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1. The Super Robot. In one sentence, this is the robot as a Super Hero. In essence, not much different from Astroboy, just a lot bigger. Or one can say, a massively scaled up Iron Man. Over the years, it also became modular, able to bolt on from different components. Super Robots are typically unique, they have no copies, and like Atlas, the weight of saving the Earth falls upon their shoulders. Examples: Testsujin Nijuhachi (Iron Man 28 aka Gigantor); Mazinger Z; Getta Robot; Steel Jeeg; Combatler V; Gaiking; GoLion (Voltron). Commercially, the Super Robot are meant to sell toys.
A subgenre of the Super Robot is the God Robot. The God Robot makes references to ancient mythology, and the God Robot may in fact may have once been worshipped as an ancient god. This subgenre originated with Yoshiyuki Tomini's Brave Raydeen, and is probably the best known examples are Neon Genesis Evangelion, Rahxephon, and Aquarion. In contrast to the scaled up Iron Man of Super Robots, the God Robot is styled in a way that reminds us of ancient deities, or simply godlike.
Another subgenre is the Romantic. Stories on the Romantic group are much more complex, darker and more dramatic than typical of the Super Robot genre, which tends to cater to a young audience. Typical of this group are Combatler V, Voltes V, and Daimos --- the three are sometimes referred to as the Romantic Trilogy.
2. The Mecha genre. Unlike Super Robots, mecha are mass produced and they die all the time. They are typically not limb to limb modular, tend to carry weapons on their arms rather than their chests. Commercially, they are meant to promote model kits, but they really try to get as much viewer ratings on their televised series. In terms of impact, the Mecha series was a breakthrough that threw the Robot genre into much more sophisticated and adult science fiction themes. This genre can be broken into further subgenres.
The Realistic --- While it may or many not truly realistic, the designs tend to be more functional, and sometimes down to earth. The theme centers around Man vs. Man, only human political factions and no aliens or supernatural elements involved, and tells to dwell on the follies of war. The defining mecha series of this genre is Yoshiyuki Tomini's Mobile Suit Gundam. Other shows that follow this pattern include Armored Trooper Votoms, Fang of the Sun Dougram, Heavy Metal L-Gaim, Overman King Gainer, and most recently Buddy Complex, Argevollen, and Aldnoah Zero. Code Geass would also fall into this group too, although the story doesn't truly center around mechs. Shows of this group tend to demonstrate a high body count.
Fantasy and Steampunk --- Strong fantasy settings define this one, with mecha that appear like huge suits of armor or golems that are animated by unexplained magical forces. A characteristic of these mecha is that they are often knightlike in appearance and portrayal. This probably started with Tomino's Aura Battler Dunbine but reached legendary status with the Legend of Escaflowne. Probably the finest example of this group is Broken Blade, and one of the most recent example would be Shoji Kawamori's Nobunaga The Fool.
Organic --- In this case, the mecha isn't completely mechanical, but shares or is interfaced with living parts. Designs tend to be rounded, and as described, organic looking. Probably the most famous series of this group is Neon Genesis Evangelion, which can also be said to be a hybrid with the God Robot. Another would be Tomini's Brain Powred and most recently M3: The Dark Metal.
Man vs. Alien --- This is simply the most popular and most creative of all, and probably the most romantic of the subgenres. It also tends to showcast the most overpowered mecha, which seems to be necessary to deal with overpowered aliens. A common theme is that the mecha themselves are powered by alien technologies, which gives them the overpowering abilities, which in contrast to the Realistic group, tend to be explained and rely on human developed technologies. Stories tend to portray the defense of Earth against some alien, the survival of the human species, or involve stellar colonization and travel. Perhaps the most defining are the Super Dimension trilogy that includes Macross, Southern Cross and Orguss. More recently, we have Total Eclipse, Fafnir in the Azure, Rinne: The Flower of Lagrange, and the Knights of Sidonia. Organic tends to cross paths with Man vs. Alien, as antagonists in Organic tends to be otherworldy in nature. However, Organic tends to have minimal to no flight characteristics, while Man vs. Alien have mechs flying all over the place.
Neon Genesis Evangelion also shows overlap with Man vs. Alien.
The show Gurren Laggan was designed to intentionally step over as many subgenre boundaries as possible, in a way its a celebration of all mecha subgenres.
There are some shows that don't really belong to a proper mecha subgenre, for instance, Infinite Stratos, which can be said to be more of a harem anime.
Edited by Anjian, 03 May 2015 - 12:47 AM.
