(this part has no spoilers)
Mecha-Ude can best be described with one word: potential. Potential, in its vast cast of characters with interesting designs and various personalities, and its worldbuilding, which combines many themes and elements that could all be worth exploring. Mecha-Ude, unfortunately, does not deliver on this incredible potential.
The good things about this show boils down to 3 things for me: excellent character design, such that I can easily remember most of the cast at first glance and their roles (if applicable) in the story (with exceptions being a few of the villains who barely featured); excellent OPs and EDs produced by Sawano Hiroyuki,
...
who is as excellent as ever, and an incredibly memorable premise that will let me keep remembering this show in the years to come.
If those aren't what you want in a show, consider skipping this.
Now let's talk about potential.
In terms of characters, just off the top of my head, we have three human leads, seven humans from the resistance faction, at least six humans in the Kagami faction, five other humans without affiliation at first, and eight Mechanical Arms. This is an absolutely massive cast, yet despite having such memorable designs and (for the most part) interesting characters, very few receive much more than a few minutes of screentime or any plot relevant roles, and even fewer receive any character development. While our time with Aki and Hikaru is compelling and does a good job investing you in their relationship, it's underscored by how little their relationship changes with actual character development, and past episode 6 you kind of start to realize how the director is probably keeping this relationship fixed and unchanging for whatever reason. I'll delve a bit more into this in my spoilers section of the review, but to summarize my issue can mainly be boiled down to a mishandling of audience (read: my) expectations.
In terms of themes, there is a vast variety of various conflicts inbuilt into this show; the struggle to make a difference when you see yourself as powerless, the differences between the two different races of Mechanical Arms and humans, and the oppression that corporations and capitalism can exert on people, to say nothing of all the interpersonal conflict that such a cast would bring to the show. The first two are covered somewhat, the rest are barely touched on.
While the animation quality is definitely up to scratch, the directing is rather mediocre with terrible pacing, and the fight scenes uninspired. Despite various designs of Mechanical Arms, battles really come down to throwing punches at each other or playing tug of war with mechanical ropes (Episode 2 is the main exception that comes to mind, definitely one of the series' better and more interesting fights)
So in summary, lots of potential, squandered by horrible pacing mainly. Thing is, I would really love to see a redo of this series in the future, where it gives its characters sufficient room for growth and the exploration of its many themes. I'm not sure whether another opportunity like this will come to pass though.
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(spoilers begin now)
This plot is absolutely wild. You begin with Hikaru picking up Alma, getting into a fight with Kagami Group and the resistance, whereupon Aki gets assigned to guard him. We get introduced to Jun and a subplot begins around Aki, her sister Fubuki, and Amaryllis, taking up episodes 4 to 6 of the show. Very little relating to the themes is actually discussed here, no judgement is passed on Aki and Fubuki's parents experimenting on their children or the Mecha-Ude, nor is there discussion on whether Amaryllis' decision to save herself at the cost of other humans is justified. Alma remembers his past and decides that Hikaru shouldn't get involved..?
Here's the thing. Hikaru might have been against getting involved at first. But he puts up only token resistance; the show implies that he has a kind heart and is more than willing to help out, but mainly dislikes the comfort of his daily life being interrupted. This is perfectly fine. Hikaru has been accompanying Alma for the past 6 episodes, so why does Alma suddenly start thinking this? Besides a character decision, on a plot level this is also largely unnecessary; Hikaru and Alma could have just, you know, talked it out? This isn't the worst plot decision, since it does assuage the viewer that Hikaru has truly had a change of heart (although personally episode 2 was more than enough to show this) and it gives Hikaru a dramatic premise to be cool. Nevertheless, this is wasted screentime.
And the plot only gets wilder from there, as the somewhat more natural pacing of the series begins to fall apart. Kagami Group captures Jun and Alma, and use the latter to activate the Ordela, the portal connecting Earth to the Mechanical Arms' homeworld, and also their mother..? Little explanation is given because we cut to the resistance fighting to retake Jun and Alma, during which we are introduced to a new character (yes, this is episode 8), after which the Ordela immediately activates and SUDDENLY everyone is working together to stop the Ordela, and when the Ordela is defeated, Jun fights his older brother and it's revealed through bullshittery (literally Jun going "this isn't how my brother would act!"... I think, because this reveal is all so complicated. Like, Toudou reveals that Kagami Group was planning on using Jun's aritifical Mecha-Ude to keep Ordela under control, but Jun remembers that Toudou actually set him up to steal Asclepius, the artificial Mecha-Ude, and SOMEHOW Jun figures out) that his brother is being mind controlled SPECIFICALLY by Amaryllis. Yes, the villain revealed in episode 6 is actually the main villain all along! Or is she?? Because then it's revealed that she's actually serving (shock, horror!) the resistance leader!! Except it isn't ACTUALLY the resistance leader Aljis because HE is being MIND CONTROLLED by HIS Mecha-Ude Fist!! And yes this reveal is literally happening in episode 10! There has been no foreshadowing for any of these plot elements, all of this is absolute bullshittery, and after we fight this guy for the next two episodes and Hikaru nearly dies but is brought back to life by the power of friendship (again, no character development for Hikaru, not even looking back and thinking "I've done enough" or "I haven't done enough" ) and FINALLY in episode 12 it's revealed that the only reason why Fist is doing this is because... he doesn't trust humans! Which would be a fascinating premise, if it wasn't dropped in the LITERAL LAST EPISODE! And none of the interesting nuances of this is ever discussed (they should have been brought up so much earlier!) because Hikaru and Alma go "but you actually do love humans!" and defeat him. Isn't there a moral grey area where one can think some humans are trustworthy and worthy of love and others are not? And then we activate the portal and fix all the Mechanical Arms' energy problems and they head back home happily ever after, the end.
It's all a massive thematic mess that doesn't say anything meaningful and is a bunch of cool plot ideas stringed together poorly. One review I saw said that it's a simple plot. Respectfully, I have to disagree.
And the characters! There are so many characters that demand more explanation. Who is the mysterious resistance leader Aljis, and why did he end up this way? Are Imada and Joe henchmen for Kagami Group, or an actually independent biker gang? What do they think of this relationship to Kagami Group? Who is Namba, how did he get to be so strong, and why was he introduced so late in the series? Why does Quen like Aki or what even is their relationship? Why are the Mechanical Arms released in episode 11 so chill despite having been locked up for the past 20 years as slaves to Kagami Group?? Who even is Toudou?? And is Meru secretly Chika from Kaguya-sama in disguise wearing a blue wig??? Who even is Meru, what is her relationship to Hikaru and what happens to her after episode 11? So many questions that all go unanswered.
And now is a good time to talk about Aki and Hikaru, because being two leads of the opposite gender, it's perfectly valid for a viewer to go in expecting some sort of romantic relationship to form right? In the beginning, it certainly seems that way. Aki is an overprotective bodyguard that Meru teases to no end, and that sounds like prime material for romantic development right? Except their relationship absolutely does not change at all throughout the entire series, even when Aki nearly kills Hikaru in order to save her sister, she goes back to being the exact same bodyguard as apology with the exact same relationship dynamics as before. Guess they're just friends. Which is perfectly fine from a logical standpoint but it's just... kind of bland you know? And nothing goes on between Hikaru and Jun either, like there is banter, you can believe they're friends, but there's just not much drama... Like, this isn't the biggest gripe I have with series, but it really contributes to the feeling of wasted potential this series has.
And finally, the fight scenes are just so uninspired. Let's take a look at the fight I think is best in this series, which is episode 2's fight, where Aki is stuck in a tight and cramped building facing two Kagami Group henchmen, one of whom is a sniper and the other can disable her through a high-pitched sound attack. Sounds interesting right? And Hikaru eventually saves her by using his noise-cancelling headphones he had been seen wearing in episodes 1 and 2! Which is just excellent setup and delivery of a smart tactic against interesting foes! So surely the rest of this series would have interesting fights right? Except. The fight against Threes? They just punch him. The fight against Amaryllis? They just punch her. The fight against Kagami henchmen? Avoid their attacks and punch them. The fight against Ordela? Avoid her attacks until you can punch her. The fight against Fist? Just punch him. It's just. There is no hint of the inspiration that was seen in episode 2. Literally all of the opponents faced have straightforward attacks that are countered by equally straightforward attacks.
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I hope that by now it's clear how much potential has been wasted by this series. Not only is the plot a mess and the themes even more so, the show just does not say anything meaningful, the characters and their dynamics are boring despite frankly excellent character designs (my respects to Nishii Terumi and Uchida Youko, who appear to have insane resumes), and the fights are boring and uninspired. It's a travesty.
Yet, having watched the show, I have to say that I genuinely did, to an extent, enjoy the experience! What little we saw of Hikaru and Aki was fun and interesting, the op and ed were absolute bangers (Sawano Hiroyuki is such a gem), and the show kept me hooked with the interesting world and lore that I was hoping would be answered in an interesting way, until it was clear that the show couldn't actually deliver on my hopes and questions. And frankly, it's not horribly difficult to improve the issues I have with this series. Add a bit more foreshadowing to the final villain, maybe hint that Amaryllis is working for someone in the resistance, maybe show that Aljis is being mind-controlled by Fist (but Fist means no harm), maybe add a second, even a third season that gives our characters time to breathe, and gives the director more time to explore other characters and flesh out this world Mecha-Ude takes place in.
But until we get that worthwhile remake, I do not recommend this show. But; if you want a fascinating and detailed world featuring conflict between two different species of sentient creatures, I would recommend Frieren. If you want the above but also fantastic brawls with amazing fight choreography, I strongly recommend Jujutsu Kaisen S2. If you enjoyed the banter and dynamics between our leads, I recommend watching Kaguya-sama, Love is War. I have not watched many anime. There may be others out there that are a more appropriate fit for these categories.
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And if you liked this show, that's perfectly fine too! I can see why you would like this show and I don't mean to demean your preferences.
Anyway, whoever you are, I hope you have a good day. Cheers.
Dec 19, 2024
Mecha-ude (TV)
(Anime)
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(this part has no spoilers)
Mecha-Ude can best be described with one word: potential. Potential, in its vast cast of characters with interesting designs and various personalities, and its worldbuilding, which combines many themes and elements that could all be worth exploring. Mecha-Ude, unfortunately, does not deliver on this incredible potential. The good things about this show boils down to 3 things for me: excellent character design, such that I can easily remember most of the cast at first glance and their roles (if applicable) in the story (with exceptions being a few of the villains who barely featured); excellent OPs and EDs produced by Sawano Hiroyuki, ... 
Oct 18, 2024
Plastic Memories
(Anime)
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Plastic Memories is not interested in questions of robot-human interaction and its consequences, or any question of technology even. What it instead wishes to discuss is the question of "Knowing our limited lifespan, how should we live?" More specifically, the show focuses on two questions: "How should we spend our final days?" and "How do we say goodbye?" In trying to answer these two questions, Plastic Memories creates a compelling message to live life to the fullest, however that may be.
It's not a perfect show. Particularly exasperating is the pacing, which oftentimes focuses a large amount of time ensuring each character's opinion is voiced and ... |
