Unfairly Maligned Mecha Shows
Anime
Mecha shows that have a bad reputation but are actually a lot better than one would be led to believe.
TV, 1977,
26 eps
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Memed to death, but the robot is actually quite cool and it's a solid mecha show.
Movie, 1982,
1 ep
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A cool compilation movie for an otherwise boring series.
TV, 1984,
51 eps
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Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs is a totally different show from Sei Juushi Bismark, the closest we've come to an anime version of tokusatsu.
OVA, 1986,
1 ep
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Author:8
Hated by people who like "mature anime for mature anime fans like me", but it's actually a pretty cool OVA.
TV, 1992,
47 eps
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This is a Brave series named Tetsujin, and it has the coolest robots in the Tetsujin franchise.
OVA, 1996,
1 ep
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Author:7
See comment for first MD Geist entry.
TV, 1997,
12 eps
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This show is actually quite dense and often confusing, but that doesn't make it bad -- you just need to pay attention -- and the twists near the end are quite cool and reminiscent of something you'd see in a kids' mecha like GaoGaiGar or Dendoh.
TV, 2000,
24 eps
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It has a bad reputation thanks to its poor subtitles; in the raw Japanese it's actually quite good.
TV, 2001,
13 eps
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The ending is cool, and there are plenty of cool robots (both the hero and villain) throughout. Skip the SOL bits and enjoy the action.
TV, 2001,
52 eps
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Author:10
A show that proves you don't need animation to make a MOTW show good and memorable. The ongoing story is quite meaty -- at first it's a more emotional GaoGaiGar then it becomes Digimon Adventure --, and there are plenty of cool designs throughout.
TV, 2002,
28 eps
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It has a bad reputation thanks to its poor subtitles; in the raw Japanese it's actually quite good.
TV, 2003,
13 eps
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Look past the bad character designs, and you'll find a super cool space show.
TV, 2004,
13 eps
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Look past the bad character designs, and you'll find a super cool space show.
TV, 2004,
52 eps
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The SD designs are cool, and it's just a Brave series in SD Gundam skin. It has a bad reputation because it's more of a Brave series than a Gundam series, but the story in the second half gets quite meaty.
TV, 2004,
50 eps
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Stock animation aside, this show has the coolest mobile suits and ships in Gundam and a more interesting and moving story than the original SEED. It plays with some interesting ideas like media manipulation, faking identities, and why communism can't work.
OVA, 2007,
3 eps
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Author:6
It has some pretty cool mecha and an extremely weird story, as well as some cool Gundam references.
TV, 2007,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:10
Why would you complain about an Obari show? This is cooler than the original Dancouga because it has more interesting technology.
TV, 2014,
26 eps
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Author:9
The show isn't that confusing; it just has a lot of factions and it's more of an adventure show about finding the truth of the world than a typical Gundam show.
TV, 2015,
26 eps
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An extremely weird MOTW show that's hated for not being a sequel to the previous Aquarion shows and requiring knowledge of kanji grammar and communication theory.