Getting started with MechaBay

Welcome to MechaBay, your comprehensive guide to mobile suits and the mecha genre. Whether you’re completely new to giant robots or a seasoned fan looking to expand your knowledge, this guide will help you navigate our extensive collection of articles and information.

About MechaBay

MechaBay is a collaborative encyclopaedia dedicated to documenting mobile suits and their stories, with a particular focus on the Gundam franchise. Our articles aim to be both accessible to newcomers and detailed enough for experienced fans, covering everything from technical specifications to narrative analysis.

What is mecha?

Mecha refers to stories featuring mechanical robots or vehicles, typically humanoid in shape, piloted by humans. The genre spans from realistic military science fiction to fantastical adventures. These stories often explore the relationship between humans and technology, the nature of warfare, and the psychological impact of piloting powerful machines.

The mecha genre divides broadly into two categories. Real Robot series, like Mobile Suit Gundam, treat their mechanical creations as realistic military hardware with practical limitations. These machines need regular maintenance, consume fuel and ammunition, and operate within tactical constraints. A Real Robot might run out of energy in battle or require repairs after combat.

Super Robot series, exemplified by shows like Mazinger Z, feature more fantastical machines with extraordinary powers and fewer real-world limitations. These robots often possess incredible abilities like transforming into massive weapons or channeling mystical energy.

For a deeper exploration of these concepts, read more about what is mecha.

The Gundam Universe

The Gundam franchise, which forms the core of MechaBay’s coverage, began in 1979 with Mobile Suit Gundam. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino, this groundbreaking series established the “real robot” genre and introduced many conventions still used in mecha storytelling today.

Gundam tells its stories across multiple timelines and universes. The main timeline, called the Universal Century (UC), begins in UC 0001 when humanity starts expanding into space by building massive space colonies. The Universal Century remains the primary timeline, with numerous series exploring its rich history and conflicts. Other timelines, such as the After Colony (Gundam Wing) or Cosmic Era (Gundam SEED), were created to tell standalone stories with their own unique worlds and themes, allowing new viewers to jump in without extensive background knowledge.

To learn more about the franchise’s scope and significance, read more about Gundam and browse the Gundam Portal. For questions about how we determine which Gundam stories are more official out of the hundreds of works, see our guide to What is Gundam Canon.

Navigating MechaBay

Our articles are organised into several main categories:

Mecha: Detailed information about mobile suits and other mechanical designs (eg, RX-78-2 Gundam)
Characters: Profiles of pilots, commanders, and other significant figures (eg, Amuro Ray)
Series: Comprehensive coverage of individual shows and their stories (eg, Mobile Suit Gundam)
Technology: Explanations of key scientific concepts and weapons (eg, Minovsky Physics)
Organisations: Information about military forces and political groups (eg, Earth Federation)

Each article follows a consistent structure using standardized templates. This ensures information is presented uniformly across articles, making it easy to find specific details and compare different mobile suits or technologies.

Each article follows a consistent structure to help you find information quickly. Technical specifications are presented in standardised formats, making it easy to compare different mobile suits or technologies.

Key concepts

To help you get started, here are some fundamental concepts in the Gundam universe:

Universal Century (UC): The main Gundam timeline, beginning when humanity starts living in space colonies. The calendar starts with UC 0001, marking the establishment of the Earth Federation’s space settlement programme.

Minovsky Physics: The scientific foundation of Universal Century technology. Minovsky particles interfere with long-range communications and radar, necessitating close-range combat with mobile suits.

Newtypes: Humans who have evolved enhanced spatial awareness and reflexes, theoretically as an adaptation to space living. They often demonstrate telepathic abilities and superior piloting skills.

Discovering Gundam

For newcomers to the franchise, we recommend several entry points:

The original Mobile Suit Gundam released in 1979 remains relevant and sets up the Universal Century timeline. While its animation shows its age, the story and characters hold up well. The compilation movies offer a more concise version of the story with improved animation, making them an excellent starting point for those interested in the UC timeline.

For modern viewers, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin provides a fresh retelling of the original story with contemporary animation and expanded character backgrounds. Standalone series like Mobile Suit Gundam 00 or Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans offer complete stories without requiring previous knowledge, featuring modern animation and themes that resonate with current audiences.

Landmark standalone series such as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and New Mobile Report Gundam Wing each revolutionized the franchise in their own way. SEED modernized the original Gundam formula for the 2000s, while Wing’s 1995 broadcast on Western television introduced many international viewers to the franchise.

Next step

Join our Discord community to connect with fellow mecha enthusiasts. Whether you’re seeking reading recommendations, discussing technical details, or sharing theories about your favourite series, our community welcomes fans of all experience levels. Join us at Discord.