Get In The Mecha

One Piece and politics go hand-in-hand; this episode I want to start to dissect some of the political ideas that make Oda's narrative the special one it is. Today, I discuss the notions of control, hegemony and dominance that influence One Piece's political landscape. Why are anarchy and order incompatible? How does the World Government legitimise its use of force? All this & more on this week...

Smooth is a very widely used, but also very narrow way to describe and analyse animation. This idea goes much further than the word itself; it in fact reveals a fundamental issue that exists within animation discourse. In this episode, I discuss what my problem with 'smoothness' really is as a way of looking at animation. I debate what the objective of animation is, what Akira can teach us about J...

Happy Holidays and welcome to the final episode of Get In The Mecha this year! In our final episode not only of 2020 but my look back at the year in anime & manga, I take a step back to look at what I took from this year's works. What changed since last year's episode and my mid-year review. Thank you for supporting Get In The Mecha, even during such a wild time. Canipa's video on translators:...

What an amazing year it has been for Japanese & Chinese animation! Despite all the crazy things that have happened this year, there are still so many cool animation moments to unpack. In this episode, I discuss the awesome animations of 2020 from Pokemon projects to Music Videos and everything else in between. What can we take from the works of this year and how do they present this informatio...

Last year, you guys really liked me talking about my favourite openings of that year, so Unskippable Openings is back! In the second annual U-O episode, I take a bit of a different approach to last year by trying to answer the question, 'what does an opening represent?' In this session I talk about my four favourite openings of the year as well as some honorable mentions in the ITM segment! Openin...

This week has been a weird week in the podcast schedule for a few reasons, so I decided to put together a little 'fillersode' discussing what I have been getting up to when it comes to anime & manga. In this episode I talk about my experience watching Gurren Lagann and All Saints Street as well as my feelings on Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man and the upcoming final season of Attack On Titan....

Happy Jujutsu Kaisen Friday! As JJK has pretty much occupied most of our anime-watching Fridays this season (Fall 2020), I thought it would be a great idea to look at some of the animators / staff members that have contributed to this piece. In this episode, I take a close look at the work of Sunghoo Park, Keiichiro Watanabe, Kouki Fujimoto, Shingo Yamashita & Yuuki Igarashi in an attempt to u...

Previously on the show, I have managed to cover some rather niche topics, namely space and aspect ratios. However, in this session I wanted to take it a bit further by discussing camera lenses. The lens is our way into a scene; the lens no matter how distorted works as our eyes into the film and as a result influence how we interpret space and time itself. In this episode, I discuss what the purpo...

The fact that Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) is set in 2015 has always been peculiar to me, however I have refused to question how exactly it affects the narrative, despite putting together multiple analysis pieces about the show. In this episode, that changes. In this session, I investigate how the narrative is affected knowing that it is set in 'the future'. With the aid of the song 'Peaceful Ti...

Introducing The Monogatari Series to Get In the Mecha! The Monogatari Series sits towards the top of my personal favourites list, due to its unique approach to cinematography, narrative and many other factors; the Kizumonogatari film trilogy manages to take this to another level when telling the thrilling tale of Koyomi Araragi's spring break. A central part of the trilogy is the notion of 'humani...

Across the year, we have looked closely at each arc in the Attack On Titan anime (on the most part). But how exactly did Attack On Titan begin? After thinking about this question, I thought it would only be right to look at the first arc of the anime, The Fall Of Shiganshina. This arc contains the episodes which work as the foundation for this monumental narrative concerning oppression, freedom an...

Blue Exorcist's Terror of the Kraken Arc was a part that I previously overlooked, due to its length. However, now that I've had time to reflect on it, I think there is a reasonable amount of value one can extract from these three chapters. In this episode, I return to analysing the Blue Exorcist manga by looking closely at Chapters 35-37. I discuss the value of short manga arcs, how this arc contr...

Anime, like any other form of media, has the ability to be 'controversial' at times (or at least we make it this way). However, there is one particular episode, despite airing an entire decade ago, that still manages to spark debates to this day: Naruto Shippuden #167. This debate concerns the way the arguable climax of the Pain Assault Arc was animated; this will be the springboard for our discus...

Every now and again, an anime that comments on anime and / or the production process shows up; formerly we've had Ghiblies and Otaku no Video and this decade we have been given Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (2020), directed by none other than Masaaki Yuasa. As a creator as well as a fan of animation, it only feels right that I take a closer look at what this anime has to teach us. In this episode,...

We have all felt nostalgic before, however some of us decide to abandon those feelings when judging the media in the name of being 'objective'. However, I quite heavily disagree with this way of thinking. In this episode, I lay out my counter-argument to 'the critique of nostalgia', as well as talk about some of my personal experiences & how I developed nostalgic feelings towards anime within...

2020 has been a crazy year. One of the biggest reasons for this is because I was given a lot of free time that I simply didn't ask for. As a result, over the past six months, I've had the opportunity to indulge in pieces that I wouldn't usually commit to or generally consider getting into. In this episode, I discuss a manga, a manhwa & an anime that I managed to take on during this time. I tal...

Despite taking a deep dive into the four main 'arcs' of Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995), there are still many more elements to analyse! One key part of the anime I haven't discussed in detail is the approach of the director, Hideaki Anno. In this episode, I discuss my highlights & key takeaways from Anno's June 1996 Newtype Interview. I talk about the contradictions that exist at the very start...

The 'Mecha Is Dead' or 'in decline' argument has been reiterated by many to suggest that the mecha genre is a lot weaker than it used to be. But what if I was to tell you that it isn't particularly the genre that's in decline, but the way some of us view & discuss the media instead? In this episode, I put forward my counterargument to the notion that the genre is 'dead'. I discuss the implicat...

If it wasn't clear enough in my last One Piece episode, I've officially started the One Piece manga journey! Ever since starting, I've had my head buried within the books and now I think I'm ready to have another discussion on what I've been reading as I near the conclusion of the Skypiea Saga. In this episode, I discuss my feelings towards this part of the story as well as post-Alabasta One Piece...

I've often stayed away from watching seasonal action-mystery anime, however with the global circumstance and intriguing premise, I saw myself watching Gleipnir. As I continued to watch, I started to realise that this was not constructed similarly to it's counterparts in the genre. In this episode, I will be trying to determine the intrigue of Gleipnir's premise as well as how it influences the man...

A few years ago when watching Attack On Titan for the first time, it struck me as a historical narrative from the very start. However, what exactly is the nature of 'history'? In this episode, I attempt to explore this idea in the context of Attack On Titan, an anime which displays the development & progression of a society. I discuss the relationship between history & human freedom, the l...

Once upon a time, I stated that I would most likely never touch One Piece. However, after being tempted by those around me and a 2nd hand offer I couldn't refuse, I gave in and begun the 900+ chapter journey with Luffy and his crew. In this episode, I want to discuss my experience with the manga so far (200 chapters in). In this session, I analyse some of the many political themes & concepts I...

Comedy anime is very close to my heart. If it wasn't for the genre, it's quite likely that I would not be the type of anime fan that I am today. However, a question I have constantly dodged & avoided is 'what exactly is the reason behind my love of the genre?' In this episode, I will be answering this very question, by breaking down what is so appealing about two of my favourite comedies, Kagu...

Previously, we discussed the Momoshiki Arc and it's impact on the Naruto series; in this episode, I look at how these concepts are taken further. Boruto is often criticized for lacking the 'substance' & 'character' that it's predecessor apparently had, however I think there are many positive things to be said about this arc (and series), as it explores many concepts that Naruto simply couldn't...

Although on the surface 'sakuga' can seem like a term used to label highly engaging cuts & well-animated fight scenes, there are actually many more layers to it. A large (and sometimes overlooked) component of sakuga is 'character acting'; an for attempt art to imitate life or even transcend the human ability to communicate emotions. In this episode I discuss the importance of character acting...