Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still

Giant Robo the Animation: The Day the Earth Stood Still (ジャイアント・ロボ THE ANIMATION — 地球が静止する日, Jaianto Robo: Chikyū ga Seishisuru Hi) is a 1992–1998 OVA series based on Mitsuteru Yokoyama's manga series Giant Robo. It was written and directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa.

Giant Robo is a homage to Yokoyama's career. The series features characters and plotlines from the manga artist's entire canon of work, effectively creating an all-new story. The events take place in the near future, 10 years after the advent of the Shizuma Drive triggers the third energy revolution. The series follows the master of the titular Robo, Daisaku Kusama, and the Experts of Justice, an international police organization locked in battle with the BF Group, a secret society hell-bent on world domination.

The OVA is recognized for its "retro" style and operatic score. The character designs emulate Yokoyama's drawing style and the action setpieces are influenced by Hong Kong action cinema.

The first installment of the series, "The Black Attaché Case", was released on July 22, 1992. Originally intended to finish within 36 months, the seven-volume series was ultimately released over the span of six years. "The Grand Finale" was released on January 25, 1998. The OVA has since been translated into English, Cantonese, Dutch, French, Italian, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.

The series takes place in a retro-futuristic setting, where the Shizuma Drive ends the depletion of petroleum resources and the need for nuclear power. The system is a non-polluting recyclable energy source that powers everything on land, sea and air. Ten years prior to the events of the series a team of scientists, led by Professor Shizuma, created the revolutionary system. In the process they nearly destroyed the world and one of their own, Franken von Vogler, was lost in the event that went down in history as the "Tragedy of Bashtarle." At the start of Giant Robo, the BF Group is in the middle of recreating the event with aid from the resurfaced von Vogler.

The story explores a society completely brought down, within the span of one week, because of dependency on a single energy source and a state of prosperity tainted by compromise and deceit.

The BF Group (BF団, Bīefu dan) is the main antagonist of the series. Their origin is unknown, but not so their reason to be: to lead mankind down a road of ruin. The Group's forces consist of mechanical monsters, foot soldiers and Experts (エキスパート, Ekisupāto), individuals with superhuman powers.

The most powerful Experts form the ruling cadre of the organization, the cabal of the Magnificent Ten (十傑集, Jūkesshū). Its members swear allegiance to Big Fire (ビッグ・ファイア, Biggu Faia), the Group's founder and leader, with faltering loyalty punishable by death. At the time of The Day the Earth Stood Still, the Ten are gearing up for the final showdown with the IPO.