Mekton : (re)Introduction

I wouldn't be suprised if you hadn't heard of the Mekton RPG. Although it developed a pretty loyal following back in the 90s, it was still a relatively small fanbase derived from two different hobbies - roleplaying, and fans of giant robots in Japanese animation.

Giant robots, both super and real types, have been enjoying a rennaissance in anime. Most likely this goes back to the critical success and enduring popularity of Evangelion, but there was also something of a super-robot revival throughout the 90s as OVAs and videogames were mining older anime licenses for new products. Also, the numerous "kiddie" and "harem" comedy shows eventually gave rise to some genuinely impressive mecha shows, such as Gaigaigar and Godannar (I've seen little of Full Metal Panic, but it seems to have a lot of promise as well).

However, the two series I think are the biggest hallmarks of renewed anime mecha popularity are The Big O, a sophisticated dystopian science fiction series featuing a super-robot controlled by the hero, and Gundam Seed, another new take on the classic real-robot earth-vs-colonies space opera with many nods to fan-favourite mecha of earlier shows. While the advent of the DVD market had produced an unsteady trickle of releases for older real-robot series, the strong success of Seed (as well as robots in the videogame market) probably contributed to what seems to be an acceleration in real-robot anime DVDs.

I should also mention that Japanese robot toys seem more popular than ever. Studio Half-Eye, CM's Corp, Yamato, and Bandai's Soul Of Chogokin are producing expensive, high-end toys for adult collectors that many thought would never see the light of day. For the more conventional toy market, Bandai has reinvigorated thier Gundam licenses by switching from die-cast and brittle plastic to softer, more detailed PVC molds with hard plastic joints. Meanwhile Kaiyodo has drastically improved on the sloppy PVC shelf-sculptures popularized by Todd McFarlane into a diverse collection of relatively-inexpensive toys based on famous and popular robots, not to mention quite a few iconic human characters from anime and videogames.

I'm a lifelong gamer and a lifelong fan of Japanese giant robots. My involvement in both has dwindled in recent years, but I've decided I miss gaming too much not to try to get back to it, and there's no point in trying to resist the resurgence of giant robots in anime, video games, and collectible toys - I live for that stuff. In all honesty GURPS, The Hero System, and even BESM would handle anime mecha quite well enough to satisfy other gamers I know, but personally I can't ignore that the best system for fans of mecha anime and toys came out a decade ago and has been collecting dust on my shelf for most of that time...