Mecha Talk

I was ordering Gundam 0080 on Netflix the other day and I spied this anime called Vandread. I can't be sure just from the cover but I'd like to ask two questions of the fine folks of MechaTalk:

A. Is it a mech anime?
2. Is it worth my valuable time?

_________________

A) Yes...
B) Hell yes!

Vandread is a fun little series from Gonzo with some highly enjoyable Mecha and many interesting plot twists. It's hard to go into a plot synopses without much spoilers but the beginning premise is men and women at war with one another until a hijacked ship containing some of both sexes runs into a far worse foe...

EDIT: It also has an awesome opening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s26rUnuP7A0

_________________
"If You are a man you'll do what's important before you grieve" -Captain Harlock

"I like the SAGA. Its what Rambo would pilot if he was in Gundam 00" -Kylern

It's a super robot show with a gattai emphasis. For some reason, the review I read before watching the show said it "was a worthy substitute for any Gundam" and that really threw me off. It's completely unlike Gundam.

It feels more like a stranded ship struggling for survival against faceless aliens.

To be honest, I only enjoyed 2 episodes: the first one which did a good job exploring the concept of two sexes of the same species having no knowledge of each other, and the other episode was when they visited a planet under attack by an epidemic. That one was really touching.

The fights were kinda bland and lacked any emotional tension, but a little fun if you like watching things explode.

It's not a bad show. Just don't expect Gundam-like elements, and you'll be good.

_________________
"Red particles are bad, they mutate you into... dead? But green/blue particles are good, apparently, for reasons and for purposes yet to be determined. Isn't science sometimes nicely color-coded?"
-Antares
GW: The Sword . Sera's Art . Gameplay . The Lost Citadel

If you look closely enough in the early episodes, there is someone from Taraak who looks exactly like Bright Noa, and is also voiced by his original VA as well.

The mecha are pretty cool looking and there is quite some fanservice. Hilarious gender specific sexual tensions/misunderstandings are included as well.

Interesting I might check this one out sometime in future.

Does he slap anyone?

_________________

Yeah, I'd say Vandread is worth your time. Nothing spectactular and if you dislike harem hijinks it's not for you, but it's an enjoyable show over all.

_________________
"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

That and the main character has a VERY good monologe/speech in the final episode. He talks about his fears and so forth...

Vandread isn't the greatest series ever, but it still is fun and very enjoyable. Plus it has some great female characters.

_________________
"I am the bone of my sword, steel is my body and fire is my blood. I have created over a thousand blades. Unknown to death, nor known to life. Many times I have withstood enormous pain to create thousands of weapons and yet those hands that have braved so much will never hold anything.
So I pray and call forth UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!"

I watched this fairly recently, found it to be quite entertaining

I found Vandread pretty awful. Didn't like the designs, and there was too much harem anime crap happening. Along the lines of Nadesico but even more blatant.

If you do like harem anime though, it's worth checking out. I just happen to not like many elements of those kinds of anime.

I completely agree with this. I went into this looking for a mecha anime and was a little disappointed. Also if I remember correctly this show has a lot of 3d cgi animation. If you don't like that you might not like the show.

_________________
Battle my brute
SD Gundam Online Taiwan IGN: Ydawg314
SD Gundam Online Korea IGN: Layzee

I have to say I hold a special place in my heart for Vandread.

It's a place of darkness and despair, a place of sorrow. It's the section of my heart that lies beyond the door labelled 'HATE'.

Vandread has the harem anime crap that I already despise (unless it's subverted in a way that has a nod to the sexism inherent in harem anime). As if that wasn't bad enough, it's filled with sexist crap about how men and women are 'supposed' to be, it has incredibly insipid characters and a soundtrack that sounds, well, like someone trying to make music for a WipeOut OST and failing hard.

The mecha designs were interesting, but the CGI has really not aged well. I watched Vandread only once, years ago, but the experience left me so sour I refuse to re-confirm these opinions through wasting time and watching it again.

tl;dr avoid like the plague, do something else than watching Vanread.

_________________
Livin' la vida Loki.

Did you feel that way back then or is it only hindsight talking? If not I find it odd because Vandread first came out in the US in the time when harem animes like Tenchi and Love Hina were praised as high quality works. It's only been recently that the stigma against harem animes has become prominent in the western fandom.

_________________
"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

First of all, I'm not in the U.S., but rather in Europe.

I watched it circa 2002 or 2003? It's not hindsight: I hated it back then. For the past ten years I've not really been involved with anime fandom. Even if I had been, I'm a big enough girl to have my own opinion.

Basically, I started watching anime in the mid-90s, and my first exposure to harem-style stuff was Ranma, which was already poking fun at the concept being ridiculous. By the time Love Hina and other such anime rolled on, my idea of good anime with romance elements were Utena and Fruits Basket which, with their problems and differences, are vastly superior to the bilge that is Vandread.

I'm sorry if I sound a bit rude, but I resent the idea that I hold this opinion just because it's a trendy one with anime fandom. I'm almost thirty, and I'm kinda done with liking or hating things just because I'm 'supposed' to.

_________________
Livin' la vida Loki.

That wasn't what I was getting at at all. Trends aren't followed just because people are 'supposed' to follow them. It goes beyond that. With harem animes the general distaste has come about due to over saturation, so I find it interesting that the hate for it goes back to the time where there weren't many of these shows in the mainstream.

_________________
"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

What can I say, some of us with vajayjays know sexism when we see it, and would rather have our mecha/scifi anime with as little of it as possible.

I mean, come on, if people could make something as complex regarding gender like Macross in the early 80s, why do we need something like Vandread in the 2000s? Surely we have progressed as a species.

_________________
Livin' la vida Loki.

It's important to remember that Japan as a culture is still lagging behind in terms of gender equality. My aunt's had a few meetings with Japanese businessmen and she could tell you a few stories...

Though honestly I wouldn't call Vandread all that sexist. They clearly show that each gender can function just fine independant of each other, but it's when they come together and work as equals that they overcome major threats. If anything it shows that a society of only men sucks while one of only women is a lot better.

I wouldn't call the women and men becoming interested in each other sexist either. That's just basic biology.

_________________
"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

Man did you guys ever derail the train from it's tracks

I would like to throw in my bit on this and say, different strokes for different blokes.
But that would sound it implying only to males then wouldn't it making it sexist

I think the thing is here Kosh just doesn't appreciate it with harem element to the giant mecha.
But then again we have other ones with harem elements sort of like Gravion, Godannar, Aquarion ect.
We even have shows were the sexism or things of the sort are barely.

I mean is it the harem aspect that gets to you or is it the sexual side of it Kosh?
I mean if you've seen a series like this and Macross, you know that in some ways from the mind of some Japanese people the formula can't get tossed around too often without things being re-used.

Just my thoughts on this, hey anyone want to help me put this train on the tracks again with a crane or 2?

Hardly derailed as we are talking about it in the context of Vandread.

_________________
"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

I didn't mind the harem like elements, to me it never felt like there was much romance with any pairing beyond the main pairing. I also felt the Characters involved were complex enough to not be hollow stereotypes, they weren't simply fawning over Hibiki without any real reason. Of course this was something I watched early in my days of actively seeking anime so maybe I'm remembering it more fondly than it deserves.

Hulu has the whole thing streaming so you can check it out with zero investment. Even if it's not as good As I remember I'm at least certain it was worth a watch.

http://www.hulu.com/vandread

_________________
"If You are a man you'll do what's important before you grieve" -Captain Harlock

"I like the SAGA. Its what Rambo would pilot if he was in Gundam 00" -Kylern