Five Favourite Mecha Shows that does not have "Gundam" or "Macross" in their titles!

Hi everyone! I have given some thoughts on how to improve my blog and instead of doing reviews for current shows, why don't I give some recommendations for completed series? As you can tell from the title, I will be talking about one of my favourite sub genre which is the Mecha genre or some will call it "Robot Anime"

Don't get me wrong from the title. Gundam and Macross actually make many changes to the Mecha genre but it will be too easy to name any of the Gundam and Macross series in this list as there is a whole chunk of them.

So I present you five of my favourite Mecha shows in no particular order and this is not an official list but these are the shows I will watch it again and again. Also these shows are shows that I finished watching it so don't expected me to watch every mecha shows that come out now or then. (I will get a burnout if that happened)

Gunbuster: or it's actual title-Toppu o Nerru is a 6 episode OVA series created by Hideki Anno. Before Hideki went all coco puffs on Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gunbuster is a story of two young girls who inspired to become space pilots to battle the oncoming aliens race simply known as Space Monsters.

Noriko is the naive and hard working girl who looked upon the talented and beautiful senior Kasumi however both girls faced different trials like Noriko trying her best to become a pilot despite lacking of talents and Kasumi who is in love with their instructor, Ohta and the fear of losing him due to Ohta's terminal illness.

Gunbuster doesn't even make an appearance until episode 5 when Noriko took upon herself to pilot it after an attack by the Space Monsters. This show also deal with the Space Time Dilation as the Space Monsters are hiding far in the galaxy, the crew travel further away from Earth which results in a difference of time displacement. For the crew, it was only 6 months in space but 10 years has passed on Earth.

Noriko and Kasumi finally accepted the responsibility of protecting Earth despite Ohta's passing and Noriko losing the people she care about back on Earth. They travelled into the heart of the universe to destroy all the Space Monsters after 12000 years has passed on Earth.

For the girls, it was only a few hours after the final battle and they wondered if the Earth survived or does anyone remember them. When they finally approached Earth, the two girls saw something unbelievable that it had remained one of the best memorable scenes in Anime history.

Overall, this is one of the shows I recommend despite a slow start and Gunbuster doesn't appeared until later. But the finale was worth watching for this 6 episode OVA.

Shin Getta Robo-The Last Days of Earth: I love Getta Robo since it was the pioneer for creating the combiner robots for similar shows. Even Transformers was influenced to have combiner robots like Devastor in their shows so you have to thank Getta Robo for that.

Shin Getta Robo was actually a previous idea created by Getta Robo creators-Nagai Go and Ishikawa Ken for the 4th Super Robot Wars game for Playstation 1 however not much lore was given to Shin Getta although it did make an appearance in Getta Robo GO manga but not in animated form.

When it was announced that Shin Getta Robo is getting a 13 episode OVA series, I can't wait for it to come. What came was both shocking and confusion after watching it. As a young teen, I didn't really understand some of the changes like Lead Pilot, Ryoma is voiced by Ishikawa Hideo and not Kamiya Akira (Who is one of my favourite voice actor of all time) and why there is a focus on newcomers Go, Kei and Gai in the second half of the series?

Now as an adult and re watching again, it actually make sense for the changes. Ryoma in the manga is completely different from Ryoma in the original 1974 anime. Manga Ryoma is a hardcore and almost deranged psychopath that he is the perfect candidate for Getta Robo which feed on instinct and rage.

Furthermore, the OVA already started off with Ryoma being framed for murder of Getta's creator, Dr Saotome and when he was released to kill a revived Saotome later in the episode, his first words to Saotome was to send him back to hell. (Ryoma is totally crazy in that scene but it was awesome)

What came was a great series that make Shin Getta one of the most crazed robots with over the top action and an epic story from start to finish. I won't spoil the ending but Shin Getta has become such a fan favourite that it remind a staple character in every Super Robot Wars game after that.

Shin Mazinger Impact! Z Chapter: If Getta Robo was the pioneer who started the combining robots then Mazinger is the one who started the Super Robot Genre. After close to 40 years, Mazinger's main core story still remind the same unlike Getta Robo.

However Shin Mazinger actually rebooted the lore of Mazinger and give it a more epic back story on why Mazinger is the father of all Super Robots. With Akabane Kenji replacing Ishimaru Hiroya as the voice of Kabuto Kouji after nearly 40 years, Mazinger started off pretty weird with a single night for Mazinger's debut battle to last for nearly the first 8 episodes!

But after that, little info were spread out here and there though out the series about the connection between Mazinger, the Kabuto Family and the Mycenaeans which is an ancient civilization that series villain, Dr Hell reverse-engineered their technology to create his mechanical beasts.

Furthermore, the series also paid tribute to Go Nagai's other series like Violence Jack, Dai Maou Dante and even Energer Z which is a prototype story before Mazinger was created. The battles were fierce and epic which Kouji not just have to battle Dr Hell and his mechanical Beasts but even battle Satan himself. (No, Seriously!) Guess which God did Mazinger was based on? 

The only flaw the show has was the ending which was left hanging as the anime studio that was responsible declared bankrupt as such no sequel was done. However Nagai Go did Shin Mazinger Zero which is another retelling and it has one of the most epic final battles that it is a love letter to fans of Mecha shows in general.

From left to right: Tamaki, Asagi, Izuru, Kei and Ataru

Majestic Prince: If there is one thing that Mecha shows taught us, it was Super Robots shows are colorful, over the top and pilots who are more hot blooded and optimistic. Real Robots shows tend to be more realistic, have darker themes and pilots who sometime throw a fit for no reason.

But here come a little show called Majestic Prince that is technically a Real Robot show but this rag tag team of pilots and crew members are people that I want to get along with! Basically five pilots (Izuru, Asagi, Kei, Tamaki and Ataru) from MJP academy are the worst team to perform in combat and everyone shun them.

However the five pilots codenamed Team Rabbits were given the chance of a lifetime to pilot state of the arts mecha called AHSMB to assist in the evacuation of a military base during an alien invasion. However Izuru saw civilians who were unable to evacuate decided to take the leap to defend them and his teammates follow suit.

Soon the five of them were nicknamed "Majestic Prince" in the media and the team learn to work together with their supporting staffs and discovering the aliens' true motives.

Sounds pretty standard for a mecha show but what make this show enjoyable was the cast of characters with Izuru who is an amateur artist who dream of being a hero, Asagi who get a stomach upset whenever he is nervous, Kei who has a sweet tooth but is horrible in making sweets, Tamaki who goes after any hot looking guy and weapons geek Ataru who can't stop talking about any awesome weapons lying around.

The five of them compliment each other and they don't get upset or emotional like most teens do. Furthermore, their supporting staff which include a sexy lollipop sucking female captain and a busty chief mechanic was always fun to watch.

Although the show started off slowly in the early episodes but once the main plot is revealed, everything is shifted to overdrive and it is non-stop to the end. Furthermore, there is an extra episode that bridge the conclusion of the TV series to the movie which is a continuation from where they left off. If you want a mecha show that doesn't take itself too seriously, I will highly recommended Majestic Prince as a good Real Robot show.

Gravion and Gravion Zwei: If Majestic Prince is a love letter to Real Robots then Gravion is a love letter to Super Robots.

Created by Obari Masami, (The guy who draw his Super Robots like hot sexy humans!) Gravion is the story of Eiji who is searching for his missing elder sister, Ayaka who was last working with the mysterious Mr Sandman. Eiji discovered Sandman has created a task force called Gran Divas to deal with the upcoming alien invasion by the Zeravire who started attacking Earth.

From Far left to right: Leele, Eina, Luna, Mizuki, Eiji and Touka 

Eiji was thrust by Sandman to join Gran Divas and piloted 1/6 of a super robot named Gravion together with Main Core Pilot and slightly dense Touka, Tsundere Luna, Timid Maid Eina, Sexy Lady Mizuki and Quiet Leele.

Every episode played like a typical Super Robot episode with a monster of the week with a better budget. The combined sequence in every episode is also paying tribute to 70s and 80s combined robots shows and a new weapon appearing every episode. (You wonder why there was never a toy on Gravion till this day since it will make a perfect toy for collectors?)

Despite all the silliness and over the top moments, the show also has it's serious and deep moments especially for Eiji's search for his sister and Sandman's true identify and motives. The sequel, Gravion Zwei which continue from the first season also gave some more back stories from the various characters and how the Earth governments aren't going to let Gravion take all the credits.

However unlike Majestic Prince's governments who are run by stubborn men, the Earth government finally respected Gravion and they actually work together in the finale. Overall, a highly underrated Super Robots show (Sure, it has fan service) but a near perfect Super Robot show in my opinion.

That's five of my favourite Mecha shows. Sure, there are other Mecha shows that I recommended but these are the ones that I will watch it over again. If you have a chance, take a look at these shows and if you want me to do a similar topic like this one, leave a comment. Until then, see you in the next post!

Spring 2016 Anime Preview: Super Heroes? Delta Formation!? Objection!!!

Hello everyone! This is my preview for the upcoming Spring anime 2016 which begin this April! (Some of the series synopsis are taken from other sources)

Gyakuten Saiban: Also known as Phoenix Wright-Ace Attorney in the West, the popular handheld video game by Capcom is finally getting it's own animated series! Phoenix Wright or Naruhodou Ryuuichi is a rookie attorney who get involved of all sort of weird cases but somehow he is able to turn the tables (by dumb luck) to prove his client's innocence and reveal the real criminals!

Mayoiga: 30 men and women arrived in this strange village of Nanakimura which hold a dark secret that is connected to everyone of them...

Gakusen Toshi Asterisk 2nd Season: 2nd season of the hyper school fighting show.

Endride: One day, Shun Asanaga, an ordinary yet positive and bright 15-year-old middle school boy who lived in the "Land Above" lands in this place. He had discovered a mysterious crystal at his scientific businessman father's company, and the moment he touched the crystal, he was transported to Endra. He meets Prince Emirio, who strongly despises the current King Deruzain and had just turned 16 at Endra's castle.

Kidou Senshi Gundam Unicorn RE:0096: If you miss the first time watching the OVA series of Gundam Unicorn, here is your chance to watch it again with a new opening and ending sequence!

Boku no Hero Academia: Izuku lived in a world where super heroes exist and inspired to become one despite having no powers. But when he met All Mighty-the greatest hero in the city, All Mighty granted Izuku some of his powers and enrolled him to the Hero Academy where they teach future super heroes...

Macross Delta: 8 years passed after the events of Macross Frontier and a new breed of VF fighters and Macross Singers will soar the skies again!

Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou - The Last Song: 2nd season about an alternative Japan where super powered beings exist and how a world conspiracy threaten them and the entire world.

Kuma Miko: The unlikely friendship between a Shrine Miko, Machi and a talking bear deity named Kuma.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Crystal-Death Busters Arc: The third chapter in the Sailormoon series which introduced the remaining Outer Senshi-Uranus, Neptune and Saturn.

Bakuon!!: Sakura Hane is a high school student who looks a little bit like an airhead. On the way to her all-female high school one day, she is worn-out climbing a hilly road with a bicycle, but she sees a girl named Onsa Amano who is riding a motorcycle. Sakura immediately becomes interested in motorcycles, and she and Onsa join the motorcycle club at the school.

Seisen Cerberus: Ryuukoku no Fatalite: A power balance between the Holy Kingdom of Amoria, the Kingdom of Ishilfen, and the Vanrodis Kingdom keeps a peace so unstable that any tragedy that befalls any one kingdom will mean war for the entire continent.

Hundred: The "Ultimate school battle action" science-fiction comedy begins with the Hundred, the only weapon that can counter the mysterious Savage life form attacking Earth.

Joker Game: Set before World War 2, ten youths were given a chance to serve their country by becoming spies for enemy countries and the tragedies that unfold..

Sousei no Onmyouji: From the author of Binbougami come a dark action series of two people, Rokuro and Benio who are destined to become the Twin Stars Exorcists however both of them have a dark past and they can't get along since they are also destined to get married...

Onigiri: Based on the MMORPG game of the same name.

Bungou Stray Dogs: Nakajima Atsushi was kicked out of his orphanage and now he has no place to go. While he is standing by a river, he rescues a man whimsically attempting suicide. That man is Dazai Osamu, and he and his partner Kunikida are members of a very special detective agency.

Aikatsu Stars: A new season based on the Aikatsu series.

Unhappy: The story centers around class 1-7 of Tennogofune Academy, where all the students with "bad karma" or misfortune seem to have been gathered

Kuromukuro: A Samurai from the past accidentally awaken in future Japan where he is connected to a mecha called Kuromukuro...

Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta: Hideki Nishimura had a terrible experience where he confessed his feelings to a female avatar who happened to be a male player. One day, a female player named Ako Tamaki confessed her feelings to him and Hideki decided to help here since she has lost all sense of reality...

Koutetsujou no Kabaneri: Samurai vs Zombies in a Steampunk era? Best Mash up ever!

Shounen Maid: Chihiro Komiya lost his parents recently and his uncle took him in. Chihiro happened to be very good with household chores and his uncle decided to allow him to stay if he become the house maid!

Kyoukai no Rinne 2nd Season: 2nd season of Rumiko humor about Rinne, a Shingami who happened to be in poverty and Mamiya who can see spirits on an everyday basics.

Kiznaiver: The story takes place in a fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City. One day, Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira: "You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver." The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his.

Hai-Furi: Japan, 100 years after plate subduction caused many other countries to be submerged. To save the remaining countries, the coastal cities that had been built up were launched into the seas, and the seaborne routes between them expanded. With this expansion, a need for personnel that could safeguard the seas arose.

Flying Witch: 15 years old Makoto Kowata is a witch. She left Yokohama with Chito, her black cat, to live in the house of her relatives in Aomori and continue her training as a witch.

Sansha Sanyou: The story follows the everyday life of three very different high school students, all of whom have the kanji for "leaf" in their name.

Big Order: The story centers on an introverted high school student named Eiji Hoshimiya who has a huge secret -he wished for the destruction of the world when he was younger.

Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai: After Kujo Jotaro defeated Dio Brando in the previous series, Josuke Higashikata, a relative of the Kujo family was also given Stand powers and togther with his friends, a new chapter of the Jojo series begin!

Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu: After leaving a convenience store, high school student Subaru Natsuki is summoned away to another world. He meets a silver-haired girl who saves him from death. But their alliance is soon cut short when they're both suddenly killed. Subaru awakens once more in the new world and learns he holds "Returns by Death," a power that allows him to rewind time through his demise. He vows to save the girl with his power.

Sakamoto desu ga: Meet Sakamoto, the most awesome high school student you even want to have! If you have a problem, he has the solution!

Sword Gai: The story revolves around Gai, who was born beside a woman who met her death in a forest. He was adopted by the sword smith Amon. A few years later, Gai becomes Amon's apprentice, and during the forging of a sword, he loses his right arm. To help him, Amon crushes the demon sword Shiryū to form it into Gai's replacement right arm. Gai then is able to fuse with the weapon on his arm, and fights against his enemies.

Terra Formars: Revenge: 2nd season of a group of warriors racing against time to defeat the mutated cockroaches creatures called Terraformars on the planet Mars.

Ushio to Tora 2nd Season: The 2nd season which chronicles the final battles between Tora and Ushio and the mysterious Hakumen no Mono.

Wagamama High Spec: The story revolves around Kōki Narumi, a high school student who also draws a manga serialized in a weekly magazine. Because the manga he draws is a risqué romantic comedy, he keeps this fact a secret from everyone around him.

I am looking forward to Phoenix Wright since I really enjoyed the plot twist and interesting characters in the game. Macross Delta and Boku no Hero Academia are shows that I am also looking forward to. For new IP series, Kuromukuro and Koutetsujou no Kabaneri are two Samurai related shows that I will probably enjoy since Samurai shows are usually very good. The rest of the series of course, I have to watch it first before deciding if it is good or not. Until then, see you in April 2016 for the new shows!

DIGI NEWS: Super Robots Wars UX, Macross 30 and Project Versus J

We have three big new titles for the first half of 2013! First Super Robots Wars UX will be in Nintendo 3DS and the line up is probably the most strangest line up this time around. We have DemonBane, Wing of Rean, Mazinkaiser SKL, Gundam 00 the movie, Heroman, SD Gundam Brave Battlers Warriors, Linebarrels of Iron and Hatsune Miku in a Virtual-ON Fei Yen?

So the big three characters-Nu Gundam, Mazinger and Getta are taking a back seat which is not a bad thing but seriously who want to see Gundam Seed Destiny and Dancougar Nova again? Anyway the graphics look similar to the Nintendo DS counterpart although there will be voices and animation cut-in scenes which is a good thing. It will be out March 14 2013 on Nintendo 3DS.

Next year is Macross 30th anniversary and to celebrate the occasion, a new PS3 game titled Macross 30 will united all the characters from every series in a dream battle on a strange alien world (Think Another Century Episode R but with only the Macross series)

Not just that, there will be new Valkyies jets to pilot on and an original story which will explain why the characters are brought here. I am surprised that Mari Iijima who did Lynn Mynmei returned to join the cast although I don't see Roy Fooker's seiyuu-The Great Kamiya Akira reprising his role.

The game will be out Feburary 28 2013 on PS3.

Also celebrating will be Shouen Jump Magzine which turns 45 year old next year! They also will be doing a special crossover fighting game titled Project Versus J. The screenshots show Goku, Luffy and Toriko battling it out.

Shouen Jump has already started a polling contest for fans as they want to know who they want to be in this game. It doesn't matter if the character is a male or female or is not a fighter type. For me, I want Gintoki, Sabea Ryo, Kenshiro, Seiya and the entire female cast of To Love Ru! If they bring back Ayukawa Madoka from Orange Road, my life is complete! (Yeah, I am a old school lover!)

No date has been announced but it will be out on the PS3 and PS Vita! So Western fans who couldn't play Jump Super Stars or Ultimate Stars will be rejoin for this new game!

Another Century Episode: Re: birth for PS3

I just bought this game recently and I like to share my review about it.

When I first saw the trailer a few months back, I was blown away by it. Aquarion using Mugen punch on a giant mother ship, VF-25 posing in a kabuki style, Lancelot skating through enemy fires. Did this game deliver when I got it? Yes and No.

Yes. Because it is the first one for PS3 and most of it are from the 2000s Anime series which most people knew today. Code Geass, Macross Frontier, Full Metal Panic, Gundam Seed Destiny (Sorry, no double O) are in the line up with fan favourites like Zeta Gundam and King Gainer. Many fans were surprised that even Banpresto own creations-Super Robot Wars: Original Generations was a last minute line up! Maybe they are trying to promo the new series that is coming up this Autumn. The story is a typical crossover as it involve parallel dimensions and everyone got struck in an alien planet, Nuff' said. But it is nice for graphics but don't expect a FF13 scenery. It has it's own style and come on, it's their first game on a next generation console. Maybe they might push it better in the next sequel.

Now the Bad part. If you use to playing the old series of ACE, I suggest you can throw everything out of the window as it is a different ball game. It took me like four stages to figure what is going on and I still got a game over trying to protect my mother ship. The booster is really a booster but if you can't control it, you might end up hitting a wall or miss your target. Special attacks are now called tensions which can be raised up depends on the units. But somehow, I still don't quite understand it...hmm, maybe need to try out more. The money and skill points are use to upgrade both the units and pliots. This is a new addition to the series as previously, the points are use only to upgrade units and weapons. Well, since the main weapons have infinite
ammo..why not?

Every unit is play different which is both a good and bad thing. Like the Gundam units, they are good in almost anything. However not all of them can fly which is bad especially the first half of the game where most of time, you are on the ground and enemy units are flying around like houseflies! Macross units are good in their multi lock on but their fighter mode is really bad. I mean, it is worse than flying in F-15 from the PS1 Top Gun game! Come on, these are the people who make great flight simulations in the Ace Combat series, why couldn't they use the same physics in here? Maybe they are focusing too much of Ranka Lee Singing each time she do her trademark wink.

Overall the game is a good effort but trying a little bit too hard on the new system. Anyway I give them credit for trying and hope they can clear all the problems in the next sequel.