Mech Ado About Nothing

Unfortunately, due to increasing workloads, the pressures of real life, and 15 hour time difference, we have come to the difficult decision to end the podcast. While I know this was sudden, we ended up facing very few other realistic options. In this episode we discuss exactly why we had to end the show, as well as look back on some of our favorite shows and mechs while also talking about some of our plans that never came to fruition. Thank you to everyone who came along on this ride with us! Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We finish up the first season of Aldnoah.Zero, and wow that is an experience. We break down the developing relationships, this show's treatment of mental illness, and also try to unpack what the heck is going on in that ending and if Slaine is even a real character. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

This week we take on the relatively recent Aldnoah.Zero, and Ian naturally takes the opportunity to rant about the Fate franchise. We talk about Aldnoah's strengths (its fights) and its weaknesses (almost everything else), and we still come out the other side mostly enjoying it.Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We go back in time to the distant year of 1998 to discuss this prequel Macross OVA. We talk a lot about this series' use of CGI, its poorly organized plot, and its surprisingly interesting ramifications for the Macross franchise as a whole. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We finish up Getter Robo Armageddon and are left feeling very lukewarm. We talk about the characters (eh), the wayward plot (eh), and the giant robot fights (yeah!!!!). Does anyone ever actually read these? I can never decide whether to use first or third person in the blurbs. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Fresh off our background reading, we dive into the "standalone" OVA series, Getter Robo Armageddon! We talk through the references, art style, and Extremely Noticeable Director Change of the first half of this show. We also finally have a real, lengthy mech corner. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We take on our second ever manga this week as we prepare to watch Getter Robo Armageddon. Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa's classic Getter Robo series gives us a chance to talk about the ways shonen manga have changed over the years, the early days of super robot, and the ways we think about genre. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

This week we take on our first ever piece of Western animation and Ian reveals that they know more about Disney than previously thought. A favorite from our childhood, we see if Disney's Atlantis holds up, has mechs, and also there's like a Confederate loyalist in this movie. We talk about stylistic differences between American and Japanese animation, storytelling, and influences. Finally, Ian goes on a prolonged rant about Disney's pathological aversion to risk. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

It's the last six episodes of Vision of Escaflowne and they manage to cram like twelve episodes of plot in there. We try to break down the various twists (of varying quality) as well as meditate on exactly how annoyed we are by the final pairings. Also, once again, Ian gets mad about time travel. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecralwer 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Escaflowne really gets moving this week as we uncover the identity of the villain, find new allies, and have eight back-to-back dream sequences. We talk through the revelations of the plot, Dryden's extreme chad energy, and also the increasingly complicated (and compelling) romance plot. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

This week we ponder the age gaps between Allen and the rest of the cast, and also talk about the rest of the show. Angels, Atlantis, and romance abound on this middle set of Escaflowne episodes. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We embark on the fantasy shoujo isekai mech action adventure romance journey of a lifetime. We break down the genre pile-up that is Vision of Escaflowne, talk through the characters and their tropes, and reflect on late-90s anime production.  Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

It's our longest episode yet as we cover the end of Gundam Unicorn. We talk about Newtypes, whether Laplace's Box makes any sense, Full Frontal's identity, and then spend a long time talking about the future of Gundam as a franchise, and where it goes from Unicorn. We also answer some fun listener questions! Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Gundam Unicorn gets unusually tense this week. We talk through how much character development everyone gets, how difficult it is to balance new characters with long-time favorites, and discuss the political ramifications of Full Frontal's plans for the Earth Sphere. It's another long episode, but there's a lot to cover. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

It's another monster episode as we take on the second two episodes of Gundam Unicorn. We try to break down all the different kinds of Zeons, and how they have evolved ideologically, as well as the split within the Federation. There's some great action, some real Newtype stuff, and we get a little closer to breaking down the themes of Unicorn. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadpodcast.

We finally decide it's time to watch Gundam Unicorn! Fair warning: these episodes are going to be especially long because we have a lot to talk about. We discuss the ways the Universal Century has changed since Char's Counterattack, as well as break down our characters and the major themes of the show. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We finish up our brush with manga with Pluto's finale! We talk about whether we're satisfied with the way things wrap up, make some comparisons to Tezuka's original, and talk about some craftsmanship things specific to Urasawa and manga. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadpodcast.

Pluto takes some serious twists and turns this week as we tackle the running mecha theme of fathers and sons, as well as Urasawa's takes on artificial intelligence, white supremacy, and drawing old men. Things are heating up in Pluto, and Dan is deep

We take on our first ever manga on the podcast, Naoki Urasawa's Pluto! This adaptation series of Astro Boy has a lot going on, so we try to break down both the mystery plot and all the worldbuilding in the first 23 chapters. Watch in wonder as Ian tries so hard not to accidentally mention something that will spoil the story for Dan. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We wrap up the Giant Robo OVA series! We talk about all the references and origins for these characters, spend some more time talking about dads, and then break down this ending. We have some beef with the way this show ends, in what may be our most controversial episode yet. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We reach the midpoint of Giant Robo, the reckoning with the father, the low point, the bad things happen portion of the program. We talk about the emotional twists this show takes, its preoccupation with fatherhood, and whether this show works for non-established anime fans. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We dive into the classic 90s Giant Robo OVA, and are completely blown away. This show has everything: giant robots, martial arts, psychics, and a horse that turns into a lady. We try to figure out all of this shows' influences, how it uses the super robot formula, and then gush over how nice it looks and sounds. Be sure to give this a watch! Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

For our two year anniversary, we attempt to figure exactly what makes the mecha genre so distinctive, and what makes mechs so crucial to the shows they appear in. Then, Ian puts Dan's thinking brain to the test with a game of "Is It a Mech," resulting in our completely perfect, infallible, syllogistic definition of a mech. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

It's every science fiction movie ever, all at once, as we come to the end of Votoms! Chirico uncovers the answers to all the series' mysteries, and we discuss our overall opinion of the longest show we've seen yet. We cover Rochina's character development, the massive exposition dumps, and whether everything really ties together nicely. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Another arc wraps up this week on Votoms, and we take some time to reflect on that ever-present question: is this show in the desert? We also talk about our predictions from last week, this show's twists, the start of the final arc, and what exactly Votoms would have to do to stick this landing. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We're out of the jungle and into space in this week's episode on Votoms. We cover the resolution of Kummen, Votom's turn at a horror segment, and make some outrageous predictions about where this show is headed. We also take some time to address what makes Votoms so compelling, arc after arc, and look at how well it treats side characters. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Votoms finishes its cyber-noir arc and heads straight to the Space Vietnam War this week. We talk about this show's genre change, the way it uses or doesn't use its mechs, and where we suspect the plot is going from here. Sorry for the bad audio on this one, Ian was mid-move. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Ian and Dan begin their journey into this classic, massive series this week by brooding in the depths of a future-noir city. We talk about Votoms unique set-up, its intense vibes, and what sets Chirico apart from other mecha protagonists. Even just ten episodes in, there's nothing quite like Votoms, so check this one out! Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopdocast.

We watch two OVAs this week on the pod because we couldn't find enough to discuss about Detonator Orgun, perhaps the most catastrophically mis-paced show of all time. We break down what goes wrong with Orgun, which is almost everything, and then transition to talking about GM's Counterattack, the airiest Gundam OVA of all time. All your favorite characters are in it, and that's about it. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We wrap up this surprisingly excellent show and reflect on how little sense the ending makes and how much fun it still was. We try (and fail) to break down the plot, talk about the ways our characters have changed, and try to pinpoint the really interesting way this show blends real and super robot. Also there's one last great mech corner. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Overman King Gainer continues to heat up as we discuss the twists in the plot, especially the "buried evil mecha" trope we've grown so familiar with. We also talk about romance in mech anime, what makes a villain interesting, and the unique and effective way OKG utilizes its Overmen in these episodes.  Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadpodcast.

We dive into Yoshiyuki Tomino's (!) 2003 anime (!!) that's an adaptation of a French sci-fi novel series (!!!). Overman has a lot of charm and we try to break down its plot and characters, as well as how it manages its wild swings in tone. Finally, we talk about the unique mecha designs and how it applies them to the plot to create an interesting story. Check this series out - you may be surprised. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadpodcast.

Patlabor goes completely off the rails in these bonkers comedy episodes. Asuma sees a ghost, the maintenance squad hunts down alligator kidney stones, and Patlabor indulges in an episode-length Macross-cum-Ultraman parody. We do our best to make sense of these scattershot episodes by reflecting on what makes the show work, and what's holding it back from hitting the big time. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadpodcast.

We return to wrap up the Patlabor TV series, and witness both the end of the Griffin Saga and an extended parody about the right to watch porn at the workplace. NOTE: This episode was recording one month ago, and we do not consider the social implications of a comedy anime that makes topical humor out of policing, and oftentimes police abusing their power. Black lives matter, and we're sorry for not addressing this on the show. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadpodcast.

We cruise through Bandit Flower, and break down the major changes from December Sky. We talk about the problem of sequels, how to adapt a manga, and the power of early UC nostalgia. We also have a monstrous mech corner breaking down the designs of Thunderbolt, which continue to delight. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We wrap up the Knight's and Magic anime with a long discussion about how hard pacing is, the difficulties of adaptation, and medieval power dynamics transposed onto giant robots. We talk some more about isekai, the fundamentals of this show's mech design, and a bit of Godzilla sneaks in there too. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Ian and Dan venture into the wild world of isekai, and Ian breaks down all the hallmarks of the genre. We question this show's lack of focus, breakneck pacing, and uninspired plot. However, there's a lot of interesting mechs in this episode so we examine how this show builds a common visual language to use across all its designs. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Ian and Dan sit down to give every anime they've watched thus far in the podcast a ranking out of 10. Naturally, this goes off without a hitch. In what's sure to anger most of our fans, we end up with some surprising results! Listen to our show-by-show discussion and then flame us in our email. Link to the MAL is: https://myanimelist.net/animelist/MechAdoPodcast Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadpodcast.

Anna returns for another rip-roaring bonus episode, this time about 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. We try to break down this movie and mostly end up talking about the characters' fashion, ""cinematography"", and exactly how human Godzilla should act. It slaps! Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Due to conflicting schedules and living across the entire world, the gang parted ways....but only for two weeks! This week Dan and guest host Ray bring you the dreaded Gundam movie G-Saviour. We try to talk through the unfortunately bizarre plot and do our best to identify all the identical characters. 

Much like Final Fantasy, the final episodes of Macross 7 feature: absurd boss designs, lots of crystals, and unresolved romances. We try to figure out exactly why Macross 7's last few episodes don't seem to be in a rush to wrap things up, talk about JRPGs, and look at how Macross 7 compares to the rest of the franchise, both in its predecessors and what follows. Also, Max pilots a Valkyrie again so everything is right with the world. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadpodcast.

Macross 7 ends up in the desert this week, and we discuss exactly what that means. Gigil learns to rock, Jamming Birds does not learn to rock, and this set of episodes is a major let down all around.  We also take a brief moment to tackle what makes music really art and unsurprisingly reach no major conclusions. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Macross 7 hits a major turning point this week and we soak up the new tunes. We talk about the inevitability of Sound Force, where in the hell the relationships are going in this show, and also acknowledge the existence of literal devils in the Macross universe. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Macross 7 continues its journey through deep space, this time with real vampires! Millia reminds us she used to be an ace pilot, we try to figure out if Nekki actually got better, and we've really grown to love poor, sweet Gamlin. We also talk a little bit about our current quarantine plamo builds! Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Come on everybody, it's Saturday night! And it will continue to be Saturday night every night until Fire Bomber comes up with a new song. We start our journey through Macross 7, and talk about the Jenius family, if Nekki Basara knows women exists, and whether or not giant robots should ever have lips. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

We do our best to make sense of RahXephon's nonsensical ending and have some fun along the way. Dan's in the penalty box for choosing this show and and Ian gets steamed about the level of similarities between RahXephon and a certain other show. Also, if you watched this show because of our podcast, sorry. Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

RahXephon continues to stretch into eternity, and decides to rob a couple other anime classics to keep itself interesting. We complain about this show's characters, somehow simultaneously compare it to Studio Ghibli and Gunbuster, and end up enjoying a few episodes. There's also a mech in this one! Wild. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Experience deja vu with us as we watch the first nine episodes of RahXephon, also known as the poor man's Evangelion. We talk about how the mystery and conspiracy elements of the show land, but the high volume of characters and frequent structure changes don't. Then, we talk about deeply emotional non sequiturs, the one thing Ian knows about character design, and Final Fantasy XIII.  Our theme song is Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadpodcast. 

Ian and Dan have been way too busy to record RahXephon. So enjoy another filler episode where Dan rambles on about his Gundam Base Tokyo visit!  You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.

Build Fighters comes to an end and we send it off with lavish praise. We talk about shonen anime tropes, how many dead people show up in this show, and Ian talks for like two straight minutes about the Kampfer Amazing, So, basically, what you would expect. You can reach us at [email protected], our website is mechado.moe, and our Twitter account is @mechadopodcast.