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Quick thought: Why I Like Giant Robots

One of the questions Vika poses me from time to time is "Why do you like Giant Robots?" She understands I have a mecha craze and that (though it's been awhile since a good mecha game release) I tend to go obsessive and gluttonous when I find a high quality one.

...But to be honest, I never thought about the reason "Why?" I mean, really, what makes mechas special?

I know why I like Power Rangers and the resulting "Rangers" archetype; they have huge variety of individual superpowers, are coordinated, know Kung-Fu, and have....giant mechas. There's this addicting line of similarity and difference that simultaneously makes you feel a part of something greater yet different enough to stand on your own. That's why (unless there's good reason) there are never overlapping powers, or overlapping colors. Not to mention, I've always been fan of Heroes in general, almost regardless of context.

But mechas, they really don't have much to offer on their own. I mean, yeah, it's a huge lumbering suit of some kind, but really, if it always featured a nameless, changing pilot, would the suit alone still be worth it's mettle? Heck no!!!

The reason why i love giant mechas is because they are an extension of one's self. I'd imagine it's the same idea with most car fanatics in life. They don't want their car to be called "Oh that red car" or "That nifty sports car". No. They want it to be called "The Chevrolet Corvette" or "Derek's Enzo Ferrari"

The same is true for Giant mechas. That's not -just- a Gundam; that's Gundam Wing Zero, piloted by Heero Yuey.

See, what Mecha cans love is that Giant mechas can take any shape or form; mostly due to their size, but more importantly because the mecha can then take a personality of its own. By Being so large, it drowns out the relevance of all that surrounds it; You don't have to pay attention to but the largest of obstacles and it stands separate from its environment. There are exceptions that embrace their environment (like aquatic based mechas) But again, that really is due to the pilots choice, and rarely is done out of necessity. Without this connection to the environment, it can have four legs, or can fly. It can have 7 heads, but one eyeball. Kinda like making a fantasy monster if you think about it, but with one MAJOR difference: You're in the cockpit.

If the mechas were small, you'd kinda be similar to how you are right now; forced to live a path that was made for you. Doors would become relevant, as would walls and and ceilings. though nice, you wouldn't get the same sense of empowerment of being an entity which is worlds apart from what you're used to. You're still confined in the same rules you live with currently, and really, you get no power from that. That's almost wholly the difference between Giant Mecha fans and cyborg/robot fans; one respects the entity as being part of one's self, and the other respects the entity as another being (even if it's manually controlled)

That's kinda why mecha geeks really don't care too much about specifically how tall mechs are; as long as it alienates the world around you. What's the point? Have you ever heard a detailed argument about "whose mecha's biggest" between series? Minus the extremities, generally no -you don't. I don't know if Gundam ALEX is taller than RX 78-2, but do I care? No, and not because it's not important, but rather it's not relevant.

Giant Mechas the absolute manifestation of what you (the pilot) want to be if you could create an outward being that represents you. The fact that they destroy everything in sight has always been a nice spectacle, but really, isn't that just another way to express the outward power you gained from having a mech?

Transforming is so popular because it helps the user express different sides of themselves (and of course, avoiding one's self from being stuck to one idea to define oneself.). Like Gundam Unicorn, sometimes you're just -you-, and other times you're a destruction-craving manic (or more realistically, someone simply enraged and seemingly becomes a different person). Really, it's just a longer metaphor, and one which really has resonated with the genre.

Combining represents the synergy of teamwork in arguably the most literal interpretation possible: Two physical entities becoming one stronger one. Admit it; you feel more confident when your friends got your back; especially when they're your best friends regardless of subject. Easily, one of the best examples of this is Gurren Lagann, where friendship and the confidence stemming from that friendship have a direct impact on performance and mecha capacity. Without his friends (Namely, Kamina, but Nia and Yoko too) Simon would be useless and unable to stand on his own. Though ultimately the goal of Simon as a character was to become a man who can stand independently, he became so through the lessons he gained from being with Team Dai-Gurren; something plainly obvious in the last scenes where fighting spirit has more influence than reality and physics do. Though out there, it's really, REALLY rare to find a situation where two independent mechas combine, but only one has a pilot. The original Gundam RX-78-2 did it, but they were mostly unsatisfying and seemed more gimmicky than useful. It's supposed to be a combining of two spirits, not just to physical beings; That's why Combining is one of the most popular aspects of Mecha in general. And you need to admit this deep dark truth- you wouldn't combine with a stranger, would you?

So I know what you might say: YOU'RE not the one with the mech; the characters in the series are!!! And to a fault; you're right. But what you have to understand is that these characters live out what we wish we had. Their tales are but stories from another possibility if we could build mechs. To a degree, it's out of jealousy that we appreciate and love those series. They have what we want, and we're willing to watch them to both understand them in a traditional story sense as well as give us additional fuel to feed our imaginations. And that's kinda how we like it.

That's why mechas have to be huge.

That's why most mecha games have HUGE selections of customization.

That's why there is never just one mech.

Because in the end, giants mechas always have a second pilot hiding behind a glass wall:

You.