I has fun while watching Grendizer, Macross, FMP and TTGL. No way to deny that.
But I has qualms with the mecha genre when it comes down to several things:
First would be the action and its implications in matters of pain, life and death. Aroduc put it very well so I gonna quote it
Quote:
Seriously, I will never understand the attraction of giant robots wailing on eachother. Even when your series is about magical giant swords, the fights are real. When somebody gets hit, you can empathize. When somebody gets kicked in the junk, you wince. When somebody gets their arm pulled off their shoulder, you feel it. When the same thing happens to giant robots… you cheer maybe? Unless it’s the good robot being attacked, in which you watch it triumph despite a giant gaping hole in itself. It cheapens any and all attempts at drama around the battles and makes everything feel so very very contrived. Maybe tearing the arm off hurt the pilot, maybe it did nothing. Maybe the entire thing was cut in half, exploded, and then launched into the sun, but the pilot’s still fine. Why? Because the writers say so.
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When it comes to action, I litterally has chills down my spine over Kakyoin's and Polnareff's efforts to outsmart J.Gail, or when Hisoka has shown Castro why he let him sever his arm.
So it bring me to the "Action shonen tournament style", "Political and military commentary" or "the romance". To me, it is a matter of what I've seen before and if what I want to see in this show is going to left me speechless or craving for more.
First, action shonen tournament,
As much as I loath Naruto, I admit that most of the fights in the tournament arc were very well done (Temari vs Shikamaru comes in mind), the underworld tournament in Yuyu Hakusho is a classic to be read (especially when you feel for Kuwabara who has nothing special compared to Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei, and watch him grow in term of spirit and combat feats). And there are also the emotional implications during those fights.
And while being technically not a shonen, Gunnm's Motorball arc was awesome because of the superb presence of Jashugan.
Second, political and military commentary.
Sorry, but I have yet to find something in any anime genre that have done it and wowed me. Western medias wins in that department, hand down. No political genre stories has wowed me as much as Frankenheimer's "Seven Days in May". May I suggest to watch "State of Play" too? And as for military, sorry but I dont feel like doing a long list of war movies. If you are going to suggest me Code Geass, I have watched it, and it is nothing to write home about. Especially in the light of the Euphemia fiasco.
Finally, romance.
No thanks, I'll stick to Orange Road, Nodame Cantabile and Honey & Clover; and I"s.
So to me, it is mostly a matter of "I have seen that before, and it was done just better".