Mech Cadets is an animated television series[1] developed by Aaron Lam and Eileen Shim, based on the Boom! Studios comic book series Mech Cadet Yu by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa.[2] Co-produced by Boom! Studios and Polygon Pictures,[3] the series was released on August 10, 2023, on Netflix.[4]
The pilot episode "Underdogs" was an Official Selection at the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[5]
Fifty years in the future, after a terrifying alien species attacked our planet, teenager Stanford Yu works as a janitor at the Sky Corps Military Academy. But he's only dreamed of one thing his entire life to pilot a Robo Mech, giant robots from outer-space who came to our aid. When he finally gets his shot, Stanford and his classmates must put aside all personal differences and work together as a team in order to defend humanity against a new invasion of aliens.[6]
Mech Cadets was co-produced by American manga company Boom! Studios and Japanese studio Polygon Pictures.[3][7][6] Aaron Lam served as the series' writer and executive producer while Tohru Patrick Awa served as supervising director. Jack Liang and Shuzo John Siota served as executive producers for Polygon Pictures while Stephen Christy and Ross Richie served as executive producers for Boom! Studios. Mette Norkjaer also served as the series' executive co-producer while Bill E. Miller served as producer.[6]
Lam said that he was inspired by his childhood experience as a Chinese American in Florida to create a show about "outsiders and underdogs." He also envisioned a diverse cast with several key characters coming from Chinese, Korean, and Puerto Rican backgrounds. Lam wanted to normalize "people of varying backgrounds and perspectives" including a disabled character named Frank Olivetti. To incorporate a disability point of view into the series, Lam enlisted the services of writer Ashley Eakin, who has a rare bone disease, and disability advocate Lauren Appelbaum for consultation.[8]
Liang and Christy collaborated with Boom! Studios to adapt Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa's Mech Cadet Yu manga series into an animated series. Christy described the series as a fusion of Japanese and American approaches to anime. Christy said the series was aimed primarily at the 6-11 year old demographic but also sought to appeal to older viewers.[7]
Brandon Soo Hoo was cast as the protagonist Stanford Yu, Daniel Dae Kim as General Aiden Park, Ming-Na Wen as Dolly Yu, and Debra Wilson as Chief Max.[6] Other supporting cast members included Aparna Brielle as Ava Patel, Victoria Grace as Olivia Park, Josh Sundquist as Frank Olivetti, Anairis Quinones as Maya Sanchez, and James Yaegashi as Captain Tanaka.[6]
According to Sundquist, his character Frank, who sustained a disability via a lost limb, was depicted without a prosthetic. Sundquist described the depiction of his character using crutches instead of a prosthesis as "groundbreaking and revolutionary."[8]
Production for Mech Cadets took place at Polygon Studios' facilities in Japan and its overseas subsidiaries, Polygon Pictures Malaysia and Polygon Studios India. 170 people including 120 animation artists were involved in the series' production. While production took place predominantly in Japan, creative talents from North America and Europe also assisted with the production, with Zoom being used to facilitate collaboration.[7]
Mech Cadets premiered on Netflix on August 10, 2023.[4]
Meredith Hobbs Coons of The A.V. Club gave Mech Cadets a critical review, writing that the show's creators "tried to create a family-friendly animated television program by adapting a comic-book series, and made it so deeply sanitized for mass consumption that it's hard to imagine it appealing to anyone."[9]
Peter Martin of Everything But Horror gave Mech Cadets a positive review, praising the show's structure and "wonderfully-diverse characters." He continues that the show is an easy binge and builds to a satisfying conclusion but leaves room open for a second season.[10]
Anjali Sharma of Midgard Times awarded the series five out of ten stars, describing it as a "cosmic struggle between ambition and acrimony." She praised the performance of the main cast members Daniel Dae Kim, Ming-Na Wen, Brandon Soo Hoo, and Debra Wilson. Sharma was critical of the diversity casting and the show's lack of clear target audience.[11]
Sneha Jaiswal of Abstract AF awarded the series six out of ten stars, describing it as "fun colorful series for kids. However, older viewers hoping for a Transformers-like exciting plot will be left disappointed." She also criticised the quality of the animation. While Jaiswal opined that Mech Cadets could focus more on merit, she praised the series for emphasizing the "importance of team building, hard work, friendships, and family."[12]
Fraser Fernandes of TheReviewGeek gave the series seven out of ten stars, describing the series as a "poignant tale of expectations, sacrifice and duty." He praised the character development of the main cast and the thematic focus on morality, sacrifice and duty. Fernandes also praised the animation for matching the theme and tone of the show, and the quality of the soundtrack.[13]
