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The criteria to determine whether a series is Real or Super is not decided by a single factor. It is a combined number of factors that decides the genre.
One of the simplest fundamental factors is how far the suspension of belief is stretched.
Say a mecha that deals with politics, war and terrorism. But its about a main character from a parallel universe with psychic powers, piloting a 40 meter tall biomechanical mecha. He is fighting against a secret organisation that's full of psychic time travellers who came from the future to stop the world from becoming the future they came from.
The title mecha is also a gattai of 5 vehicles to a core mecha and it is powered by the psychic powers and sheer will of the main character. Its main weapon is a sword formed by his psychic powers holding a 1 piece of 1 dimensional space in the form of a blade.
I'm sure this easily falls under Super Robots, because it suspends belief too far to be 'Real'.
Technology itself doesn't determine whether its real or super, its how they display it.
Gunbuster is powered by 2 Degenerating Reactors, with the output of more than 2 suns. It takes on Space Monsters that consumes stars and make nurseries out of them. Gunbuster then took on a enemy force thats several billions by itself. But no Gunbuster is not alone, because Gunbuster is Noriko and Kazumi. And Gunbuster is not the ultimate mecha because it has so much power. Gunbuster is the ultimate mecha because Noriko and Kazumi has Effort, Determination and Guts.
"Each of you is a flame (火), but together, you will become a blaze (炎)!"
Coach's words to Noriko and Kazumi. Super Robots emphasise that its the human spirit that's behind the power of the mecha, the mecha is absolutely nothing without its true pilot. Its the will and hotbloodedness from a Super Robot pilot that makes a Super Robot anime what it is.
Xanbungle mecha are weak ground roaming mecha with technological levels the same as a truck, they are powered by Gasoline Engines. But they emphasise one thing, Determination and Guts. Walker Garia the main character mecha is famous for stopping a gigantic nuclear ICBM when its powered only by a Gasoline Engine. It doesn't stop there, Jiron the pilot, decides to throw the gigantic rocket back to the enemy ship and blows it up.
Comedy and darkness? I never went to that point at all. The most I said was that war, politics and terrorism are found mostly in Real Robots, Super Robots mostly deal with threats greater than humanity itself. Mostly is the word I use. After all I did mention that mecha anime, as a whole, works with almost every genre you can come up with. Be its Super or Real, any genre can fit.
The only Super Robot Gundam is still G Gundam, its the only Gundam that carries a Super Robot spirit. A hotblooded martial arts tournament to settle world politics? Yea, Super Robot.
All other Gundams are dealing with realistic problems in the manner of politics, wars and terrorism, just that they have a powerful mecha. And like I mentioned above, the power of a mecha does not determine whether its Real or Super.
In case you do not know, we SRW players rank Astranagant/ Dis Astranagant, Real Robots, in the top 10 of strongest mechas ever. Simply because they are Real Robots that transcend space/time and have an infinite energy source running on souls of the dead from parallel universes. They are impossibly strong but they are Real Robots by nature of their stories.
Of course nowadays we SRW fans also recognise 'Hybrids'. Hybrids are mecha series where there's really no line, an example being Eureka 7.
In a story that deals with realistic matters, a Hotblooded young teen in love with an human form of a mysterious non human species, piloting a biomechanical Real Robot with powers on the global or even dimensional scale. By doing realistic research on LFO archetypes, applying Real Robot technology to make mecha out of the archetypes, they are essentially Real Robots. But Nirvash runs on the love between Renton and Eureka, hoping to save the world. Hard to decide is Real or Super, one of the very few people recognise as a Hybrid.
Real and Super Robots are officially recognised by anime and game creators, its not for people to bash themes, its just sub genres. Super Robots are like super hero stories, Real Robots are like war stories or normal action heroes, just that all of them are sci-fi.
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