Cadetes de mechas

There isn't enough time to grow attached to the characters. I believe this is more of a fault from Netflix, rather than the writers. Netflix bought too few episodes so the writers had to work around it. Towards the end of the season, our MC says "we're family" to his fellow pilots and while it was a sweet moment, it felt kind of unearned. Why? Because we've barely seen these characters properly interact. In one episode, our MC gets his Robo and one of the pilots is like "he hasn't earned it like the rest of us" and she clearly holds some sort of resentment. By the next episode, they're all chill with each other. This show should be like...twice as long. I enjoyed the cute character interactions but there were too few so their bonds don't feel fully developed. The dynamics between characters who've already known each other is smart and enjoyable but between new ones, that could use work. Aside from that relatively small criticism, I really like the story and animation. The character and monster designs are very aesthetically pleasing and perfectly fit this story. It took an episode before i liked the Robo designs and they steadily grew on me throughout. I think the crew involved has done a good job so i'm excited for the next season. The concepts and execution are done well for the most part so i'd suggest this.

But otherwise a disappointingly juvenilise and derivative waste of a strong voice cast. This is essentially a mash up of Gundam, Evangelion and Pacific Rim by way of a 1980s Saturday morning kid's cartoon, with bizarrely stunted proportions, eerily incompetent animation, and low frame-rates that seem to be all keyframes and no tweening.

There's no real plot, characterisation, or drama here, just an absolutely basic presentation of Deus Ex Astra mechs who choose teen pilots (for no reason, since they don't need pilots) versus giant space bugs, with a plucky underdog wish fulfilment motif.

For those easily confused, stereotypes may be recognisable and even satisfying but that doesn't mean they're well conceived, original, or developed. And dialogue composed of little more than straight exposition of ultimately selfish and egotistical desires is not growth.

That's all you get, and it's fine for what it is, but Netflix should have been clearer in the marketing and synopsis. The 10-star review-bombing at the moment of release to get the initial numbers up was embarrassingly obvious.

I watched it only because I wanted to watch an animated movie/series and this came up my feed. Season 1, Episode 1 really tries to sell you what this series is about. With its good animation and mediocre storyline, I decided in its favour. Please note, I have not read the comic that it is based on.

What I liked about the season 1:

• Overall story is good, with much to be asked from season 2
• Animation is what you would expect from an average anime nowadays
• I liked the emotional weight that they have tried to bring into the story
• I liked the character portrayal of Olivia, felt consistent

What I did NOT like about the season 1:

• Storyline felt like a little rushed
• Much remains to be known on the robots' background

Verdict: I liked the show overall. I liked how each character is passionate about what they are trying to become. Character development is not best, but I believe it is reasonably good for a kids show. Probably it didn't feel as good as the story felt a little rushed.

I would certainly like to see the season 2.

Beginning is classic and quite ok premise, 3-4 first parts are really interesting. Character development is good and with fine progress.

Then starts problems, typical like screenwriters got lazy and starts copying all the classic. Internal strugle between one good and one bad / openly idiotic team.

There is zero military anywhere only some alien robots are only one to help defend. Military base but totally empty except first intro part.

Additionally when is problem no one report it, no one coming to help, no one care and all is careless.

Typical general who without any control is doing what ever he want, what was actually forbidden by some "mysterious never shown" superiors.

Animation is ok just as is mentioned in many cases very low FPS.

Teenagers running everything so it's obviously targeted to very young audience.

Not fully wasted time, just even monsters as animation had better structure and military feel than this.

Typical lazy hot mess netflix show. Lot of invested money and very low downspiraling quality on the end.

So from 8/10 at begining it moves to bare 4/10...

"Mech Cadets" is not the generic kids show it may resemble at first glance. It has depth and heart(ache) from its character development to its plot progression. Theirs is a world ravaged by loss at the claws of the Shargs and the show refuses to shy away from presenting those elements, instead using them to strengthen each characters story and provide meaningful motivations for those characters' actions. Mech Cadets also does well at integrating an animation style that doesn't feel childish and, despite some choppiness in frame rate , possesses laudable detail (especially in regard to its mechs and Kaiju) and vibrant special effects. Vaguities such as the absence of a more dominant and numerous military defense do plague the narrative, but are likely to be overlooked in favor of the raw emotional force of the voice actors' character portrayals and the story itself. It's world-building lends hope for further exploration as there are numerous questions, especially regarding the mysterious Robos and the menace they face, pleading for answers.

In Short: "Mech Cadets" is surprisingly emotional, suitable for any audience, contains detailed animation with high quality effects, open world-building, and most (perhaps even all) plot weaknesses are easy to dismiss in favor of the shows powerful storytelling.