Sentai Mecha: What do you want?

[Sage Shinigami]

Give this some real thought, okay? I don't think any of us will say we love Engine G12 and Samurai Ha-Oh, especially over designs that had a lot more thought so into them like DekaRobo and MagiKing. (You don't have to like the show, but those designs fit their themes great.)

If you think Sentai should only have one mecha, then explain why. Please have better reasons than, "It was cool in the 80's!", and, "the show feels too toyetic with more than one". No, really? I'm not saying we shouldn't care about the writing, but Sentai's been a toy commercial for years--the problem isn't the toys, its how they're written in, right?

I was thinking--I used to prefer the mecha from the late 80's over the early/mid 80's because the early ones would split the robo between Red, Green & Yellow, Blue & Pink, etc...I preferred the five part.

But I've been thinking about it, and I think I'd like to see them come back. A three part mecha split between five Senshi. It would drive home the Sentai group = army, and emphasize all that teamwork we hear about.

BUT! I'd also like to see, later in that same series, a five-part mecha--but I'd prefer it in the vein of Shinkenger's early extra mecha--rather than somehow being given a new robo, they each have to earn a piece of it.

Along those lines, it might also be nice to see a series in which there's one main mecha they all pilot (Ryuuseioh), and any new mecha that appear would be add-ons. (Like one which becomes a sword, or another that adds flight--another still could be a gun. Get me?)

What about you? What do you want from Sentai Mecha?

 

[Lynxara]

I don't really care how many mecha a team has, as long as the fight choreography uses that number well. Shinkenger's tendency to just forget some mechs during fights was tedious to me, it clearly signaled that the writers hadn't figured out a tactical value for all of the machines.

The main things I value in Sentai mecha are:

1) A sense of movement. When a mecha suit lets the actor still move with some agility, you get more interesting fights. You get more of a feeling that you're looking at a mechanical thing and not a plastic suit. For me this trumps everything else-- so the main reason I dislike G12s and Ha-Ohs isn't the look so much as the lack of mobility in those suits.

2) A sense of theme. I'm not a viewer who is going to skip over the mecha sequences in Super Sentai. If they bother me that much I stop watching the show, because Super Sentai really is about the mecha in a basic sort of way. So the robot(s) in a show should support the show's themes as completely as possible. Super Sentai is really hit-or-miss with this.

3) A sense of effort. I don't fault viewers who skip Super Sentai mecha sequences because in a lot of seasons they feel lazy and phoned-in. The robot won't reinforce the team's theme or motif, or the reason why the team has it makes no sense. Toei too often copies its mecha designs flagrantly from anime robots popular at the time a show is made, which just bores me.

 

[MattComix]

"What do you want from Sentai Mecha?"

To put it simply, less is more. Both in the sheer amount, like the endless power-animal pile-ons we've been seeing and also in terms of actual design.

How many does a Sentai team really need anyway? There's only so many you can really justify in context before it's just obvious cash-grabbing and the story is grinding to halt to fill a quota. Perfectly sweet designs like Shinken-Oh end up becoming these bloated and ridiculous looking chunkfucks that can't move without CGI and even then they're just spinning blocks with a light show.

They very premise of a Sentai gives you all the toys any show should ever friggin need long before they start tacking on extra crap. Let the show generate the toys.

 

[Alcin91]

I'm a sucker for big-ass swords,especially broad sword or big saber.

But preferably,i would love to see a spear wielding mecha...in short i look out for the weapons in a mecha.

As for head,i love mechas with visors.

Ahhhh,*mecha fanboy mode on*:buttrock:

Oh ya! Mecha that no matter how you look,you wouldn't figure out how they transform unless you watch it multiple times like Wolkentaurus and Magiking~

 

[KRLover]

Chouseishin-Style Mecha:buttrock:. That's what I want.

 

[ryuuseipro]

"What do you want from Sentai Mecha?"

To put it simply, less is more. Both in the sheer amount, like the endless power-animal pile-ons we've been seeing and also in terms of actual design.

How many does a Sentai team really need anyway? There's only so many you can really justify in context before it's just obvious cash-grabbing and the story is grinding to halt to fill a quota. Perfectly sweet designs like Shinken-Oh end up becoming these bloated and ridiculous looking chunkfucks that can't move without CGI and even then they're just spinning blocks with a light show.

They very premise of a Sentai gives you all the toys any show should ever friggin need long before they start tacking on extra crap. Let the show generate the toys.

I agree that there should be a limit to how many robots there should be in Super Sentai. Even Zyuranger and Dairanger had a healthy amount, considered somewhat conservative nowadays.

Unfortunately, as long as Bandai calls the shots (and they're even worse than they were in the 90s), they'll really burn out in the process. (The robots of the 2000's are almost indistinguishable; it's like Toei/Bandai were repeating themselves, just like the Masked Rider shows.) So expect to see more and more big, blocky, chunky robots that are almost hard to move in.

God, I miss the missile-headed shogun-like robots from the 80s (like Dyna-Robo), when they just had one invincible robot launched in parts by a carrier.

 

[Undrave]

I liked G12. It was grand and epic. Yet you never lost the part where one Engine ended and where one began. I actually like when you can tell how it transforms! Ha-oh look like they smashed them mecha toys with a hammer and build a dude on a platform out of the pieces.

I also liked how smooth the design of the individual engines was. I like simpler, streamlined design. Its why I hated the bouken mecha and all their tiny fiddly bits, ridges, and everything. Too many little details.

I liked the Deka mechas a lot myself.

 

[Sage Shinigami]

"What do you want from Sentai Mecha?"

To put it simply, less is more. Both in the sheer amount, like the endless power-animal pile-ons we've been seeing and also in terms of actual design.

How many does a Sentai team really need anyway? There's only so many you can really justify in context before it's just obvious cash-grabbing and the story is grinding to halt to fill a quota. Perfectly sweet designs like Shinken-Oh end up becoming these bloated and ridiculous looking chunkfucks that can't move without CGI and even then they're just spinning blocks with a light show.

They very premise of a Sentai gives you all the toys any show should ever friggin need long before they start tacking on extra crap. Let the show generate the toys.

Ehh...its about increasing profit. If all you ever sell is basic five toys + team cannon + individual weapon + one mecha, then eventually no matter how you advertise, sales stagnate.

Also. Shinken-Oh = Sweet? I thought it was terrible. Kakuranger's first mecha looked more like a samurai.

BTW...the robots of the 2000s all look the same? You realize we're talking about Sentai, not Ultraman right?

 

[Undrave]

I thought ShinkenOh was pretty cool. The helmet, the sword, the giant grunt fight, it was sweet! But the extra origami? Bleh. Tora Origami was just horrendous and when they piled the three on top? Are kidding me?! Drill nipples?!

And Ika Origami... it seemed like a pet to Genta and he made a huge fuss about it in the Decade team up... so why isn't it a basic component of HIS mecha with the lobster?! Why not pull a AbareKiller and give him two mecha that turn into one robot??

 

[Tiger]

I like mecha which are bulky. But only when it's spread out evenly. I'm not to keen on top-heavy mecha. Angles and sharp corners are always a plus too. Oh! And a good ol' sword. :thumbs: