Mecha Anime Starter Guide: Going Beyond Voltron and Robotech
With last night's debut of Titan Maximum, the new stop-motion animated comedy from the team behind Robot Chicken, we got to thinking about mecha, the giant robots in anime that have the power to both destroy and save civilization. While we figured that even those who aren't fans of Japanese animation are readily familiar with Voltron and Robotech, there are dozens of both TV and film titles that employ these (usually) human-operated machines. Below is a small sampling of our mecha anime picks. If you think we're missing something, leave your choices in the comment section.
1. Eureka Seven
Eureka Seven is the mecha anime for surfers and ravers. Members of the rebel group Gekkostate pilot mecha who ride surfboard-like apparatuses. Episodes are named after dance hits by Primal Scream ("Higher Than the Sun"), Soul II Soul ("Keep on Movin'")" and many others and the mecha used by the military are known as KLF. Last week, the film Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers debuted across the US. Check out the closing theme below.
iLL "Space Rock"
2. Gurren Lagann
With its inventive plot and mixture of humor and action, Gurren Lagann has become the big hit amongst new anime series in the US. The series takes place in a future where humans are forced to live in underground villages that are plagued by earthquakes. Young Simon works as a "digger" and in the course of his job, he finds a mysterious key and, later, a head, thus sparking a journey above-ground with his friends Kamina and Yoko.
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