Mecha still ain't dead, you damned poseurs.
The official site is here, and it's in Japanese so have translators handy. Here's the pitch:
In 2061 AD, Japan was ruled.
The Japanese were being oppressed as human beings in a client state after being divided and ruled by the four major economic zones of the world.
Japan has become the forefront of the world where the humanoid special mobile weapon AMAIM introduced by each economic zone is struggling.
One day, Amou Shiiba, a boy who loves machines, meets an autonomous thinking AI "Guy".
With this as a trigger, Amou will put himself into the fight to regain Japan.
Ride the AMAIM "Kembu" that you built yourself.
That last line refers to the associated HG 1/72 model kit of the protagonist's mecha, the titual Border Fighter, produced by Bandai to go with the release of the series to TV later this year.
This is a brand new collaboration by a brand new partnership between Bandai Spirits and Sunrise Beyond, so this is a Bandai/Sunrise co-production.
But look at that story premise. Japanese popular media often has a nationalist undercurrent, but it's just that- an undercurrent, something you're not supposed to notice unless and until you stop and stare deep into the narrative's construction. This series? Oh no, moreso than Code Geass, this is one of the most blatantly nationlist popular media productions I've seen in my lifetime and that includes SNK's production of a live-action Shinsengumi series around 15 years ago.
Once the Death Cultists and poseurs see this, expect hit pieces to fly fast and fierce in a vain attempt to cancel it.
Yes, vain. This is BANDAI backing this with real resources. This is close to the Japanese government and the Imperial Family flat out saying "We support this position" as it can get, given how cozy Japanese megacorporations are with the government as part of Japan's Establishment.
Get your popcorn ready, fellow mecha fans, because you will be building your Border Fighters against a backdrop of a serenade of salty bitch tears from the cancer killing culture in the West.
Shine on, Japan.
P.S.: Well, we have an official English title now: Boundary War Machine.
#News #Anime #kk_senki #境界戦機
— Anonesan (@An0nesan) March 16, 2021
Sunrise Beyond, Bandai Spirits announced an original mecha anime titled [Boundary War Machine], scheduled to a Fall 2021 debut. pic.twitter.com/nwbCIUt3D7
First off before I before I get started, if this post comes off as contentious, or picking a fight, it's not meant to be, and I agree with you, (And I look forward both to the show and the salt)
ReplyDelete>Mecha still ain't dead, you damned poseurs.
This is one of the first original mecha IPS from Sunrise since what, Cross Ange? When they used to have one a year for a while. There really needs to be some middle ground between "mecha is dead" shilling, and "I can buy gunpla, so that means mecha is doing just fine" naivety. I've seen the very same people mocking 'mecha is dead' sentiments, while also bemoaning most mecha shows in the last 10 to 15 years have sucked. Mecha is not dead, and it's not going away anytime soon, but it's also not exactly healthy at the moment. Granted to encapsulate what is going on with mecha and arguably anime as a whole, it has to touch on tons of topics that cant really be broken down into neat catch phrases. (Digital changing the game, over reliance on 3DCGI, 2D techniques for animating mecha not being passed on, veterans aging out of the industry and the new talent not being up to snuff, demographic issues, etc, etc, etc.)
That said, I'm still glad the drought we've in in the last few years seems to be ending.