The Giant that Sleeps in Ice

Series	Cyborg 009 (1979 Anime)
Writer	Akiyoshi Sakai
Director	Toshifumi Takizawa
Episode Guide
Previous	The Awakening of Gods
Next	The Demon of the L'Arc de Triomphe

The Giant that Sleeps in Ice is the second episode of Cyborg 009.

Plot Summary

While searching for more signs of the stone giants, Joe encounters a young orphaned boy named "Per", who tells of an "ice giant" who killed his father. The ice giant was dismissed by many as a fairy tale, but as Joe and Per later learn, sometimes the monsters we meet are not imaginary at all!

Recap

The episode begins with a young boy, Per, and his father sailing in the middle of a ocean that is ridden with heavy fog. They were apparently going fishing, but due to the fog they are forced to go back home. Per's superstitious father also believes that the ghosts of Vikings come out on foggy days.

Suddenly they encounter a Stone Giant encased in an iceberg. At first they try to avoid the iceberg, but when that fails, Per's father tries attacking it with a harpoon. The iceberg charges into their boat, capsizing it. Per was saved when he was pushed out of the way, leaving him drifting out at sea on a wooden board as he calls out for his father.

Meanwhile, Joe is standing on a cliff overlooking a town harbor. He mulls over past events: during a meeting, Dr. Gilmore rants about the ridiculousness over the possibility of gods and stone giants existing. Ivan reminds him that there are plenty of evidence to prove that gods do exist, and shows him previous footage of the stone giant and the 'Jotunheim' message it left behind. Ivan further warns of a terrible event that is yet to occur. Due to the use of the Runic alphabet in the stone giant's message, Dr. Gilmore orders the 00 cyborgs to travel to Scandinavia and search for clues.

Back in the present, Joe leaves in his car and travels to the aforementioned town below. He goes to a bar and has a drink there. When the bartender questions him about his origins, Joe explains that he's a traveler researching Norse mythology. The bartender points the 00 cyborg to the mountains, the location of an old Viking cemetery, and reveals some information about Odin. As they talk, two men walk into a bar and discuss a young boy, Per. The bartender also talks about Per as well, telling Joe that ever since his father drowned in an incident at sea, Per spends his days preparing his revenge against the "ice giant" who killed his dad.

Satisfied, Joe pays the bartender and leaves to have a talk with Per. At first, Per is unresponsive, but when Joe brings up the ice giant, Per mistakenly believes that he is making fun of him and runs away. Joe chases after him, and finally locates him at his father's house. Joe pleads for the boy to believe his tale, saying that it might help him avenge his father, but Per refuses to respond, causing Joe to leave disheartened. But after some thinking, Per finally accepts the truth in Joe's words and lets him in.

Per tells Joe his story, but suddenly Joe detects an eavesdropper. He leaves the house to find a man running away and chases after him, only to end up in a Viking cemetery. He is attacked by two people dressed up like soldiers from the Middle Ages, but after a fight Joe discovers that they are robots. He quickly defeats them, but suddenly he is trapped when surrounding rocks enlarge and transform into a shape resembling a Viking ship, and attempts to take Joe out to sea to drown him. Per arrives, but he is too late to save Joe.

The townspeople see the damage the "Viking ship" has caused. A shady, drunken man from the bar Joe visited claims that it is the "curse of the Vikings". As for Joe himself, he manages to escape his rocky prison and swim away undetected. At Gilmore's house, the other 00 cyborgs relay what they found to the doctor. The "ice giant" that attacked Per and his father was the same stone giant the 00 cyborgs encountered before (The Awakening of Gods). Using his ESP powers, Ivan pinpoints the giant's current location at Sandnessjøen, Norway, where 009 is currently dispatched.

On Gilmore's orders, the other 00 cyborgs leave to aid Joe and pursue the stone giant. Meanwhile, Per grieves Joe's "death", but when he finds that his friend is still alive, the boy is overjoyed. Later, Per explains to Joe that his mother died from an illness when he was five, leaving behind Per and his father. Per's father promised him that he would take him out fishing when he turned ten, but when the day came, his father died. Full of grief, Per starts crying. Joe initially tries to cheer him up, but then he realizes how lucky Per was to have known his parents, when Joe himself had no memory of his own.

Suddenly both Per and Joe hear foghorns blasting rather loudly. They go outside to find a heavy fog, and the stone giant who killed Per's father emerges from the horizon. The drunken man celebrates the stone giant's arrival, referring to it as "Ymir", the legendary frost giant from Norse mythology, and throws his liqueur bottle at the "Viking ship", causing it to fire rays hot enough to melt the ice entrapping the stone giant from its eyes.

The stone giant's reawakening causes panic in the townspeople. Joe and Per encounter the giant, and Per attempts to attack it with his father's harpoon. When the stone giant proves to be impervious, Joe pulls Per out of the way and saves the boy from the stone giant's attacks. Fortunately, the 00 cyborgs arrive just in time, causing Joe to reveal his cyborg form and join his fellow teammates. Upon seeing Per's harpoon, Joe orders Albert to fire a missile at the stone giant as a distraction, while he uses the harpoon to pierce the stone giant's eyes. The plan works, and the stone giant is incapacitated.

Unknown to the 00 cyborgs, a cloaked, bearded man with one eye is watching them from afar. He conjures a lightning bolt powerful enough to obliterate the stone giant completely. As the 00 cyborgs watch this, Gilmore watches the battle footage and refuses to believe what has occurred. He questions Ivan about this, but the infant leaves to get his needed rest. Gilmore is left to question the validity of the battle with the stone giant, but realizes that what happened was indeed real!

Characters

The 00 Cyborgs

• Ivan Whisky (001)
• Jet Link (002)
• Francoise Arnoul (003)
• Albert Heinrich (004)
• Geronimo, Jr. (005)
• Chang Changku (006)
• Great Britain (007)
• Pyunma (008)
• Joe Shimamura (009)

Allies

• Dr. Isaac Gilmore

Enemies

• Odin
• Stone Giants

Video Release

This episode was released on Disc One of the Cyborg 009 1979 Collection Blu-Ray Vol. 1 set in Japan on November 11, 2015.

Vol. 1 Blu-ray Set