Mech Cadets

Yes, the cons are real:

• The frame-rate can be awful in scenes. There is a cool fight seen early on that is completely ruined by the frame-rate.

• I don't know the source material, but if you're married to it it seems you'll be disappointed.

Otherwise, this is a fun show. While the frame-rate is bad and absolutely needs to be improved, the 3D modeling is good. The world depiction is good. The storytelling is fun and not too cheesy.

You've got all the typical character roles and messages about teamwork, responsibility, expectations, sacrifice, and the like. And while there is war against alien bugs and the typical schemes of humans trying to get there way, there is no humans killing each other, which is always welcomed.

Liking this better than Voltron w/ a 8.1 rating on here.

I went into this with no expectations and was surprised to find superior animation, fully-fleshed-out characters, good symbiosis with their robots, and truly nasty and difficult-to-defeat monsters. For Kaiju fans, this will be a winner.

The one nagging question I had throughout (and thus the 8 stars instead of better)... where the blazes is the rest of the military? There are no tanks, no fighter planes, no missiles... nothing but a handful of comes-from-nowhere UNARMED alien robots (which have to be armed by the humans) to help the humans fight these giga-monsters from outer space? The lack of any other military is a major flaw here, with no reason whatsoever given for that lack.

The plot and animation are considerably superior to most giant-robot fare, the characters well-developed, and it had both a primary plot and mini-plots within. Each character had their own story, their own hangups, and their own growth through the series. I'm a real stickler when it comes to having a valid plot and story... and was totally satisfied with this series.

I binge-watched the first season (all 9 episodes) in one day and am looking forward to season 2, if there is one. There should be.

I watched it only because I wanted to watch an animated movie/series and this came up my feed. Season 1, Episode 1 really tries to sell you what this series is about. With its good animation and mediocre storyline, I decided in its favour. Please note, I have not read the comic that it is based on.

What I liked about the season 1:

• Overall story is good, with much to be asked from season 2
• Animation is what you would expect from an average anime nowadays
• I liked the emotional weight that they have tried to bring into the story
• I liked the character portrayal of Olivia, felt consistent

What I did NOT like about the season 1:

• Storyline felt like a little rushed
• Much remains to be known on the robots' background

Verdict: I liked the show overall. I liked how each character is passionate about what they are trying to become. Character development is not best, but I believe it is reasonably good for a kids show. Probably it didn't feel as good as the story felt a little rushed.

I would certainly like to see the season 2.

What a great show. I loved the story. The show is targeted towards kids and there are so many great messages for a younger audience: following your dreams, finding acceptance, working together. But I also found some of the parent-child relationship incredibly heartfelt. And the ending!!! A real tear-jerker. I did not see that coming.

I also loved the animation. It's a bit sanitized and clean but again, I imagine that it's for kids (the blood is blue). But it was a really cool mix of 2D and 3D animation. Not as elegant as something like Spider-Verse but it's great to see that style in a TV series.

I love a great mecha genre story and this doesn't dissappoint.

But otherwise a disappointingly juvenilise and derivative waste of a strong voice cast. This is essentially a mash up of Gundam, Evangelion and Pacific Rim by way of a 1980s Saturday morning kid's cartoon, with bizarrely stunted proportions, eerily incompetent animation, and low frame-rates that seem to be all keyframes and no tweening.

There's no real plot, characterisation, or drama here, just an absolutely basic presentation of Deus Ex Astra mechs who choose teen pilots (for no reason, since they don't need pilots) versus giant space bugs, with a plucky underdog wish fulfilment motif.

For those easily confused, stereotypes may be recognisable and even satisfying but that doesn't mean they're well conceived, original, or developed. And dialogue composed of little more than straight exposition of ultimately selfish and egotistical desires is not growth.

That's all you get, and it's fine for what it is, but Netflix should have been clearer in the marketing and synopsis. The 10-star review-bombing at the moment of release to get the initial numbers up was embarrassingly obvious.