Guerilla War Mecha

by Ben

January 27, 2006

It seems to me that in most anime, and mecha anime in particular, there are usually two different types of combat - guerrilla warfare and all-out domination. Guerrilla warfare is a tactic whereby a small group of insurgents attempt to destroy an enemy one piece at a time through strategic attacks and unexpected moves. All-out domination on the other hand is the policy that relies on strength in numbers and the belief that having more support will help reinforce your defenses.

It is an unfortunately truth that in large numbers, standouts simply do not stand out as brightly. That is why it is so rare to see the heroes of mecha anime series fighting for the team with the most support. People like an underdog, it's a given fact. We all like the feeling of victory from the jaws of defeat. In Gundam Wing, five people, with very limited help are taking on a planetary army of thousands. In Gaiking, The Daikyu Maryu is a lone ship fighting for independence and freedom of the surface world. In GaoGaiGar the GGG are fighting against enemies they have limited defense against. In Evangelion, three cloned giants are fighting against creatures of immeasurable
power.

We all seem to relate to this "1% chance of winning, and still
winning" situation. But how realistic is this when we look at the real
world?

Very real.

Today, even as we speak, terrorist movements, freedom fighters, rogue
ops groups all across this planet are planning insurgencies of this same nature. Sure, they don't have giant fighting robots to do these things, but the same events are happening around the world every day. It is inevitable that eventually these actions will be taken into the next level of warfare along with the rest of the world, and we will see freedom fighters in giant robots or flying tanks sticking it to the man. Now in most cases, these actions will never be considered "noble" as we consider the hero's of our favorite anime series, most likely because we will not agree with their causes. We U.S. citizens do not consider the actions of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center of 2001 to be considered a heroic act, but somewhere, someone does. The philosophy of fighting against oppression is an ongoing theme in human history. We do not like anything we cannot change, and we think that if we rebel against those things, they might bend to our whim. The theme in GaoGaiGar is "Victory goes to the Courageous." Sometimes, what someone might consider courageous might be considered vile or evil by others. At the same time, when someone we support does something of a similar nature, but to meet our own ends, we call it courage and valor.

Kind of puts a spin on things, doesn't it?

<<back to Mecha Musings