07-16-2013, 11:31 AM
Except, the thing that makes it unique have NOTHING to do with the the fact that it's giant robots vs monsters.
It's the mentally disturbed cast, the nature of their robots (I've said enough), the nonsensical endings (as in more than one), and the constant christian/kabbalah imagery that the creators thought looked cool, and the HUGE amount of backstory and concepts that are barely explained in the series and require further reading to understand what's going on. Then there's the budget issues.
When people discuss mecha as a genre, it can be split into two camps: Super Robot and Real Robot. There are wikipedia articles on it that define them both.
Super Robots are stuff like Mazinger Z, Gigantor, and Gurren Lagann. The robots are unique super powered machines, and usually controlled or powered in outlandish or fantastical ways.
Real Robots are stuff like Gundam Wing. Robots are essentially mass produced military weapons used in war, follow much harder restrictions and the sci-fi is taken much more seriously.
EVA fits both camps and neither camps at the exact same time. They're super robots with elements of real robots. But it gets weirder than that. EVA is a separate topic on it's own, and is very unlike other mecha series.
Pacific Rim is firmly placed in the Super Robot subgenre. And Del Toro makes that clear from the inspirations he's noted.
It's the mentally disturbed cast, the nature of their robots (I've said enough), the nonsensical endings (as in more than one), and the constant christian/kabbalah imagery that the creators thought looked cool, and the HUGE amount of backstory and concepts that are barely explained in the series and require further reading to understand what's going on. Then there's the budget issues.
When people discuss mecha as a genre, it can be split into two camps: Super Robot and Real Robot. There are wikipedia articles on it that define them both.
Super Robots are stuff like Mazinger Z, Gigantor, and Gurren Lagann. The robots are unique super powered machines, and usually controlled or powered in outlandish or fantastical ways.
Real Robots are stuff like Gundam Wing. Robots are essentially mass produced military weapons used in war, follow much harder restrictions and the sci-fi is taken much more seriously.
EVA fits both camps and neither camps at the exact same time. They're super robots with elements of real robots. But it gets weirder than that. EVA is a separate topic on it's own, and is very unlike other mecha series.
Pacific Rim is firmly placed in the Super Robot subgenre. And Del Toro makes that clear from the inspirations he's noted.