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!

Quick Picks: Gatchaman Crowds Ep 11, Fantasista Doll Ep 11, Majestic Prince Ep 24 FINAL, The World God Only Knows S3 Ep 12 FINAL

Gatchaman Crowds Ep 11: The battle rages on as the Gatchaman tried their best to immoblise the Neo Hundred. Rui managed to take back control of Souzai X and able to aid the people using the GALAX app.

Sugayama was preached by Hajime and he went online with a written script. He got pissed off over the comments that he decided meet the people in public. He went live trying to convince people not to fleet the city. But Berg Katze hacked the system and disgused as Sugayama. He told everyone now to press the C button on their app to become the CROWDS...

Actually the first half of this episode was more of the G-team talking of how Hajime has influenced them while the second half was more of the less the same as the previous episode. The only plot now is Berg Katze has tricked everyone into becoming CROWDS which is of course a trap! With one more episode to go, can the Gatchaman save the city and defeat Berg Katze!?

Fantasista Doll Ep 11: Komachi activated a command which revive the dolls' memories. They were formally Komachi's dolls which got Uzume worried. Later, Rafflesia and the others began to tell them what the dolls were originally for.

The dolls were given to various people hoping they could release their full potential. Kagami's brother, Makoto was one of the people who came up with the idea. He was abducted by the organisation but was rescued by Rafflesia. Makoto revealed himself to Kagami as he was wearing as the town mascot all this while.

Komachi's aim was to revive her original doll and friend, Sonnet by extracting the data of Uzume's dolls. Uzume got nervous and accidentally told the dolls to go back with Komachi. Later, she met Anna who explained that the dolls will lose their memories once the data are extracted.

Uzume found a note from the dolls telling her to find her "birthday present" but she couldn't find it. She went back to confront Komachi and realise the connection between her and the dolls is not broken all along. Komachi decided to battle her instead for the fate of the dolls...

So much development in this episode. Komachi is the original owner of Sasara and the others which explain why she didn't mistreat Madeline in the previous episode. Her goal is to revive her friend, Sonnet at the cost of the dolls' memories. Uzume have conflicted feelings but learning the truth, she decided to stand against Komachi which lead them battling Proto Zero the third time! Can Uzume overcome this challenge or see her dolls taken away? Find out in the final episode next week!

Majestic Prince Ep 24 FINAL: Team Rabbits defend the Star Rose from attacks as it make it's way into the wrap gate. Izuru continued to fight with Jiart and his mind is behaving more like a savage beast.

Everyone tried to talk sense into him which he snapped out from it. Kei tried to help him but got hit by Jiart. As the others bring Kei away, Izuru's mind was more focused and Red 5 became a more powerful machine.

Izuru was now able to beat Jiart but he too released his limiters. The Star Rose finally collided the gate and deal a fatal blow to it. The Wulgaru retreated with Garukie commented that they might have a path to their "evolution." Izuru decided to throw his whole frame into Jiart leaving his core unit to deal the final blow into him.

We finally see Peko's eyes!

Jiart's mech was destroyed in the process as the gate also reached critical. Teoria, Daneel and Simon also managed to escape in time. When the dust settled down, everyone realised Izuru is missing. They did a search and found his core unit floating in space. Everyone then rushed to get him as he smiled a bit...

What a finale! There were some close shaves as I thought Kei, Simon or even Izuru are going to die. Izuru's mech also reached it's true powers and it is awesome! It overwhelm Jiart and using his frame as a decoy, Izuru dealt the finish blow. But is he truly gone? Even the Wulgaru suffered major losses but Garukie claimed there is always another evolution. With the ending similar to Gundam Seed, will we see a sequel?

Final Thoughts: When I first see the poster of this show, I thought it will be more of school life with mechs. But what I get was a fun show about five underdogs who used to be the laughing stock became heroes in the first episode. Izuru came about as one of the more positive Real Robot male lead unlike the emo Gundam 00 pilots and his dense attitude make him a lovable character. I thought Asagi will be like Izuru's rival but rather, he played the logic character with the usual stomach upset. Even though he has a crush on Kei but he decide to move back as Kei's heart is with Izuru. Instead, he play an important sub leader when Izuru was out in the last two episodes.

Kei is like the big sister of the group as she tried to bring the group together. She originally didn't like Izuru but after his constant time in the sick bay and seeing him talking to Teoria got her all worked up. Kei's concern was also showed in the finale as she risked getting killed by Jiart and was extremely anxious when Izuru went missing. Oh yeah, her cake are probably the most sweetest thing in the universe that nobody like it! Ataru and Tamaki are the comic relief with Ataru being the hard core Arms otaku and Tamaki always hoping for a cool and handsome guy to sweep off her head. They too got their moments with their wild antics which make the five main characters a wonderful group to watch.

The rest of the supporting cast was good. Rin also played mother hen to the team and her habit of sucking a lollipop is a constant stress relief for her. The supporting team were fun to watch especially Anna's crush to Asagi was sweet. Teoria was like Lacus Clyne but the only problem there wasn't much development between her and Izuru despite her DNA sample was used to create him and Asagi.

Even though this marked the end of this series, there were some questions yet unanswered. Why Simon has a death wish? Will the Wulgaru return again after suffering major losses? Can Tamaki score with any men? Will Anna got her wish of having Asagi as a brother? Will Kei make the perfect cake? Will Izuru get back and finish his manga? Will Teoria even get a moment with Izuru? And the mother of all questions-Is Ange a guy or a girl?

If we are getting a second series, I hope these questions will be resolved. Until then, one of the better mecha shows this year that is not a Gundam or Macross!

The World God Only Knows S3 Ep 12 FINAL: Haqua continue battling Lune but she is a sadist and tried to murder her. Meanwhile, Keima and Chihiro were rushing to meet Ayumi at the display ship near the sea.

Chihiro admitted she told Ayumi that Keima is not serious over her but somehow she want Ayumi to trust Keima. Keima finally arrived and saw Ayumi in a wedding dress. After some squabble, Ayumi want him to be serious to her and finally kiss him. Her wings were revealed and Mercury was revived.

The Vintage followers surrounded them but Akari and a group of her men arrived to defeat Vintage. Tenri also arrived (with wings) and took Mercury to rescue the others. Keima was surprised that Akari was also a member of the Loose Souls team but he could not do nothing now and left with Chihiro.

The Jupiter Sisters revived Kanon/Apollo and together with the Loose Souls defeated Vintage and saved the girls. When Chihiro was about to leave, she told him it is better that they go their separate ways. He told her he will go and see her performance as Chihiro bid farewell to him.

That night, Chihiro was about to perform in the school festival when Ayumi, Yui, Elsie and even Kanon also arrived to perform. As they were performing, both Keima and Chihiro cried knowing their first love is over.

A few days later, everything went back to normal although Lune escaped from Haqua. She was reinstated as a Loose Souls agent and Nora is promoted to head chief. Elsie claimed everything went back to normal as Keima has just finished his games...

A finale that is both good and heart-breaking. The Jupiter sisters were finally reunited and like the manga, they defeated Vintage together with the Loose Souls team. Although the danger is over but Lune has escaped which I am sure we will see her again.

Ayumi's confession was all right but it was Chihiro who got the short end of the stick. She thought she will get happiness as Keima tried to woo her (in an attempt to find out if she hosted Mercury) Instead, Keima used harsh words on her which showed how those lines in gaming might backfired in real life. In the end, he realised he felt like a jerk and realised the pain of first love. Some of you might wonder how did Diana got her wings back? Apparently Tenri was too shy to confess her love for Keima but once bothe Tenri and Diana come to an understanding, her wings bloomed. (Of course, we will probably get an extra episode to conclude that.)

Final Thoughts: I have been following this series since it's first season and seeing my favourite arc-the Goddess arc came to the screen was a dream come true. The only grip that they have to summarise Tsukiyo, Yui and Akari's chapters into half an episode. But then they will have to extend this season into 24 to 26 episodes as there are so many things to cover. Also, if you didn't watch the OVA before this season which is about Tenri/Diana, you might not understand some plot lines too in this season.

Keima was as usual a smart ass who relies on gaming plots to win the hearts of the girls. After Kanon's temporary departure, the focus is finding the Jupiter Sisters which is suppose to be laying in four of Keima's previous targets. Elsie (who is my favourite character) also take a step back as she has to sit in for Kanon throughout this season.

It was fun to see the Jupiter Sisters interacting especially when they were fighting over Keima. But probably the most developed was not the goddess but Chihiro who got dragged into this conflict. Even though she want to know more about it, Keima decided not to in order to protect her. However she suffered the pain of first love loss and that also make Keima realised he has unintentionally broke Chihiro's heart. But seeing Keima getting back to his games and Chihiro is also an optimistic person, things will heal in time.

The manga's current arc is the time travel arc with Keima dealing a psychopath, Kaori and his relationship with young Tenri might get the turn for the better or the worse. Hoping we will see this arc in the near future. Until then, see you in the next review!    

Quick Picks: Majestic Prince Ep 23, Gatchaman Crowds Ep 10, Fantasista Doll Ep 10, The World God Only Knows S3 Ep 11

 

Majestic Prince Ep 23: The battle rages on for Team Rabbit when Jiart joined into the battle forcing Izuru to sortie. Izuru and Jiart began battling while the others returned to refill.

The Earth forces are suffering big losses when Chandra and the mass-produced AHSMB arrived to aid them. After using all methods including hurling a portion of the Goldinon into the gate way, Teoria appeared and tried to order a ceasefire at the Wulgura. Jiart immediately rushed to her but Izuru intercepted him. Simon then ordered an evacuation as he planned to ram the gate way with Star Rose...

I can't comment much as it is action all the way in this episode. Even hurling part of their ship is deeded futile. But Simon is planning to do a Kamikaze attack which I am sure it is a death flag for him. Furthermore, Teoria's appearance will make Jiart more determined as Izuru held his final stand against him. What will be the final conclusion for this climatic battle?

Gatchaman Crowds Ep 10: As the newly formed CROWDS now named Neo Hundred began to create havoc in the city, Umeda ordered them to find Prime Minister Sugayama and overthrow him.

Berg Katze located him and the Neo Hundred attacked him and his men. But Hajime and the Gatchaman arrived to immobilise the Neo Hundred. Paiman and OD took Sugayama to their lair for hiding as the authorises began to evacuate people out of the city. After Joe read a message from Sugane, he too joined in the fight.

Berg decided to betray Umeda by giving his address to the public and blaming him for the attacks. After Paiman preach Sugayama about the fate of the Earth, he also went to sortie and protect the nursery from the Neo Hundred. The Gatchaman then united together to take down the Neo Hundred...

This is what I want to see in this show! The Gatchaman kicking ass! Even Joe who has given up hope, read Sugane's message and recalled how he saved his life and encourage him to be a better person, join them in the fight. Of course, Berg being the bad guy decided to spice things up by making Umeda the scapegoat and attacking his family.

Can the Gatchaman defeat the Neo Hundred and Berg Katze before all is lost?

Fantasista Doll Ep 10: Uzume has no clues on how to get Madeline back from the organisation and her dolls felt disappointed about it. The next day, a parcel was delivered to her and later an email informed her the parcel is from the organisation.

Uzume's mother, Uno unwrapped the contents and Anna from the organisation introduced herself. She suggested to Uzume to play a game of poker and not knowing what is going on, Uno also joined in. Uno was surprisingly good and after two games, she even got Madeline's card. But she decided to make dinner and left Uzume to play with Anna.

The dolls found out Anna's location and tried to get back Madeline's Card. Proto Zero was waiting for them and they began to battle. Finally Uzume with some dumb luck, managed to win Anna and she told her that the Chairman from the organisation will visit her now.

Uzume then found out that Komachi is the Chairman of the organisation...

So instead of having a doll battle, playing a game of poker was a much civilised method to solve it. I am bit surprised that Madeline wasn't hurt instead she was sitting behind Anna, watching the battle quietly.

Uno was the Poker Queen and both Uzume and Anna have no idea what she is thinking at all. I did mentioned before that the voice who spoke to the Movie President sounds like Komachi and I was right, she is the Chairman. But why did she play all angel but yet is determined to get Uzume's cards? Only in finding out in the next episode, the truth will be reveal...

The World God Only Knows S3 Ep 11: Keima tried to get Ayumi out of the house by using her panties as bait. Chihiro and Haqua were watching from afar as Keima waited for Ayumi at the river.

However Vintage followers were all over the city trying to find them including Luna which the two has a close call. Chihiro decided to get the two of them into Miyako's house so as to avoid detection. However Chihrio told Ayumi about Keima is treating her like a game which got Ayumi angry and left.

Keima decided to try one more time to win her however Ayumi want him to marry her. Ayumi's parents were dragged into their charade but gave up on them. Instead Ayumi want Keima to propose to her in a romantic spot and left the house.

Vintage spotted them and "killed" Nora's decoy which was created by her buddy. Keima and Chihiro wore invisible coats and head for Ayumi's location as Haqua stayed behind to deal with Luna...

I was a bit angry that Chihiro tried to ruin Keima's reputation by telling Ayumi he is a liar but later claimed she want Ayumi to stop worrying about her feelings by severing the love triangle between them. Noble girl, Chihiro. I salute you! Will Keima win Ayumi's heart before Vintage discover them and will the other goddess be saved in time before sunrise? Find out in the final episode next week!