What is the best Gundam or mech series?

[mitsuki lover]

If you count the manga there is also Full Metal Panic Overload! which is more comedic and so far hasn't had any mecha.

[JasonPratt]

Lots of good info in this thread!

As an answer for the original second question, though, re: Gasaraki--

It isn't an especially _fun_ show, but I've always found it to be a fairly _interesting_ show. The designs and action are hyperrealistic--or as hyperrealistic as you can get, considering the technology is based on ultradimensional alien suits given to Japan millennia ago, and activated by people doing koh theater rituals. Ignore the descriptions on the back of the box--it's either spoiler or marketing foofaraw. (All heck breaks loose on the next terrifying installment of...! uh, no, it doesn't and it isn't. :p )

By far the best part of the series, IMO, are the portions which focus on how we just about _could_ build robots of this sort already and how they would fare in modern-day warfare. But there's a lot of other stuff (frequently mundane and leisurely plotted) put together along with it. The penultimate plot runs much like a Tom Clancy thriller, with Japan waging economic warfare on the world as a way of getting back for their loss in World War II (and this is the side the heroes are defending!) This means taking over the stock market; but enemy robots are sent to crash the computer core, which has to be defended. The final episode, arguably, is very much a letdown, since you're led to expect for the whole series that there's going to be this great invasion; but it's all resolved in one final ep, with no invasion, and even with no real action (including by the robots.)

I mention these things without spoiler markings, just so people will know what they're getting into. The _promise_ of the series I found very disappointing, given its potential; and I figure other people may appreciate it more if they go into it without very high expectations. The _value_ of the series lies in the things that just occasionally happen here and there.

The art is usually high quality, very reminiscent of the Kenshin Trust/Betrayal OVA. (Same studio? Seems like it...) The music, IMO, was meh; but then it was largely based on koh music, which is by its own nature very weird. Dubbing seemed good across the board. I don't recall subtitling being overly different from the dubbing; different enough that you can tell you're looking at two different translationss, but not enough to make me want to watch it through again on subtitles to see if I picked up anything more to the series.

The best compliment I can given the series, is that whenever a new disc was released I faithfully watched all (or most) of the series again up to that point, just so I could get back up to speed on all the political and plot machinations.

The worst thing I can say about the series, is that I wish I had just waited until the final disc and watched the whole thing all at once--and I haven't watched it again since then.

I provisionally recommend a rental; not a buy.

Thus endeth the Gasaraki report.