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| Mecha | |
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| Other names | Giant robot, robot |
| Stylistic origins | Science fiction |
| Cultural origins | 1950s, Japan |
| Subgenres | |
| Related topics | |
| Mecha | |
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| Anime andmanga |
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Mecha, also known asgiant robot or simplyrobot, is a genre ofanime andmanga that featuremecha in battle.[1][2] The genre is broken down into two subcategories; "super robot", featuring super-sized, implausible robots, and "real robot", where robots are governed by realistic physics and technological limitations.
Mecha series cover a wide variety of genres, from action to comedy to drama, and the genre has expanded into other media, such asvideo game adaptations. Mecha has also contributed to the popularity of scalemodel robots.
The 1940 shortmangaElectric Octopus (デンキダコ,Denki Dako) featured a powered, piloted, mechanical octopus.[3]The 1943 Yokoyama Ryūichi's propaganda mangaThe Science Warrior Appears in New York (科学戦士ニューヨークに出現す,Kagaku Senshi New York ni Shutsugensu) featured a sword-wielding, steam-powered, giant humanoid mecha.[4]
The first series in the mecha genre wasMitsuteru Yokoyama's 1956 mangaTetsujin 28, which was also released as ananime in 1963.[1] Yokoyama was inspired to become amanga creator byOsamu Tezuka, and began serializing the manga inShonen, an iconic boy's magazine, in 1956.[1] In this series, the robot, which was made as a last-ditch effort to winWorld War II by theJapanese military, wasremote-controlled by the protagonist Shotaro Kaneda, a twelve-year-old detective and "whiz kid".[1] The story turned out to have immense mass appeal, and inspired generations of imitators.[1]
In 1972,Go Nagai defined the super robot genre withMazinger Z, which was directly inspired by the former series.[1] He had the idea to create a mecha that people could control like a car, while waiting to cross a busy street.[1] The concept became "explosively popular", making the manga and anime into a success.[1] The series also was the genesis for different tropes of the genre, such as the idea of a robot as a "dynamic entity" that could join with other machines or humans to become unstoppable.[1] Anime criticFred Patten wrote that almost all mecha anime plots, such asmonster of the week shows, were actually metaphors for re-fighting World War II, and defending Japan and its culture from Western encroachment.[1]
By 1977, a large number of super robot anime had been created, includingBrave Raideen andDanguard Ace.[1] The market for super robot toys also grew, spawning metaldie-cast toys such as theChogokin series in Japan and theShogun Warriors in the U.S., that were (and still are) very popular with children and collectors.[1] The super robot genre became heavily commercialized and stagnant, creating an opening for innovation, which was seized upon byYoshiyuki Tomino in 1979 with the creation ofMobile Suit Gundam, a complex "space saga" that was called the "Star Wars of Japan" and birthed the real robot genre, which featured more realistic, gritty technology.[1] Tomino did not like the formulaic storylines and overt advertising of the super robot shows he had worked on, and wanted to create a movie where robots were used as tools.[1] While the response toGundam was lukewarm at first, efforts by dedicated fans led to it becoming a success.[1] It created a massive market for mecha model robots, and became an industry that earnedBandai ¥42.8 billion in 2004.[1] Many real robot series and other media were later created, such asFull Metal Panic! and the video game seriesArmored Core.[1]
1990 saw the release ofPatlabor, an animated movie directed byMamoru Oshii that popularized the mecha genre and aesthetic in theWest.[5]Neon Genesis Evangelion, created byHideaki Anno in 1995, was a major influence on the super robot genre, arriving when the real robot genre was dominant on television.[1] Due to its unusual psychological themes, the show became a massive success,[1] and further caused Japanese anime culture to spread widely and rapidly around the world.[6]
The mecha anime genre (as well as Japanesekaiju films) received a Western homage with the 2013 filmPacific Rim directed byGuillermo del Toro.[7] Similarly the genre was inspirational for the 1998 first-person shooterShogo: Mobile Armor Division developed byMonolith Productions.[8]
| Super robot | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Science fiction |
| Cultural origins | 1970s, Japan |
Some of the first mecha featured in manga and anime were "super robots" (スーパーロボットsūpā robotto).[1] The super robot genre featuressuperhero-like giant robots that are often one-of-a-kind and the product of an ancient civilization, aliens or amad genius. These robots are usually piloted by Japaneseteenagers viavoice command orneural uplink, and are often powered by mystical or exotic energy sources.[1] Their abilities are described as "quasi-magical".[9]
| Real robot | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1970s, Japan |
The laterreal robot (リアルロボットriaru robotto) genre features robots that do not have mythical superpowers, but rather use largely conventional, albeit futuristic weapons and power sources, and are often mass-produced on a large scale for use in wars.[1] The real robot genre also tends to feature more complex characters with moral conflicts and personal problems.[10] The genre is therefore aimed primarily at teenagers and young adults instead of a general audience including children.[11] The genre has been compared tohard science fiction by its fanbase, and is strongly associated with sales of popular toy models such asGunpla.
One of the "founding fathers" of real robot design wasKunio Okawara, who started out working onGundam and continued on to other real robot series such asArmored Trooper Votoms.[9]
Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) is largely considered the first series to introduce the real robot concept and, along withThe Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982), would form the basis of what people would later call real robot anime.[12] In an interview withYoshiyuki Tomino and other production crew members in the April 1989 issue ofNewtype, about his views on the firstGundam anime that was not directed by him, he commented on the realism of the show, in which he sees the sponsors,Sunrise, as imaginary enemies ofGundam, since they did not accept a certain level of realism.[13]Armored Trooper Votoms is viewed byFamitsu magazine as the peak of real-robot anime.[14]
The concepts behind "real robots" that set it apart from previous robot anime are such as:
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This ubiquitous subgenre features mecha piloted internally as vehicles. The first series to feature such mecha was Go Nagai'sMazinger Z (1972). In a 2009 interview, Go Nagai claimed the idea came to mind when he was stuck in a traffic jam and wished his car could sprout arms and legs to walk over the cars in front.[17] Other examples includeScience Ninja Team Gatchaman (1972),Mobile Suit Gundam (1979),The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982), andTengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (2007). There are series that have piloted mecha that are also in the sentient category, usually because of an AI system to assist and care for the pilot, as featured inBlue Comet SPT Layzner (1985) andGargantia on the Verdurous Planet (2013),[18] or going berserk because the mecha has biological aspects, as featured inNeon Genesis Evangelion (1995).
These are mecha that have the ability to be self-aware, think, and sometimes feel emotion. The source of sentience varies from aliens, such as the titular characters of American-produced and Japanese-animated series,The Transformers (1984), toartificial intelligence orsynthetic intelligence, such as the robots ofDragon's Heaven (1988) andBrave Police J-Decker (1994) to magic, such as Da-Garn ofThe Brave Fighter of Legend Da-Garn (1992). The first series that featured a sentient giant robot, also the first mecha anime in color, wasAstroganger (1972).[19]
These are mecha that are controlled externally. The first mecha anime,Tetsujin 28-go (1966), andGiant Robo (1967) are famous examples.
A transforming mech can transform between a standard vehicle (such as a fighter plane or transport truck) and a fighting mecha robot. The concept of transforming mecha was pioneered by Japanese mecha designerShōji Kawamori in the early 1980s, when he created theDiaclone toy line in 1980 and then theMacross anime franchise in 1982. Some of Kawamori's most iconic transforming mecha designs include theVF-1 Valkyrie from theMacross andRobotech franchises, andOptimus Prime (called Convoy in Japan) from theTransformers andDiaclone franchises. The concept later became more popular in the mid-1980s, withMacross: Do You Remember Love? (1984) andZeta Gundam (1985) in Japan, and withTransformers (1984 adaptation ofDiaclone)[20] andRobotech (1985 adaptation ofMacross) in the West.[21][22][23]
This refers to mecha that arepowered exoskeletons rather than piloted as vehicles, such as inGenesis Climber MOSPEADA (1983),Bubblegum Crisis (1987) andActive Raid (2016); merge with the mecha, such as inDetonator Orgun (1991) &The King of Braves GaoGaiGar (1997); combine with the robots, such as inTransformers: Super-God Masterforce (1988); or become mechanical themselves, such as inBrave Command Dagwon (1996) andFire Robo (2016).
Assembling and painting mechascale model kits is a popular pastime among mecha enthusiasts. Like other models such as cars or airplanes, more advanced kits require much more intricate assembly.Lego mecha construction can present unique engineering challenges; the balancing act between a high range of motion, good structural stability, and aesthetic appeal can be difficult to manage. In 2006, the Lego Group released their own somewhat manga-inspired mecha line with theLegoExo-Force series.
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