Forgotten mecha shows?

The place to discuss anything relating to anime or manga.
Post Reply
False Prophet
Posts: 955
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2015 7:40 am

Forgotten mecha shows?

Can we talk about any particular mecha shows that have been forgetten by time? I will start: I recently watched this movie called Gundress. The plot was all over the place, and unlike many other OVA, the action scenes weren't that great to make people forget about the story.
User avatar
Seto Kaiba
Posts: 2230
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 7:18 pm
Contact:

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

IMO, most the ones that've been forgotten by time deserved to be forgotten.

The Price of Smiles has already basically been completely forgotten and it started its broadcast run two years ago today. Boy was that a stinker. A completely incoherent plot full of random nonsensical gibberish, an obnoxious Relina clone, an entire future human civilization so stupid they forgot conservation of energy was a thing, and lots and lots of mecha sequences where poorly thought-out mecha stand perfectly still and shoot at each other with less accuracy than the meanest Imperial Stormtrooper. And that was Tatsunoko's big 55th anniversary project!

Also noteworthy for not being worth noting is Angel Links... that time Sunrise decided to take a massive steaming sh*t all over Outlaw Star for no reason by totally rewriting the one-shot Links Group characters into something that bore no resemblance to what actually appeared in Outlaw Star, attaching it to a nonsensical plot about an anti-pirate non-profit PMC, and getting rid of literally every aspect of Outlaw Star's setting that people actually liked.
The Macross Mecha Manual
Yes, we're working on updates...
Mafty
Posts: 1131
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:43 am

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

I can think of a few more..
Strain Strategic Armoured Infantry
This was made for the Seinen crowd; aired late at night and had a lot of fanservice, thus it seems to have been largely forgotten. The show has an interesting story: Basically in a Space Navy Gothic Lolita setting a Sayla stand in named Sarah goes to war against her brother(a Char stand in) after he goes rogue and blows up her military academy. Along with copious shout outs to “A Little Princess” of all things: Sarah use a loli doll as a psychic link, and pilots a mech that looks kinda like a Neon Pink Qubeley
The show is entertaining and has a decent amount of action but is not without it’s problems. A lot of the setting is rather cliched and does not seem to have a lot of plot reasoning behind it. For example there isn’t a lot of reason to have a space Victorian Europe setting. Granted a Little Princess was set in the Victorian era, but the anime doesn’t handle this aspect as well as similar shows (ie Gundam Wing, LOGH), and it creates some plot holes(the nobility live in castles, ride carriages , and dress like they’re in the Society for Creative Anachronisms. Meanwhile there are mech’s, time dilation, colonized planets, and a whole herd of background characters who dress normally.)
On the mech design side there are really only a few mecha designs in this series and they do actually look pretty cool looking. However the shows obscurity means that mecha models were probably never made.
Despite this the story itself largely mixes both A Little Princess and Gundam story aspects together well enough, though its worth noting the story is more concerned with the character personal battles than the overall scope of the war(SPOILERS the story ends with Sarah defeating her brother and reuniting with her team, it’s not clear if this has any long term aspect on the war itself.) Basically, the story almost seems to function as a side story to a bigger story that was never animated.
Argento Soma is another in the cycle of Evangelion clones in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The plot follows an embittered scientist on his single minded obsession to avenge his fiancé’s death , by killing the mysterious alien responsible for it. To this end he joins a mech team centered around an orphaned girl who has a mysterious psychic connection to the very alien that caused him so much misery.
The show is like many EVA clones slow moving and at times focused more upon the characters personal problems then the actual battles they face(there is actually an episode where the characters merely talk in a conference hall.)
Evangelion (like let’s be honest Gundam and Ideon before it) managed to combine drama and action together in a manner that made both interesting. You could care about the characters and be thrilled by the action at the same time. So that when the time came to focus on the characters themselves, you could be interested in what actually happened to them. Many EVA ripoffs wound up being kinda dull between the action scenes, and Argento Soma falls into this as well. The fact that the animation quality is notably lower dosen’t help either.
Buddy Complex is honestly on of the better Gundam clones made by Sunrise. It focuses on Aoba (a typical Shonen protangist) who is sent to the future in a giant robot by a mysterious girl(a typical mysterious waif) there he meets an electic group of characters, and must fight alongside rival pilot Dio (A Char clone) against a Zeon stand in.
The show is cliched, but it still manages to be very entertaining. It has a lot of action scenes with very cool looking mecha. The cast is characters is actually pretty well developed and likeable (on both sides of the conflict for the most part). The story is light hearted but never gets completely goofy; and the time trave aspect is actually a pretty neat idea, as well as being one of the more original ones in the series. Basically, this is a series to watch is you just want a decent, lighthearted mecha show.
User avatar
Kuruni
Posts: 2925
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:43 am
Location: sitting next to a yandere loli
Contact:

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

John-Luck Pickerd wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:55 pm Patlabor?
Got a live action film in 2015, appeared in the City Shrouded in Shadow in 2017, has upcoming Moderoid kits. No.
My girlfriend was a loli.
User avatar
MythSearcher
Posts: 1845
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:36 pm

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

Not really that forgotten but I really want to forget about and very likely the creators and IP holder as well.
Definitely a black history level anime for the franchise.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/1899/Maso ... n_Cybuster

No, the SRW original Cybuster wasn't forgotten. It actually got 2 sequels after this idiotic anime, and they are sensible enough to forget about this and use the original Cybuster and Masaki in the OG anime.

This anime, however, is completely another thing that has little resemblance other than a bunch of names. They can well have used other names for everything and the show will still work and fail the same stupid way.
They redesigned all the mecha but give them the same name, and the main pilot of Cybuster had an altered name(instead of the popular Ando Masaki they have Ando Ken) like all of the other characters, which some have parts of their names recognizable. And the barely similar structured Divine Crusaders of the same name.
You likely get less animation scenes for mecha even compared to Patlabour WXIII, oh, not that they have less fight scenes, just that the mecha are STILL FRAMES moved in front of the camera. The oh so powerful last boss Valsion in the SRW series was the name of the cannon fodder and they move literally by moving the cel up and down to pretend they are walking.
The four elemental Masou Kishin appear in a flash and disappear in a flash, they don't seem to even bother to draw more angles of them.

The OP theme Stand up, Warriors! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy9wtf7MfSA was quite popular though, likely the only thing this abomination accomplished.

They originally want the game Shin Masou Kishin Panzer Warfare to be the game of this anime, and used parts of the anime in the commercial, but the game luckily came to its senses and have NOTHING to do with the anime other than that clip. The mecha designs are more adhering to the original Cybuster, just that they have copyright issues with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winkysoft at the time thus they can only use the mecha and not the characters. The game is also a flop, but again, maybe somehow a tradition of Masou Kishin? The OP theme song Stay with Me was also quite popular at the time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP3Y6yLegTw


Oh, both of these were not even mentioned in the 20th anniversary history book. They don't want to touch this.(Also because the SRW producer aren't involved in all of these mess)
Mafty wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 2:41 pm Argento Soma is another in the cycle of Evangelion clones in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The plot follows an embittered scientist on his single minded obsession to avenge his fiancé’s death , by killing the mysterious alien responsible for it. To this end he joins a mech team centered around an orphaned girl who has a mysterious psychic connection to the very alien that caused him so much misery.
The show is like many EVA clones slow moving and at times focused more upon the characters personal problems then the actual battles they face(there is actually an episode where the characters merely talk in a conference hall.)
Argento Soma is likely less of an Eva clone but more adhere to the tokusatsu roots of Eva.(Eva is UltramanXmecha)
The plot hinting on the monsters are actually returned astronauts actually had its Ultraman roots.
Last edited by MythSearcher on Tue Jan 05, 2021 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Henyo
Posts: 690
Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 10:24 am
Location: Hidden Tramo Village

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

OH! Someone who also like Soukou no Strain! i too like that one. also only watched it in dubbed form. any mecha show with a female as a main character is a plus in my book.

i'd say Rinne no Lagrange fits under the forgotten titles. the only possible reason some otakus remember it is because of the Yuri subtext. the show was entertaining enough for me to watch it almost 3 times. in both Japanese and English language. i am eagerly awaiting for it to debut in a Major SRW Game and hope that its plot is used in a major way.

another title is Shirogane no Argevollen. this one had the misfortune of airing at the same time as that overhyped Adlnoah Zero. i said before and i will always say it: id sooner rewatch Argevollen than Aldnoah. aside from the more grounded mecha combat its plot is not the usual MC gets in mecha and becomes a big factor in the conflict.
MOOK: ITS A YURI FANBOY!
User avatar
Kuruni
Posts: 2925
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:43 am
Location: sitting next to a yandere loli
Contact:

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

Henyo wrote: Tue Jan 05, 2021 7:45 am i'd say Rinne no Lagrange fits under the forgotten titles. the only possible reason some otakus remember it is because of the Yuri subtext. the show was entertaining enough for me to watch it almost 3 times. in both Japanese and English language. i am eagerly awaiting for it to debut in a Major SRW Game and hope that its plot is used in a major way.
Appear in X-Ω in 2017. The trio got upgraded with swimsuit version the next year. But again, it's X-Ω.

It still piss me that when I look up info years ago that its English Wiki NOT HAVE PAGE FOR MECHA.
My girlfriend was a loli.
False Prophet
Posts: 955
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2015 7:40 am

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

MythSearcher wrote: Tue Jan 05, 2021 6:17 am They originally want the game Shin Masou Kishin Panzer Warfare to be the game of this anime, and used parts of the anime in the commercial, but the game luckily came to its senses and have NOTHING to do with the anime other than that clip. The mecha designs are more adhering to the original Cybuster, just that they have copyright issues with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winkysoft at the time thus they can only use the mecha and not the characters. The game is also a flop, but again, maybe somehow a tradition of Masou Kishin? The OP theme song Stay with Me was also quite popular at the time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP3Y6yLegTw
Since this is the first time someone mentioned SMK:PW in years, I want to ask this: Did they change the design of any machine that has appeared in the original Masou Kishin? Also, there were some machines debuted in that games that would reappear, right? (Like the machine piloted by the protagonist of Masou Kishin 4: Coffin of the End, if I remember correctly.)
User avatar
MythSearcher
Posts: 1845
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:36 pm

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

False Prophet wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 8:07 am Since this is the first time someone mentioned SMK:PW in years, I want to ask this: Did they change the design of any machine that has appeared in the original Masou Kishin? Also, there were some machines debuted in that games that would reappear, right? (Like the machine piloted by the protagonist of Masou Kishin 4: Coffin of the End, if I remember correctly.)
Sorry, but I haven't actually played the game. But from what I see in the relative images, they seemed to have simplified the designs and modified them a bit. Likely to make it more adaptive to the PS specs 3D models. The basic form and image isn't changed too much, but you can definitely tell they are a bit different, a bit off, from the original 2D versions in previous concept art. But there's always the case, they redesign the mecha almost every time they have something new:
https://img6.futabalog.com/2017/11/60df ... aba589.jpg
Don't know if deep linking works, but this is an image showing various iterations of Cybuster.
From the left, first row is Early SD, Masou Kishin The Lord of Elemental, anime, PW,
second row is OG, DW, OG Saga LOE, The Inspector,
third row is draft 1 & 2, SR Encyclopedia, some guy's wooden scrupture.
User avatar
Kuruni
Posts: 2925
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:43 am
Location: sitting next to a yandere loli
Contact:

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

False Prophet wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 8:07 am Also, there were some machines debuted in that games that would reappear, right? (Like the machine piloted by the protagonist of Masou Kishin 4: Coffin of the End, if I remember correctly.)
I speculate that
Spoiler
the whole subplot of Cybuster slowly being corrupted from usage of imitation ritual converter is setup so Raveraide and Sakito need to come and save Masaki
.
My girlfriend was a loli.
False Prophet
Posts: 955
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2015 7:40 am

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

Kuruni wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 1:00 am I speculate that
Spoiler
the whole subplot of Cybuster slowly being corrupted from usage of imitation ritual converter is setup so Raveraide and Sakito need to come and save Masaki
.
Isn't that the whole thing about Asakim Dowen was Masaki?

Anyone here who have watched Platinumhugen Ordian? I'm not the biggest fan of Masami Obari, but so far the shows he directed that I have watched feel all over the place. Should I watch Dancougar Nova?
User avatar
Kuruni
Posts: 2925
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:43 am
Location: sitting next to a yandere loli
Contact:

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

False Prophet wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:03 am Isn't that the whole thing about Asakim Dowen was Masaki?
AFAIK, turned out that we're somewhat mislead by Asakim.
Spoiler
It's unclear if Shurouga was corrupted Cybuster or not, but Asakim can't be Masaki since Shurouga create him to be replacement of its original pilot. It's unknown if he's based on the original pilot or not.
My girlfriend was a loli.
User avatar
Seto Kaiba
Posts: 2230
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 7:18 pm
Contact:

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

There's the related forgotten concerns of Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and its ugly duckling other version Robotech.

Southern Cross did so poorly in Japan that the show's one and only licensee has stated publicly that Tatsunoko, the studio that animated it, prefers to forget that it exists.
The Macross Mecha Manual
Yes, we're working on updates...
User avatar
Chris
Administrator
Posts: 3381
Joined: Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:20 pm
Contact:

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

Seto Kaiba wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:24 pm There's the related forgotten concerns of Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and its ugly duckling other version Robotech.

Southern Cross did so poorly in Japan that the show's one and only licensee has stated publicly that Tatsunoko, the studio that animated it, prefers to forget that it exists.
It's also the only part of Robotech that wasn't enjoyable in either its original or bowdlerized forms, so that's definitely an achievement.
Co-founder/editor-in-chief, MAHQ
Pronouns: he/him/his
Henyo
Posts: 690
Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 10:24 am
Location: Hidden Tramo Village

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

False Prophet wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:03 am
Kuruni wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 1:00 am I speculate that
Spoiler
the whole subplot of Cybuster slowly being corrupted from usage of imitation ritual converter is setup so Raveraide and Sakito need to come and save Masaki
.
Isn't that the whole thing about Asakim Dowen was Masaki?

Anyone here who have watched Platinumhugen Ordian? I'm not the biggest fan of Masami Obari, but so far the shows he directed that I have watched feel all over the place. Should I watch Dancougar Nova?

If you don't connect it to the original Dancougar then its a nice enough mecha show. id say its Gundam OO if the Meisters were full on Super Robot Pilots.(in other words, the Celestial Being Movie) but i dead read up its basically Gravion with less fanservice.

@Kuruni: i too want to learn more about the mechas from Rinne no Lagrange. it got a PS3 game but last i checked there isnt even a playthrough of it on YT. i have yet to check if the manga was translated by anyone.
MOOK: ITS A YURI FANBOY!
User avatar
Kuruni
Posts: 2925
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:43 am
Location: sitting next to a yandere loli
Contact:

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

For something that might worth checking, I say GR -Giant Robo. It's pretty good show IMO, but overshadowed by the OVA.
My girlfriend was a loli.
Mafty
Posts: 1131
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:43 am

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

Would Fafner count? It takes a lot of flak for being an Eva ripoff ,which to be fair it is true. Aside from character and setting similarities(ie a city built over an advance military base in a post apocalyptic world plagued by weird monster attacks, children being forced by their parents to fight in a bio mech that injuries them when it's damaged, A close bond between the two male pilots, weird fanservice pilot suits, and even submerging the pilot in red jelly to make the mech work) some shots are copied directly from EVA.

However the story does eventually evolve into its own thing as it moves along(it helps that if you combine both full length seasons there are about fifty two episodes, so they had to add more of their own story); with the character's growing as the seasons pass, and the story itself devoting more time to the mysteries of the Festum and the Human based schemes and conspiracies. plus even if it's not that original to start with, the mech and monster battles are very well done CGI so its at least entertaining.

It does actually have 52 episodes and several movies by now, so maybe it's not completely unknown, but it's still rarely mentioned...
User avatar
Chris
Administrator
Posts: 3381
Joined: Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:20 pm
Contact:

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

I think Fafner, especially since it is still getting content, would fall under the umbrella of "underrated" rather than "forgotten." To me, forgotten implies a series that is dead, abandoned, etc., that has little or no chance of any continuation/revival.
Co-founder/editor-in-chief, MAHQ
Pronouns: he/him/his
User avatar
MythSearcher
Posts: 1845
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:36 pm

Re: Forgotten mecha shows?

Chris wrote: Mon Jan 11, 2021 12:30 am I think Fafner, especially since it is still getting content, would fall under the umbrella of "underrated" rather than "forgotten." To me, forgotten implies a series that is dead, abandoned, etc., that has little or no chance of any continuation/revival.
This gets me thinking.
While Gasaraki obviously have almost no way of a revival, would Obsolete count as it being not completely dead and forgotten?
Post Reply