Mecha, also known as giant robot or simply robot, is a genre of anime and manga that feature mecha in battle.
Mecha series cover a wide variety of genres, from action to comedy to drama, and the genre has expanded into other media, such as video game adaptations. Mecha has also contributed to the popularity of scale .
History
The 1940 short
manga Denki Dako featured a powered, piloted, mechanical octopus.
The 1943 Yokoyama Ryūichi's propaganda manga Kagaku Senshi New York ni Shutsugensu featured a sword-wielding, steam-powered, giant humanoid mecha.
The first series in the mecha genre was Mitsuteru Yokoyama's 1956 manga Tetsujin 28, which was also released as an anime in 1963.
In 1972, Go Nagai defined the super robot genre with Mazinger Z, which was directly inspired by the former series.
By 1977, a large number of super robot anime had been created, including Brave Raideen and Danguard Ace.
1990 saw the release of Patlabor, an animated movie directed by Mamoru Oshii that popularized the mecha genre and aesthetic in the Western world.
The mecha anime genre (as well as Japanese kaiju films) received a Western homage with the 2013 film Pacific Rim directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Super robot
Some of the first mecha featured in manga and anime were "
super robots" (スーパーロボット
sūpā robotto).
The super robot genre features
superhero-like giant robots that are often one-of-a-kind and the product of an ancient civilization, aliens or a
mad scientist. These robots are usually piloted by Japanese
via
voice command or neural uplink, and are often powered by mystical or exotic energy sources.
Their abilities are described as "quasi-magical".
Real robot
The later
real robot (リアルロボット
riaru robotto) genre features robots that do not have mythical superpowers, but rather use largely conventional, albeit futuristic weapons and power sources, and are often mass-produced on a large scale for use in wars.
The real robot genre also tends to feature more complex characters with moral conflicts and personal problems.
The genre is therefore aimed primarily at young adults instead of children.
The genre has been compared to hard science fiction by its fanbase, and is strongly associated with sales of popular toy models such as
Gunpla.
One of the "founding fathers" of real robot design was Kunio Okawara, who started out working on Gundam and continued on to other real robot series such as Armored Trooper Votoms.
Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) is largely considered the first series to introduce the real robot concept and, along with The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982), would form the basis of what people would later call real robot anime.[10 commandments of Real robot, Gundam Sentinel introduction, Gundam workshop, Format ACG] In an interview with Yoshiyuki Tomino and other production crew members in the April 1989 issue of Newtype, about his views on the first Gundam anime that was not directed by him, he commented on the realism of the show, in which he sees the sponsors, Sunrise, as imaginary enemies of Gundam, since they did not accept a certain level of realism.[Newtype magazine, April 1989] Armored Trooper Votoms is viewed by Famitsu magazine as the peak of real-robot anime.[ famitsu news リアルロボットアニメの最高峰がスクリーンで蘇える！ 『装甲騎兵ボトムズ ペールゼン・ファイルズ 劇場版』 Peak of Real Robot anime on screen, Votoms movie.]
The concepts behind "real robots" that set it apart from previous robot anime are such as:
-
The robot is used as an industrial machine with arm-like manipulators and is manufactured by military and commercial enterprises of various nations.
[ Robot Watch SF seminar, April 29, 2007, Interview of Ryōsuke Takahashi The side of Real Robot (SFセミナー「高橋良輔インタビュー リアルロボットの向こう側」レポート)]
-
The concept of industrial production and commercial manufacturing processes appeared for the first time in the history of robot shows, introducing manufacturing language like "mass-production" (MP), "prototype" and "test-type".
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While classic super robots typically use special attacks activated by voice commands, real robots more commonly use manually operated scaled-up/advanced versions of infantry weapons, such as /, , melee weapons (, , etc.) and .
-
Real robots use mostly ranged weapons that require an ammunition supply.
[ Hatena keyword Hatena]
-
Real robots require periodic maintenance and are often prone to malfunction and break down, like real machines.
Types
Piloted
This ubiquitous subgenre features mecha piloted internally as vehicles. The first series to feature such mecha was Go Nagai's
Mazinger Z (1972). In a 2009 interview, Go Nagai claimed the idea came to mind when he was stuck in a traffic jam and wished his car could sprout arms and legs to walk over the cars in front.
Other examples include
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (1972),
Mobile Suit Gundam (1979),
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982), and
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (2007). There are series that have piloted mecha that are also in the sentient category, usually because of an AI system to assist and care for the pilot, as featured in
Blue Comet SPT Layzner (1985) and
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet (2013),
or going berserk because the mecha has biological aspects, as featured in
Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995).
Sentient
These are mecha that have the ability to be self-aware, think, and sometimes feel emotion. The source of sentience varies from aliens, such as the titular characters of American-produced and Japanese-animated series,
The Transformers (1984), to artificial intelligence or synthetic intelligence, such as the robots of
Dragon's Heaven (1988) and
Brave Police J-Decker (1994) to magic, such as Da-Garn of
The Brave Fighter of Legend Da-Garn (1992). The first series that featured a sentient giant robot, also the first mecha anime in color, was
Astroganger (1972).
Remote controlled
These are mecha that are controlled externally. The first mecha anime,
Tetsujin 28-go (1966), and
Giant Robo (1967) are famous examples.
Transforming
A transforming mech can transform between a standard vehicle (such as a fighter plane or transport truck) and a fighting mecha robot. The concept of transforming mecha was pioneered by Japanese mecha designer Shōji Kawamori in the early 1980s, when he created the
Diaclone toy line in 1980 and then the
Macross anime franchise in 1982. Some of Kawamori's most iconic transforming mecha designs include the VF-1 Valkyrie from the
Macross and
Robotech franchises, and
Optimus Prime (called Convoy in Japan) from the
Transformers and
Diaclone franchises. The concept later became more popular in the mid-1980s, with
(1984) and
Zeta Gundam (1985) in Japan, and with
Transformers (1984 adaptation of
Diaclone)
and
Robotech (1985 adaptation of
Macross) in the West.
Wearable
This refers to mecha that are powered exoskeletons rather than piloted as vehicles, such as in
Genesis Climber MOSPEADA (1983),
Bubblegum Crisis (1987) and
Active Raid (2016); merge with the mecha, such as in
Detonator Orgun (1991) &
The King of Braves GaoGaiGar (1997); combine with the robots, such as in
(1988); or become mechanical themselves, such as in
Brave Command Dagwon (1996) and
Fire Robo (2016).
Model robot
Assembling and painting mecha
scale model kits is a popular pastime among mecha enthusiasts. Like other models such as cars or airplanes, more advanced kits require much more intricate assembly.
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
Lego Exo-Force series.
See also
External links
