Origin of Mass production in Mech Anime

[Mafty]

So I realize Mass Production dosen't exactly mean the same thing in real life as it does in anime, but what was the first anime to have a mass produced version of the main mecha? Was it Gundam with the GM? Or were their earlier mech anime examples?

[Seto Kaiba]

So I realize Mass Production dosen't exactly mean the same thing in real life as it does in anime, but what was the first anime to have a mass produced version of the main mecha? Was it Gundam with the GM? Or were their earlier mech anime examples?

That, I suppose, depends on how liberally you want to interpret the words "main mecha"?

The narrowest interpretation of "main mecha" - a robotic weapon which is used by the main character and/or is the namesake of its show - the answer is probably the VF-1 Valkyrie from Super Dimension Fortress Macross.

The titular space warship SDF-1 Macross is home to 212 VF-1 Valkyries at the start of the series and that number balloons to over 300 by the time of its final battle thanks to rescued machines and resupply. In-story, more than 5,000 VF-1's are manufactured during mass production with some sources citing 5,459 as the total number of machines built. Protagonist Hikaru Ichijo operates four (possibly five) VF-1s over the course of his story: a VF-1D trainer at the start of the series, two or three different VF-1J's (if the machine during his training montage isn't the same as the machine he first uses in combat), and his senpai's VF-1S. Though the VF-1J is his signature machine, he's one of three characters in the main cast to use one (Max and Milia being the other two), and there are also unnamed background characters shown to use them as well.



If we stretch the definition of the word "main" to include any robotic weapons used by members of the show's core cast, then the answer is probably Zeon's MS-06 Zaku II from Mobile Suit Gundam. Char's machine is an ace-tuned variant of Zeon's main MS, after all. (On paper, the RGM-79 GM is a "Gundam mass-production type" but it's a completely different machine with a separate model number from the Gundam and the main cast don't really use it.)

If we stretch the definition of the word "mecha" to include non-robotic weapons used by main characters, then the answer is probably Kodai's signature Cosmo Zero space fighter from Space Battleship Yamato.

The handful of other "real robot" anime titles between Gundam and Macross mainly lean on the idea of the hero mecha being unique. The titular Dougram from Fang of the Sun Dougram was supposed to be a mass-production unit in-story, but due to enemy interference only a single trial production unit was ever completed before the blueprints and factory were destroyed. In Xabungle, the titular Combat Walker was not one-of-a-kind, but said to be a very rare type of which less than 20 were made.

[Kuruni]

Mass Produced Great Mazinger, from Great Mazinger (1974): Although in this case, they are unauthorized production from third party using stolen plan.

Daitarn 3 (1978) also has Mass Produced Daitank and Mass Produced Daifighter, which are alternate modes of the Daitarn without transformation mechanic

[Seto Kaiba]

Mass Produced Great Mazinger, from Great Mazinger (1974): Although in this case, they are unauthorized production from third party using stolen plan.

IIRC, that's not in the anime... that's only in the [alternate/diverging/non-canonical] version of the story in Gosaku Oota's manga adaptation of Great Mazinger.

[yazi88]

I think in one of the movie Mazinger crossovers with Getter Robo that Kouji used a production type Great Mazinger, it wasn't the original I think.

But yes, MP Mazinger was from manga, not anime, and SRW uses a number of manga ideas in older video games.

[Seto Kaiba]

I think in one of the movie Mazinger crossovers with Getter Robo that Kouji used a production type Great Mazinger, it wasn't the original I think.

But yes, MP Mazinger was from manga, not anime, and SRW uses a number of manga ideas in older video games.

The only animated mass-produced Mazinger I could recall offhand was the three lower-spec mass production-type Mazinger Z's in the 2003 movie Mazinkaizer: Deathmatch! Great General of Darkness.