Natsume Maya is reporting that a new Gigantor anime series ('Tetsujin 28' in Japanese, literally 'Iron Man 28') will air in Japan in 2004. Created by manga artist Mitsuteru Yokoyama in the late 1950s, the needle-nosed robot inspired an 83-episode anime series, which ran from 1963-1965. American Fred Ladd renamed the property 'Gigantor' and adapted 52 of the 83 Japanese episodes for the American market. Two additional Tetsujin 28 anime series followed, including a 51-episode color series, produced in Japan in 1980-1981 and broadcast in the US by the Sci-Fi Channel from 1993-1997 under the title The New Adventures of Gigantor. Thus the new series in Japan is actually the fourth Tetsujin 28 anime.
In addition to the new anime series, a live action Tetsujin 28 feature film is set to debut in Japan in the fall of 2004. There was a live action Tetsujin 'kaiju' TV series, but the new film is the big guy's first feature film. Tetsujin 28 joins a host of anime properties in making a recent move to live action including Cutey Honey, Initial D, Evangelion, Akira, Lupin III, and Sailor Moon (TV series) just to name a few of the most prominent.