What do you like better, /m/: seeing the same mecha from start

>>15137562
I like the upgrades. I love when all the characters are in super powerful mechs towards the end of the series.

>>15137562
I don't mind either way, I just wanted to say that I prefer the Mk.2 to the Zeta Gundam, and the Victory 2 to the Victory.

As long as it's interesting and not just a power upgrade.

>>15137562
None.

I like it when the MC gradually improves his robot, adding new weapons, shields or parts in general.

When the MC talks about how some part of the mech doesn't move how he wants it to so he makes people fine tune it or he himself does it.

It shows that he actually knows shit about his robot instead of just being a kid that pilots one because anime

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Mid-season upgrade.
But with the MC returning to his original mecha for the final battle.

Upgrades. It also depends whether or not it's a Super Robot as well.

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Same mech the whole way through. I always liked having that special bond with the mech, especially if it's the title one. Pic related.

I don't really care either way in principle, but I'm not a huge fan of it when it seems too convenient to be realistic. In particular, I can't remember having a good reaction to a Gundam mid-season upgrade. The stereotype I have in my mind is that a lab works for months and months on a prototype, some kid picks it up before it's ready and pilots it, and then a few weeks later, the scientists have fully constructed an suit which is an all-around upgrade to the suit he was already comfortable with.

Maybe I'm not fully appreciating the sense of time passing, or maybe there are implied scenes in which pilots call back to the labs regularly and discuss improvements with the labs (as opposed to showing up with a floppy drive full of logs one week and leaving with V2 the next), but it seems really inconsistent.

It seems to go over better in less serious shows, especially ones in which there are only a couple mecha for the scientists to work on. The obvious exception is Patlabor, which I thought handled the upgrade sequence really well.

What I also like seeing is when repairs are treated as seriously as upgrades. I enjoy the tension that sequences have when replacing a hand or a thruster is something that takes a few episodes.

Upgrades are cool when there is a reason to;

>Arms proliferation
>The enemies weapons have been developed and improved to gain the upper hand over the protagonist, in turn forcing them to improve their own weapons

>Destruction
>A characters weapon is dramatically destroyed in the battle, later on they return with something newer.

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>>15137562
Personally, I don't really care if they replace it as long as the new mech doesn't look visually worse than the original one.

However in the back of my mind I will always know that upgrades have always been about moving more plastic. Lead mech designs always sell better than anything other characters use. I think the toy companies believe that switching the design of the MC's mech will increase sales. Sad!

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>>15137592
That's the best.

>>15137562
I liked the evolution in 0079 a lot actually
>MC starts out in OP mecha and relies on it
>at the end the MCs mecha is outclassed and relies on his skills

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>>15137562
End of season downgrade.

>>15137796
I wish there was more than a crappy old high grade of the 0 Gundam, it's my favorite 'not rx-78'

>>15137562
I like the same mech getting new equipment more than full blown new models, unless the original gets blown up in a dramatic finale

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>>15137815
>crappy old high grade
Are you kidding? That was one of the best kits in the entire line, and still manages to hold its own today.

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Its highly depenent on how you handle it, such as how in Metal Armor Dragonar or G-Saviour the Game the protagonists get a remodeled unit built using the trashed versions of their old mech, or if the Mech is destroyed mid-way through and given a replacement such swapping the destroyed SRX to the R-Blade custom to the Banpreios.

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>>15137562
I like it best when MC trashes one robot after another

>>15137910
And everytime he gets a new mech it's the same model, or a variant there of.

>>15137590
This. Why don't more shows do this?

>>15137562
It depends on the context for me, but I generally enjoy seeing minor upgrades to the first mech, then an upgrade to a new one.

>>15137910
Also this, I loved how disposable scopedogs were.

>>15140516
I think IBO does this, and to a degree Geass and 00

>>15140516
Because Bandai is just now experimenting with this particular con artist scheme
>hey guys buy four different Barbatos kits plus two grazes plus six options packs plus at least to more kits of the original barbatos so you can display all its forms!

>>15140516
It happens a lot in 70s shows, though not usually at MC's behest. Toei Mazinger Z was chock full of that kind of thing. You'd see some kind of modification or new weapon like every five episodes or so, and later in the show, they cut that down to around every two episodes or so. Some were only used for a single episode as well.

In other shows, it's more rare. Combattler V gets two or three upgrades, ditto for Voltes, Zambot gets one, Daitarn doesn't get any and so on.

MC upgrades mecha but fights the final battle in a configuration that is closer to their original machine so we can see how far they've come as a pilot.

>>15143063
While live-action, Super Robot Red Baron also had a bunch of upgrades as the show went on, even near the finale. Not nearly as much as Mazinger though, since the show was shorter.

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>>15137562
I like when the final look of the mech tells a story. Be it upgrades, replacement parts or permanent damage.

>>15137590
Also pretty cool when Aces customize and their layout later becomes the basis of the next model.

>>15137592

This

It would be cool as hell if a character kept getting upgrades but is forced to return to his old shitty prototype when fighting his rival and still kicks his ass

>>15137562
I like both, but it's very common for the second robot to not be as cool as the initial one, so it can be risky.

>>15137762
>as long as it doesn't look worse

I completely agree. I also think it's important that the second isn't too much stronger then the enemies. It needs to be proportionately strong

>>15137562
I like the MC faking out the villain like in GaikingLDM

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>>15145448
>>15137592
>>15137763
Especially when it happens in the middle of a fight.

It really comes down to shows that exclusively do character development (becomes a better pilot) and shows that exclusively do upgrades (gets better robot).