[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

As below, mecha anime are a little broader than they used to be. Even if a show is not a traditional mecha show, it can still have many identifiable elements associated with the genre.

Well, what I was talking about was the decline of the traditional mecha show. In fairness, I probably could have been a bit clearer here.

I don't think that Sci-Fi, in a broader sense, has declined. At least not in sheer quantity. Like I wrote in a previous post on this thread, I think that Sci-Fi is still reasonably popular.

But Sci-Fi has shifted based on how the real world itself has changed over the past couple of decades.

Steins;Gate and Psycho-Pass are good examples of this. Neither of these shows has a mecha in it. Neither of them have androids or robots or AIs as major cast members. The sci-fi elements of these shows are visually subtle.

Sci-Fi used to make people think of things like Robocop, the Terminator, big mechanical monsters roaming about, and large fancy spaceships with intricate high-tech details all over its exterior. This sort of industrialist and "heavy machinery" sci-fi has largely faded away, because it never fully panned out in reality itself.

Yes, you could say that VRO is a "Mecha" show that substitutes the actual mecha for slightly armored protagonists wielding mechanical weapons. But even if so, that in itself says something about where sci-fi is going in the world of anime. It's slowly going away from the classic giant humanoid mecha, and the fancy schmancy spaceship.

If you just like general Sci-Fi, then this isn't necessarily a problem. But if you like mecha, then it could be a problem for you. So I sympathize with what some other people have wrote on this thread about mecha.


I think there was a time when millions upon millions of young boys all around the world (including Japan, perhaps especially Japan) dreamed about building and/or piloting big, high-tech machines. And that helped fuel the Sci-Fi shows of the era, both in live-action and animation. But times have changed. It's a nuanced thing, and it is hard to put it into words, as Bri said. But let's just say that I think the "nerd" of today is not as much into robotics, engineering, and outer space exploration as the "nerd" of the 70s and 80s was. This probably includes otakus as well.

Why? I'm referring to the number of shows made, not their quality.

I'm not referring to quality either. What I'm referring to is impact on the anime medium as a whole. If mecha is enjoying a Renaissance (even a "mini" one) then that should mean that one of the most highly hyped modern anime shows is a mecha show. There should be a mecha show in that Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, Monogatari series, and SAO echelon of hype and popularity.

I mean, Code Geass was huge. NGE was huge. TTGL wasn't as big as either of those two, but it was still a very popular show that was widely talked about in the anime fandom and sold well on DVDs/Blu-Rays.

As for Evangelion, I'm pretty sure that they're making more as we speak.

Yes, but that's at least partly cashing in on nostalgia. It's not the same as something new taking the anime world by storm.

Given that, it's odd to use it as an example when AGE wrapped up a whole two months ago.

Let's be honest, AGE was a flop, at least commercially. If anything, AGE's problems speaks to how traditional mecha really is in decline.

And personally, I think you might be broadening the definition of mecha to the point where it's indistinguishable from generic Sci-Fi. If that is what happens to the genre definition for mecha, then mecha really is dead or on life support. Just think of what's happened to "Slice of Life"...

Originally Posted by totoum

The only difference is in the old days otakus liked their females older and in space rather than younger and in highschool.

Even if your right, and to be fair, these can be very significant differences for some people.