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When Mechs Equals Sex


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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2544
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 1:07 pm Reply with quote
Really? An entire article about sexual innuendo in mech anime, and not a single reference or even allusion to the 70s or even 80s? We're just going to ignore Breast Missiles, "Navel Missiles" that are fired more from the crotch than the gut, & Quattro Bajeena, among other examples?

I'm not complaining or anything like that, but it is a bit odd to act like mech anime didn't really feature any sort of sexuality to them until Evangelion.
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JacobC
ANN Contributor


Joined: 15 Jan 2008
Posts: 3728
Location: SoCal
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 1:19 pm Reply with quote
Lord Geo wrote:
Really? An entire article about sexual innuendo in mech anime, and not a single reference or even allusion to the 70s or even 80s? We're just going to ignore Breast Missiles, "Navel Missiles" that are fired more from the crotch than the gut, & Quattro Bajeena, among other examples?

I'm not complaining or anything like that, but it is a bit odd to act like mech anime didn't really feature any sort of sexuality to them until Evangelion.


The article is speaking more specifically about shows that use "piloting a mech" as a metaphor for the process of becoming an adult, usually through sexual maturation. So it's not just cockpits that look like dicks or robots that shoot missiles from questionable areas. It has to center around the character's relationship with their robot on a more central subtextual level.
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jroa



Joined: 08 Aug 2012
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 1:41 pm Reply with quote
It is a shame the author was not interested in discussing Godannar then, because while the easy route would be to dismiss the show for purely superficial reasons, it actually does have some decent things to say about different types of relationships while still channeling the spirit of old school Super Robot shows. I found it more enjoyable than Aquarion Evol in some ways despite not having the same staff pedigree.
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catbot158



Joined: 04 Mar 2017
Posts: 232
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 1:54 pm Reply with quote
What better way to influence Japan's youth to repopulate the country than through giant robots? Laughing
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Chrno2



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 6171
Location: USA
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 3:41 pm Reply with quote
I'm kind of surprised that 'Godannar' didn't make a connection. Since much of the premise of the show was mecha and marriage. That was the closest.

Even 'Iczer-1', which I later learned more of it's "yuri" roots, revolved around the true meaning of "synchronization". As the host was a battery for the robot. But the true internalized feelings gave the robot more power than required.
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GhostD



Joined: 07 May 2016
Posts: 999
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 4:30 pm Reply with quote
Well what can you expect when it comes to the author of the ever notorious To-Love-Ru franchise
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2185
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 4:41 pm Reply with quote
GhostD wrote:
Well what can you expect when it comes to the author of the ever notorious To-Love-Ru franchise

Yabuki Kentaro's only drawing the manga. He's not the writer of the anime, which is the source material.
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GhostD



Joined: 07 May 2016
Posts: 999
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 4:46 pm Reply with quote
FilthyCasual wrote:
GhostD wrote:
Well what can you expect when it comes to the author of the ever notorious To-Love-Ru franchise

Yabuki Kentaro's only drawing the manga. He's not the writer of the anime, which is the source material.


True but one can see resemblance between this and TLD even without reading a single manga chapter since it came later. Main girl is a long pink haired human looking female who suddenly becomes part of the MC's life by chance and the secondary girl is a short blue haired girl whos known the MC for years

And for some reason I like the manga better


Last edited by GhostD on Wed Feb 28, 2018 5:02 pm; edited 2 times in total
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 4:50 pm Reply with quote
I'm just bummed that nowadays mech equal sex more often than not. Crying or Very sad
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purplepolecat



Joined: 15 Feb 2008
Posts: 130
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 4:53 pm Reply with quote
The yuri classic Simoun. Their flying machines are not strictly mechs, but they were one of the first to do sexually charged pair piloting.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 5:26 pm Reply with quote
GhostD wrote:
And for some reason I like the manga better


That reason being the much more explicity nudity Very Happy

But no mention of Daimidaler?
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Joshua Zarate



Joined: 12 Jan 2017
Posts: 2061
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 5:36 pm Reply with quote
GhostD wrote:
True but one can see resemblance between this and TLD even without reading a single manga chapter since it came later. Main girl is a long pink haired human looking female who suddenly becomes part of the MC's life by chance and the secondary girl is a short blue haired girl whos known the MC for years.

Yeah, when I saw that, my mind immediately knew that this was something Kentaro Yabuki would definitely be into and is now being a part of. His detailed art is on display there with similar style to TLRD.

GhostD wrote:
And for some reason I like the manga better

At this point, I may end up only reading the manga and not even glance at the anime. Laughing But seriously, I may end getting around to watching the anime, but for now, the manga is entertaining me just fine.
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
Posts: 5113
Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 6:19 pm Reply with quote
Darling is the first anime in this very specific sub-genre that I'm watching from its premiere--the others I either haven't seen at all, or I checked out way after the hype died down and didn't like very much (Eureka 7, Gurren Lagann). So I can't really speak to the others, but the strangest part of Franxx to me is that the robot piloting is almost graphic campy innuendo while everything else is presented as super serious, and the characters themselves are sexually ignorant and naïve. Zero 2 is ostensibly an exception, but we don't know how much she knows, and some of her info ("kissing=ownership") is obviously based on misinterpretation of stuff she learned or her own (wrong) ideas.
The contrast makes watching the show unpredictable and even a bit unsettling--before every episode I'm wondering if its going to feature a super sexual piloting scene, a completely innocent exploration of children's feelings or both.
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crazieanimefan1



Joined: 18 Feb 2015
Posts: 409
Location: Auburn, AL
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 6:39 pm Reply with quote
The only "sexy mech" anime I ever watched was Kannazuki no Miko. That was my first taste of yuri too. And the two girls were supposed to be lovers reincarnated several eons I think.
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Kicksville



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 1175
PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 7:06 pm Reply with quote
Don't watch De:vadasy
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