225: Pilgrimage to Mecha

[Skyllian Blitz]

@RAK the Undead: Great post, nice to see someone take the time explaining the impracticalities. I never considered the reciprocating motion problem before, I always focused on the material limits and mobility.

Kudos to you, Mr. Funk, for an interesting and well-rounded article, looking into the psychology of the Japanese populace. Robots do, indeed, represent technological advancement and superiority, and the Japanese were certainly at the forefront of robotic design when they realised the utility of them. The Western world wrote of the robot, while Japan made it practical and useful. In the West, I suppose that function followed art, while in Japan, art followed function.

One of the resistances to robots in the western world, I think, is linked to a fear of being replaced. There's not a strong union movement in Japan as there is in USA which would inhibit the adoption of automation by companies. Workers don't react very well by anything which could replace them. Building a machine to perform one task is one thing, building a robot which can do many is a very hard thing to swallow if it's your job that's being made redundant.

The western view is that robots are tools, precise and cold. The mainstream view is that machinery is there to aid the person. The Japanese, on the other hand, have a different perception towards robots. They can see it as having it's own identity. A form of animism. It's not so much that the West didn't want robots as much as the Japanese embraced them.

As notable as the Japanese attraction to robots is their specific attraction to giant robots. A country possessing such scientific fervour surely would have realised the impracticalities of bipedal robotic design, particularly when it comes to gigantic designs as in the context of mecha - look at the problems that Honda have had with their ASIMO robots, which have the distinct physical advantage of being small.



Finally, I'd like to look at the fact that the culture of the Western world never picked up the idea of the mecha in as much of a fashion as the Japanese. If you look at our current recreational trends, particularly in computer gaming, we see a lot of gritty games with a veneer of realism. Perhaps, unlike the Japanese, whose neutrality allows them a certain amount of leeway when considering "military" designs in fiction, the Western culture has been somewhat consumed with the necessity of our militaries to keep up with the evolution, and in fact, to do the evolving when it comes to military designs. The trends towards realism don't worry me - I'm a scientist and a fan of accurate depictions even within fiction. However, there's a certain amount of opposition from a proportion of my gaming peers, who would probably be more suited to the Japanese model.

I suppose it explains the upturn in popularity of anime and manga that we're seeing over here.

Look at it from a differnt angle. In Gundam, there is always the young idealist who ends up piloting one of the more powerful Gundams and uses this power for good. The mecha is a form of wish fulfilment, that the idealist has been given the means to achieve his dreams. In a country where samurai were held in high regard as being honourable and potent warriors, there is a chance to bring back that romanticism with the Real Robot genre which Gundam is a part of. This may be reaching a bit but consider how Japan lost World War 2. Beaten by a country with greater might, greater production and greater technology. Honour, belief in a cause, individual heroics, meant little in the grand scheme of things. Gundams allow for warrior duels, clashes of personalities and of ideals between two people, where belief in a cause and a kickass suit allows you to carry the day and win.

Personally though, that never really appealed to me. I'm more a fan of the typical western protagonist and storytelling.

 

[mnaglich]

A) Well, if any of you actaully read mechwarrior, they use tendon like myomers on all the joints. A memory material which naturally bends with current. Not mechanical at all. B)Most mechs in the gundam universe weigh btw 60 and 90 tons. heavy, but not ridiculous. C) ZEON/ZAFT developed them as space weapons first, so there weight is no longer a factor and D) WING SUCKS!! flame flame flame

 

[onyx452]

Imagine the day when Gundam-like mecha are real. Imagine the day where mankind degenerates into the kinds of scenarios found throughout all the series. And imagine how people will be completely blindsided when the solution is there for them but they ignore it. Like the article said, it sad when humanity needs something like Newtypes.

That being said, totally signing up to be a pilot if it's in my lifetime.

 

[Ninedeus]

Makes me want this to be their national icon. Sure, the US has the statue of liberty, Paris has the Eiffel tower, and Australia has the Sydney opera, but Japan has a 60 foot giant robot! Beat that!

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

What's with all the past tense?

Was it taken down or something?

Anyways, i've always seen this as entirely awesome. Though I've wondered something:

Why is, say, Gundam, arguably the most well known anime media franchise in japan, but Dragon Ball is most everywhere else?

Gundam is still popular and well known in other places, too, of course.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

Moments like these are why I am reminded why you John are my favorite of the Escapist staff! And this statue is just a step for what the future will hold! Hopefully I can get a XXXG-01W in my lifetime now....