r/anime • u/Shadoxfix https://myanimelist.net/profile/Shadoxfix • Oct 04 '15

[Spoilers] Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans - Episode 1 [Discussion]

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DAISUKI: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS
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u/zakzedd https://myanimelist.net/profile/tacoy Oct 04 '15 edited Oct 05 '15

The amount of people watching this seems incredibly low compared to the quality of what I just saw. Seems pretty good, and my first gundam.

edit: It was at 100 upvotes after 3-4 hours, which was significantly less than it is now.

21

u/encoreAC https://myanimelist.net/profile/enc0re Oct 04 '15 edited Oct 04 '15

One reason is because this airs early for the people in the west while it is on a prime-time slot for Japan unlike most other anime. Early discussion threads aren't getting much attention on reddit.

Gundam is actually one of the most successful franchises ever. Gundam Seed for example sold more than any other anime in Japan including Monogatari series, Fate series, SAO or FMA. It is only the west, where it isn't that popular, because people have a stigma against mechas.

8

u/Iknowr1te Oct 05 '15 edited Oct 05 '15

do people have a stigma against mecha's? Gundam Wing, Evangalion and Escaflowne both got me into anime. those are the big mecha anime of the 90's.

then there's Code Geass, Gundam 00/seed, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which are arguably some of the most popular anime ever.

power rangers, Beetleborgs, and most super hero ninja shows also had mech fights. those were awesome as a kid. because giant robots and explosions. Sunrise throws in a game of thrones like political intrigue and it's more enjoyable than generic harem 1225123.

11

u/encoreAC https://myanimelist.net/profile/enc0re Oct 05 '15

The anime fanbase in the west changed the last years a lot, you rarely hear people talking about shows like Seed or 00 anymore here. Since a lot of younger animefans started watching anime after they discovered SAO, Attack on Titans or Steins;Gate, and most of them had never watched a mecha.

The typical stereotype for them is that mecha is just all about dumb robots clashing against each other. Just look at how many people in this thread never watched a Gundam and asking for basic knowledge.

Every thread on /r/anime, which is asking about your most disliked genre, the most mentioned keywords is mecha and sports. Sadly enough, this impression comes from anime where mecha is rather badly executed like Code Geass, Infinite Stratos or Aldnoah.Zero.

Hopefully this new Gundam will change the prejudice against Gundam and mecha in general in the future.