The lack of combining mecha on the MAHQ website

[Seto Kaiba]

The author have this part written just to illustrate how stupid the combining mecha idea is, and I totally agree with him.

"Impractical" would be the word I would choose for it... something can be stupid and still work, but a combining mecha is adding cost, complexity, and risk to no real benefit and is thus monstrously impractical.

The sample size is just reasonably small, Gundam has some combining just because of the time period it was released and toy companies loved the idea(so their toys have more gadget, hey, we had transforming pencil cases back then. Ok, maybe we still have them now...)
[...]
I can't think of any real robot show that has combining mecha other than Tomino Gundam and shows following the tradition and not really trying to get more realistic(not saying that is a bad thing, we all know being too realistic usually loses audience).

Yeah, I can only think of a few non-Gundam examples of real robot combiners... and most of them are pretty damned lackluster and/or obviously impractical even within their respective shows.

Genesis Climber MOSPEADA had the Legioss armo-fighter and TLEAD armo-bomber that could join up to form a bigger fighter, but the combination was only really good for extending the range and service ceiling of both craft by combining their engine power. Other than that the combination actually made the two planes worse, since it made them heavier than either was alone, only one of them could transform while docked, and the TLEAD couldn't use a majority of its weapons while connected. This one is, at least, already covered on MAHQ though.

One of the Anten Seven members in Outlaw Star had a grappler ship that was a combiner, though that was a case of the ship having two extra arms that could detach and fight as independent ships... and its pilot was one of the Anten Seven's anticlimax bosses who was wiped out in the space of about five minutes with Gene and co. not even knowing who they'd just killed (a little girl and two talking cats).

I'd argue the Beck the Great RX3 from The Big O straddles the line between real and super robot... and was basically a joke in-series that got one-shotted because it tried a super robot combiner sequence against a combat pragmatist who was having NONE of that sh*t (and spent their lengthy combination sequence tying a fresh tie his robot maid brought him).

[Quiddity]

I'd argue the Beck the Great RX3 from The Big O straddles the line between real and super robot... and was basically a joke in-series that got one-shotted because it tried a super robot combiner sequence against a combat pragmatist who was having NONE of that sh*t (and spent their lengthy combination sequence tying a fresh tie his robot maid brought him).

A great sequence to show what would happen in reality with these ridiculous combination sequences. So many times when I see these combination sequences, such as the mid-air conversions in the original Gundam show I wonder why the enemy just doesn't blast them during the elongated, often minute+ combination sequence.

Would Space Warrior Baldios count? A three part combining giant robot, but no real magic relating to it from what I can recall and it was created on Earth by Earth/future technology. Like Big O probably on the edge. Stylistically several enemy mecha come off similar to the Mecha Boosts in Zambot and it was an era (1980) where Gundam's effect hadn't been felt in full force yet.

I'd echo Xabungle, which was mentioned earlier as an actual occurrence of it in a non-Gundam real robot show, although unlike say Ideon, whose modular parts could turn into their own device, in Xabungle they really just act as vehicles until they combine together.

[Seto Kaiba]

A great sequence to show what would happen in reality with these ridiculous combination sequences. So many times when I see these combination sequences, such as the mid-air conversions in the original Gundam show I wonder why the enemy just doesn't blast them during the elongated, often minute+ combination sequence.

One of Iron-Blooded Orphans's best moments was Carta getting all bent out of shape because Tekkadan wasn't treating talking as a free action and shot one of her Graze Ritters in the face while she was busy striking poses and flapping her gums.

That's one of the best narrative reasons combiners don't work... no realistic enemy is half as polite as the ones from super robot shows who obligingly wait for the heroes to form their robot before attempting to destroy them.

[MythSearcher]

That's one of the best narrative reasons combiners don't work... no realistic enemy is half as polite as the ones from super robot shows who obligingly wait for the heroes to form their robot before attempting to destroy them.

Even super robot shows like King of Braves GaoGaigar has the enemy attack them during combination and they needed to add some kind of barrier to prevent the enemy from interfering. (Though I still have no idea why a big tornado helps at all and why did they do the combination in front of the enemy instead of in some underground base.)

[Kuruni]

Ironically, the grandfather of them all, Getter Robo, doesn't has fancy justification. Ryoma and freinds are just skill enough to dodge attack and combine. It's help that Getter's actual combine process can be done in split-second. In fact, this is what Getter Team exploit when fighting superior combiner (Getter G vs Maohki, Getter Robo vs stolen Getter G), they use their combination to interrupt the enemy's combination process and destroy the key component.

Of course, Ishikawa was aware that it is dangerous. The first pages of Getter Robo Go show one of Get Machine got crushed as a result of fail combination.

[MythSearcher]

"Impractical" would be the word I would choose for it... something can be stupid and still work, but a combining mecha is adding cost, complexity, and risk to no real benefit and is thus monstrously impractical.

Some guy shared this clip on twitter, I guess you do can find a relatively more practical way to explain the combination.

https://twitter.com/heyhey_heyzan/statu ... 4536402945

I have no idea what show this is from, and the orbital mechanics are not very realistic.

But I guess if you have to launch the person to orbit to combat every time, it will be more economical to just launch a small craft and leave the bulk of the mecha in orbit. Notice the combination doesn't occur in front of the enemy as well.
It is still not very practical to have multiple combinations, but at least it makes some sort of sense to combine.

[yazi88]

"Impractical" would be the word I would choose for it... something can be stupid and still work, but a combining mecha is adding cost, complexity, and risk to no real benefit and is thus monstrously impractical.

Some guy shared this clip on twitter, I guess you do can find a relatively more practical way to explain the combination.

https://twitter.com/heyhey_heyzan/statu ... 4536402945

I have no idea what show this is from, and the orbital mechanics are not very realistic.

But I guess if you have to launch the person to orbit to combat every time, it will be more economical to just launch a small craft and leave the bulk of the mecha in orbit. Notice the combination doesn't occur in front of the enemy as well.
It is still not very practical to have multiple combinations, but at least it makes some sort of sense to combine.

The clip is from the Bones studio show CAPTAIN EARTH. Its a pretty forgettable show...

[Seto Kaiba]

Some guy shared this clip on twitter, I guess you do can find a relatively more practical way to explain the combination.

Honestly, I was about 90% convinced it was going to be a joke clip until the very end... the way it's presented just makes it feel like the start of an overly long gag, like they were just going to keep adding more and more shells to the robot until it was like a colossal mechanized matryoshka doll.

But I guess if you have to launch the person to orbit to combat every time, it will be more economical to just launch a small craft and leave the bulk of the mecha in orbit.

In a way, it reminded me of the titular PMC warship from the eminently skippable Outlaw Star spinoff Angel Links. The Angel Links's default battleship configuration was transatmospheric and launched into orbit via mass driver, and the larger and more unwieldy add-ons and mission modules were kept in orbit for the ship to dock with as the need arose. It was one of the few times I've seen a combiner depicted halfway sensibly, since its space station dock is in safe territory so it's never under threat while it's taking on mission-specific hardware and the most fiddly and dangerous bits to maintain can land to be maintained in a less dangerous environment (a drydock under their HQ).

[MythSearcher]

Honestly, I was about 90% convinced it was going to be a joke clip until the very end... the way it's presented just makes it feel like the start of an overly long gag, like they were just going to keep adding more and more shells to the robot until it was like a colossal mechanized matryoshka doll.

Me too, with no prior knowledge of the show, and all the super robot cliche cut scenes, it just looks like a more realistic take of Gurren Lagann.

In a way, it reminded me of the titular PMC warship from the eminently skippable Outlaw Star spinoff Angel Links. The Angel Links's default battleship configuration was transatmospheric and launched into orbit via mass driver, and the larger and more unwieldy add-ons and mission modules were kept in orbit for the ship to dock with as the need arose. It was one of the few times I've seen a combiner depicted halfway sensibly, since its space station dock is in safe territory so it's never under threat while it's taking on mission-specific hardware and the most fiddly and dangerous bits to maintain can land to be maintained in a less dangerous environment (a drydock under their HQ).

Angel Links was a show I wanted to watch but never had the chance/time to.
I read the first manga of Outlaw Star, because I liked Takehiko Itō previous space opera series Uchuu Eiyuu Monogatari(the same universe as Outlaw Star), but Outlaw Star didn't really caught my interest because of all the grappling-with-a-spaceship thing.
Your description kinda sparks my interest in the series again, let's see if I have more luck this time.

[Seto Kaiba]

Angel Links was a show I wanted to watch but never had the chance/time to.
I read the first manga of Outlaw Star, because I liked Takehiko Itō previous space opera series Uchuu Eiyuu Monogatari(the same universe as Outlaw Star), but Outlaw Star didn't really caught my interest because of all the grappling-with-a-spaceship thing.
Your description kinda sparks my interest in the series again, let's see if I have more luck this time.

... better idea, don't.

It's GARBAGE. It is nothing like that cameo in Outlaw Star. It's one of those spinoffs that is forgotten for a very good reason. It's an utterly lifeless and soulless attempt to cash in on the popularity of the main series.

[yazi88]

Hell no, don't watch Angel Links... it really is a garbage spin-off...

Outlaw Star still holds up well especially being one of the last hand drawn anime in the late 90s.

[Henyo]

Is angel links really that bad? i've also been wanting to watch it since discovering it's a spin off of Outlaw star. that and it had a female as an Main character. it's one of those late 90s character designs that just appeal to me.

[Seto Kaiba]

Is angel links really that bad?

Yes, it really is.

If the series had been anything like the Links Group's cameo in Outlaw Star it might've been watchable, but it somehow lost absolutely everything that made Outlaw Star likeable or remotely interesting in its transition to being an independent series. Outlaws? Gone. Space Pirates? Comic relief. Tao magic? Gone. Grapper ships? All but absent. Character development? What's that? Even the characters who appeared in Outlaw Star are just about totally unrecognizable. The action sequences are generally dull as dishwater, as one might expect when it's pirates armed with machine guns and harsh language up against the Links Group's impossibly well-armed battleship and its two different flavors of wave motion gun.

Spoiler

Even the bad guy is a complete anticlimax... him being a villain comes out of nowhere and he doesn't do much that's actually villainous. He's just a completely ordinary retired space pirate who is only the big bad because a posthumous character said "f*ck that guy in particular".

The combining warship Angel Links is about the only part of the show that's worth anything.

i've also been wanting to watch it since discovering it's a spin off of Outlaw star. that and it had a female as an Main character. it's one of those late 90s character designs that just appeal to me.

... unfortunately, looks are all Meifon has going for her. She's obnoxious, and the tiny bit of character development she gets is borderline nonsensical.

[MythSearcher]

The combining warship Angel Links is about the only part of the show that's worth anything.

Since I dislike Outlaw Star's grappler ships, I thought the lack of such is also kinda worth something, but I guess not.

A clip of the combining warship will be all I'm watching then.

[Henyo]

wouldn't Dancouga fit into Mahq's taste? i mean the only blatant Super Robot Aspect of it is the Instinct of the pilot being used for attacking. it's weapons also aren't over the top like its brethren.

[Kuruni]

IIRC, it was mentioned in "suggest series" thread in Feedback subforum that one of the problem with pure Super Robot shows is how the line between mecha/robot and monster are too blur.

And I would like to note that the antagonists are rarely get any stats. Take Dancouga for example, there isn't much problem look up for stats of Dancouga and its components (except Black Wing), but there's almost nothing on Muge's side.