By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting 

This maybe does not need to be stated, but just in case you didn’t know: Mecha and Military Science Fiction readings go hand in hand. 

For those that don’t know what Military Science Fiction is, it is a subgenre of science fiction and works within this subgenre are “stories and settings [that] revolve around military situations, military technology, military characters, and all manner of conflicts, wars, and hostilities. This could include stories of soldiers fighting on distant wars, alien invasions, post-nuclear holocaust conflicts, wars in time rather than space, and even space exploration stories with military characters in primary roles within the story” – Future War Readings

Mecha anime and manga often depict war in a complex and nuanced way, usually centralizing the story first on one side and then presenting the otherside as having their reasons, but reasons that are not as noble as the protagonists. This is not always the case, but it is enough so that I’d view it as the common approach. This all boils down to their source material, which is not just space operas of the past but war and battles of historical significance repackaged and molded to fit an interesting storyline.  

While the genre typically features giant robots or mecha engaged in battle, it also tends to explore the psychological and emotional tolls war has on soldiers and, sometimes, civilians. This is all while presenting, more often than not, the underlying political and ethical dilemmas that arise in times of peak conflict.

In many mecha anime and manga, the use of mecha in war is portrayed as a necessary evil, with the mecha serving as a tool to protect one’s country or people against external threats. However, the devastating consequences of war are also often depicted, with the destruction and loss of life serving as a constant reminder of the human cost of conflict.

You really can’t have a mecha story without understanding that it is, in many ways, a reflection of a Military Science Fiction reading. Right down to the internalized and externalized use of propaganda and messaging. 

Additionally, mecha anime and manga often explore the idea of the individual versus the collective, with many stories focusing on the struggle of pilots or soldiers caught between their personal beliefs and the demands of their organizations or governments as they come to learn new things about the war they’ve been fighting. 

One of my personal favorites is Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, which is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. It is one of the few mechas I have seen where the main character is actually separated from the war itself, and thrown into a world where not only is “war” fought on a significantly smaller scale, society as the main character knows it is entirely different. It, to me, speaks much more to the after effects of war as a soldier returns home to something that should be familiar but feel so disconnected that it’s hard to readjust. As they heal and find a place among society again they have to come to terms with the what has been done when “us vs them” is no longer the leading psychological idea. 

Now, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, is not a one for one with that returning-home concept. However, it is an approach to the critical interpretation and something I’ve reflected on considering how I grew up in a pro-military household, watching WWI and WWII documentaries. 

As a sci-fi fan, I recognized that a lot of sci-fi features Military Science Fiction readings as well, and I actually found myself enjoying the blog Future Wars Stories as I was preparing to write about this topic because that blog tends to show how military stories now and historically impact stories and elements in sci-fi military literature. However, just because a sci-fi story takes place in the future, it doesn’t mean it is a military/war based media, which is a distinction that cannot be made with the mecha genre. 

There are series like Knight’s & Magic and FLCL, where the Military Science Fiction reading is difficult to find, but they still have them in place. In FLCL this comes out with the Enemy Robots, and with Knight’s & Magic we see espionage trying to steal technology from the advancement of the mechs that Ernesti builds. 

Mecha anime and manga offer a multifaceted and often critical examination of war, exploring the human and societal impacts of conflict and encouraging reflection on the morality of violence and the responsibilities of those who engage in it. They can separate from the setting of war at times, but I have yet to encounter a single mecha show that is without the potential for a Military Science Fiction reading. So, there you have it. A concept analysis of a genre as a whole. I hope that makes sense. 🙂

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Copyedited by: Krow Smith | @coffeewithkrow