this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2026
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Code Gaess is goofy in ways Gundam can be very boring, and that's before you get into the funny fan translations. I shall now proceed to pleasure myself with this fish! I think Sunrise as a studio needs a break between it's heavier series. I sometimes forget how old that studio is :sweat:
Have you seen Full Metal Panic!? It's a comedy mecha. Gist is srs business mecha pilot kid goes undercover in high school as bodyguard and fish-out-of-water hijinx ensues. It has mecha but it's used more as plot fodder to drive the official couple's relationship. For some inexplicable reason KyoAni (mostly) separated the srs-business plot from the funny school hijinx into seasons 1 and 2, respectively. I highly recommend mixing the two seasons together like its presented in the manga.
Before Code Gaess, Sunrise made Escaflowne^[that I continuously ~~flog~~ champion], which is basically two bishi mecha pilots are in a love triangle with the heroine who sees the future with Tarot, with mecha driving the drama forward.
I have actually! I remember I liked it too; interestingly did you know the protagonist was raised in a place most likely meant to be Afghanistan? Reading up on it, apparently they renamed it to Helmajistan for the anime to avoid 'sensitivities during the war on terror'
Escaflowne was actually another anime I'd been considering watching; the mecha in that is apparently more akin to a living creature, similar to evangelion
In the original manga/LN it was Afghanistan, specifically the Helmand Province^[I don't have the manga on hand, but Wikipedia backs me up, so I got that going for me which is nice], and its political situation from the 80s plays a part in both the protagonist and antagonist. "Helmajistan" appears a combination of Helmand and Afghanistan. It's very MGS2 Raiden coded, despite the original LN coming out weeks after MGS1 released in Japan. That part is muted in the anime because :second-plane: and it's consequences. The anime also renames North Korea^[can't remember the new name off the top of my head] during the plane hostage plot at the beginning for the same reason.
It's true for the protagonist mecha, but it's not overpowered like Gurren Lagann. The mecha act more clockwork, like an exoskeleton, with the pilots implied to be performing the actual motions. Fighting experience is a big differentiator that can overcome technological superiority for both heroes and villains alike. The villains' mecha are initially laughably overpowered sci-fi, easily destroying dozens of other mecha in the beginning, but they are grounded in a logic that the protagonists learn and then overcome.
It also has a great soundtrack, and one of my favorite villains (Dilandau) as well imho.