What were they thinking? moments in mecha design

[Commissar Bright Noa]

I like the Turn A's design but there is one thing that is odd about it, the core fighter that is in an extremely dangerous spot.

[Arsarcana]

The mech design I find most ridicoulous, is the Scorpio from Gundam Wing: Battlefield of Pacifests. IN its MA form it has two beam cannons/Beam sabers, a heat rod, and a huge shield attached to it. In MS form, it only has one beam saber/beam cannon, and thats IT. It loses 50% close combat ability, and a lot of protection.

Didn't different people do the designs for the MS and MA forms, hence the two not matching up? If that's the case, some of the weirdness could be attributed to that.

[Kuruni]

While not really official source, SD G Generation F count Scorpio's MA mode as BWS type, similar to ReGZ. Quite make sense for all loss armaments in transformation process.

Now, for mech design that make so little sense out-of-universe...
Take a look...and it can be worse.

Really, by ignore that they're mech used by Saiyajin-like war-lover race from another dimension, I doubt any of us can understand point of frail tongue. On light side, Bofry look like what we saw on random monster of the week from some super robot show, I don't understand Andraste's fat design at all (other than fact that its pilot is fat and stupid guy).

[AmuroNT1]

The mech design I find most ridicoulous, is the Scorpio from Gundam Wing: Battlefield of Pacifests. IN its MA form it has two beam cannons/Beam sabers, a heat rod, and a huge shield attached to it. In MS form, it only has one beam saber/beam cannon, and thats IT. It loses 50% close combat ability, and a lot of protection.

Didn't different people do the designs for the MS and MA forms, hence the two not matching up? If that's the case, some of the weirdness could be attributed to that.

Yeah, the Scorpio MS Mode was done by Ishigaki while Tokita did the MA Mode.

And it's worth noting that the heat rod wasn't all that useful, while the A.S. planet defensor shield can't be used at all in MA Mode, nor can the missile pods. So really, all it loses in the transition from MA to MS is speed, gaining overally better fighting power in return.

[MrMarch]

Can you tell I'm a Turn A fan?

Hehehe, indeed. I should really check it out when I get the chance. Was Turn A ever released on region 1 DVD?

[Ascension]

Can you tell I'm a Turn A fan?

Hehehe, indeed. I should really check it out when I get the chance. Was Turn A ever released on region 1 DVD?

Nope. It, X, ZZ, and V are still on indefinite hold. I highly doubt they'll all get released here ever.

I do wish they'd bring X across the pond, though. Sure, I've seen it, but I'd like the chance to actually buy it. The chance to show my appreciation.

That's all off topic, though.

More to the point, in response to Kuruni's posting of the SRW Compact 3 mecha... WHAT THE?

...I'm sure we've all lost sleep over the lack of giant robots shaped like chameleons in video games these days.

[Recon 5]

Really, though, where do we draw the line between a mech design being 'unorthodox' and being 'ridiculous'?

[turkishproverb]

Really, though, where do we draw the line between a mech design being 'unorthodox' and being 'ridiculous'?

Turn A gundam would be the series that draws the line.

and the mechs?

http://mahq.net/mecha/gundam/turn-a/jma-0530.htm

Right on the line.

[Ascension]

I would say that the dividing line is more clearly defined in G-Gundam. As the offspring of the father of the real robot and the spirit of super robot zaniness, it has a plethora of examples from all points along the borders of the fantastic. The Dar... err... Death Army grunts and most of the lead Gundams are right along the border of the unconventional (though the Shining Gundam itself is very nearly conventional, with only its control system as a really fantastic element), but the Nobel, most of the various Gundams-of-the-Week, and the colonies firmly cross over into ridiculous territory.

The thing is, with G-Gundam, it works. It's supposed to be borderline ridiculous. Where things go wrong is when you take a design that looks like a G-Gundam bad guy or an old-school Super Robot monster of the week and you try to place it in a conventional setting without some sort of extraordinary plot device driving the whole affair.

[Recon 5]

Could we disregard all unusual elements of a mech's design if its shown to be effective in its purpose?

[Ascension]

We can, the question is, will we? It's much easier to overlook relatively "minor" things like the basic arguments against the feasibility of giant robots in the first place (coolness factor simply wins out) than it is to see past more absurd things. In the end, it's all subjective. To one person, the very thought of giant robots strains credibility, and transforming capabilities threaten to turn the whole setting to rubbish. Another may not even bat an eye at a Gundam shaped like a bull's head and may wonder why Zanscare never experimented with unicycle battleships.

People's tolerance for absurdity varies widely, something that this thread has demonstrated.

[Dynames]

Can you tell I'm a Turn A fan?

Hehehe, indeed. I should really check it out when I get the chance. Was Turn A ever released on region 1 DVD?

Nope. It, X, ZZ, and V are still on indefinite hold. I highly doubt they'll all get released here ever.

I do wish they'd bring X across the pond, though. Sure, I've seen it, but I'd like the chance to actually buy it. The chance to show my appreciation.

That's all off topic, though.

More to the point, in response to Kuruni's posting of the SRW Compact 3 mecha... WHAT THE?


...I'm sure we've all lost sleep over the lack of giant robots shaped like chameleons in video games these days.

Well if you look hard enough you could probully find box sets of Gundam x on ebay though it would be subbed

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

People's tolerance for absurdity varies widely, something that this thread has demonstrated.

For example I would regard this Gundam, as the absolute limit. Katoki must have been on something when he designed this.

[Deus EpS Machina]

I dont see anything wrong with the design considering the rest of the G Gundam cast -_-

[Arsarcana]

Well if you look hard enough you could probully find box sets of Gundam x on ebay though it would be subbed

Those would also be Hong Kong bootlegs, so if Ascension bought a set he/she wouldn't be showing appreciation to the people who actually deserve it.

[MrMarch]

People's tolerance for absurdity varies widely, something that this thread has demonstrated.

I love that analysis. It hits the nail right on the head. I'd say another big factor is the initial setting and audience expectancy. You start out with something patently absurd (like giant robots, aliens, or superhumans), viewers either go with it or they don't. But when sequels come into the picture, the initial production has forever set expectations for all later stories. Go beyond that template and fans often cry foul of believability, no matter how absurd the original. This is often why so many sequels fail. They have to up the level of absurdity to somehow outdo the original.

[Volnixshin]

The Devil Colony Gundam.




Biggest "Gundam" in exsistance, and its alive as well. all trying to suk the life outta people and earth...

[Kuruni]

On WaDom, I'm under impression that Tomino or other staff want something that like their own version of War of the World's Tripod (the situation is quite similar to me).

[Koshernova]

I thought the WaDom was an amazing design, but if you haven't seen Turn A Gundam you probably don't get it (if you have, well, we just have to agree to disagree). The thing to remember about the WaDom is that it is basically one of the main enforcers of the Moonrace, and shows up pretty early in the series... and it's a mass produced unit, the size of the Psyco Gundam. It shows up at a time when all the militia have is the Gundam. I distinctly remember scenes of a couple of WaDoms running across a field, with the locals looking at them uneasily. They're meant to be a big symbol of just how darned advanced the Moonrace is compared to the Earthnoids.

As some have said before, I see little point in discussing the absurdity of mecha design in G Gundam. That's missing the point by a whole mile. Half of the designs in G are meant to be "cool" in the Shounen tradition, and the rest are just meant to be ridiculously silly. It's a parody people. P-A-R-O-D-Y.

[young_oldtype]

I personally find it hard to stomach the majority of Zanscare MS. They give us groaners like the aforementioned dragon MA (which would be really awesome... if it were in G-Gundam), motorcycle battleships, and the Einerad.

When I first saw that Motorcycle battleships, I couldn't believe my eyes that "that" is in the Gundam series. I really want to see the design to fit in the anime conditions, that thing maybe acceptable for other anime but really distasteful for the current show it's in. But hey, it's probably just from my side of view and anyone may agree or disagree.

I'd agree should I ever see it. Er, from what Gundam series was that ship by the way?