Mecha anime
Encyclopedia
Mecha
anime
cover all series that revolve around the use of piloted robotic armors in battle, which is broken down into two subcategories of Super Robot
and Real Robot
. Mecha series cover a wide variety of genres from comedy to drama, though are always fantastical and larger-than-life in nature and feature large-scale battles and/or action sequences. Mecha anime has contributed to a greater popularity of mecha and has expanded into other media, with manga
and video game adaptations, and has also contributed to the popularity of scale model robot
s.
Tetsujin 28-go
(which was later animated in 1963 and also released abroad as Gigantor
). Its inclusion is debatable however, as the robot was controlled by remote instead of a cockpit in the machine. Not long after that the genre was largely defined by author Go Nagai
, into something considerably more fantastical. Mazinger Z
, his most famous creation, was not only the first successful Super Robot
anime series, but also the pioneer of the genre staples like weapons that were activated by the hero calling out their names ("Rocket Punch!"). It was also a pioneer in die-cast
metal toys such as the Chogokin
series in Japan and the Shogun Warriors in the U.S., that were (and still are) very popular with children and collectors. Getter Robo
, for its part, was the first combining robot, something that became a frequent design theme and was aggressively imitated in similar mecha shows.
The appearance of Yoshiyuki Tomino
's Gundam
in 1979 is considered to have broken the mecha genre into two subsets: the Super Robot
show, which focused on ultratech mecha that often had elements of mysticism and tend to use a "monster of the week" format; and the Real Robot
show, in which the mecha are shown as tools rather than semi-mystical creations, and the focus is less on the machines and more on the pilots. The introduction of Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979 introduced a sort of plot paradox that would be revisited frequently in subsecuent Real Mecha anime productions: a war show about giant war machines that was in fact anti-war at heart.
Other notable series include but are by no means limited to The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
, which in its modified Robotech
form led to one of the breakthroughs of anime in the USA; Hideaki Anno
's Gunbuster
, which along with Macross and Gundam is considered the pinnacle of mecha anime in the 1980s; the police-focused Patlabor
, which acted as a homage to the light-hearted and courage-focused stories of the 80s in a time of mostly dramatic mecha series; and as examples of older shows, Go Lion
(Voltron) and Giant Robo
as well as Full Metal Panic. Macross was especially noteworthy as it showed mecha fighting under combined arms
tactics, ranging from the infantry Spartan MBR-07-II to the jet fighter VF-1 Valkyrie
and artillery Monster HWR-00-II.
One anime series that drew from the tradition of both super robot
and Real Robot
genres while being unique was Hideaki Anno
's Neon Genesis Evangelion. Considered by many to be the spiritual successor to Space Runaway Ideon
, Evangelion was highly successful and quite controversial, similar to its would-be predecessor. Another series, Kishin Heidan, is less well known outside Japan.
The mecha genre in anime is still alive and well as the new millennium came, with revival OVAs like Getter Robo: the Last Day, Diebuster
, Mazinkaiser
and Gurren Lagann from the Super Robot
tradition, the Gundam Seed, Gundam 00, Code Geass and Macross Frontier
series from the Real Robot
side, and Reideen
, a recent remake of the 1975 hit series Brave Raideen
.
Arguably, the concept of piloted mecha goes back decades before Tetsujin-28. The tripods
featured in The War of the Worlds, with advanced weaponry and dedicated piloting stations, are perhaps the forerunners of modern mecha.
More recent anime titles, such as Escaflowne and ZOIDS, introduce variant concepts to the mecha genre, such as organic mecha and upscaled mechanical animals and vehicles.
kits is a popular pastime among mecha enthusiasts. While many model kits are not produced for distribution to the West, foreign fans can acquire them through comic book shops or online retailers that cater to imports. Like other models such as cars or airplanes, more advanced kits require much more intricate assembly.
Others enjoy building Lego mecha, whether to reproduce existing designs or create their very own. Lego
mecha construction can present unique engineering challenges; the balancing act between a high range of motion, good structural stability, and aesthetic appeal can be difficult to manage. In 2006, the Lego Group released their own somewhat manga-inspired mecha line with the Exo-Force series.
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
cover all series that revolve around the use of piloted robotic armors in battle, which is broken down into two subcategories of Super Robot
Super Robot
is a term used in manga and anime to describe a giant robot or mecha, with an arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons, extreme resistance to damage unless the plot calls for it, sometimes transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles usually piloted by young, daring heroes,...
and Real Robot
Real Robot
is a genre of Japanese animation. The genre contains mecha robots that are powered by conventional power sources and weapons explainable by real world science, and that use ranged weapons and speed to survive battle situations....
. Mecha series cover a wide variety of genres from comedy to drama, though are always fantastical and larger-than-life in nature and feature large-scale battles and/or action sequences. Mecha anime has contributed to a greater popularity of mecha and has expanded into other media, with manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and video game adaptations, and has also contributed to the popularity of scale model robot
Model robot
Model robots is an area of modeling with its origin in the Japanese anime genre of mecha. The majority of model robots are produced by Bandai and are based on the Mobile Suit Gundam anime metaseries. This has given rise to the hobby's common name in Japan, Gunpla...
s.
History
The genre started with Mitsuteru Yokoyama's 1956 mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Tetsujin 28-go
Tetsujin 28-go
is a 1956 manga written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, who also created Giant Robo. The series centred on the adventures of a young boy named Shotaro Kaneda, who controlled a giant robot named Tetsujin 28, built by his late father....
(which was later animated in 1963 and also released abroad as Gigantor
Gigantor
Gigantor is an American adaptation of the anime version of Tetsujin 28-go, a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama released in 1956. It debuted on U.S. television in 1964. As with Speed Racer, the characters' original names were altered and the original series' violence was toned down for American viewers...
). Its inclusion is debatable however, as the robot was controlled by remote instead of a cockpit in the machine. Not long after that the genre was largely defined by author Go Nagai
Go Nagai
, better known by the penname , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi, but is best known for creating Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s. In 2005, he became a...
, into something considerably more fantastical. Mazinger Z
Mazinger Z
, known briefly as Tranzor Z in United States, is a Super Robot manga and anime series created by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later continued in Kodansha TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974. In...
, his most famous creation, was not only the first successful Super Robot
Super Robot
is a term used in manga and anime to describe a giant robot or mecha, with an arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons, extreme resistance to damage unless the plot calls for it, sometimes transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles usually piloted by young, daring heroes,...
anime series, but also the pioneer of the genre staples like weapons that were activated by the hero calling out their names ("Rocket Punch!"). It was also a pioneer in die-cast
Die-cast toy
The term die-cast toy here refers to any toy or collectible model produced by using the die casting method. The toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber or glass details. Wholly plastic toys are made by a similar process of injection moulding, but the two are rarely confused...
metal toys such as the Chogokin
Chogokin
is Japanese for "Super Alloy" and is a fictitious material which first appeared in Go Nagai's Mazinger Z manga and anime. It was later adopted by Popy in 1972 as the name of a new line of die-cast metal robot and character toys sold in Japan...
series in Japan and the Shogun Warriors in the U.S., that were (and still are) very popular with children and collectors. Getter Robo
Getter Robo
is a Super Robot manga series created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa, as well as an anime series produced by Toei Animation. The series was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 4, 1974 to May 8, 1975, with a total of 51 episodes.- Plot :...
, for its part, was the first combining robot, something that became a frequent design theme and was aggressively imitated in similar mecha shows.
The appearance of Yoshiyuki Tomino
Yoshiyuki Tomino
is a Japanese mecha anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art...
's Gundam
Gundam
The is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....
in 1979 is considered to have broken the mecha genre into two subsets: the Super Robot
Super Robot
is a term used in manga and anime to describe a giant robot or mecha, with an arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons, extreme resistance to damage unless the plot calls for it, sometimes transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles usually piloted by young, daring heroes,...
show, which focused on ultratech mecha that often had elements of mysticism and tend to use a "monster of the week" format; and the Real Robot
Real Robot
is a genre of Japanese animation. The genre contains mecha robots that are powered by conventional power sources and weapons explainable by real world science, and that use ranged weapons and speed to survive battle situations....
show, in which the mecha are shown as tools rather than semi-mystical creations, and the focus is less on the machines and more on the pilots. The introduction of Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979 introduced a sort of plot paradox that would be revisited frequently in subsecuent Real Mecha anime productions: a war show about giant war machines that was in fact anti-war at heart.
Other notable series include but are by no means limited to The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
is an anime television series. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war....
, which in its modified Robotech
Robotech
Robotech is an 85-episode science fiction anime adaptation produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. and first released in the United States in 1985...
form led to one of the breakthroughs of anime in the USA; Hideaki Anno
Hideaki Anno
is a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. His style has come to be defined by the touches of postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions,...
's Gunbuster
Gunbuster
Gunbuster, known in Japan as is a six episode anime OVA series created by Gainax in 1988. It was the directorial debut of Hideaki Anno, best known as the director of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The title is a combination of the titles of classic tennis anime Aim for the Ace!, whose plot inspired...
, which along with Macross and Gundam is considered the pinnacle of mecha anime in the 1980s; the police-focused Patlabor
Patlabor
Patlabor also known as , is an anime and manga franchise created by Headgear, a group consisting of director Mamoru Oshii, writer Kazunori Itō, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, character designer Akemi Takada, and manga artist Masami Yūki.The popular franchise included a manga, a TV series, two OVA...
, which acted as a homage to the light-hearted and courage-focused stories of the 80s in a time of mostly dramatic mecha series; and as examples of older shows, Go Lion
Voltron
Voltron is the titular super robot of an anime series that features a team of young pilots, known as the Voltron Force. The team’s individual vehicles join together to form the giant super robot, with which they defend the galaxy from evil...
(Voltron) and Giant Robo
Giant Robo
is an original video animation series written and directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa , and inspired by Mitsuteru Yokoyama's manga series of the same name....
as well as Full Metal Panic. Macross was especially noteworthy as it showed mecha fighting under combined arms
Combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different branches of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects...
tactics, ranging from the infantry Spartan MBR-07-II to the jet fighter VF-1 Valkyrie
VF-1 Valkyrie
This article is about a fictional vehicle; for the fighter squadron see VF-1.In the fictional Macross Japanese anime series and its English adaptation Robotech, the first mass-produced variable fighter or veritech fighter is called the VF-1 Valkyrie.-Background:The VF-1 was created by the...
and artillery Monster HWR-00-II.
One anime series that drew from the tradition of both super robot
Super Robot
is a term used in manga and anime to describe a giant robot or mecha, with an arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons, extreme resistance to damage unless the plot calls for it, sometimes transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles usually piloted by young, daring heroes,...
and Real Robot
Real Robot
is a genre of Japanese animation. The genre contains mecha robots that are powered by conventional power sources and weapons explainable by real world science, and that use ranged weapons and speed to survive battle situations....
genres while being unique was Hideaki Anno
Hideaki Anno
is a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. His style has come to be defined by the touches of postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions,...
's Neon Genesis Evangelion. Considered by many to be the spiritual successor to Space Runaway Ideon
Space Runaway Ideon
is a 1980 anime television series produced by Sunrise.-Production:Ideon was created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, and was the series he produced immediately following his most famous work, Mobile Suit Gundam....
, Evangelion was highly successful and quite controversial, similar to its would-be predecessor. Another series, Kishin Heidan, is less well known outside Japan.
The mecha genre in anime is still alive and well as the new millennium came, with revival OVAs like Getter Robo: the Last Day, Diebuster
Diebuster
Diebuster, known in Japan as is a six episode anime Original Video Animation series created by Gainax in 2004.The first episode was aired on October 3, 2004, while the final episode was released on August 14, 2005. A movie, officially titled retells and recaps the end of the first Gunbuster OVA...
, Mazinkaiser
Mazinkaiser
is an anime OVA series, inspired by Go Nagai's Mazinger series. The OVA follows Kouji Kabuto, Tetsuya Tsurugi and the rest of the "Mazinger Team" as they fight against Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts....
and Gurren Lagann from the Super Robot
Super Robot
is a term used in manga and anime to describe a giant robot or mecha, with an arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons, extreme resistance to damage unless the plot calls for it, sometimes transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles usually piloted by young, daring heroes,...
tradition, the Gundam Seed, Gundam 00, Code Geass and Macross Frontier
Macross Frontier
is a Japanese animated science fiction space drama that aired in Japan on MBS from April 3, 2008 to September 25, 2008. It is the most recent Japanese anime television series set in the Macross universe. Animated by Satelight, premiered Japan on MBS on April 3, 2008...
series from the Real Robot
Real Robot
is a genre of Japanese animation. The genre contains mecha robots that are powered by conventional power sources and weapons explainable by real world science, and that use ranged weapons and speed to survive battle situations....
side, and Reideen
Reideen
is a Japanese animated television series remake of the 1975 Super Robot anime Brave Reideen. It was produced by Production I.G and directed by Mitsuru Hongo. Which was originally broadcast on the satellite network WOWOW in 2007....
, a recent remake of the 1975 hit series Brave Raideen
Brave Raideen
is a super robot anime series. Produced by Tohokushinsha, Asahi News Agency and Sunrise, it aired on NET from 4 April 1975 to 26 March 1976, with a total of 50 episodes...
.
Arguably, the concept of piloted mecha goes back decades before Tetsujin-28. The tripods
Tripod (The War of the Worlds)
Tripods or fighting-machines are a type of fictional three-legged walker from the H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel The War of the Worlds, used by Martians to invade Earth.-Novel:...
featured in The War of the Worlds, with advanced weaponry and dedicated piloting stations, are perhaps the forerunners of modern mecha.
More recent anime titles, such as Escaflowne and ZOIDS, introduce variant concepts to the mecha genre, such as organic mecha and upscaled mechanical animals and vehicles.
Scale models
Assembling and painting mecha scale modelScale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
kits is a popular pastime among mecha enthusiasts. While many model kits are not produced for distribution to the West, foreign fans can acquire them through comic book shops or online retailers that cater to imports. Like other models such as cars or airplanes, more advanced kits require much more intricate assembly.
Others enjoy building Lego mecha, whether to reproduce existing designs or create their very own. Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
mecha construction can present unique engineering challenges; the balancing act between a high range of motion, good structural stability, and aesthetic appeal can be difficult to manage. In 2006, the Lego Group released their own somewhat manga-inspired mecha line with the Exo-Force series.
See also
- List of fictional mecha
- BattleMechsBattleMechsBattleMechs are large walking war machines that feature prominently in the fictional universe of BattleTech...
- powered armour (note, PA are simply mechanical suits, however they are quite like Mechs)
External links
- Gears Online
- Brickshelf Lego mecha galleries
- Mecha Anime HQ: Extensive coverage on Gundams and other mecha.