Mech Cadets

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.

What a great show. I loved the story. The show is targeted towards kids and there are so many great messages for a younger audience: following your dreams, finding acceptance, working together. But I also found some of the parent-child relationship incredibly heartfelt. And the ending!!! A real tear-jerker. I did not see that coming.

I also loved the animation. It's a bit sanitized and clean but again, I imagine that it's for kids (the blood is blue). But it was a really cool mix of 2D and 3D animation. Not as elegant as something like Spider-Verse but it's great to see that style in a TV series.

I love a great mecha genre story and this doesn't dissappoint.

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...

Don't know whats up with the negative reviews but this is a fun show! Short too with only 10 episodes. The pacing, music, story, animation is all on point without any unnecessary drama.

The writers have done a great job developing each of the characters, be it the main leads or support team. The robots are just too adorable.

It works well for kids and adults alike so you can even enjoy it as a family. Those who enjoy transformers and similar movies will probably enjoy it more.

I haven't read the comics or anything but I found this to be a fun and enjoyable watch. Definitely hope for a second season.

"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.