Mecha anime thread.
 

Real Robot or Super Robot, let's talk about it.

I am still trying to figure out the.....trick to liking Gundam 00 and why people go on about it being so awesome, every time I try to "like the malodrama" and put up with all the iraq war commentary, I just end up going off and watching a good Gundam series (like G Gundam, Gundam X, Turn A, F91, Victory, etc.)

Who know what was great? Gundam X. Remember when the Gundam pilots were likable characters? Peppridge Farm Remembers. I mean, Garrod could like kill any of the Gundam Meisters by just yelling with his hotblood and courage at them.

Just nowadays even Macross is pretty bad, too. Macross Frontier just seems so awful, Ranka should have never became an important character, and Sheryll really isn't much of a imporovement from Minmay, I realise I'm comparing them to a pretty harsh Barometer. (Basara and his 100 percent sucess rate of awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ6mNzAnHh0) but it's just not them, most of the characters just seem so bad compared to past series, Klan Klan in particular is painful. and Alto and the rest of the Valkyrie polots aren't really comparable to the likes of Kinryu(I'LL SHOW YOU MY LOVE HEART!) Gamlin (GAMLIN KICK!) Guld, Isamu, Roy Fokker, Hikaru, Max, etc.

I just want to know what the hell happened to real robots, and why Super Robot production has slowed down, there is Bonen no Xamdou, but I don't have a PS3. :( Hurry up Z Mazinger!

In b4 Gurren Lagann.

I've always been really partial to Vision of Escaflowne. It's aged well and a mech that turns into a fully functional dragon is rad.

Yea. I dont like the newer Gundams. The actual mechs are way cooler now, but the characters are lame.

Also, Duo + Deathscythe Hell Custom > Garrod + Gundam XX

Id also say the SRW anime is good, but it isnt. Kickass mechs, but the show is a tragedy.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lag- Goddammit.

In other words, Macross Frontier sucks by the virtue of being Macross Frontier. Which I agree with.

Code Geass could be considered a mecha show by a big stretch. It's still shitty and stupid and I love it because of it.

I just finished watching Eureka Seven last week. While I enjoyed it and it quickly became my second favourite anime (EVAR), I felt that the third arc lost a lot of the oomph it had been carrying from episode ten. This, plus the disjointed nature of the first and second half of the series, make it feel very weird. The main story (Renton/Eureka) is crafted perfectly, but all the plot points regarding the Coralians and the past of the planet is never explained well, and only in passing instance. The last ten episodes or so make up for it (some of the best thing I've ever seen in the medium), but it really renders a great masterpiece into something not so iconic. I will still remember it for years to come.

I'm watching Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0: YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE in a few hours. It finally got subbed. Let's see how that comes out.

Wanna know what Mecha Anime was awesome?

MOTHER FUCKING GAD GUARD!!!

Oh yeah, you recommended it to me. Too bad I'm watching Yakitate!! Japan instead of it. Cause Yakitate!! Japan is the shit. It's funny, full of puns and afros, and pseudo-educational. Plus, it makes me feel hungry after each episode.

Mars Daybreak is another anime by Bones. It's basically pirates with submarines and underwater mecha. It's a fun adventure story, but there's no real epic tale to be told.

Megas XLR is a great show to try to spot all the anime references. Hell, it's a great show by itself.

This does not sum up Macross Frontier at all. But it's fun to listen to.

Apparently, there's an Armored Core anime that's supposed to come out eventually, though I haven't seen much on that.

GAD GAURD! GAD GUARD! WATCH IT!!!!!!!!!!111111!!11!1!11!
I alsop really enjoyed Outlaw Star, but its not really a mech anime, despite the ship with arms being a major focus. Its still bitchin though.

Since TTGL has already been listed, and even even Gad Guard got a nod before I could say something...

The King of Braves GaoGaiGar is a very good entry for the super robot genre.

Also, Dai-Guard. You might like it. Very political in some parts.

GA GA GA GA GAO GAI GAR

Catchy song that.

I found GaoGaiGar had started off well but was starting to get a little formulaic but then the big showdown with Pasder and the four Machine Kings happened. So epic!

And then the Primevals show up and King J-Der and his space orchestra and things get more epic. I'm not all the way through the season yet though unfortunately.

To summarise what GaoGaiGar is like, the titular mecha is a super robot created by combining a cyborg (Guy) with a alien robot lion which then combines in a fusion of a final nature with a stealth bomber, a bullet train and a drill tank.

Now as a further example, GaoGaiGar's finishing move was putting too much strain on Guy seeing how many Zonders he had to blow up with it and so they invented an even more powerful giant golden hammer (the Goldion Hammer) to replace it.

But the hammer was too awesome, damaging GaoGaiGar when they used it. So they built a robot that turns into a tank that turns into a hand in order to safely wield it!

Don't even get me started on the police car ninja, symmetrical docking, the equip tools or President Taiga.

Something else I loved was for quite a while the good guys clearly had the upper hand. The Zonderians would try some cunning plan but then GaoGaiGar would eventually turn up and completely mop the floor with their giant monster of the week.

Hmm, is that Rebuild of Evangelion any good? I've been a bit curious about it myself.

Oh, that reminds me. On TV Tropes, under a section on reversing gender roles in stories I ran across the theory that Evangelion well... let me quote:
I watched that video... I never realised how girly Shinji was.