I'm asking this question seriously right now. In regards to yesterdays post on mechs I realized that I know nothing on the,"regional distinction" on mechs or mythical concepts. I'm not trying to piss anyone off, I just don't really see a difference. To me, it's just an excuse for causing millions in property damage for the sake of a good cause. (hehehehe) Anyway I was wonderring if anyone here could enlighten me on the differences between these metal titans? Please help me
What exactly is the difference between American, Japanese, and European mechs?
- Thread starter Hectix777
- Start date
Japaneses mecha tend to be more 'human' in shape, and move far more fluidly, even the 'real ones' and also tend to be elaborately designed (not always though)
western mecha tend to be, well, be big metal behemoths that generally lack the 'fluid and graceful' movements, in favor of brute force and functionality, with more simplified designs (not always though)
that's a rough lay out anyway, hopefully some one will provide a deeper answer
western mecha tend to be, well, be big metal behemoths that generally lack the 'fluid and graceful' movements, in favor of brute force and functionality, with more simplified designs (not always though)
that's a rough lay out anyway, hopefully some one will provide a deeper answer
Well I suppose you could say Warhammer 40K's titans and Dreadnaughts( I know I spelled that wrong) are mechs, in which case they are a lot less pretty and humanoid then Japanese style ones. But that just comes with a western tendency of not being as romanticized as Japanese fiction.
Its the audience too, Japanese audiences are just used to humanoid giant robots in their sci-fi, they dont mind that corny stuff anymore then we'd mind a time-traveling policebox.
Its the audience too, Japanese audiences are just used to humanoid giant robots in their sci-fi, they dont mind that corny stuff anymore then we'd mind a time-traveling policebox.
American Mecha I find tend to place functionality above form, and Japanese Mecha tend to place form above functionality. If you look at Mechwarrior or something like that, you really get the feeling that these things could exist in the real world. But With Japanese Mecha you never think that, they are simply too outrageous to be real. However, you can actually get an emotional attachment to them, since they're anthropomorphized to a degree.
I don't know any real Mecha series from America that aren't video games though. The whole genre just isn't as popular in the western hemisphere.
I don't know any real Mecha series from America that aren't video games though. The whole genre just isn't as popular in the western hemisphere.
western mechs are clumsy heavy things like tanks but with legs, Japanese are more human like agile fast usually have hands and fingers to hold weapon. Fast example watch gameplay videos of MechWarrior and Armored Core differences are seen with naked eye.
Japan = Gundam
America = Iron Men
Europe = Actual Mechs...
Right?
If the worlds wars could be solved by Gundam fighting in space we'd have a lot more fun with it. Put that shit on pay per view
America = Iron Men
Europe = Actual Mechs...
Right?
If the worlds wars could be solved by Gundam fighting in space we'd have a lot more fun with it. Put that shit on pay per view
Here's the distinction:
Designers of Western mechs ask themselves: Supposing for a moment that enormous, destructive, mobile war machines actually existed, what might they look like, considering the sort of world that would call for such things to be built?
Designers of Japanese mechs ask themselves: What will look totally batshit crazy and induce a bunch of epileptic fits?
Designers of Western mechs ask themselves: Supposing for a moment that enormous, destructive, mobile war machines actually existed, what might they look like, considering the sort of world that would call for such things to be built?
Designers of Japanese mechs ask themselves: What will look totally batshit crazy and induce a bunch of epileptic fits?
The clearest explination I can give is that American Mecha (see BattleTech and MechWarrior) tend to favor hard science fiction, so their mechs are literally walking tanks, their strategic value based around the fact that they can carry a large assortment of heavy weapons and have the manuverability to fire them in ways that tanks can't.
Japanese Mecha are much less restrictive, and designed around almost science fantasy, in ways that could never feasibly work according to our current level of science. Mecha from series like Macross and Gundam depict their mechs as being able of moving with more speed and grace than the humans that pilot them, wielding everything from gigantic beam cannons to gigantic combat knives. They're essentially just enormous forms of power armor, enhancing their pilot's movement instead of being a vehicle that walks, in ways that physics simply wouldn't allow.
Consider how fast an elephant moves. It can get up a good forward pace, but if he tried to make a sharp turn he'd likely trip, and seriously damage himself from all that weight falling from that great a height. Now consider a 50 foot tall mech, probably weighing several a few dozen tons, trying to perform martial arts.
Even when the Japanese try for hard science mecha, they fail at it. Armored Core and Front Mission Evolved are two good examples of this - their mecha lean towards American styles (with their mechs being more about the kind of firepower they can carry than being giant power armour) but then they have access to energy blades and both mecha types can slide across the ground at very high speed without any attempt at realistically explaining how they can do so (they don't have wheels, any sort of hover technology, just a big booster rocket sticking out of their back that somehow maintains their perfect balance, maneuverability and speed). They skate about like they're on ice, never tripping up or being affected by the recoil of their own weapons.
That isn't to say that American mecha don't branch into suspension of disbelief. MechWarrior utilizes jump jets which in earlier versions were literal flawless boosters that allowed for insane manuverability for the mechs. More recent editions have toned it down a bit so that the rockets act like literal rockets; slow, fuel-consumptive, and not intended for in-combat situations (they're more for accessing a tactically advantageous high-ground).
If you need more info than that, just search the internet. Focus on Macross and MechWarrior. Both have similar origins (MechWarrior was kind of shameless about ripping off some of Macross' designs, what can I say, it was the 80's) but the directions that both franchices took reflect their cultural differences.
That's why MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries was a kind of "mech simulator" where you had to manage things like heat sinks and armour tonnage while Macross 7 was about transforming jet-robots fighting faerie-monsters with the power of music.
Yeah. That happened.
Sooo... really, take your pick.
You can check out Neon Genesis Evangelion, too, but that's about children in pools of embryonic fluid fighting in cyborgs cloned from an alien version of Lilith from the Biblican texts. Also the "mecha" are attached to umbilical cords. And one dude masturbates over his comatose friend or something.
I'm only biased because seriously, WTF Japan?
Japanese Mecha are much less restrictive, and designed around almost science fantasy, in ways that could never feasibly work according to our current level of science. Mecha from series like Macross and Gundam depict their mechs as being able of moving with more speed and grace than the humans that pilot them, wielding everything from gigantic beam cannons to gigantic combat knives. They're essentially just enormous forms of power armor, enhancing their pilot's movement instead of being a vehicle that walks, in ways that physics simply wouldn't allow.
Consider how fast an elephant moves. It can get up a good forward pace, but if he tried to make a sharp turn he'd likely trip, and seriously damage himself from all that weight falling from that great a height. Now consider a 50 foot tall mech, probably weighing several a few dozen tons, trying to perform martial arts.
Even when the Japanese try for hard science mecha, they fail at it. Armored Core and Front Mission Evolved are two good examples of this - their mecha lean towards American styles (with their mechs being more about the kind of firepower they can carry than being giant power armour) but then they have access to energy blades and both mecha types can slide across the ground at very high speed without any attempt at realistically explaining how they can do so (they don't have wheels, any sort of hover technology, just a big booster rocket sticking out of their back that somehow maintains their perfect balance, maneuverability and speed). They skate about like they're on ice, never tripping up or being affected by the recoil of their own weapons.
That isn't to say that American mecha don't branch into suspension of disbelief. MechWarrior utilizes jump jets which in earlier versions were literal flawless boosters that allowed for insane manuverability for the mechs. More recent editions have toned it down a bit so that the rockets act like literal rockets; slow, fuel-consumptive, and not intended for in-combat situations (they're more for accessing a tactically advantageous high-ground).
If you need more info than that, just search the internet. Focus on Macross and MechWarrior. Both have similar origins (MechWarrior was kind of shameless about ripping off some of Macross' designs, what can I say, it was the 80's) but the directions that both franchices took reflect their cultural differences.
That's why MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries was a kind of "mech simulator" where you had to manage things like heat sinks and armour tonnage while Macross 7 was about transforming jet-robots fighting faerie-monsters with the power of music.
Yeah. That happened.
Sooo... really, take your pick.
You can check out Neon Genesis Evangelion, too, but that's about children in pools of embryonic fluid fighting in cyborgs cloned from an alien version of Lilith from the Biblican texts. Also the "mecha" are attached to umbilical cords. And one dude masturbates over his comatose friend or something.
I'm only biased because seriously, WTF Japan?
Japanese mechs are more sleek and human in shape. They also use many more melee weapons such as swords than do Western mechs.
Western mechs are walking tanks with more weapons than God. If there is a square inch without something that shoots a bullet the size of a cow you are doing it wrong.
I always liked to picture it in terms of Warhammer 40k. Western mechs are like Dreadnoughts, bulky but armed to the teeth. Japanese mechs are more like the Eldar Wraithlords. Sleek, slender, and using a big ass sword.
Western mechs are walking tanks with more weapons than God. If there is a square inch without something that shoots a bullet the size of a cow you are doing it wrong.
I always liked to picture it in terms of Warhammer 40k. Western mechs are like Dreadnoughts, bulky but armed to the teeth. Japanese mechs are more like the Eldar Wraithlords. Sleek, slender, and using a big ass sword.
Hectix777 said:
http://i53.tinypic.com/2wrf1g4.jpg
A Warhammer 40k titan, European.
http://files.myopera.com/jakotsu97989798/albums/672600/shinkirou.jpg
Code Geass Knightmare frame, Japanese.
http://www.modelosaescala.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/starwarsatat.01.jpg
Star Wars AT-AT, American.
See the difference?
Basically yeah. The US thinks of it in a practical "How can I use this to kill things better than I kill them now" way while Japan makes it more "How can I make this the most outlandishly colorful and pretty thing possible, with a few weapons for flavor."Hectix777 said: