Ask John: Why the Sudden Trend in Reviving Classic Mecha Anime?

Question:
I have heard news that many classic mecha shows are getting a remake/sequel. To date, Dancougar, Giant Robo, Reideen, and Kotetsu Jeeg are confirmed to get a remake/sequel this year. Last year alone we had Gaiking and the new Z Gundam movies. This is not even counting the new Evangelion movies coming soon. Why do you think these classic mecha series are getting a new life? Is it to show these to a new generation of mecha fans, or because we’re still in a post-Evangelion world and no one has yet to make a groundbreaking mecha series that Evangelion made over 10 years ago?

Answer:
It seems to me as though English speaking anime fans are very eager to give Evangelion possibly more credit than it deserves. Evangelion itself was not a highly original concept; it presented a cliched concept in a revolutionary and original way. Evangelion has undeniably influenced the anime production community, but it feels reductive and disrespectful to suggest that 12 years after Evangelion debuted Japanese creators are still daunted by it and are unable to come out from beneath its shadow. Evangelion introduced a new sophistication and psychology to mecha anime which has manifested in other following shows like RahXephon and Fafner which likewise explored questions of human personality and the intricacies of human relationships. There have also been a significant number of new mecha shows in the years following Evangelion which do not emulate Evangelion or take evident inspiration from it, including Gundam Wing, Gaiking, Gasaraki, Gear Fighter Dendoh, The Big O, Vandread, Kirameki Project, Flag, and Code Geass. Reducing contemporary mecha anime to just a “post-Evangelion” world unjustly disregards the true variety of mecha anime that’s been released in the past decade. Furthermore, I think that anime artists and creators deserve credit for having more creativity than the amount necessary to recycle the same ideas indefinitely.

I can’t deny that there have been numerous remakes in the past year or two (Gaiking: Legend of Haiku-Maryu is a 2005 series). Remakes and revivals have always been a part of the anime industry. Examples in the mecha genre include Tetsujin 28 FX and the 2004 Tetsujin 28 gou, Vifam 13, G-Dangaioh, and Change! Getter Robo. There do seem to be an inordinate number of remakes and revivals developing now, though. As I’m not part of Japan’s anime community, I don’t know what, if any, discussion and speculation there is about this trend in Japan’s anime community. So I can only offer some personal speculation. I don’t believe that the current recycling of older mecha anime is due to an absence of new and revolutionary ideas. I don’t think that the anime industry is in such a creative slump, so depressed about the revolutionary originality of Evangelion that even a dozen years later creators are unable to overcome their awe of Evangelion and instead turn to the easy job of recycling old titles. I think that there are two primary reasons why so many older mecha anime are suddenly being revived. First, these older titles are still viable stories for new generations of viewers. Second, animators themselves are now fondly reviving these nostalgic memories.

Many of the revival mecha anime are based on works that were originally released before many of today’s anime fans were born. Titles like Dancougar, Kotetsu Jeeg, and Choosa Reideen were popular during their prime, and these stories still have the innate potential to entertain contemporary viewers if the shows are given a contemporary sheen. These older titles are literally an unmined treasure of potential that’s completely new to today’s generations of young Japanese viewers. We can’t forget that anime is a commercial art. The anime community respects and treasures creativity and originality, but also thrives on market potential. Revivals and remakes have the potential to appeal to the curiosity of viewers that remember the original versions, and have the potential to attract the attention of new viewers unfamiliar with the original works. Remakes of relatively forgotten programs are a commercial possibility which the business side of the anime industry cannot ignore.

The age of the original works being remade may be particularly relevant to this new trend. I suspect that it’s highly probable that many of the robot shows currently being revived are programs which today’s animators watched when they were children. Contemporary animators and directors are now in a position to be able to revive and work on the robot shows that they watched and loved when they were children. The late 1970s and early 1980s are particularly remembered as a prime era for robot anime, especially robot anime produced by Sunrise Studios. Now that twenty years have passed since this golden era of robot anime, I won’t be surprised at all to see even more shows from this time period revived and reworked for new audiences. (Don’t forget that a new Armored Trooper Votoms is also in development.) I don’t think these remakes are a sign of lacking creativity or an absence of motivation to revolutionize the mecha anime genre. I think that these remakes are partially motivated by practical business sense, and partially motivated by nostalgia. No one knows when a new mecha anime will suddenly and unexpectedly push the genre in new directions the way Evangelion did in 1995. In fact, Evangelion itself was a surprise breakthrough. But I do anticipate that the current trend of mecha anime remakes and revivals will develop alongside a continuing flow of new and original mecha anime. In fact, there are already several original mecha anime titles to look forward to on the horizon including Idolm@ster Zenoglossia, Gurren Lagan, and Gigantic Formula.