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  The previous mecha thread is pretty old now, so here's the new one to discuss everything with giant robots in it. Unless you wanna talk Gundams, in which case you should post in the Gundam thread instead. Hey what defines a mecha show anyways? Anything with giant robots, essentially. It's a broad term. Most of the time the robots have a human pilot inside, but there are plenty of mecha shows without them. Even though mecha is an anime genre it encompasses a variety of genres. I haven't seen a mecha show in my life except Evangelion and maybe Code Geass, what should I watch? To speak on modern anime in general, these days there are a ton of really amazing shows that are only a dozen episodes. Because of that I think it's a real bad idea to tell newbies to check out a ton of 50+ episode mecha shows, that's a big commitment! So to that end here is my recommendation list for newcomers. Everything in it is excellent, there's a nice variety to show off what the genre can do and each has a runtime comparable to 12 episodes or less. Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still  quote: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, ten 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. Giant Robo is directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa (who you might know as the director of G Gundam) and it's his best work by far. It's an epic in the classical sense of the word and every one of its seven episodes is exciting. If you only watch one show on the list I suggest this one. Macross Plus  quote:The year is 2040 and the galaxy is flourishing with several colonies and advanced technology. AI is near perfection and the current top idol is the near-completed Virturoid Idol Sharon Apple. All that is missing are her actual feelings, which instead are supplied by Myung Fang Lone. Sharon's debut concert is on planet Eden, where at the same time, fighter pilots Isamu Dyson and Guld Bowman battle over air superiority for the "Supernova Project." Isamu, Guld and Myung were once childhood friends, but after an accident seven years ago, they went their own separate ways. With Myung back in the picture, the old disputes are once again awakened. Macross Plus is co-directed by Shinichiro Watanabe who I'm sure you'll recognize as the man behind hits like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy. And the music is handled by Yoko Kanno who is responsible for a lot of really good soundtracks, including Cowboy Bebop's. Those facts alone should be enough of a reason to check Macross Plus out. Macross has a fair amount of entries but Macross Plus works quite well as a standalone product. It's only 4 episodes and it's easily one of the best anime to contain the Macross name. There are two versions out there, an OVA and a movie, and they both have pros and cons to them. I personally prefer the OVA, but it's good enough to make it worth checking out both versions. Patlabor (OVA), aka Patlabor: The Early Days  quote:In the future, rapidly advancing technology gives birth to giant robots known as "Labors," so named for their usefulness in heavy industry. However, this also gives rise to "Labor crimes," resulting the the need for a new branch of law enforcement equiped with and dedicated to the policing of Labors. When Izumi Noa, a female police officer, becomes the newest recruit of Special Vechicals Devision 2, she and her top of the line "Patrol Labor" (or "Patlabor") Alphonse are swept into a series of adventures featuring crazed construction workers, eco-terrorists, and sea monsters. Patlabor is the show I like to recommend to people who dislike the mecha genre. It's primarily character driven and has a unique, colorful cast, and that can be enough for them to overlook the fact that there are robots in it. And if you do like robots, Patlabor has 'em, and they're pretty cool. There are two continuities, but Patlabor canon isn't super important so I wouldn't worry about it; the divide in canon is basically stuff directed by Oshii (The original OVAs + Movies 1 and 2) and the stuff that isn't (The tv series + the second OVA series). The original OVA is the best introduction to the series as it looks a lot nicer than the tv show, and 7 episodes isn't a huge commitment at all. Gunbuster  quote:Noriko Takaya's dream is to become a space pilot like her father, Admiral Yuzo Takaya. He died when she was still a little girl due to an attack of alien forces in deep space. After entering Okinawa Girls Space Pilot High School, Noriko is handpicked by instructor Kouichiro Ohta as someone with great potential. She must then persuade everyone, especially herself, that she can indeed fulfill her goal and become an accomplished pilot despite being just an ordinary girl. Gunbuster is directed by some obscure guy named Hideaki Anno (who directed something called Neon Genesis Evangelion that nobody has seen). All joking aside, it's 80s Gainax writing a love letter about everything they enjoyed at that moment in time. What is initially a mecha-themed parody of classic tennis anime Aim for the Ace becomes a serious sci-fi epic, all in the span of 6 episodes. Diebuster  quote:Nono is a clumsy waitress who dreams of becoming a space pilot. One day, she meets Lal'C Melk Mark, a member of the elite psychic pilot team "Topless". But when space monsters appear from out of nowhere to wreak havoc on Mars, Lal'C calls out her Buster Machine—codenamed "Dix-Neuf"—to subdue the threat. During a battle with a Space Monster, Lal'C gets the surprise of her life when she sees Nono use her super-strength to help Dix-Neuf destroy the alien. From that point, Nono hangs along with Lal'C in hopes of becoming a member of Topless. While it's not immediately obvious, Diebuster is a sequel to Gunbuster. Directed and written by Kazuya Tsurumaki and Yoji Enokido respectively (They collaborated on a prior Gainax project, FLCL), it's a sequel that is as unusual as it is magnificent. It resembles a lot of what Gainax would later do with Gurren Lagann (and for my money's worth, I feel that Diebuster does a better job at raising the stakes). Both Gunbuster and Diebuster feature world-ending threats, but I prefer how the latter handles it, by forgoing its pseudo hard sci-fi trappings in favor of making it a much more personal story. Let's get this thread off to a positive start, so I welcome everyone to tell me what things I missed and why they should be watched (I am ignoring how this is my own personal recommendation list here  ).
Srice fucked around with this message at 12:22 on Nov 8, 2015 |
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Sep 21, 2015 00:59
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littleorv posted:Thanks for the list Srice. I've been meaning to check out the Busters but I have not gotten around to it yet. They're both very good, so it is a wise choice.
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Sep 21, 2015 02:16
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I wanted to keep the OP confined to the stuff that's p accessible but I am down for doing writeups about other stuff in the thread, and I encourage others to do so
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Sep 21, 2015 02:35
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I've been finding Logos to be pretty decent after a rough start, but even at its best the characters just aren't as fun as Evol's. Though they do have their moments. Also it's tackling some similar ideas as Gatchaman Crowds and that's a tough show to compare to, particularly when its excellent sequel is airing in the same season. A two part episode awhile back involved mob mentality on social media but in a way that felt like it was simultaneously trying to be serious and trying to handle it the way a 70s super robot show would (if you flame someone online they would be covered in magical fire irl that apparently doesn't burn as much as actual fire). That said I'm about 4-5 episodes behind and am planning to catch up this week, so there is something about it that makes me curious enough to see it through. I had only ever seen a few episodes of M3 and thought it was alright but not something I'd want to catch every week, so I waited until it was over and never heard a peep about it again. Hearing people actually talking about it does make me want to go back and give it a another shot.
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Sep 21, 2015 10:34
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Smoking Crow posted:Is Raideen fully subbed yet or has no one picked it up after the guy quit because he hated Tomino Not even just Tomino, but because they hated a specific episode so it took 2 years for that episode to get subbed, and then releases completely stopped after that, which was about 2 years ago. That is one hell of a burnout.
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Sep 22, 2015 10:33
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Schwarzwald posted:drat. What happened in that episodes? I vaguely recall hearing about it and I haven't seen the series since I definitely don't want to pick up something that has stalled for so long, but what I heard was something like the protagonist was (temporarily) rendered blind and didn't tell anyone so dumb decisions were made? But it also sounds like it resolves itself at the end of the episode so I have no idea why a single episode could cause 4 years of burnout.
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Sep 22, 2015 20:54
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Macross 2 isn't bad but it's quite bland and plays it way too safe, so in a way that's kinda worse than being bad. Unmemorable, is the term I'd use to describe it I suppose.
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Sep 27, 2015 01:20
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No that's Plus.
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Sep 27, 2015 01:45
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With all of the rights issues you'd have to get through for any SRW title that sounds like one of those "I heard it from a guy who heard it from a guy who read it on the internet" sorta things. I've never seen anything approaching a trustworthy source for that.
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Sep 27, 2015 02:22
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I think a lot of what attracts me to the genre isn't the robots themselves (although there are plenty of cool ones) but more that it's a genre that is an original work an overwhelming majority of the time, instead of being an adaption.
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Sep 27, 2015 03:37
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Also I am only human, and will admit that while seeing people driven mad when 2 Gundams were airing at the same time was kinda amusing, it did in some ways break my spirit. I still enjoy a lot of the genre tho.
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Sep 27, 2015 03:40
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Oh yeah absolutely. I didn't mean to imply that there isn't, but rather that when it's a mecha show it makes it easy to filter out that it's almost certainly an original work and not an adaption.
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Sep 27, 2015 03:41
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Sharkopath posted:Robot Anime feels derivative and referential to the point its incestuous, but I haven't seen tons of it so that's just my two cents. It gets weird in that regard though I do enjoy it when they come up with new takes on well traveled roads.
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Sep 27, 2015 03:46
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Reds posted:You know what's nigh-impossible to find? A mecha show where the mecha don't fly or get a flight upgrade halfway through. Hmm Votoms Xabungle Patlabor (Not counting that one mech in the tv series but it was intentionally ridiculous compared to what they had) Galient Dougram Broken Blade maybe? (I only saw a few of those movies, not all of them) Argevollen (lack of air travel was actually a factor for that show too) I am sure there are a few I'm missing that could make 10
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Sep 27, 2015 03:49
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muike posted:Yes I'd say this is a major problem with the genre (and not just this genre, anything else that falls into the kind of genre/literary divide that i mentioned before) and it's almost historical. It's strange when even shows that are, nominally, not toy commercials, still find themselves hitting the same pitholes that the Literal Actual Toy Commercials did, and it's because it's what the creators and producers grew up with and it's like a negative feedback loop. A rock being run smooth of all its intricacies and differentiating qualities by a river current. I'd really like to see a show that brings on talent that haven't been involved in mecha shows, it would be neat to see what happens.
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Sep 27, 2015 03:59
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I can imagine it now, a Shinbo-directed mecha show. The robot is doing the backwards head tilt...
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Sep 27, 2015 03:59
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boom boom boom posted:Iron Blooded Orphans starts in like, a week. There are a decent number of examples of shows that had directors that hadn't been involved with the genre much though they'd have writers that have been. Star Driver is one that comes to my mind. Mari Okada has a few different mecha shows to her name, though I did enjoy Evol so I am looking forward to it.
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Sep 27, 2015 04:03
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Also besides IBO I think I have also reached a point in Aquarion Logos where I am genuinely liking it, so I'll have that to watch next season as well.
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Sep 27, 2015 04:07
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I would not call it amazing by any means but it's kinda neat how it feels like a modernized take on a 70s super robot show. The fights are mostly dull but I like the characters, and also there was an episode where Aquarion turned into a rabbit.
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Sep 27, 2015 04:08
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Gyra_Solune posted:Logos just reached the point where it's clearly going to stop loving around and let stuff get real Suddenly, everyone dies of heatstroke in summertime because they have no idea what heat feels like.
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Sep 27, 2015 04:10
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Far as stuff from the last few years go, I enjoyed Majestic Prince, Liked Gundam Build Fighters, and loved Reconguista in G. Captain Earth and Nobunaga the Fool were alright, they had plenty of issues but I managed to see both through to the end. Aquarion Logos is currently airing and it starts out rough but it gradually improved and now I'm genuinely looking forward to new episodes.
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Oct 2, 2015 23:39
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Droyer posted:Isn't buddy complex the one that was literally written by committee? Yah they had "Buddy Complex Project" listed as the writer.
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Oct 3, 2015 01:13
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The highlight of Buddy Complex is that Studio Orange handled the CG. I wish Sunrise used them for a show that had any ambition whatsoever.
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Oct 3, 2015 01:15
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Sakurazuka posted:Yeah, but that's true of any Sunrise animation that has Hajime Yatate in the writing credits. That's usually listed as the creator of the show in question.
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Oct 3, 2015 01:17
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The week, on Logos
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Oct 11, 2015 16:58
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Gyra_Solune posted:remember when i was like 'okay aquarion logos is going to stop loving around now' I'm glad of it, and of the fact they even managed to fit character and plot stuff into a silly episode too.
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Oct 11, 2015 18:35
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Droyer posted:I've only seen the first series, but the serious plot was definitely the worst part of it. The serious parts of Evol started out fine and then became progressively worse as the finale approached. Maybe Logos can break that trend!
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Oct 11, 2015 18:49
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All I know about Dorvack is that the recent blu-rays have been literally the only time the show has ever been released on home video.
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Oct 13, 2015 23:52
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Nate RFB posted:I genuinely don't remember much about the early Macross Zero eps with regards to them being bad, rather I remember the last episode being so awful it basically didn't matter what happened in the rest. Yeah pretty much. It starts out being pretty okay but that final episode destroys any positive opinions remaining.
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Oct 24, 2015 22:20
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Ultimately the best thing Macross Zero did was lead to a pretty solid episode in Frontier.
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Oct 24, 2015 22:21
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Looks like we're getting some Macross Delta news later this weekquote:The Macross Delta project will hold "'Chō Jikū'" Seisaku Happyōkai" ("The Super Dimension" Production Unveiling), a live-streamed event which will reveal more details on the project on October 29 at 12:00 p.m.. Macross franchise creator Shoji Kawamori will appear at the event, which will reveal the main staff, the winner of the audition for the new singer in the anime, and the anime's characters. About 8,000 candidates applied for the singing audition.
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Oct 26, 2015 01:29
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Parallax posted:Voices of a Distant Star isn't very good. The story's simple enough, but the logistics of it make no sense at all. If the girl is eight years forward in time, then he shouldn't get a message for 16 years. Unless the phone is somehow instantaneous, in which case they should just be able to mail each other whenever after 8 years. Also, those are amazing phones either way. The animation is bad, not the CGI, just the characters. The character designs are amateurish, even. The CGI is decent for the time, and directed way better. The backgrounds are the nicest part, and there's pretty much all there is to a lot of scenes, so whatever. I think these days it's something to watch more for its historical importance than anything else. Shinkai animated the entire thing on his home computer, which was completely unheard of back then.
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Oct 26, 2015 10:28
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GorfZaplen posted:Srice please add this picture to the OP a kitten posted:No, this one. Heck, I can do both.
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Nov 8, 2015 12:22
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A lot of old titles on Hulu have been making their way to the 'roll, and that means there's a higher chance of discovery so I'm glad of it.
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Nov 27, 2015 19:44
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Dec 12, 2015 15:43
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Macross Plus is the best place to start since it tells a solid, self-contained story that's very well animated, and you can knock it out in a single afternoon.
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Jan 1, 2016 19:13
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The nostalgia argument is a real bad one in general but with Macross in particular I'd say it's doubly so.
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Jan 1, 2016 23:50
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I think that last point holds true for a lot of entries. Macross does experiment with a lot of stuff for better or worse and at its core it has a few reoccurring elements but the broad strokes can get shaken up. Easiest example to point to would be Macross 7 with its space demons and music-powered energy beams. Or Macross Zero and whatever the heck it was supposed to be.
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Jan 2, 2016 01:13
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Heck, I love Macross 7 a lot and I hated that first ep of Delta.
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Jan 2, 2016 14:15
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I was hoping that it was going to be something completely different, and I shouldn't have thought that while holding that monkey's paw I tells you.
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Jan 2, 2016 15:01
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