You don't need giant robots? [RANT]

I agree with the storytelling benefits. Gaint Mecha are a breathtaking visual subject, and it invokes mythical creatures. It creates a sense of shock and awe. It could also serve as a rather good metaphor.
 
Though I still think the problem with trying to argue the practicality of Mobile Suits is that while Gundam introduced the concepts of the Real Robot genre, the machines themselves were still steeped heavily in the Super Robot genre. Things like their enormous size, impenetrable armor and bright colors (though it makes a bit of sense on the Gundam itself, given it was a prototype, and we've seen what prototype fighter jets can look like) aren't seen all that often in the genre these days, outside of Gundam itself. In many ways, I would say it was Dougram and VOTOMS that really solidified the genre.
 
Gundam's ideas definetly have been refined elsewhere. It might have effectively started real robot but it's definetly just a general prototype, the Guntank/0 Gundam to the more refined successors including non-Gundam shows. I do agree that those criticising the concept are ignoring the fact that most series do try and rationalise the idea of a giant mecha. Practically every Gundam, for instance, does have some form of the multi purpose Minovsky Particles. If that exists as a specific story idea to validate the idea of mecha, you can't then complain that it exists for that reason. Surely you should only complain if a reason was lacking.
 
Oh, forgot. Macross was also a good transitional step due to the fact that none of its machines were special, even if they were still a bit too large.

Though personally, I actually prefer the Gundam style of having what amounts to a Real Robot setting with some Super Robot trappings, with Zone of the Enders probably taking the top spot for this style. I also have to say that the whole "swiss-army weapon" issue actually works in these cases: we're talking about a story that often involves one (reusable) super weapon being able to decide the direction of a war, and in most settings I don't see a "super tank" or "super fighter" really filling that roll outside of a SHMUP.
 
Well, to each their own on a person's likes and dislikes. For me, I enjoy watching animes that have Giant Robots. I know there are series that tend to do things over the top when is comes to the mechs power(Gundam, Gaogaigar, Godannar), but that what makes it enjoyable to watch. But I also enjoy watching animes in which the giant robots are not overpower.

Full Metal Panic is one series that comes to mind. The majority of the mechs (Armslaves, Savages) in that show do not power up to an insane proportion in which they take out an army of mechs with one laser beam or have extreme super speed. When you see these mechs in action, they are used in a tactical sense in which the surrounding are utilized to gain an advantage. Even the mechs that are equipped with special technology such as the Larabda Driver (ARX-7 and mechs from Amalgam), that technology has been seen used to block physical attacks such as bullets and missiles, hold up a very huge mech, and return energy back at an assailant. I also enjoy the story is done and how the characters are presented.

Another anime that I enjoy watching that does not have overpower mechs is Betterman. Even though the NeuronoiRAB required pilots with special abilities (and two of them had very powerful psychic abilities), the mechs themselves were not overpowered with weapons. The abilities seen were mostly analysis and using a specific attack either countered or nullified an enemy. Plus, the mechs in this series where mostly being thrashed rather than it being the other way around when they were involved in their perspective fights, though I did enjoy how the mechs utilized on their analysis and counter abilities to win some of their battles.
 
What's kept me away from Macross is that it seems to have become increasingly about pop songs and idols rather than story. I've lost track of how many promotions I've seen with Sheryl and Ranka and ideas like allowing giant aliens to keep their size on a colony ship just seems stupid to me. Gundam has always had 'princesses' starting with Sayla but it's really only SEED and 00 who felt the need to give us a musical one thus far. I like the original idea for the music in Macross but it seems with each passing show it became less about a role in the plot and more about merchandising.
 
To be honest, Macross Plus is the only one I've seen. I love the mecha for the franchise, but the story itself never always seemed to have too many ridicules elements that really seemed to clash with the Real Robot designs.

...I also have to admit that I absolutely hate Frontier's character design. Would it have killed them to bring back the original's or Plus'?
 
I thought it worked rather well in Macross Frontier. I look at it as a weaning off, after the "overdose" from Macross 7. Now there's a collection of concepts I can't stand. And "keep their size" sounRAB vaguely speciest, as if there's something wrong with a Zentraedi that wants to be a Zentraedi.
 
It's a spaceship. I know it was shown to have farmland and such, but space and essential food resources were wasted when they could have just kept everyone at human size. I could understand it for the corabat areas but overall it sounRAB like a bad idea for such a vessel. To say nothing of the possibility of a normal human getting stepped on or such.
 
No, I'm saying it's space travel and considerations need to be made. There's a reason that NASA won't send morbidly obese people into space. Giant sized people with similar scale luxuries such as a full shopping mall are a terrible waste on a space mission.
 
No, I'm saying it's space travel and considerations need to be made. There's a reason that NASA won't send morbidly obese people into space. Giant sized people with similar scale luxuries such as a full shopping mall are a terrible waste on a space mission.
 
NASA plans short-term missions on shoe-string budgets. The fleets are long-term colonization missions. NASA has yet to plan and execute anything like that because people would balk at all the "creature comforts" that would have to go into them to keep people sane.
 
Problem 1: You're comparing the fleet to a plane trip. The fleet was designed as a generational fleet, as a home. It's stated fairly frequently that it's a closed system, designed to travel near-indefinitely. Obviously attacks caused lost materials, but it was designed to travel for a while. As far as I can tell, it's been in space at least as long as Alto was alive, so that's at least 17 years. Can you imagine being in an airplane for 17 years?

Problem 2: Still seeing Zentraedi as giant humans. They have a right to be as they are. I don't see your problem, considering parts of the fleet were designed with that in mind.
 
So I can saw off your arms and legs and stick you in a motorized contraption? Don't worry, they have cybernetics for you, so you get parts back. You'll just have to wait 20 years till we arrive. Maybe 50. Oh, and we'll probably need to take any reproductive material to create replacements in case of accident.
 
Well, the Zentradei were flying around in their own space ships before the U.N. Spacy came about, and while I'm probably off on my Macross knowledge, wasn't the original Macross at least usable by them before being rebuilt by humans?

Which reminRAB me, did any media ever show what the Macross looked like before it crashed? I mean, it couldn't always have had a pair of battleships for arms.
 
No, the arms were added after it became a human ship, linking up with two floating battleships.

And the Macross was originally a ship belonging to an enemy of Zentradi. Either protodevlin or something else, not Zentradien. It pretty much was a gray version of the Ship-mode.
 
What I mean is, it obviously had arms at one point before, but I assume they were destroyed during the crash. The shoulders and upper arms were already present, so its safe to assume something once went there.

Though the Do You Remeraber Love? version seems to answer my question...
 
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