James sends me this link and asks,

You said that you don't like giant robot series. Is that because they are actually intended, and written at the level of, children?

The post he links to gives examples of anime for kids and anime for adults, or so it is claimed. For kids he has Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, that show about boxing (this one, I think, but I could be wrong; maybe this one?) and two that I don't recognize. One is a mech. The other shows a ruined village with bloody corpses. (It's hard to tell; the pictures are really small.)

For adults he's got Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star, and Potemayo.

Which is rather odd, because there's no reason I can see why kids shouldn't enjoy Potemayo just fine. And I know a lot of adults who really got turned on by Gurren Lagann. (I wasn't one of them, but tastes vary.) As to that boxing show, apparently it's an acquired taste. I don't know of any blogger whose blog I follow who has ever said anything about it one way or the other.

The general principle being espoused, that violent shows are for kids and heartwarming comedies are for adults, doesn't wash anyway. I could come up with dozens of counter examples but I'll start with two: Crest of the Stars, and Banner of the Stars. As the names suggest, they're part of the same continuity. They're not shows for kids, though not because of violence or sex. They're simply too complex for kids; there's too much going on. The attraction of that series is the two main characters and the relationship between them. Lafiel is 16 and Jinto is 17 in Crest, and they're both three years older in Banner, but in both series they are both adults. This isn't high school hijinks; they're involved in fighting a galactic war.

So why do I generally dislike mech shows? It's not because they're for kids. It's because most of them suffer from what I call "gizmo fixation". The writers and artists are so entranced by how utterly cool the mechs are that they don't bother concerning themselves with things like story and characterization.

That's the main problem. There's also the fact that I simply cannot stretch disbelief to the point of accepting that anyone would really build and use such stupid things.

There have been exceptions. There are shows which contain mechs that I have liked. Vandread, for instance, and Sakura Wars, and Martian Successor Nadesico. And there's also Divergence Eve, one of the best series I've ever watched. Divergence Eve certainly isn't for kids, not just because of all the nudity in it, but because off some pretty grisly violence. The story being told is much too dark for kids.

The reason I like those shows despite the fact that they contain mechas is that the writers didn't eschew story and characterization. They don't spend all their time emphasizing how gee whiz cool the mechs are. (In fact, the mechs in Sakura Wars are really dorky, and the ones in Divergence Eve aren't a whole lot better.) The mechs in Nadesico aren't the stars of the show. The mechs in Vandread are close to being stars (though not the only ones) but... well... they aren't really quite mechs. (I can't really say more without venturing into spoilers.) And it has to be admitted: Vandread Meia really is cool as hell.

Sadly, though, in the majority of series which feature mechs, the mechs are the stars. It's like the writers think that a mech is some sort of trump card, where if one or more are present then they don't need anything else in order to attract an audience.

And in fact that's close to true, for certain audiences. There have been entire franchises like that (Gundam Wing, I'm looking at you!). But I'm not part of that group.

When I was new to the form and still didn't really know what I was doing, I tried buying all the DVDs of a series called Geneshaft. I ended up watching most of the first DVD, and then stashed the entire thing in the back of my closet, never to be looked at again. Right next to it is Macross Plus. On that one I stopped after an episode and a half.

In both of them, the story was, "Wow! Mechas really are awesome, aren't they?" Well, if the viewer agrees with that, then the viewer will probably enjoy watching. Since I think mechs are stupid, those shows aren't for me.

The absolute worst mech show I have ever watched, which I forced myself to watch all the way to the end, is Gasaraki. There are too many things wrong with it to list here; read my review. Godannar probably would have ranked it, but I only watched one episode of that before giving up. (Not even all the fan service could save that one.)

So that is the reason I don't generally like shows featuring mechs: it's because they're not about anything except the mechs, and mechs themselves don't hold my interest.

Now as to what is or is not a good show for kids, Aziz will attest to the popularity of Sugar, a little Snow Fairy with his two daughters. No combat in that one, just lots of cute and a little angst and a really surprisingly complex coming-of-age story.

And for adults? The single best anime ever made IMHO is Haibane Renmei. It isn't a comedy. It doesn't have any mechs. There's no combat. What it does have is amazing characterization and a superb story.

It's about as different from Lucky Star as it is possible for it to be.

UPDATE: I didn't notice that the post in question linked to another which shows the picture larger, and mentions the other series by name. The mecha was GaoGaiGar. The one I thought was boxing was Fist of the North Star. And the village full of corpses was from Full Metal Alchemist. None of which impeaches my argument.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 09:22 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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