Contemporary Anime/Manga in the vein of Gundam/Macross?

[firehawk12]

Hey, I know a few people here follow modern/contemporary anime and I kind of want to get back into it all again, but I'm just really in the mood for robot space opera war story.

I kind of don't want to go back to the well with the original 80s stuff though... I've heard of this Gundam 00 thing but I don't know anything about it. But is there anything else I might want to look for?

 

[clint g]

Gundam 00 is pretty good, it starts out a tad similarly to gundam wing but becomes very different towards the end. Its 2 seasons, the second season is still on going. There is also Code Geass, a show made by the people behind Gundam 00. It is also two seasons and it finished around september of last year. That one, without giving away two many spoilers, is about an alternate future where Japan is taken over by a nation called Btirtania (essentialy a merger of Britain and the United States). Its an awesome show that is filled with politcal intrigue.

In the macross department, there is Macross Fronteir, a 26 episode show that also finished in september of last year and continues the Macross saga. It was a great show with a ginormous budget, so it looks nice through out with some epic fights and battles. Definetly sounds like what your looking for. Theres also the other Macross shows like Macross Zero and Macross Plus, two of my favorites in the Macross franchise. Avoid Macross 7 though lol.

If your into really intense shounan style mecha fights theres also gurran lagann. I wasnt a big fan but everyone else in the world seems to love it *shrug*

EDIT: While not really a space opera, there is also the full metal panic series. This one is 3 seasons long and rather than a mecha show/ space opera, its sort of an alternate history mech show where combat mechs were invented in the 1980s and are now used as the standard tools of war. Its got a great story line, very nice character progression and a strong comedic element to it. Its probably my favorite mech anime of all time.

 

[miraclefan]

I really would not bother with Gundam 00( And I'm a fan of gundam ). Code Geass, on he other hand is a ''GREAT'' show!

 

[firehawk12]

I guess it's kind of funny that the answer is still Gundam and Macross.

Oh yeah, are there most western "starship" type shows? Or is that just not a convention of Japanese genre fiction?

 

[clint g]

I think the closest you will get to a good one is Macross Frontier

You can try starship operators, its hard sci-fi. it was pretty entertaining though slow at times. There is also Planatees that people say good things about. I've never watched it myself though. There is Legend of Galactic Heroes as well, but I havent seen that one either. Heroic Age is a space/mecha anime and is somewhat similar to Legend of Galactic Heroes from what I heard, though i havent seen this one either, but I did hear good things about it. Outlaw star was pretty good as was Cowboy Bebop, but those werent really mech oriented nor would I call them space operas.

Really with anime, the kings of Space Opera are Gundam and Macross. There are other space shows out there but they are mostly hard sci-fi.

 

[Leroy]

firehawk12 wrote:
I kind of don't want to go back to the well with the original 80s stuff though... I've heard of this Gundam 00 thing but I don't know anything about it. But is there anything else I might want to look for?

There is a lot of good stuff from that era, don't limit yourself by subscribing to the notion that old equals bad. Macross and Gundam are two huge franchises with a very rich history, sure not every entry into a franchise is perfect but which one does? Gundam 00 is a very good show for beginners since it doesn't require past knowledge of the Gundam timeline. Code Geass is a more political mech show but it doesn't feature a space setting, Gurren Lagann is more of an over the top super robot show that features more outer space type stuff towards the end of the first season.

 

[CorporalClegg]

VanDread?

Oh yeah. And +1 to the FMP vote.

 

[firehawk12]

Really with anime, the kings of Space Opera are Gundam and Macross. There are other space shows out there but they are mostly hard sci-fi.

I don't mind hard SF to be honest. It'd be interesting to see another perspective that isn't sort of reacting to Star Trek all the time. I think the closest thing I've seen that's on the air to something I can just "enjoy" is the Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon.


I also don't mind the 80s stuff, it's just that I've done that already. I don't remember any of it, but I'd like to check out the stuff I missed over the last 15 years. I'm going over (secret tone) Sailor Moon right now.

I might start with Gundam 00 since it seems to be the thing right now and then sample from the suggestions. Thanks!

 

[Pilot Ace]

Oh, I saw someone mention Starship Operators and I got to say: so bad. 13 episodes of melodrama and boring hard science fiction. I don't know why I made it through that whole series, but damn do I regret wasting my time.

Interesting concept, horrible execution.

 

[zakkrusz]

Science fiction in anime comes in a multitude of varieties, but Macross and Gundam are the only large/epic mecha types that I'm aware of unfortunately. Xenosaga: The Animation maybe would be pretty close, or check out Yukikaze if you want epic Macross-esk style dogfights.

As far as science fiction/mecha anime I'd suggest:
Aquarion
Blue Gender
Bubblegum Crisis/Bubblegum Crash
Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040
Burst Angel
Code Geas/Code Geas: R2
Eureka Seven
Full Metal Panic/Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid
Gasaraki
Patlabor/Patlabor TV/Patlabor: The New Files
RahXephon
Ride Back
StrAIn-Strategic Armored Infantry
Zone of the Enders

For starship related sci-fi epics:
Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars 1-3
Starship Operators
Planetes
Infinite Ryvius
Kiddy Grade
Glass Fleet
Tytania
Lost Universe

Anyhow Sci-Fi anime I'd recommend overall:

Ride Back
Planetes
Infinite Ryvius
Pale Cocoon
Kurau: Phantom Memory
Ergo Proxy
Kiddy Grade
Last Exile
Starship Operators
Stratos4

Also I'd second Macross Frontier and Gundam 00.

 

[miraclefan]

OOOOO!.. I would 'definitely' recomend, BLUE GENDER! Absolutely HARD CORE to the MAXXX! ( Ultra Violent & Depressing, my kind ''O'' show)Also Eureka Seven & Ergo Proxy where pretty good to!

 

[zakkrusz]

That it is, and that's usually how I prefer my mech series; the "real mech" type (Patlabor, Blue Gender, Code Geass, Gasaraki, Ride Back). The kind that are treated more like vehicles, run out of ammo sometimes, and need maintenance rather than the invincible super robot types (though those can be fun too).

 

[miraclefan]

That it is, and that's usually how I prefer my mech series; the "real mech" type (Patlabor, Blue Gender, Code Geass, Gasaraki, Ride Back). The kind that are treated more like vehicles, run out of ammo sometimes, and need maintenance rather than the invincible super robot types (though those can be fun too).

You ''N'' me both! I think I'm going to like you, zakkrusz. We seam to have the same 'tastes' when it comes to Anime

 

[Leroy]

zakkrusz wrote:
That it is, and that's usually how I prefer my mech series; the "real mech" type (Patlabor, Blue Gender, Code Geass, Gasaraki, Ride Back). The kind that are treated more like vehicles, run out of ammo sometimes, and need maintenance rather than the invincible super robot types (though those can be fun too).

miraclefan wrote:
OOOOO!.. I would 'definitely' recomend, BLUE GENDER! Absolutely HARD CORE to the MAXXX! ( Ultra Violent & Depressing, my kind ''O'' show)

If you like stuff like that then I would definitely recommend Armored Trooper VOTOMS, I consider it the finest the real robot genre has to offer, it's from Ryosuke Takahashi (creator of Blue Gender, and director of Gasaraki) and has mechanical designs from Kunio Okawara (Mobile Suit Gundam). One of the primary mecha (the Scopedog) is based on the Zaku.

Here is the MAHQ page on it including reviews:
http://www.mahq.net/animation/votoms/votoms.htm

 

[zakkrusz]

You ''N'' me both! I think I'm going to like you, zakkrusz. We seam to have the same 'tastes' when it comes to Anime

Maybe, although, I don't find anything wrong with Gundam 00 though.

I'm a pretty well-rounded anime fan, I think. I watch lots of genres of the stuff, action, science fiction, mecha, mystery, comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, thrillers, psychological and philosophical pieces, even romance. I do have my preferences though, the serious stuff (the dramatic, more sophisticated, thought provoking, or more violent) aimed at people like myself, college kids and adults. By this point I've become a walking encyclopedia on the medium after having seen around 590 titles and counting.

If you like stuff like that then I would definitely recommend Armored Trooper VOTOMS, I consider it the finest the real robot genre has to offer, it's from Ryosuke Takahashi (creator of Blue Gender, and director of Gasaraki) and has mechanical designs from Kunio Okawara (Mobile Suit Gundam). One of the primary mecha (the Scopedog) is based on the Zaku.

I've been trying to locate that one actually. I might have to piece it together from the nether regions of multiple internet stores since it's out of print. I'd rather not resort to the DLing option since it's licensed here, but we'll see.

Another good one looks to be Flag. I've been waiting for Bandai to release the collection for that and I was happy to discover a few days ago that it comes out in a few months.

 

[clint g]

You ''N'' me both! I think I'm going to like you, zakkrusz. We seam to have the same 'tastes' when it comes to Anime

Maybe, although, I don't find anything wrong with Gundam 00 though.

I'm a pretty well-rounded anime fan, I think. I watch lots of genres of the stuff, action, science fiction, mecha, mystery, comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, thrillers, psychological and philosophical pieces, even romance. I do have my preferences though, the serious stuff (the dramatic, more sophisticated, thought provoking, or more violent) aimed at people like myself, college kids and adults. By this point I've become a walking encyclopedia on the medium after having seen around 590 titles and counting.

If you like stuff like that then I would definitely recommend Armored Trooper VOTOMS, I consider it the finest the real robot genre has to offer, it's from Ryosuke Takahashi (creator of Blue Gender, and director of Gasaraki) and has mechanical designs from Kunio Okawara (Mobile Suit Gundam). One of the primary mecha (the Scopedog) is based on the Zaku.

I've been trying to locate that one actually. I might have to piece it together from the nether regions of multiple internet stores since it's out of print. I'd rather not resort to the DLing option since it's licensed here, but we'll see.

Another good one looks to be Flag. I've been waiting for Bandai to release the collection for that and I was happy to discover a few days ago that it comes out in a few months.

Well, if you want a quick one stop shop for Armored Trooper VOTOMS you can always use fansub.tv

http://anime.fansub.tv/browse.php/

 

[zakkrusz]

Yeah, it's an option but I'd rather not until I'm sure I can't buy it for a reasonable price.

 

[clint g]

Is it even licensed? I haven't heard any news of it coming out on DVD and that site only posts things that are unlicensed

 

[zakkrusz]

Yeah Central Park Media snagged it back in 2000 or so I think and it's an older series from the '80s. The ones listed there are two more modern sequels to it I think.

 

[SlaveOfSeven]

...robot space opera war story.

Crest/Banner of the Stars doesn't have mechs, but as far as space opera war stories goes it's great; except the last OVA was a bit of a disappointment, in my opinion. Don't know if there any plans to continue with the series. I hope so.