Top 4 mecha shows
(I have always wanted to post Megazord here at least once)
Why only 4? Because I haven't seen more good ones so I'm still waiting that fifth one. Anyway, when I think about reasons why I avoid this genre few things come to mind. I also looked around why others don't like it, Hung for example complain about CG. For me that's not really the issue here. More than that, my dislike begins from the foundation of whole thing. Firstly, they are utterly boring regardless of their "coolness" factor. Maybe I have lost my inner boy and just want to be magical girl now, but I haven't found the exciting part yet. And secondly, it's still action. Always endless wars, I'm only interested in about real wars like WWII, not some fantasy where teenagers are best pilots in the whole world. But that's probably enough about the genre itself, following list is my top 4:
1. Kannazuki no Miko
Yeah, you read right. Though I have to say that mecha were the weakest part here, but rest of the anime was awesome and (unfortunately) they were there so that makes KnM awesome mecha anime. =)
2. Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
(It was hard to find anything without Chidori so just Tessa this time)
Seriously speaking though, I think TSR has best mecha battles that I have seen. Not sure if I should thank KyoAni, creator of the show or someone else, but it was fairly interesting. Short length also helped as 13 episodes didn't drag it too long, overall great entertainment. Scaled down with other shows this is still at the level of good shoujo that I watch 1-3 per season so these kind of things will never appeal to me properly.
3. Voices of a Distant Star
Quite good OVA. It has been some time from last viewing so can't really say that much. The relationship between main characters was well done and setting somewhat unusual.
4. Macross Zero
This is OVA too. Apparently original Macross was popular in the past, but I haven't seen it so hard to compare those two. As a individual series MZ felt decent, the beginning was good, but last few episodes were boring. Just watched those sake of finishing the OVA.
The rest
I have seen some raves about Eureka Seven and that series may be one of last stops before putting whole mecha genre on permanent hiatus. When I'm bored enough I may check it out (read: months before anything really happens).
posted by Anga at 4:52 PM
14 Comments:
Voices of a distant star is good. It doesn't focus on the mecha, and you can empathize with the plight of the characters, no matter if it's just fiction.
You should see the original Macross before you put the mecha genre into permanent hiatus. Just ignore Minmay. At least you'll have one classic mecha series under your belt, since judging from your stand on mecha, I don't think you'll be able to stomach Gundam. The first few episodes that I saw of the original were boring. :-)
Or if SDF Macross is too long, you should instead see Macross Plus. It's an OVA too, better than Macross Zero. And before I stop (since I'm already writing too much), Eureka 7 is also a good show, since the mecha is not the focus here too.
It's like Natto. Not for everyone.
Mecha is one of my favourite genre and I never miss a single mecha show.
While I enjoy watching realistic war movies/shows as well, the fantastic nature of mecha shows always appeal.
If you havent watched 08th MS Team, you have no right to slime mecha! That's your realistic war anime, with non-teenage pilots. Otherwise, MS Igloo is great too.
In fact, besides FMP, I think none of your top 4 even come remotely close to being the top 4 mecha anime.
Agreed - Gundam: 08 MS Team is probably one of the better ones, if only because the mecha show there manages to avoid MOST of the cliches (young pilot without training or minimal training gets super-powerful mecha, wins battles all by himself, etc), while keeping up an interesting story. Otherwise, some of the older stuff like Armored Trooper VOTOMS would perhaps be more to your taste, although it is looking a little aged now - its depiction of mecha is anything but super, sorta like Patlabor in a way (another series I'd recommend looking at).
hayase: No, not Gundam. =) And yeah, that's probably what I should look for. Mecha anime that doesn't focus entirely on robots, also shorter it's the better.
tj han: Sure I can slime mecha, I just did. =) When I think realistic war there is no mecha and that's why it's so hard to imagine them being there. Zipang is good example, everything there exist in the real world and I like it a lot.
Haesslich: I'm not sure if old stuff is good to watch right now, genre itself is already hard to chew.
Thanks for all comments and recommendations. I'll try to watch few episodes from all and emphasis on try. My current tolerance for boring stuff regarding mecha is very low, I think Eureka Seven would be best to start with. Those others titles seems to be quite "hardcore".
Why not RahXephon if you are looking for mecha-shows-without-focus-on-mecha? KnM is indeed an awesome show if you look past the horrid mecha...
Of course I meant, RahXephon TV, not that POS movie.
If you need a fifth great mecha show (or a first one,)I'd recommend Z Gundam, my personal favorite member of the Gundam series (and seems to rank highly on all polls regarding best anime shows and best of the Gundam series in Japan.)
The inclusion of KnM is leading me to believe that this post is some attempt at humor... right? KnM is watchable in its own rights but just does not belong on a mecha list when there are so many nicer mecha series out there.
Anyway I'll second the previous comments that you need to watch some more mecha like 08th MS, Patlabor, Votoms, and some of the other suggestions. I'd like to also suggest Gasaraki, Dai Guard, and Gun Parade March as some other mecha series worth looking into.
kacpy: Hmm, maybe. I just have way too much stuff already so may take some time.
nooneofconsequence: Well, as I said KnM isn't really on this list because of it's mecha merits...
I may need to watch more mecha shows, but the question is if I want to.
Where the heck is Macross Plus and RahXephon? Bah, rather crummy list if you ask me
I always wondered if everyone hated mecha-anime without realizing that the genre are mostly mainly geared towards targeting kids and not smarter, older fans who are looking for deeper storylines and better animation quality.
Well, same way people bash shoujo shows that are meant for kids, Kirarin Revolution is good example. And I have to disagree that mecha is just for kids, there are tons of seinen shows that I don't watch either.
RahXephon is certainly worth a look at. Also Zegapain is pretty good as well.
Both are far far better than any Gundam series I've ever seen.
I'm surprised nobody mentioned Vandread yet. That has to be one of the better mecha related series to come out in a while.
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