I called the Gundam fans bluff to see if it’s really “Not about the mechs” (it is)
#Tl;dr: Yes, It’s about the mechs. If you don’t like mechs you're not going to like the show.
If you’re on this forum over a long enough timescale you'll see someone say something to the effect of them not enjoying Mecha Anime or that they will probably never watch Gundam because they don’t like giant mechs. Inevitably, you’ll see in the replies someone reassuring them that gundam isn’t about the mechs and they should watch it because they’ll enjoy it anyway.
I’ve personally come to find that spite is my most powerful motivator. After seeing the Nth reddit comment of people insisting that Gundam (the show famous for all the mechs) “isn’t about the mechs” i decided to call their bluff on this.
I sat down and watched the entirety of Universal Century Gundam which included the 3 Gundam 79 compilation movies (everyone i talked to insisted this was the best way to watch it), and Gundam Zeta, and Double Zeta, _and_ Char’s Counter Attack. The equivalent of 150 episodes of anime content and after all of that i can safely say:
No. It really is about the mechs. That’s the appeal; that’s what the story centers around; that’s what drives the main conflict. It’s about the mechs.
The first episode (and start of the first movie depending on which version you watch) starts with a couple of giant mechs who stumble upon a cooler, stronger, better mech who is more special and cool then the other giant mechs. The main character, a mechanic whose father designed giant mechs, is important because of how good he is at piloting giant mechs and uses the cooler mech to defeat the other giant mechs. We find out later the reason he’s so darn good at piloting giant mechs is because he’s part of a special kind of human who is really good at piloting giant mechs. The main antagonist is immediately interested in this cooler giant mech and its pilot and that pushes the plot forward.
In Gundam Zeta, the story starts with an _even cooler_ and better giant mech and in Double Zeta gets an _even better_ one.
It’s about mechs.
If you rewrote this entire story to be about piloting Aeroplanes or using Swords, the show would be just as much about those things as it is about mechs now. And if in this hypothetical universe people were reassuring others that it’s not about the planes or swords i’d probably be writing the exact same post but with a different set of proper nouns.
It’s also about other things:
It’s about war
And space
And politics
And slapping (fans of the show will know what i’m talking about)
It’s about a lot of things and mechs is certainly one of them, I'd even argue it's one of the main things it's about along with war and slapping.
If someone said they never intend on watching Gundam because they don’t like shows about war i wouldn’t try to talk them into it by saying “but it's not about war” because it absolutely is.
So what’s my point here?
Well first off I now have something i can link to people every time i see that comment but more broadly i’d like to say that aesthetics matter. If someone flatly tells you to your face that they don’t like mecha and mechs, stop attempting to talk them into watching something where mechs are so prominent. Mechs are a quintessential part of the series and if they don’t like them, they probably aren’t going to like the show. The same goes for sports. Or magical girls. Or MahJong. Or whatever arbitrary descriptor you would like to give a series.
If you’re on this forum over a long enough timescale you'll see someone say something to the effect of them not enjoying Mecha Anime or that they will probably never watch Gundam because they don’t like giant mechs. Inevitably, you’ll see in the replies someone reassuring them that gundam isn’t about the mechs and they should watch it because they’ll enjoy it anyway.
I’ve personally come to find that spite is my most powerful motivator. After seeing the Nth reddit comment of people insisting that Gundam (the show famous for all the mechs) “isn’t about the mechs” i decided to call their bluff on this.
I sat down and watched the entirety of Universal Century Gundam which included the 3 Gundam 79 compilation movies (everyone i talked to insisted this was the best way to watch it), and Gundam Zeta, and Double Zeta, _and_ Char’s Counter Attack. The equivalent of 150 episodes of anime content and after all of that i can safely say:
No. It really is about the mechs. That’s the appeal; that’s what the story centers around; that’s what drives the main conflict. It’s about the mechs.
The first episode (and start of the first movie depending on which version you watch) starts with a couple of giant mechs who stumble upon a cooler, stronger, better mech who is more special and cool then the other giant mechs. The main character, a mechanic whose father designed giant mechs, is important because of how good he is at piloting giant mechs and uses the cooler mech to defeat the other giant mechs. We find out later the reason he’s so darn good at piloting giant mechs is because he’s part of a special kind of human who is really good at piloting giant mechs. The main antagonist is immediately interested in this cooler giant mech and its pilot and that pushes the plot forward.
In Gundam Zeta, the story starts with an _even cooler_ and better giant mech and in Double Zeta gets an _even better_ one.
It’s about mechs.
If you rewrote this entire story to be about piloting Aeroplanes or using Swords, the show would be just as much about those things as it is about mechs now. And if in this hypothetical universe people were reassuring others that it’s not about the planes or swords i’d probably be writing the exact same post but with a different set of proper nouns.
It’s also about other things:
It’s about war
And space
And politics
And slapping (fans of the show will know what i’m talking about)
It’s about a lot of things and mechs is certainly one of them, I'd even argue it's one of the main things it's about along with war and slapping.
If someone said they never intend on watching Gundam because they don’t like shows about war i wouldn’t try to talk them into it by saying “but it's not about war” because it absolutely is.
So what’s my point here?
Well first off I now have something i can link to people every time i see that comment but more broadly i’d like to say that aesthetics matter. If someone flatly tells you to your face that they don’t like mecha and mechs, stop attempting to talk them into watching something where mechs are so prominent. Mechs are a quintessential part of the series and if they don’t like them, they probably aren’t going to like the show. The same goes for sports. Or magical girls. Or MahJong. Or whatever arbitrary descriptor you would like to give a series.
Commentaires
However, if all you take away is "Gundam is about mechs" then I fear you missed the point.
However, if all you take away is "they're claiming Gundam is about mechs" then I fear you missed the point.
My joke with that show has always been
"Can i watch the first 25 episodes of Eureka 7, then rewatch the first 12 episodes of Eureka 7, and then say that 'i watched Eureka 7'?"
I’ve gotten multiple people into gundam who do not really give a shit about the robots (and still dont, other than appreciating the goofy ones like in g gundam) via AU like turn a, iron blooded orphans, witch from mercury etc
zeta had monster of the week nonsense for about half its runtime. there is a grand narrative throughout but its bogged down by a lot of inconsequential skirmishes. i think UC in general cranked out too many mobile suit designs. to sell gunpla kits.
You’re not wrong gundam is definitely about mechs but there’s other things going on as well.
I’m sure there’s a gundam with mechs that someone who is indifferent to mechs can like.
If you just hate the concept of mechs maybe it’s not for you and people didn’t think you actually just hated mechs existing and thought you’d be able to enjoy some of the other non-mech things going on in gundam.
Like sure, mecha isn't that smart but I am sorry, I don't come to the medium for that. Anime does great hot blooded YA stories, coming of age works etc (mecha has a lot of that too) and has great animation however, if you want actual substance, that appeals to more adult writing....then yeah there are better mediums for that. So denigrating mecha in that way is just funny to me.
Funny thing I also watched Saki not for the Mahjong, but for the lesbianism.
[](#mug3)
People who say that Gundam "isn't about the mecha" aren't trying to suggest that mecha have a minimal presence or even that mecha aren't a prominent part of the franchise, because they very much are. My interpretation of that phrase is that what the creators of Gundam want you to take away from the series isn't "cool robot" but rather the themes related to war and humanity's struggle to rise above the base conflict and find connections with each other. The mecha as part of the series are the vehicle to convey those themes, but not an intended end goal in their own right.
On the other end, I haven't seen anyone say "it's not about war" because that's the part that Tomino and company wanted to convey, people who see that theme understand as much and wouldn't try to claim otherwise. There's [a secondary meme based on the first](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/419/600/8df.png) about the franchise in relation to war as media but that's not even part of what you're getting at.
I agree that "aesthetics matter" as you put it, and the surface layer of how an anime looks and the means it uses to convey its messaging are important. But those are separate from what something is "about" to me, and likely also to the other people who use the phrase that you took umbrage with.
You're literally doing the thing i described in my write up.
I do not disagree with a single point of your analysis, i'm not fighting you on that; my point is if people don't like mechs they aren't going to like how that story is delivered if it mostly involves mechs.
I don't recommend Monogatari to people who don't like fan service no matter how amazing that story is.
I watched a few episodes of gundam when I was a kid and really disliked it. I tried again years later thinking that it was due to maturity and my feelings didn't change.
I find the giant robots in wars concept stupid on a fundamental level and it kept distracting me from enjoying the anime.
For anime that had mechs and I liked, I've realised that I liked them in spite of the mechs. When I think of code geas or 86 I don't think of mechs the way I do with Gundam. I still think of them as a stupid concept even in the anime I liked.
Going to steer clear of them from now on.
To give an example, for Legend of the Galactic heroes, some people love the space battles but others love the politics and others love the strategies (rather than the actual battles). TLDR: Different strokes for different folks.
When people say, mecha anime are not about the mechs, they aren't invalidating the place mecha action has in your average mecha show. They are action shows (some do dip into other genres), of course dude, do you think they wouldn't have a place? That said no I wouldn't say Attack on Titan is just about flesh giants fighting each other, or the only thing in Naruto is people doing hand signs and fighting each other...that is reductive. That said, if someone told me hey I don't like concept of giant robots fighting at all, I can't stand it...of course I am not going to recommend them to get into mecha. Just like I won't recommend people who hate the concept of super powers battle shonen, even if they have more to offer. Granted people can change their minds, I was someone who disliked the concept of mecha, and now it sustains my interest in the medium, though of course respect boundaries.
Regardless, the actual issue, that this statement is largely responding too, is that there are many opinions where people will say. "I like Code Geass, I like Evangelion, because they aren't about the mecha", and in reality those shows are about as focused on mecha as Gundam or most other mecha franchises. They also address war, political issues, psycholoigcal issues etc. CG's writer literally just did a series for Gundam in Witch From Mercury, and you can see Anno's style of writing first hand if you watch Gunbuster, which influenced EVA. Works like CG and Evangelion were tributes to the genre not revolutions. This sentiment and statement is to correct this freaking idea lol, which you have completely ignored. You are fighting a sentiment that doesn't exist. If anything mecha fans just want people to realize mecha shows, aren't actually that different from any other action show, beyond the fact that yeah they have giant robots (not always either lol as seen in 86 and Bubblegum Crisis).
Edit: It's just frankly tiring to hear ignorance coming from a largely portion of this fanbase, largely because people don't actually watch mecha, due to how old most of the shows are. If you want to hate it then hate it for reasons that actually exist. I respect/understand people that hate all mecha, like EVA and CG, I don't understand people who make exceptions, and largely I find those fans are just ignorant, as they either excuse their favorites, and then condemn shows, they have largely not watched.
Also if you want a Gundam that has very little Gundam, it does exist in the UC timeline, one that you haven't watched. 0080 War in the Pocket is a mix of slice of life, and typical mecha plotlines. So if you really desire that...go watch that. One of the better UC entries too. It's very short too.
I feel like people don't even need to do that. If someone tells me "I don't want to watch mecha anime." then I find that a lot more honest than someone who makes an ignorant excuse for *why* they don't want to. It's ok to just not have interest but when you try to justify that lack of interest with ignorant claims that's when you open yourself up for argument. I think that's where the problem lies with a lot of people that do the whole "about/not about the mecha" thing. They're trying to make a defense when they don't need to.
I feel like this is where the disagreement stems. I feel as if there's a huge difference between a thing being "prominent" in a story and a story being "about" the thing. "About" implies direct relevance to the overall story such that it couldn't be replaced while keeping the work in tact, while "prominent" implies just being heavily present without necessarily playing an important role to what is central about the experience. The fact that you can conceive of a version of Gundam existing with aeroplanes or swords means that it's not "about" the mechs. I think most Gundam fans (and people who aren't particularly fans, including myself) are saying that while mechs are prominent, even prominent enough that someone could enjoy the show simply for enjoying the aesthetics of mecha, they're not "quintessential" in the sense that mecha specifically needed to be there for the piece to function almost identically. The story is "about" war and drama and slapping, those are not simply prominent pieces but are directly relevant to everything that the experience is, while robots are set dressing, or so the argument goes.
> The same goes for sports. Or magical girls. Or MahJong. Or whatever arbitrary descriptor you would like to give a series.
This is where I think this falls apart. This is demonstrably untrue. You see it practically every day. People who say they don't like magical girls but love Madoka Magica, people who don't like sports but love Haikyuu, people who had no interest in camping but love Yuru Camp or hate idol culture but love the characters and drama of The Idolm@ster or who hate classical music but consider Your Lie in April or Hibike Euphonium among their favorites. You even see it with mecha, such as the infamous "I don't like mecha but Evangelion/Code Geass/Gurren Lagann/86/etc. are different because they're about the characters and that's why I like them" take which this line about Gundam is largely a response to. Hell, magical girls are more directly relevant to Madoka Magica than mecha are to any of the above series, but that sentiment is extremely common. Speaking personally, I actively dislike sports but I love sports anime, and I don't find the aesthetics of mecha as robots particularly compelling but love the genre that happens to involve them solely because of these other elements. People loving stories that contain the aesthetics of things they don't like is exceedingly normal. Often, the reasons given for enjoying those series specifically is based on a faulty comparison to other series which they think are more stereotypical. The point is that Gundam is about as much about mecha as Eva, Code Geass, Gurren Lagann, 86, and almost every other mecha anime which people claim are unique for being about the characters/war/politics are. And people claim to love those other series in spite of disliking mecha because of those other elements, when Gundam is literally exactly the same. To anyone saying they don't like mecha but do like these other super popular series, "it's not about the mechs" is a perfectly good response.
I don't like mechs. I really don't. They're big, boring, slow, a waste of mechanical design, to just make a bigger human, carrying a bigger sword and a bigger gun.
That said, I like Gundam. I love war stories, the messy drama and politics that the characters have to navigate through, with a sci-fi background used for additional social commentary, makes space operas one of my favourite genres.
I agree that the mechs are a prominent part of it, that should be obvious. It's what they're selling. It's on the package and thumbnails, it's what the animators are working day and night on. Especially in the older Gundam series, where there was a required mech battle per episode, regardless of whether it actually added anything or not. That doesn't stop me from enjoying the series though, the same way that not caring about volleyball doesn't stop me from enjoying Haikyuu.