Panda-Z: Saving the World in Five Minutes or Less     Jun 26, 2007     by sensei joe

This cute and clever spoof of Mazinger Z will have you rolling on the floor with laughter and the kids wondering why you think its so funny. The basic plot: Pan-Taron, a robotic panda, heroically pilots the super-mecha, Panda-Z, in his struggle against the evil Skullpander and his Warunimal minions. When Pan-Taron is not battling the forces of evil, he hangs out with his friends. They occasionally play cards or eat batteries - with comic results of course. All the episodes are mimed and are accompanied with a 70’s rock & roll soundtrack and black & white titles when dialogue is necessary. The series was created to support a series of plastic toys created by Shuichi Oshida, which makes the sound effects pure comic genius – instead of metal rubbing against metal they use plastic grating against plastic and instead of missile explosions they use plastic crashing into plastic. In one episode, Pan-Taron is battling Mogyu, a giant yellow bull mecha. Pan-Taron launches both of Panda-Z’s rocket punches. Fortunately, the bull mecha is defeated, but unfortunately, Panda-Z’s fists didn’t return. The episode ends with Pan-Taron clueless and the Panda-Z leaning over his detached hands as the sun sets. Each episode is about five minutes long, which is all the brave Pan-Taron and the mighty Panda-Z need to save the day and make you laugh, which could very well be the same thing.

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