LF: realistic mecha series

[X207]

hello everyone. can anyone please help me find other series that i'd enjoy watching? i like a lot of scifi/mecha series and ive seen many already. im looking for a series present day/future or post apocalytic setting where the series has gore/death. its more in the spectrum where the series isnt afraid to show death and the truth of war. im not into those series where they only get minor injuries at the worst. a serious hidden agenda/truth behind the conflict is also a plus for the mystery factor ie Cross Ange.

ive seen most Gundam series, Muv Luv, Aldnoah series, Heroic Age, IS Stratos, Kakumei Valvrave, Cross Ange. Susuei Gargantia, Macross and Sidonia no Kishi.

i tried M3: Sono Kuroki Hagani but its was a bit too dull and slow for me, Gyrozetter was too shonen for me and tailored to a younger generation. tried Classroom Crisis, dropped it. cant say im much for World Trigger. the reason behind the conflict isnt too dark and i dont like Yuma nor Osamu very much.

i havent yet tried Code geass but thats the only one i can think i havent tried seeing yet. i am watching God Eater too.

im sure i have already seen most with those criteria but i cant seem to find the remaining series. i finished Muv Luv Total Eclipse and im looking for the next series.
have i missed any other series worth seeing?

[jedinat]

Have you seen RahXephon?

[X207]

Originally Posted by jedinat

Have you seen RahXephon?

ty Jedinat, that does look very promising, i'll definitely check that series out. Psychological/thriller genres are some of my favorite series.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

I’ll try to recommend some of the rarely-mentioned titles. Sorry if you have seen them (there are some old titles if you don’t mind):

Shirogane no Ishi Argevollen (first episode is cliché as hell, but it slowly getting better & better in terms of the narrative about the reality of war.)
The Cockpit (1993 WW2 OVAs based on Leiji Matsumoto’s work)
Flag (2006 mecha series about frontline photo journalist in a war-torn land)
Jin-Roh
Gasaraki (the first episode might weird you out but try to watch it until the fourth episode before you decide to stick or drop it)
Armored Trooper VOTOMS
Blue Meteor SPT Layzner
Fang of the Sun Dougram

I also want to recommend Broken Blade, but you’ve already watched it, haven’t you?

[X207]

ty for the reply Obelisk. i havent heard of any of those series yet but they all look very promising. i dont mind the more obscure series either. ive seen the series Avenger (not the Marvel brand) and found it to be very good. ill take a look at all those series. i did find Turn A Gundam to be bizarre (regarding designs) but very enjoyable in the end.

[Jazzrat]

It's old but Patlabor is worth checking out if you are into realistic mech. Not much gore/blood but it's there's a good bit of realism in what mechs could be used for in urban modern setting.

Macross Zero OVA is also another decent choice. There's some alien mumbo jumbo in it but for most part, it's mech + airplane dogfight porn with some realism in them.

Ghost in the Shell doesn't have much traditional mechs but lots of cyberpunk and robots that dream of being human. Lots of gory realism in both the original movie and the later tv series that sci fi nuts should watch.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

If I may add, there’s also The Big O and Area 88 which are splendid series. Big O is a stylish mecha while 88 is set in late 70s to early 80s with the characters piloting some fighter planes. Area 88 anime has different incarnations (OVA, Movie & TV series) which all of them are worth checking out.

Also, about Patlabor, if you want something grim and serious, watch only the movies (there are three of them total). Patlabor OVAs & TV series themselves are heavy on comedy and full of slice-of-life of a police force. There are a bunch of serious episodes, and the realism and underlying (political) messages are always there but, most often than not, it's always wrapped with layers of jokes, humor & slapstik comedy. If you're okay with that then you're welcome to try out the OVAs & TV series. The first set of OVAs is actually the prequel for the first movie so you might need to watch that first before movie 1, 2 & 3.

[X207]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

It's old but Patlabor is worth checking out if you are into realistic mech. Not much gore/blood but it's there's a good bit of realism in what mechs could be used for in urban modern setting.

Macross Zero OVA is also another decent choice. There's some alien mumbo jumbo in it but for most part, it's mech + airplane dogfight porn with some realism in them.

Ghost in the Shell doesn't have much traditional mechs but lots of cyberpunk and robots that dream of being human. Lots of gory realism in both the original movie and the later tv series that sci fi nuts should watch.

Patlabor looks very interesting, the mech designs are rather good. given they're not a flashy as Gundam but they're not bizarre in any way.

i have seen 2 Macross series (though i skipped the rock'nroll season) i have looked around for other series. i did see a few Macross OVA.

ghost in shell was a honorable mention a few times, should get around to that sometime soon.

i got a few series to see now, i'll knock them off 1 at a time.

[Darthtabby]

It tends to flip back and forth between comedic and deadly serious (the plot involves a socially inept child guerilla turned mercenary/counter terrorist who is sent undercover to protect a short tempered high school girl) but Full Metal Panic might be worth a shot. Surprised no one's mentioned it yet actually.

It has two sequels, the purely comedic Fumoffu and the rather dark The Second Raid (which is actually the third season ). Though if you want the full story you'll have to find fan translations of the source novels since The Second Raid doesn't even cover to the halfway point. (Unless you can read Japanese, in which case you won't need fan translations.)

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

Full Metal Panic might be worth a shot. Surprised no one's mentioned it yet actually.

Maybe because I don't want him to feel the pain of watching something that doesn't have an ending and only stopped midway in the story in The Second Raid . But if X207 really want to see it, I suggest watching the first season and the first season only. After you've finished the first season, just stopped right there as the "ending" is more fullfilling than the rage-inducing second season (Second Raid) ending. Fumoffu is optional as it's more of a comedic side-story that doesn't really involve & affect the main plot.

[X207]

FMP sounds interesting though the 1st seasonsounds like a plan. id rather stop a series before it diverges too far from the main story. im not against well placed comedy but too much makes the series a bit generic.

i saw the series Dragonauts: the animation twice, first i saw the first 14 eps and raged dropped it. then i saw it completely to see how the train wreck ended and it sure was horrible.

im a big fan of the series Rosario+vampire but the anime got a bit too many plot delays and fan service in the series, mostly in se2. needless to say the anime was good but they didnt do the best job on it.

[Jazzrat]

Originally Posted by X207

i have seen 2 Macross series (though i skipped the rock'nroll season) i have looked around for other series. i did see a few Macross OVA.

ghost in shell was a honorable mention a few times, should get around to that sometime soon.

i got a few series to see now, i'll knock them off 1 at a time.

I think Macross Zero is around 6 episode long so it's fairly short and easy. Macross 7 (rock n roll) is skippable even for Macross fans.

As for GitS, i recommend the original movie first since you can just knock it out in a sitting and it's most well known even outside of anime fan (The Matrix was heavily inspired by the original movie and lots of famous director cited the original movie for it's excellent cinematography).

If you like the setting (story is a bit confusing so don't worry if that didn't grab you), the Stand Alone Complex tv series should be your next go to in the franchise. The rest of the material depends on how much you like the franchise.

[AnimeFangirl]

The Appleseed series, especially the movies that came out in the 2000s. They're done in a pseudo-realistic style you might find interesting.

[Tenzen12]

You can try Blue Gender, it's properly edgy and gory. I don't remember much from story though. Argento Soma is also good.

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Maybe because I don't want him to feel the pain of watching something that doesn't have an ending and only stopped midway in the story in The Second Raid . But if X207 really want to see it, I suggest watching the first season and the first season only. After you've finished the first season, just stopped right there as the "ending" is more fullfilling than the rage-inducing second season (Second Raid) ending. Fumoffu is optional as it's more of a comedic side-story that doesn't really involve & affect the main plot.

Well if he get hooked to FMPhe can just start read Full Metal Panic Sigma afterward which finish whole story. lets be honest best parts are in that manga anyway.

[X207]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

I think Macross Zero is around 6 episode long so it's fairly short and easy. Macross 7 (rock n roll) is skippable even for Macross fans.

As for GitS, i recommend the original movie first since you can just knock it out in a sitting and it's most well known even outside of anime fan (The Matrix was heavily inspired by the original movie and lots of famous director cited the original movie for it's excellent cinematography).

If you like the setting (story is a bit confusing so don't worry if that didn't grab you), the Stand Alone Complex tv series should be your next go to in the franchise. The rest of the material depends on how much you like the franchise.

yeah, Macross 7 was an easy choice to skip altogether. i'll figure out where i could catch up with GiTS and wastch the series

Originally Posted by AnimeFangirl

The Appleseed series, especially the movies that came out in the 2000s. They're done in a pseudo-realistic style you might find interesting.

Originally Posted by Tenzen12

You can try Blue Gender, it's properly edgy and gory. I don't remember much from story though. Argento Soma is also good.

Well if he get hooked to FMPhe can just start read Full Metal Panic Sigma afterward which finish whole story. lets be honest best parts are in that manga anyway.

ty for the replies, Appleseed, Argento Soma and Blue Gender look very interesting. im honestly shocked to see i have so many other series that i totally overlooked all these years. im curently on Rahxephon and i already see a twist i like in ep 2 of the series.

im already seeing 9 current series this season (not including the mecha anime listed here) and catching up to Naruto Shipuuden is 1 way to waste time as i wait for the current new eps. still havent got too many non fillers to see, maybe 15eps worth but im sure i can see all the mecha anime listed here in their entirety before NS ever comes to an end.

[Kafriel]

I second Blue Gender and Appleseed, I'll also have to ask if you've watched Casshern SINS; it's not precisely mecha, although there are no humans in the show. Repeating Obelisk's question, have you watched broken blade?

[X207]

Originally Posted by Kafriel

I second Blue Gender and Appleseed, I'll also have to ask if you've watched Casshern SINS; it's not precisely mecha, although there are no humans in the show. Repeating Obelisk's question, have you watched broken blade?

ty for the reply Kafriel, i'll add Casshern sins to my list of series to watch. as for Broken blade the answer that i havent seen it yet but its added onto my list of shows to see. i like watching shows where civilization/organizations are hiding their dark secrets from public knowledge.

[Darthtabby]

Just wanting to clear up a few things regarding Full Metal Panic. The original source material consists of light novels, which have comedic parts but can be very serious, and collections of short stories, most of which are comedic and not meant to be taken very seriously. All three seasons draw heavily on the original source material, but all three also contain some anime original material as well.

Now it's kind of funny... I actually don't like The Second Raid very much and have taken a fair bit of flak for criticizing it in the past. Perhaps I ought to view Obelisk as a comrade since he apparently doesn't like it very much either. But I feel like I should point out that The Second Raid is, in general very highly regarded, with a lot of fans considering it the best of the three seasons.

[X207]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

Just wanting to clear up a few things regarding Full Metal Panic. The original source material consists of light novels, which have comedic parts but can be very serious, and collections of short stories, most of which are comedic and not meant to be taken very seriously. All three seasons draw heavily on the original source material, but all three also contain some anime original material as well.

Now it's kind of funny... I actually don't like The Second Raid very much and have taken a fair bit of flak for criticizing it in the past. Perhaps I ought to view Obelisk as a comrade since he apparently doesn't like it very much either. But I feel like I should point out that The Second Raid is, in general very highly regarded, with a lot of fans considering it the best of the three seasons.

ty for the reply. light comedy is just fine, even when they add it to Naruto shippuden (even NS pushed the limits at times). my main issue is the fan service anime deviations some series like to do to delay character development. im fine just as long as its all balanced out with character development.

is kind of funny you mention that the 2nd season isnt your favorite of the 3. i have something similar with the slice of life comedy series Minami-Ke, love se1 and 3, not so much 2nd season.