HEROMAN saw things turn around for Joey and his over-sized toy of a protector courtesy of Agent Hughes' efforts, as he uses his ability to catch the President's ear to reveal that it's Doctor Minami rather than Heroman himself who is the real threat.

The trouble is, having orders from the President doesn't much help when you're dealing with a rogue element anyway, and thus Hughes' attempt to stop the on-going battle between Heroman and MR-1 is incredibly short-lived before Minami restarts his attack on his perceived enemy. Thankfully, this is actually rather good news for us, as it allows us to enjoy an entire episode of two giant robots knocking the proverbial stuffing out of one another.


While Hughes' efforts seem to have been in vain, the same can't be said for the intrepid female news reporter who has been looking for her scoop, as she appears on the scene just in time to see Doctor Minami and MR-1's attacks on Heroman as they move from the surrounding forest into the middle of a working dam. The rest pretty much writes itself from here, with said dam coming perilously close to being destroyed by Minami's concerted attacks with MR-1 with little concern for the potential human cost, while Heroman all but sacrifices himself by using his powers to stop the dam being destroyed rather than on defending his own person. Thus, the world learns that Heroman is just that, a hero, while the handy proximity of a huge hydro-electric plant gives our white giant all the power he needs to feed off to win the day. The story arc is over, justice is served, and we can now sit back and wait for the story arc that I think we've all already guessed.

Although I've spent episode after episode complaining about how this series was better when we were dealing with Skrugg invasion, I have to hand it to HEROMAN on this occasion - This was easily one of the best episodes yet. Sure, it was incredibly simple in its focus and subject matter (the aforementioned robot-on-robot action), but it was carried off with plenty of visual panache and in a manner which I couldn't help but enjoy to make for a genuinely satisfying instalment. When you find yourself cheering Heroman's victory come the end of it all, you know you've just been dragged into a storyline more than you perhaps would like to admit to.