Is there an instance where the "Contrary to most mecha, this one focuses on the characters" argument holds true?

does not matter since most mecha anime do not focus on robotics anyway they focus most on characters too like other genres

so i say that stereotype is wrong or fake news

"Contrary to most mecha, this one focuses on the characters"

But most of the mecha focus on the characters, especially popular franchises like Gundam and Macross. Evangelion even has too much of this.


"contractual obligation to show one mecha fight per episode"

This doesn't mean those aren't character focused tho.


"when your program stops, a product placement appear"

Still it's always about the MCs struggling with their adversaries. So basically you aren't complaining about lack of characterization, but about lack of character development and lack of plot progression.


"How do you solve such conundrum?"

Rename your thesis "Contrary to most mecha, this one focuses on character development.".
But how about mecha in which the mechs are mostly in the background like in Gundam: The Origin (where we even don't see a working Gundam) ? Thing is "Contrary to most mecha" is only true for certain anime period. Nowadays we almost don't have this, except gunpla commercials like Gundam Build Fighters and the rest of the Our Century or similar like Magaton Musashi and Shinkalion (which is mainly a shinkansen porn).

I should make some clarifications:

1. In my personal view, EVERY MECHA ANIME IS ABOUT THE CHARACTERS.
   
2. I'm trying to look for counter-examples, since the "Most mecha anime doesn't focus on the characters" argument is so famous.
   
3. In my personal view I think it comes from people hearing someone that didn't watch much mecha saying it and them started parroting themselves, but I want to make something professional, so I'm trying to be extra-charitable with the opposing view and assuming they have at least a semblance of a point.
   

So you want to show that "most mecha don't focus on the characters" is false, correct? And in order to do that, you're trying to prove that "ALL mecha focus on the characters"?

I don't think that's quite right. Don't you just have to prove that "most mecha focus on the characters"? Then it's ok that there are some mecha that doesn't focus on the characters.

my advice is for you to make videos about anime from genres you watched and understood, mecha flies over your head.

Well, no... but also yes, but also no... it's complicated.
My point is that this argument isn't exclusive to mecha: Every time I imagine myself explaining ANY anime to someone not used tot he medium, I always feel like prefacing with "In anime it is quite frequent for it to have some form of supernatural/fantastic element, yet it's story being essentially a 'down-to-earth' one".
Coincidentally, I recently found out that Sonny Boy's description in Wikipedia contains exactly that:

So I started to think that maybe it isn't something related to mecha, but rather a presupposition from people that mainly watched western media having contact with anything different. I just assumed that due to the cost of SFX, any american movie or series would either make them their focus or not use them at all.
Though upon reflecting some more, I began questioning myself if even in american media there is such thing as "a series that is about it's fantastical elements instead of it's characters".

In the end, the only thing I was able to conclude was that... I don't know what the "Contrary to most mecha, this one focuses on the characters" argument actually means.

Yeah, I came to that conclusion on my own last night, but it still hurts when you say it.
That's probably my fourth video-essay idea that fails due to my lack of knowledge, I'm having a real impostor syndrome right now.

• The first was a "No, anime is not trad" video-idea that I couldn't finish the script because I noticed I knew much less than I initially thought I did.
  
• The second was a script I actually managed to make about the history of the mahou shoujo genre and the idea of "The mahou shoujo as the modern idol". While I initially didn't finish it because I have no experience speaking in English despite being fluent in both, reading, writing and listening, with time I began to my my own script "cringe" because I felt I was just mimicking breadtube essayists despite the fact that I'm not even that left wing.
  

Here's a fragment of it:

• The third was me trying to repurpose parts of the second script, which I failed again because I noticed that not only I know very little about feminism or any media outside of anime, I also haven't watched much Mahou Shoujo stuff. (https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=2179152)
  
• The fourth... was this one, where I noticed I haven't watched that much mecha stuff either.
  

Now I'm in some sort of crisis, asking myself how it is possible that I've played vidya all my life, watched anime for more than a decade, and studied both for years via analysis videos and video-essays, and yet somehow I'm completely incapable of writing anything of value about the subject.

Yet you agree at least partially for the "mecha of the week" format...and you shouldn't because the only thing that lacks in those is character and plot development
My whole point is that your stance against "Contrary to most mecha, this one focuses on the characters" is kind of incorrect.


I think this comes from the fact that most of the Tomino projects are kind of chaotic and he decides what he actuallu wants to do in mid production. Great ideas - for sure, but very often those lack consistency (even favorite for me titles like Overman King Gainer and Gundam: G no Reconguista).
Also I am definitely not a Turn A Gundam fan.


Yes, changing the thesis to "focuses on character development" is the rebuttal.


Depends on what your opponent thinks is important.
There's that school of thought that every show must have a character development (progression or regression), the persoп you want to confront looks like one of its followers.

Well, no... but also yes, but also no... it's complicated.
My point is that this argument isn't exclusive to mecha: Every time I imagine myself explaining ANY anime to someone not used tot he medium, I always feel like prefacing with "In anime it is quite frequent for it to have some form of supernatural/fantastic element, yet it's story being essentially a 'down-to-earth' one".
Coincidentally, I recently found out that Sonny Boy's description in Wikipedia contains exactly that:

So I started to think that maybe it isn't something related to mecha, but rather a presupposition from people that mainly watched western media having contact with anything different. I just assumed that due to the cost of SFX, any american movie or series would either make them their focus or not use them at all.
Though upon reflecting some more, I began questioning myself if even in american media there is such thing as "a series that is about it's fantastical elements instead of it's characters".

In the end, the only thing I was able to conclude was that... I don't know what the "Contrary to most mecha, this one focuses on the characters" argument actually means.