Real Robot

Real Robot (リアルロボット, Riaru Robotto) is a genre of Japanese animation. The genre contains mecha robots whose abilities and operation are broadly explainable by, or grounded in, real-world physics and future technological advances. In addition, operators commonly rely on ranged weapons with projectiles and their machine's agility to survive military-like battle situations. Plotwise, most Real Robot series feature an overarching story and more mature themes in contrast to the "monster of the week" structure seen in productions of the Super Robot genre. A lot of mecha from Real Robot series usually look more utilitarian, though this is not the case with hybrid series such as the mecha of Aura Battler Dunbine.

History

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) is largely considered the first series to introduce the real robot idea and, along with The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982), would form the basis of what people would later call real robot anime. In an interview with Yoshiyuki Tomino and other production crew members in the April 1989 issue of Newtype, about his views on the first Gundam anime that was not directed by him, he commented on the realism of the show, in which he sees the sponsors, Sunrise, as imaginary enemies of Gundam, since they did not accept a certain level of realism.Armored Trooper Votoms is viewed by Famitsu magazine as the peak of real robot anime.