AnimeSuki Forums

Triple_R · 2014-07-19, 07:53

A friend recently asked me, due to my fondness of magical girl anime and many mecha shows, "Has there ever been something combining magical girls with mecha?"

So I started racking my brain here. I came up with some answers, but they all had considerable caveats.

My answers...

Vivid Red Operation (magical girl transformation, largely unexplained if scientific-seeming 'magical girl' power, Monsters of the Week are often mecha-esque)

Nanoha StrikerS (very magical girl if slightly technomage, some robotic enemies)

Gurren Lagann (if you consider Nia a magical girl

)

Tiger and Bunny (Blue Rose is maybe in the same ballfield as a magical girl, Tiger and Bunny often look like human-sized mechas when in action in their tech suits)

Magic Knight Rayearth (started as magical girls, later on piloted giant mechas!)

But, if we take it to the extreme of "Somebody like Madoka/Sakura/Nanoha in the same show as a full-fledged Gundam-style mecha", I couldn't come up with much.

So what do the highly knowledgeable people of this site have to say? Can you think of any show where something like Nanoha vs. Char Aznable actually happens?

ninryu · 2014-07-19, 08:12

Lyrical Nanoha Force (manga) is even more mecha-ish than StrikerS.

Tempester · 2014-07-19, 08:39

I'm not knowledgeable at all on either genre/element, but the search engine on AniDB can be very useful for these kinds of searches.

Going down to the categories and choosing "category at any weight" for mecha and mahou shoujo gives quite a few different anime. However and unfortunately, there are no results for both genres at max weight. You might like to check out the results for mahou shoujo at max weight (with mecha at any weight) and mecha at max weight (with mahou shoujo at any weight).

From my own experience, while it's a very super-robot-oriented show, Yuusha-Ou GaoGaiGar has a typical magical girl flavor to it. Each episode deals with an innocent person with their own troubles and desires who is corrupted by evil aliens and merged with mechanic parts into a rampaging robot, and is subsequently beaten and rescued by the heroes. Probably not what you were looking for (which would be awesome by the way), but I felt it was worth mentioning.

kitten320 · 2014-07-20, 14:10

Hmmm... how about Mai HiME?

It kinda has magicl girl theme (no transformations though) as well as has mecha (animal like) weapons/robots in it that fight.

GreyZone · 2014-07-20, 15:06

I saw you posting in that thread, so this may be pointless, but still, technically Aldnoah.Zero kind of fits, after seeing EP3.

RRW · 2014-07-20, 15:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple_R

A friend recently asked me, due to my fondness of magical girl anime and many mecha shows, "Has there ever been something combining magical girls with mecha?"

ehhh you mean like mecha girl?

stuff like Symphogear really

Triple_R · 2014-07-20, 15:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreyZone

I saw you posting in that thread, so this may be pointless, but still, technically Aldnoah.Zero kind of fits, after seeing EP3.

lol, good point.

Thanks to you and everyone else for the helpful/information replies.

Key Board · 2014-07-20, 15:53

your your friend's mileage may vary, but since you mentioned VividDred, I'm guessing StrikeWitches would qualify too

and as mentioned there's Symphogear

http://i.imgur.com/c6WSTMe.jpg

^^^

Edit: also, Infinite Stratos

Hiss13 · 2014-07-20, 18:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by ninryu

Lyrical Nanoha Force (manga) is even more mecha-ish than StrikerS.

I would second this if it wasn't for the fact that it has been on hiatus for about a year.

Like others mentioned, Symphogear may be a good fit, though.

MisaoFan · 2014-07-22, 11:22

I would like to mention Symphogear as many other mentionned, as well.

Guardian Enzo · 2014-07-24, 19:27

Captain Earth is as mecha as it gets, and has one non-magical girl who explicitly refers to herself as one and a couple who are sort of magical girls who don't.

Haak · 2014-07-25, 01:25

You've already seen it Triple_R, but Rinne no Lagrange is something that I can only describe as a Magical Girl series but with mechas instead of magic.

totoum · 2014-07-26, 02:01

Well I hope I'm not too late to the party, here are my two attempts:

The first one is Galaxy Fraulein Yuna and its sequel.
TV tropes describes it as "what happens when you set a magical-girl story three centuries into the future.."
Now what can I guarantee you is mecha , I don't know if you'd consider it strictly magical girl since it's sci fi and its one of the cases "is it magic or really advanced technology?" but I think what really counts is that there's magical girl tropes present whether it's in the characters or story structure, the only thing really missing is really long transformation sequences (they're more madokaesque ). The sequel would increase the magical girl feel of it, notably by adding mascot characters.
Speaking of the sequel, it's directed by none other than Akiyuki Shinbo, long before he joined shaft or directed Nanoha he was working on this (couldn't help but laugh when the MC talked about wanting to befriend the antagonist that just tried to kill her

)
Also there's a nice dose of Yuri jokes

Here are both OPs to give you the mood

My other is only recommended if you're desesperate simply because I didn't find this series a good watch (though the animation is great)
The Iczel franchise consists of Iczel 1,Iczel Reborn, and Iczelion

Now, I wouldn't say Iczel 1 qualifies, I'm just mentioning it to give context, it's just a mecha show that's also a gory and fansercicy yurifest.
Iczel Reborn gets closer, the tone is much lighter and there's a team of girls fighting together, see OP here.

But what comes closest is the last installment of the franchise, by that time Sailor Moon had aired and the director was also directing Magic Knight Rayearth, there's some interesting combos in this title, for example there's a mini mecha that turns into the girl's battle gear (with real transformation sequence!) that mini mecha also talks and fills the roll a mascot character would play in a magical girl show.
So it's a really interesting mix, however it was canceled after only 2 episodes so there's not much to see.
Here is the trailer , the very last scene shown is one of my favorite action cuts of all time, I could watch a gf of it all day.
The only reason I'd recommend the franchise as a whole is if you're curious about anime history since this was arguably AIC's first hit (as well as one of the first OVAs targetted at Otakus ) and is largely forgotten today.

Kotohono · 2014-07-28, 22:01

Aside from Symphogear being mentioned here numerous times

.

Maybe Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon? I mean there is 2 the magical girls and some mecha users, though I am not sure it is quite what you're looking for

.

GreyZone · 2014-07-28, 23:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konakaga

[...]
Maybe Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon? [...]

Oh how could I forget it... yes it certainly does fit the criteria of having magical girls as well as mecha, although neither are the focus of the story. I second it.

Kurohane · 2014-08-17, 14:34

Asura Cryin', has anyone mentioned this yet?

2014-07-19, 07:53	Link #1
Triple_R Senior Member Author Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Age: 42	*Magical Girl and* giant robots/mechas, in the same show!** A friend recently asked me, due to my fondness of magical girl anime and many mecha shows, "Has there ever been something combining magical girls with mecha?" So I started racking my brain here. I came up with some answers, but they all had considerable caveats. My answers... Vivid Red Operation (magical girl transformation, largely unexplained if scientific-seeming 'magical girl' power, Monsters of the Week are often mecha-esque) Nanoha StrikerS (very magical girl if slightly technomage, some robotic enemies) Gurren Lagann (if you consider Nia a magical girl ) Tiger and Bunny (Blue Rose is maybe in the same ballfield as a magical girl, Tiger and Bunny often look like human-sized mechas when in action in their tech suits) Magic Knight Rayearth (started as magical girls, later on piloted giant mechas!) But, if we take it to the extreme of "Somebody like Madoka/Sakura/Nanoha in the same show as a full-fledged Gundam-style mecha", I couldn't come up with much. So what do the highly knowledgeable people of this site have to say? Can you think of any show where something like Nanoha vs. Char Aznable actually happens? __________________

2014-07-20, 14:10	Link #4
kitten320 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007	Hmmm... how about Mai HiME? It kinda has magicl girl theme (no transformations though) as well as has mecha (animal like) weapons/robots in it that fight. __________________ My anime list

2014-07-20, 15:53	Link #8
Key Board Carbon Join Date: Nov 2003	your your friend's mileage may vary, but since you mentioned VividDred, I'm guessing StrikeWitches would qualify too and as mentioned there's Symphogear http://i.imgur.com/c6WSTMe.jpg ^^^ Edit: also, Infinite Stratos __________________ "Legitimacy is based on three things. First of all, the people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice—that if they speak up, they will be heard. Second, the law has to be predictable. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the rules tomorrow are going to be roughly the same as the rules today. And third, the authority has to be fair. It can’t treat one group differently from another.” Malcolm Gladwell

2014-07-25, 01:25	Link #12
Haak Me, An Intellectual Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: UK Age: 33	You've already seen it Triple_R, but Rinne no Lagrange is something that I can only describe as a Magical Girl series but with mechas instead of magic. __________________ MAL \| AnimeSuki Choice Awards 2020 Winners

2014-07-26, 02:01	Link #13
totoum Me at work Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Dublin, Ireland Age: 36	Well I hope I'm not too late to the party, here are my two attempts: The first one is Galaxy Fraulein Yuna and its sequel. TV tropes describes it as "what happens when you set a magical-girl story three centuries into the future.." Now what can I guarantee you is mecha , I don't know if you'd consider it strictly magical girl since it's sci fi and its one of the cases "is it magic or really advanced technology?" but I think what really counts is that there's magical girl tropes present whether it's in the characters or story structure, the only thing really missing is really long transformation sequences (they're more madokaesque ). The sequel would increase the magical girl feel of it, notably by adding mascot characters. Speaking of the sequel, it's directed by none other than Akiyuki Shinbo, long before he joined shaft or directed Nanoha he was working on this (couldn't help but laugh when the MC talked about wanting to befriend the antagonist that just tried to kill her ) Also there's a nice dose of Yuri jokes Here are both OPs to give you the mood My other is only recommended if you're desesperate simply because I didn't find this series a good watch (though the animation is great) The Iczel franchise consists of Iczel 1,Iczel Reborn, and Iczelion Now, I wouldn't say Iczel 1 qualifies, I'm just mentioning it to give context, it's just a mecha show that's also a gory and fansercicy yurifest. Iczel Reborn gets closer, the tone is much lighter and there's a team of girls fighting together, see OP here. But what comes closest is the last installment of the franchise, by that time Sailor Moon had aired and the director was also directing Magic Knight Rayearth, there's some interesting combos in this title, for example there's a mini mecha that turns into the girl's battle gear (with real transformation sequence!) that mini mecha also talks and fills the roll a mascot character would play in a magical girl show. So it's a really interesting mix, however it was canceled after only 2 episodes so there's not much to see. Here is the trailer , the very last scene shown is one of my favorite action cuts of all time, I could watch a gf of it all day. The only reason I'd recommend the franchise as a whole is if you're curious about anime history since this was arguably AIC's first hit (as well as one of the first OVAs targetted at Otakus ) and is largely forgotten today. __________________

2014-07-19, 08:12	Link #2
ninryu It's yuri, bitches Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Israel Age: 28	Lyrical Nanoha Force (manga) is even more mecha-ish than StrikerS.

2014-07-19, 08:39	Link #3
Tempester Japanese Culture Fan Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Planet Earth Age: 33	I'm not knowledgeable at all on either genre/element, but the search engine on AniDB can be very useful for these kinds of searches. Going down to the categories and choosing "category at any weight" for mecha and mahou shoujo gives quite a few different anime. However and unfortunately, there are no results for both genres at max weight. You might like to check out the results for mahou shoujo at max weight (with mecha at any weight) and mecha at max weight (with mahou shoujo at any weight). From my own experience, while it's a very super-robot-oriented show, Yuusha-Ou GaoGaiGar has a typical magical girl flavor to it. Each episode deals with an innocent person with their own troubles and desires who is corrupted by evil aliens and merged with mechanic parts into a rampaging robot, and is subsequently beaten and rescued by the heroes. Probably not what you were looking for (which would be awesome by the way), but I felt it was worth mentioning.

2014-07-20, 15:06	Link #5
GreyZone "Senior" "Member" Join Date: Jan 2012	I saw you posting in that thread, so this may be pointless, but still, technically Aldnoah.Zero kind of fits, after seeing EP3.

2014-08-17, 14:34	Link #16
Kurohane Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012	Asura Cryin', has anyone mentioned this yet? __________________