I’m sure if you asked someone who wasn’t particularly well acquainted with anime what its defining features are, you’d hear the standard responses: big eyes, neon hair, sex, and giant robots. Of course, every anime fan knows that there’s much more to the medium than, say, sexy big-eyed giant robot pilots with neon hair.
A lot of sexy big-eyed giant robot pilots have perfectly normal black hair, for example.
But people wouldn’t say those things if they weren’t true to some extent. Anime characters do typically have big eyes. Unnatural hair colors are a common sight. Sex is still a driving force in the industry.
And giant robots have never gone out of style.
It’s no secret that I’m not the world’s biggest mecha anime fan. I don’t actively dislike the genre or anything; rather, I’ve just never been all that intrigued by it. At the same time, I’m not much of a shounen action fan, and seeing as a lot of mecha series are, in part, shounen action series, I’ve steered wide and clear of the genre over the years. It’s not my thing.
But, I think there’s more to it than just that. As a child growing up, I never developed the same fascination with machines that many young boys do. My older brother had a keen interest in airplanes, likely driven by the fact our father worked in the aircraft industry. I had greater interest in writing, music, and other creative pursuits. And when we played together, I’d take my Legos and construct cities and buildings; my brother would build automobiles and spaceships. As we grew older, his interest turned to cars and architecture. Mine, to weather and maps. Today, he works in industrial design. I work in international business.
Or, to be more exact, I work in international business in the aerospace industry, spending my days surrounded by engineers who probably grew up with similar interests as my brother. Except, they’re still building their spaceships today. And when they talk about it, their eyes light up, and I realize how much passion they have for machines and what makes them work. And I think that explains a lot about the enduring popularity of mecha anime. If you accept that most Japanese anime fans are male and likely grew up with similar interests as my brother and many of my coworkers, you start to understand the appeal of mecha anime.
Of course, things change. I’m not entirely sure how to explain the growing popularity of moe anime and bishoujo game adaptations in a similar fashion - I’m not sure I want to know, to be honest - and as anime has spread around the globe, the diversity of its fans has increased tenfold. Mecha has held on nonetheless, but the focus has gradually shifted from the machines to the lives of the people who pilot them and the conflicts of which they are tools.
Or perhaps it’s been that way for some time already. It is the Gundam model, after all, and even though there’s no shortage of Gundam freaks out there who can tell you the thread length on every screw holding a MS-06J Zaku II together, there are just as many who spend their weekends dressing up like Char Aznable and waxing philosophic about the virtue of war with their Zeon comrades at the corner coffee shop.
Oddly enough, however, the one mecha show I consider a favorite is one in which the mechanics of the mecha themselves are both realistic and presented in such a way that many engineers would appreciate. Of course, I’m talking about Patlabor. With the exception of its oversized service revolver and gratuitous design elements, the Ingram makes sense. And many of the common Labors featured in the show look and function like the construction implements they are. I suppose you could argue that there are more efficient ways of doing construction work than utilizing giant bipedal robots, but from a purely mechanical standpoint, Labors are pretty no-nonsense compared to the giant robots in your average mecha series.
The fact that Labors are, essentially, giant machines is not lost on the show, either. Special Vehicles has more gearheads than police officers. Even a few of the police officers are mecha otaku in their own right. And the show spends as much time dealing with stories of industrial espionage and the politics of an increasingly technocratic world as it does stories of routine police work. The tag line at the end of each episode says a lot about the show’s outlook, I think: “This is a work of fiction, but in ten years, who knows?” Gundam is science fiction for dreamers. Patlabor, however, is science fiction for realists.
Not that there’s anything wrong with dreaming, of course. Today’s dreams are tomorrow’s reality, and all that jazz. But, while I have a little bit of dreamer in me, I’ve always been a realist at heart. It’s just one of the many reasons I love Patlabor as much as I do.
And when people ask me what I do for a living, and I say, “I work with a bunch of rocket scientists, but I just pretend to be a lawyer all day,” it’s not like I’m trying to make them laugh.
Honest.
Form feet and legs. Form arms and body.
I’m an engineer so I’ve always appreciated giant robos in some fashion, although I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of the genre either. Building and creating is what fires my soul so I always appreciate shows like Patlabor and You’re Under Arrest which place some emphasis on the maintenance of machines. I talk to my computers all the time, so I can understand Noa. I just finished Patlabor recently and really enjoy how there were plenty of physical limitations of the labors unlike some shows this season. Bipedal robots on land aren’t very efficient.
That being said, I love the Macross Valkyries. I guess being in space makes their movements somewhat reasonable and there is just something really aesthetically pleasing about fighter jets.
When I saw the Gundam header image on this HSJ-entry, I was like, “Alright, who body-snatched JL and replaced him with a mecha-fan?” ^^; Just so surreal to see it.
On-topic wise, I can’t really explain WHY I like robots. It doesn’t even have to be humanoid robots, and indeed, most of my favourites are actually animalistic in design.
Natch.
I don’t consider myself as a hardcore mecha fan; however, I do like Fushigi no Umi no Nadia very much. I especially enjoy its balance between Jules Vernes’ retrospective world and the ultimate machineries and technologies (Nautilus). As Lindus has mentioned in the previous comment, limitation is also a key factor on my satisfactions on all mecha animes because otherwise it will become too far-fetched and lose the realism. Without any common ground I can relate and associate to, I find it hard to feel attached to the series such as Gundam 00. Thus,I prefer space ship more than “mobile suits”.
Mecha has never really done much for me either, although I will admit to watching Voltron as a kid, and Gurren-Lagann more recently. I think what bothers me about mecha is the sheer implausibility of the design, especially when they’re fighting in the atmosphere, is anything less aerodynamic than a giant-ass bipedal robot? That and the fact usually I avoid serious/drama anime like the plague–I’d take Seto no Hanayome over Code Geass any day.
I like mecha to an extent but I just really a sick feeling in my stomach when some of them try and go for the high minded serious route and start getting preachy. I like mecha that is light hearted and is able never take itself seriously, probably because I am also a shoujo fan.
For me Gundam is pretty much sci-fi on the surface these days and more like old samurai epics with men weeping un manly tears for no good reason and crying crocodile tears while they slaughter their enemies. I don’t get the sense of aesthetic completion in the whole setting they use, however in all fairness they might have come to the present wall where Sci-fi is now permeated our society that they can’t come up with a grand vision for the future. I guess sticking to the Sol system for Geass and Gundam has forced them to try and get philosophical rather than lay on the technology. The problem I have though is that Geass is pretty much magic and trying to shed light on war gives me the impression that these writers don’t know war and have not bothered to read even the preface to treatises on war out side of skimming Sun-tzu and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
I grew up always wanting to blow stuff up and fire guns all day I kind of got my wish and at some level I can relate to a story of man and his equipment. I can relate to Alto-hime and his love for flying, but not Setsuna and his desire to be one with his Gundam though he’s inside of it half the bloody time anyway. I wish i didn’t miss out on Patlabor, but here’s hoping I get to see the whole ting someday.
I grew up watching robot cartoons (mecha and anime wasn’t an ‘in’ word that time)–I think I started out with Astroboy. Voltes V was (and still is) appealing to me then too. Macross is my all-time favorite. Until now I’m still not over my fascination with mecha. But I’m not hardcore enough to memorize parts and weapons blah3x. ^_^;
Hmm. As a very impractical and unscientific person, I tend to be influenced by the characters’ attitude(s) to the show’s mecha. So in Votoms or The 08th MS Team the characters treat the mecha very much as tools. In Patlabor (from the four episodes I’ve seen) this is the case: they’re not unlike a combination of police car and truncheon.
But I thought engineers had problems with mecha because bipedal combat machines are inherently implausible? Granted, my only evidence is Steven Den Beste’s careful, point-by-point explanation of exactly why he dislikes mecha . . .
Well to be honest, I’m more of a sci-fi fan who likes the genres futuristic take on themes that are really down to earth in such a way that most of us can relate to. It’s a genre that can often get around having to be too politically correct by not being so blinding obvious about what it is trying to say and it can also trick sponsors into thinking of it as mere eye-candy of the blockbuster variety but failing to realize the hidden messages an author or writer has put in there that would otherwise worry them that they aren’t going to get their precious money because the media is to shall we say threateningly thought-provoking and could possibly make somebody think (offended) rather than visually stimulated. In short it’s merely another avenue in which to explore the world we live in as well as sometimes consideration of the world we could very well live in and to me it’s the most open ones.
Of course there is good Sci-Fi or Mecha and I honest to god can’t stand the god awful super robot series of the 80’s versus something like Legend of The Galactic Heroes or Code Geass, both of which have some great character drama and some intriguing themes that I would argue are right up their with the Slice of Life and more specifically focused series that Jeff prefers. So yeah I’m not terribly concerned if something is trying to be uber-realistic in terms of how it portrays warfare unless it’s pure mindless schlock, as Sci-Fi isn’t really about realism (the term fiction is in the title for pete’s sake), but about science married with fiction. As long as their are compelling characters and themes that strike me as interesting, I’ll be there.
Also consider that some of the most critically acclaimed works of literature and filmography have been in the sci-fi genre such as Starship Troopers, I-Robot, Dune, 1984, A Brave New World, 2001: A Space Oddysey, Ender’s Game, Frankenstein…….the list goes on, and I think Science Fiction deserves to stand among any other genre as an equal medium or genre for providing people with something to think about.
That’s just my two cents as a “Gundam Nut” though, lol. Also, would you believe that the same people behind Gundam are also the one’s that conceived the TV version of Patlabor? I’ve actually only just started watching it and I agree that the relatively laid back nature of the Ingram is indeed refreshing compared to some of the more outlandish super robots out there. Votoms has it’s Scope Dogs as well though and they are barely a step up from the power loaders you would see in Alien. That’s just one of the things I appreciate about mecha, is the variety you can get in it all. To me it’s an aesthetic concept unto itself and it’s held my interest for well over 10 years now, and other people’s interest for much longer. I expect it to be standing long after the Moe boom has died down, which I think it already has judging by the fact that not even a year or two ago almost everything was moe oriented, while now less then a quarter of this season is arguably moe driven versus say character driven or otherwise.
@Kaioshin
Even Science Fiction has rules and derives some of its themes from contemporary science other wise it would just be fiction. You may eschew military realism because you can’t makes heads or tails of how to clear a room, defense in depth, or mobile defense, but do not dismiss an emphasis on military principle as befitting of “schlock.” H.G. Wells knew socialism hence why his novella the Time Machine had a flair of plausibility coupled with his lengthy discourse on establishing time as the 4th dimension. Heinlein actually served in the US Navy and hence had familiarization with militarism. Heinlein also established rigorous standards for scientific and engineering plausibility. Even Mary Shelly had some familiarization with the prevailing natural philosophy (the fore runner of biology) when she wrote the 1818 edition of Frankenstein.
Just because you add the moniker fiction to Science Fiction does not automatically rule out the incorporation of the plausible and elements of reality as being mandatory or desirable. A bit of realism indicates attention to detail and a demonstration of at least some understanding of the subject matter being presented. It can only serve to enhance the quality of a work. Even Tolkien knew a thing or two about Anglo-Saxon Warfare. That is why Tolkien was able to describe his battles better than Geoffrey of Monmouth who knew neither history nor war. The word Science is also there for bloody sake…
AND I’LL FORM THE PENIS
Actually I’ve never been bitten by the Gundam bug. I’m more into GIANT BIPEDAL TANKS rather than GIANT BIPEDAL FIGHTAN MACHINES THAT DO CRAZY SHIT AND ARE WORSHIPPED AS DEMIGODS.
I attribute it to the fact that I am a bit of a Battletech nerd (I was 5 and the Battletech cartoon seemed to me like a completely awesome cartoon with marching 3D robots.) and that the world of Battletech was more complex than anything I have ever seen or read at that time (and some part of me thinks it still does, Dark Age/Age of Destruction notwithstanding). A little later on I read about normal men (or men in powered armor) taking out these giant walking tanks. Now that was epic reading.
Oddly enough, I also love my wacky super robot shows. I’d watch G Gundam in a heartbeat, enjoy stuff like Voltron and Mazinger Z and GETTER ROBO, and two of my favorite shows happens to be Overman King Gainer (which is kinda like a super robot show anyway) and Gurren Lagann (which does feature a giant robot.).
Between Battletech and Giant Robot shows, Gundam just seemed… … … bland. True, Bright Noa is a pretty cool guy Char is absolutely awesome and loves the lolis and is messed up in his own special way, and I love the Zeon suits (gotta root for the cannon fodder ya know), and I know Gundam can be pretty deep at times, but I’ve never been very interested in Gundam. Mostly because The RX-78-2 was treated like a demigod and was like an invincible machine. CE pushed me further from the whole franchise altogether.
Part of the reason why I absolutely loved 08th MS Team was that I saw the Suits being nothing more than Walking Weapons Platforms that just happened to be able to do extraordinary things (something which does happen in Battletech, though not always very often), or to put it simply WALKING BIPEDAL TANKS. That, and the fact that a Gundam was wounded by an Acguy was the single best moment in 08th MS Team for me.
IKnight; Militarily speaking, it’s a lot cheaper to put wheels or treads on guns rather than legs. from an engineering point of view, it’s about the balance (scientists are only beginning to understand how a human can remain upright while walking, they’re still working on how to upscale it). And from a scientific point of view, we do not have a large enough source of energy or fuel to make a robot battle-capable.
I wonder how much interest in mecha anime actually correlates with this kind of childhood experience. Although I do know one mecha fan who’s an engineer, when I think about what kind of people would like mecha I usually recall a high school classmate who was obsessed with cars and mecha anime and in particular the specs associated with both. I found it quite strange that anyone would actually care about “specs” for fictional robots, but I did think it actually explained a lot about mecha shows in general. I would imagine that being an engineer would make one more concerned with less superficial aspects of technology (i.e., not the fact that it’s a big humanoid). On the other hand, a lot of engineering people I’ve met have this weird Japan=robots fixation that seems just as silly to me.
>> “Patlabor, however, is science fiction for realists.”
I really do like Patlabor because of it. I like and get enthusiastic watching the show because the engineering of the Ingram. When you see mecha shows, basically the only use you can think (or watch) for them are military use generally (with some exceptions, but they are counted). This is not the case with Patlabor. You see labors doing construction, mechanical, agricultural, military … outlaws even use them (thats why they need mobile police). There are even some cool labors for everyday use (just for the pleasant of having one).
Robocop would be just a sophisticated mecha, hard to implement and very expensive against Ingram which seems more promising and real in the next days.
Gundams, evangelions and Nirvash…. mmm they are really out of space… but really cool.
It sounds like you and your brother would have really enjoyed Macross! Music and aircraft action galore makes for a good compromise.
@Crusader: By schlock I actually meant awful science fiction of the kind like They Came From Outer Space or cheesy B-Movie flicks where they don’t even follow their own set of rules and the main selling point is camp. I have nothing against military realism, I just think it’s a pipe dream when you look at anime. Few anime with the possible exception of Legend of The Galactic Heroes are ever going to have anything resembling military realism. That’s why I’m willing to make concessions and allow for a production to prove it’s own set of rules. Gundam for example never really broke it’s own set of rules for the way science works in it’s universe (except I guess 0083 which very arguably had a greater level of technology by it’s end then at the beginning of Zeta Gundam, and of course they got around that by claiming the research was sealed, which doesn’t explain the Neue Ziel since it was from Axis, but whatever) and to me that makes for good science fiction. Of course most people hate Gundam for some reason I’m not entirely aware of, possibly because it’s popular, but I like it and will continue to go on liking it as long as it does what I’ve described above.
So in short, to me good science fiction is that which establishes it’s universe and unique set of rules for technology and norms well and sticks to them, and bad science fiction is that which makes things up for plot convenience in such a way that frequently ignores established norms or never comes up again, or even worse, just for the sake of it being there. People are also free to chose where to suspend their disbelief of course.
And I do know a thing or two about tactics actually :
Oddly enough, Tomino’s approach with Gundam was to create a “realistic” robot series, and while I suppose Gundam is fairly realistic compared to most of the giant robot series that came before it, all of the individual series and timelines have their quirks. Gundam should be commended, however, for helping make “realistic” mecha both viable and popular. Now, if only Tomino were a better storyteller…
And, Kabitzin, it’s funny that you mention Macross, because it was my brother that introduced me to the series (in the bastardized form of Robotech, at least) when we were kids. We had previously been hooked on Space Battleship Yamato, so anime wasn’t anything new to me, but I think it was Robotech (the Macross portion) that really opened my eyes to the medium. I’m sure it’s also why I have a certain fondness for Macross, even to this day. I wonder what happened to my toy Valkyries? I’m sure they’re boxed up in my parents’ basement somewhere.
Lots of great comments, by the way. You guys are more familiar with the mecha genre than I am, so it’s very educational.
@Kaioshin
You forgot Gundam SEED Destiny, as a fumble…though feel free if you wish to say that it was a successful Hail Mary.
I don’t think military realism is a pipe dream if Toshokan Sensou can incorporate proper room clearing procedure, and “butcher and bolt” methods then is it so hard for a mobile suit to take cover or a adopt contemporary 4 man flights? Gundam 8th MS team was about as real as it got, and granted how that spirit has been lost it is not impossible if there is the will and effort to do it.
You say you know a thing or two about tactics, fair enough. Then precisely why did you gloss over the fatal flaw in Lulu’s last little gambit?
@Jeff Lawson
I don’t think that Robotech should be classified as a bastardized version of Macross, more like a surrogate Western child. From what little I recall about Robotech it wasn’t as awful as the adaptation of Escaflowne.
@Jeff: I think he always had some great ideas, but that he just cannot write dialogue to save his life. I think only he knows for sure what some of the lines that come out of the characters mouths really mean. Lots of short quips fired off at a rapid pace that just seem empty when you really step back to think about them. Though when he actually slows down his dialogue scenes you can get some pretty interesting metaphors and poetic speechs. All in all he’s a good storywriter before a storyteller. His Mobile Suit Gundam novel is a well put together piece for example and he’s created some fantastical worlds out nothing. It’s just he seems to struggle to get across exactly what point he’s trying to make with it all a lot of the time.
Tomino is a strange cookie. As seen in Turn A, he can produce some coherent and nice storytelling so there is some truth that he can actually write/direct/whatever.
Though, unfortunately, most of the earlier Gundams were done by him - well apparently he was in some sort of depression during that time and wasn’t really stable…kind of explains his attitude to most of his characters. The ones that weren’t done by him from Wing to SEED Destiny (I could barely tell which mech was which at times) weren’t particularly good though G Gundam was very enjoyable in a ‘Macross7-like’ way. Speaking of Gundam, I still want to see Gundam F91 animated as a true series not as a pretty crummy movie…really disappointing since I felt it was one of the more interesting ideas and F91 is just a cool mech to look at.
Though I must say I love VOTOMS from the Mecha Design to the story. Chirico Cuvie does amazing things with that Scopedog of his and has arguably more ‘hax’ than Kira Yamato of SEED fame. Perhaps it’s the fact he takes the fights in a mature/series manner (which is, unfortunately, pretty rare in a lot of Mecha series), but when he doesn’t seem annoying when he does things other pilots could only dream of doing.
I wonder if the success of mecha anime is partly down to merchandising - I’m always amazed at the sheer number of die-cast models (I envy your possession of the Macross ones!) and model kits that line store shelves and stalls at conventions.
I guess mecha is appealing to our inner child, the kid who was fascinated by How Stuff Worked on a technical level. Pretty-shiny things and cool looking explosions, in other words.
If it’s realism you’re after though, Gasaraki sums up the ‘bipedal tanks’ thing - you actually see the TAs walking, running and fighting alongside conventional military equipment; that and the political backstory makes it very realistic indeed. Sadly, many people will find it deathly dull.
I’ve never yet succeeded in getting into Gundam, but I’ve always loved what I’ve seen of the Macross franchise. I’m sure the transforming planes/mecha and the recurring ‘Music Saves’ are cheesy and contrived for some but I love it. More often than not I tune in for the drama and sweet love stories as much as the Valkyrie action.
I can write a lot on this topic, but I think it’s just things people already know.
I do have to say, however, fascination with machines is not where it’s at. The prototypical gearhead is a munchkin, and this expression comes out in various ways in anime, not just with robots.
In fact a lot of modern giant robot shows play on this, making them a giggle to watch.
Anyways. counting down till aria post…
It’s been a half hour already.
Sshhh, don’t jinx it.
The reason why moe and bishoujo game adaptions are getting popular is… counter-productive to human reproduction. So I’ll just say this much on that one. Those who are already addicted to moe or bishoujos will know why.
The truth hurts, but, hey. As Jeff as mentioned, the American anime licensing market is headed in the “right” direction so to speak.