Astroganger / YMMV

Americans Hate Tingle: In the Middle East, where the anime was released first, it was widely beloved. In the West, it's reputation is more or less the same as it's sister series Chargeman Ken!.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The ending. Ganger bids his farewells to Kantaro and orders him to enter his saucer - and then tears through the Blasters' base, allowing the panther to kill them all. Then, Ganger throws the panther against the walls, knowing that for the sake of the Earth it can't live. However, due to all the energy it absorbed, it sets off a reaction that causes the entire ship to explode. Poor Ganger looks aghast at the rubble as he accepts his death. Meanwhile, Kantaro and Rie watch from their ship, which is slowly entering Earth, crying. Then the anime straight up cuts to the credits, without giving the audience the chance to digest what just happened.
Bile Fascination: The only reason most people are interested in it is to see if it's bad as the other infamous Knack Productions work, and the janky animation, Unintentional Uncanny Valley character designs and flat characters don't help.
Friendly Fandoms: For obvious reasons, modern fans of Astroganger are also fans of Chargeman Ken!. Though, most agree that Astroganger has higher production value. This is mainly because the staff at Knack Productions were going through some serious Creator's Apathy (one of the few surviving members has even admitted that the staff used to finish episodes quickly because they wanted to go the beach later) when making the latter anime.
Germans Love David Hasselhoff:
- The anime is unironically loved in the Middle East where it's known as Jonker (جونكر). Voice actor Khalid Al Sayed states that Astroganger is the work he's most well-known for. It's even mentioned in news articles from Lebanon.
- It is also so beloved in Syria that Syrians cried watching the final episode.
- It is also big in Kuwait. In 2017, Ganger's voice actor was invited as a special guest at the Kuwaiti Comic Con where he met with Astroganger fans who had grown up with his voice.
- Italy loves mecha anime in general, so many older Italians fondly remember it too. Be warned, though as the newer generation are more likely to laugh at it.
- It is also popular in South Korea, to the point when Lotte Mart produced new Astroganger merchandise Korea was chosen as the first country to sell it to, since many older Koreans have memories of growing up with the anime as children. Astroganger is one of the many anime that Korean movie Robot Taekwon V is accused of ripping off.
Harsher in Hindsight: The scenes of the Blasters destroying buildings and putting Kentaro's friends in danger hit a lot harder when you remember that same time period, Lebanon (where the Arabic dub was produced) was undergoing something similar, and even Ganger's own voice actor was affected.
Khaled El Sayed: “We had to come from different places to reach the recording studio & doing it under the violence, destruction & fear of being hit or killed during those horrifying times. But our passion and commitment for doing the voices of these shows as a duty for us made us feel the importance of finishing them so that it can be remembered by many generations to come”
He's Just Hiding: Many fans believe that Ganger didn't truly die at the end, and instead went to his home planet of Katharos after sustaining irrepairable damage. Upon rewatching the scene where he's annihilated, a flying comet exits the explosion and heads far away. This is despite Kantaro and Rie believing he's dead.
Memetic Mutation:
- There's a chance you've seen a variant of Ganger Running without knowing the origin.
- In Japan, people can't stop making comparisions between Kantaro's dad and Colonel Sanders. (example).
- 最終話でシリア国民を大号泣させた日本のアニメとはこれか?^Explanation
Retroactive Recognition:
- The crew behind this also made Chargeman Ken!, which also has it's own fandom because of...certain factors.
- Two in the Arabic dub. Nawal Hijazi makes a cameo as additional voices, and she would go on to voice the lead of Hello! Sandybell. The lead of this anime is also voiced by Samira Al Baroudi, who would go on to voice Hyoma of Combattler V.^note
- For Super Robot enthusiasts, it's Mikio Terashima as the Chief of the Blasters - he was also Emperor Zambajil and General Domes.
Signature Scene: Ganger running.
So Bad, It's Good: The series received notoriety in the West for it's absurd premise (a young boy and a robot fuse using a magic pendant, and there's a lot of Off-Model and unusual faces), and memes like Ganger running only furthered this.
Unintentional Uncanny Valley: The way Rie and Kantaro are drawn - their body types look like cartoon children, but their faces have realistic eyes and noses. This frightens more viewers both in and outside the target demographic.
The Woobie: In the finale, Ganger, realizing death is inevitable, tells Kentaro that they will part ways and lets him go - and then sacrifices himself, destroying the Blasters with him. Being nothing but the Big Good ever since his conception, his final act was saving the son of his creator, Maya.

YMMV / Astroganger

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