Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

He was actually in the show, there was a special were Chopper was a super hero and anyway Minoru was in a nice bit of it.

@Undead_terror oh thats so awesome! Its cool to see little crossovers like that.

No really, I could go on a long rant about this. But to keep it short, the main problem with Mecha nowadays is that it's not mecha anymore. It's a mix of Mecha with Super Robot elements. Or at least the wrong super robot elements - Adding super robot elements can be good if you add the right ones, just look at Turn A Gundam and Dai-Guard if you want some good examples. But most of the time they just make what's supposed to be a grounded story larger than life, which just makes things more rediculous than it's meant to be, and more importantly, they usually take away the limits of the characters, making them unreasonably good in such a way that nothing ever seems to be a challenge for them, or at the very least, they dumb down the limits and/or make them inconsistant, which always hurts the show's believability and rips open plot holes faster than a machine gun...

To put it bluntly, a lot of Mecha these days just completely miss the point of Mecha. They're not about flashy over-the-top robot action, they're not about God-mode characters, and they're not about hyper escalation or the powers of human will. That's what Super Robot anime is for. Mecha is about using Giant Robots in a realistic manner, it's about weak characters who must grow over time, and they're about the powers of human cooperation and understanding. Gundam UC, Eureka Seven, and Broken Blade, as well as the recent Votoms OVAs, are the only ones I've seen not make these mistakes that came out in the past 10 years.

Isn't Super Robot a subset of Mecha though? -_-

Still point taken. Even Gurren Lagann, which you say is one of your favorites, is that to the extreme. (Even though it does it well.)

Finished Kurugaya's arc in Refrain. Actually kind of disappointed since Kurugaya is one of my favourite Key characters so far and her arc didn't show off any of that. It was still sad and all, but Kurugaya's meant to be talented, manipulative and a bit of a troll, and in the arc she's none of those things.

And Song for Friends is now my favourite Key song. Jun Maeda is a brilliant writer and an awful person for making everyone feel this sad.

Also after reading that @CanisWolfred I think you would really enjoy Bokurano. It's much more bleak than most mecha but it also discusses very human themes. It deconstructs the idea of destined pilots, collateral damage and duty to humanity, among other things.

They're both Subsets of the Giant Robot Genre. They're pretty much polar opposites, though, and mixing the two can have interesting, or even disasterous effects on a show.

Gurren Lagann, however, is Super Robot. The Quintessential Super Robot Anime, in fact. Sure, there are mass produced units, but all basically super robots, and that's pretty much the only mecha element. Otherwise, it takes pretty much every troupe commonly used in Super Robot anime, and exaggerates them to epic proportions.

But in no way is it really a part of this discussion. I'm talking about shows like Valvrave, Majestic Prince, Code Geass, Gundam SEED and 00 - shows that say they are Mecha, but are more like 60% Mecha, and 40% Super Robot - Invincible battle mecha that never get hurt unless its convenient, larger than life characters who are super great right from the getgo and stay awesome for most of the show (Please note, old Gundam used to have the pilots be super great for the first episode, but always attributed it to beginner's luck, and afterwards they'd have to struggle to hone their skills. Unlike, say, Gundam SEED, where they just spend episode after episode establishing how great the pilot/robot is...), and crazy plots that spin out of control (Though this might be down to the general escalation of anime in general). By making the heroes larger than life, they make their characters less relateable. By making the stories crazy, they make their stories less believable. And with their invincible mechs, they make their action scenes less interesting. All this combines to make the show much harder to watch and get invested in than it should be. Not to say I don't like any of the modern mecha shows out there, but when I do, it's only from a "guilty pleasure" standpoint. They're not what I'd call "good", but they're enjoyable despite or even because of their flaws, but not the way they're intended.

@Jollykarp - That was one of the first manga I ever read, alongside Black Butler and Monster. I recall really enjoying it, though I don't remember thing 1 about it, and I'm not sure I ever finished it. I might reread it someday. I also see it has an anime adaption, but since it ends differently, I'm not sure if I should watch it.

I thought that what you were talking about was Real Robot...I was under the impression Real Robot and Super Robot were the two varieties of Mecha....

Also, I thought you really liked Code Geass.

When I talk about Mecha, I'm refering specifically about Real Robot. Because if I called it real robot, that'd gewt it confused with...real robots. Or smaller robots. Mecha's a lot easier, and everyone winds up thinking stuff like Gundam and Code Geass anyways, right?

Also, I thought you really liked Code Geass

In a Guilty Pleasure kind of way. That show has more plot holes than swiss cheese, though, and the battles are an uninteresting as it gets. Suzaki is literally invincible, so it becomes impossible to get invested in any fight he's in. Kallen is also inconsistant with her limits, losing some fights but always winning others, and I never felt it was clear how or why she lost. It's strengths come from how over the top it is, though. It's never boring, but it's never what I'd call "good".

I remember reading about how the director for the anime adaptation for Bokurano hated the original manga and asked the writer (who also wrote the terrifying NaruTaru) if he could save those kids. The mangaka said he could, as long as he didn't use magic to justify why everyone survived.

How many subgenres does giant robots have???
Anyways

I finally got time to read the first two chapters of Saturn Apartments! One disappointment is all the male characters kind of blend together. The art style is very nice, and the shots of earth from up in the atmosphere are beautiful, but I wish the characters had more defining features. The manga is very character driven. It's really interesting to see how Mitsu interacts with the characters and intern reveals more backstory for this artificial planet. He's becoming a wind washer like his dad who has disappeared. I still need to finish vol. 1 but so far I'm enjoying it.

Only two...Real Robot (aka Mecha) and Super Robot. Again, I don't like calling it real robot since nobody ever actually calls it that.

Yup, I'm on episode 57

I'd probably recommend switching to the manga afterwards, since as far as I know, the anime never went into the final arc (which is basically what the entire rest of the series has been building up to in a way).

I think after catching up with Dandy (which won't be hard ) and Kill la Kill I'll start Beck. Although it seems I'll have to finish the story through the manga? Eeh..

imo, the anime's ending for Beck is very satisfying since it picks just the right notes to go off on. The manga gets a little stranger, thanks to a few American characters, and it just wasn't as satisfying.

Also, watch it in the dub! You'll have the songs in your head for days

Guess I'll just stick with the anime then! I would have really enjoyed the characters to have bothered continuing anyways.

On a different note, for those of you that keep up with Japanese bands or singers ...how do you do that? I mostly follow musicians through YouTube but most asian performers in general don't have an account and their songs are frequently blocked. AKFG is my prime example, having their own youtube account, but only a grand total of 4 song being on their.

Not sure how much it helps, but I think if you look around you can find some bands and singers that update a lot. For example the pillows and T.M. Revolution both have Facebook pages that seem to update well enough (maybe not the pillows as much), though sometimes the posts are mostly in Japanese, of course. D:

AFKG actually has an English division fansite/twitter that keeps you up to date on everything that's happening! I tend to forum hop a little so I guess I follow the artists through their fans. I also follow Spitz, base ball bear, Sukima Switch and the pillows.

I also try to watch live performances whenever I can. I love how Japanese artists are less flashy, and their fans are so much more respectful

Finished season 2 of Kenshin. It's the most emotional I've gotten while watching anime.

Why does One Piece have to be so powerful?
I watched all of the Funimation Dub of Enies Lobby, and I just keep ending up crying. I already know everything that happens, but it always hits me right in the feels.