Recommendations: Mecha

[Kairin]

Provide your recommendations for anime, manga, light novels, web novels, visual novels, games, and other media within the genre: Mecha!

These should be works that you've experienced personally and would like to recommend to others. No "troll" recommendations, or non-recommendations in this thread. For longer series, you don't necessarily need to wait until the whole work is finished before recommending it, but please at least wait until you've at least experienced enough of it to make a good judgement.

Please don't just post a list! You don't need to do a full review, but for each title you suggest, please also consider providing:

• The full title
• The author, studio, or other information that will help identify the work
• A brief explanation of the setting and premise (no spoilers!)
• A brief summary of why you like it and/or why you think others might like it
• How much of it you've experienced (particularly for longer series)
• Other works that it reminds you of, if applicable
• A link to a review you wrote on our site, if applicable
• Any other information that might help someone know if they should give it a shot

You may optionally post a few images if it helps, but please use thumbnails, and/or place it inside an [images] tag. Most third-party image hosting sites will provide a feature to copy/paste BBCode that uses thumbnails.

Please DO NOT post links on where to illegally download/stream/view the work you're recommending.


Again, for the purposes of this thread, please avoid all spoilers or hints that may ruin surprises in the plot, and absolutely no flaming another person's recommendations. If you see any problematic post, please report it so the moderators can review and take any needed action.

[Darthtabby]

This one is another one of my stock recommendations.

Title: Macross Frontier
Studio: Satelight
Year: 2008

The year is 2059. Humanity has recovered from near extinction during its war with the Zentraedi, and vast fleets have been dispatched to explore and colonize the galaxy. But for the citizens of the 25th Large Scale Colonization Fleet Macross Frontier, all this is just a backdrop to their daily lives. Former kabuki prodigy turned stunt pilot Alto Saotome dreams of flying Valkyries and a sky that is not limited to the height of a city ship’s dome, while Ranka Lee works part time at a Chinese restaurant, her cheerful and energetic disposition masking her repressed childhood memories of another fleet’s destruction. The biggest news in the fleet is a visit by Sheryl Nome, a super star singer from one of Frontier’s sister fleets known as the Galactic Fairy. But there is danger lurking is the vastness of space. One of Frontier’s recon craft is attacked and destroyed by the insectoid Vajra, and soon the colony fleet itself is under siege. Against this backdrop Alto, Ranka, and Sheryl’s paths begin to intertwine, and all three will find themselves playing an important part in the conflict.

Perhaps the highest praise I can give this series is that it reminded me of when I first saw Star Wars as a kid. Produced as a 25th Anniversary series for the Macross franchise, it has all the music, mecha, missile spam and love triangles the franchise is know for, and is chock full of references to previous Macross series. Yet it is (for the most part) very accessible to franchise newcomers. It also features surprisingly strong characterization, with Sheryl Nome being a particular standout -a complex, charismatic, multi-faceted character who demonstrates incredible strength in the face of adversity.
There are also two alternate continuity movies*, which are in many ways superior to the TV series, though I personally much prefer the original TV version. If you are going to watch both versions I strongly recommend watching the TV version first (and not only because its my favorite version).

*Actually Shoji Kawamori has stated that he considers all Macross productions to be in universe historical fiction (meaning that no version is more canonical than any other) so perhaps alternate continuity is not the most accurate way to describe things.

[Vitne Eveille]

Macross is actually one I've always been meaning to watch. Thanks for the little write-up, its gotten me re-interested in it!

I would recommend:

Title: Voices of a Distant Star
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Year: 2002

The narrative begins in 2047. Mikako is apparently alone in a hauntingly empty city, trying to contact people through her mobile telephone. She wakes up in her Tracer orbiting an extrasolar planet. She then goes to Agartha, the fictional fourth planet of the Sirius System. Mikako sends an e-mail to Noboru (which shows the date 2047-09-16), with the subject "I am here", which would reach him eight years later. Some flashes of imagery, perhaps indicative of memory, a hallucination, or even a mystical encounter, are then shown. The room shown at the beginning of the animation is presented again; Mikako is squatting in the corner, sobbing and pleading with her doppelganger to let her see Noboru again so she can tell him she loves him.

This is just a really sweet OVA. Short and kinda eery in a way. Very artistic. Not tons of talking too, the music and visuals really tell the story.

[Infinite Zenith]

The Gundam Unicorn OVAs merit a spot in this thread. Set three years after Char's Counterattack, it follows Banagher Links' journey after he encounters the mysterious Audrey Burne, which changes his life when it brings him into the hunt for Laplace's Box, an item purported to change the course of the Universal Century.

There are numerous reasons I recommend this even to first-time viewers: the world is incredibly rich in detail, backed by the full weight of the Universal Century's history, and even though this complexity may require some reading to fully appreciate, enough is explained in Gundam Unicorn so that the plot makes sense. I also love the cinematography with respect to the combat sequences: few mecha shows come close to highlighting the little details in mobile suit combat, such as the effects of physics in a zero-gravity environment on how the mobile suits themselves move, and the intricacies of operating the suit itself. For me, this first combat scene really caught my attention, and it's impressive of how this level of intensity and detail is consistently maintained throughout Gundam Unicorn.

[Darthtabby]

Title: Full Metal Panic!
Studio: Gonzo
Year: 2002

Sousuke Sagara is not an ordinary Japanese teenager. Orphaned overseas at a young age, he’s an ace pilot and former child guerrilla employed by Mithril, a secretive counter terrorism organization tasked with missions too sensitive for regular military forces. Now this elite soldier must face his most difficult assignment yet: to go undercover at an ordinary Japanese high school and protect Kaname Chidori, a girl infamous throughout the school for her fiery temper. But why would terrorists and intelligence agencies want to kidnap a seemingly ordinary high school girl?

Set in an alternate 2001 (1998 in the original light novels) where the Cold War is ongoing and giant suits of powered armor called Arm Slaves fight alongside tanks and aircraft, Full Metal Panic can perhaps best be described as a "Romantic Action Comedy -with Mecha." While the series has some interesting mecha designs (which actually make use of their humanoid forms rather than just being walking gun platforms) much of its popularity can be attributed to its characters. Badass but socially inept Sousuke and fiery, iron willed Kaname make for a memorable lead couple, while those who prefer their heroines a little (okay, a lot) less violently tsundere may appreciate the brilliant but klutzy Teletha Testarossa. There's also Sousuke's fellow pilots, lecherous sniper Kurz Weber and foul mouthed former marine Melissa Mao as well as numerous other characters.

The series has two sequels, the purely comedic Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu and the rather dark Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid (which is actually the third season). A fourth season, titled Invisible Victory, is set to air in Spring 2018.

[MobCrewS]

The full title:

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

The author, studio, or other information that will help identify the work:

All I know is that the company that made this; made Kill La Kill which is very highly praised.

A brief explanation of the setting and premise (no spoilers!):

Humanity lives underground. There is a boy, Simone, and a teen/man (nvr was told his age), Kamina, who lived underground until they found something amazing while digging.

A brief summary of why you like it and/or why you think others might like it:
The style of art chosen for the show, and the storyline provide the veiwers with a masterpiece. Personally, I loved every second of the show.

How much of it you've experienced (particularly for longer series)

I have watched all 27 episodes. I did not watch the movies because, I thought they were just an overview of the show. I may be wrong so do not take my word about the movies.

Other works that it reminds you of, if applicable:

Kill La Kill: Not just because it was made by the same company; it gives off the same feelings. The tense or fun moments feel amazing. In both shows.

A link to a review you wrote on our site, if applicable:

I have not wrote a review quite yet. I might do so in the future.

Any other information that might help someone know if they should give it a shot:

If you feel like getting attached to characters, and see them fight their way to the stars. Then watch this amazing anime.

Thankyou for reading this and I hope you experience the show yourself sometime.