REVIEW: ‘Mech Cadets’ Is A Surprisingly Emotional Journey

Stanford Yu (Brandon Soo Hoo) has always dreamed of piloting a Robo, the mechanized aliens that help humanity defend the earth from the threat of the Sharg. But since he can’t pass the entrance exam, it seems like there is no chance of that ever happening. Until an unexpected encounter with a newly arrived Robo sees him given the bond with it, becoming the alien’s pilot. Now, along with his fellow cadets Frank (Josh Sunquist), Olivia (Victoria Grace), and Maya (Anairis Quinones), Stanford must prepare for the latest threat to their world in Mech Cadets, based on the BOOM! Comic series Mech Cadet Yu by Greg Pak and Takeshi Mizayawa.

Beneath the exterior of alien invasions and giant mecha combat, this series is at its heart a story about expectations, personal growth, and discovering who you really want to be. These themes are largely explored through the trio of Stanford, Olivia, and Frank.

Stanford’s journey centers on the promise he made to his deceased dad to become a Robo pilot. The weight of his father’s absence in his life lays heavily on the young man, and whether or not being a pilot is what he truly wants, or simply something he feels he owes his father is a key part of the character’s voyage. Supported by his mother Dolly (Ming-Na Wen), Stanford struggles with the past and how much of his life he owes to it are handled with a beautifully gentle touch. Wen does an exceptional job playing the loving, protective mother that helps guide Stanford through his personal journey.

Unlike Stanford’s journey, Frank’s story in Mech Cadets stems from a choice centered not on his past, but on his future. At a young age, Frank suffered an injury that caused him to lose his left leg from the mid-thigh down. Using a prosthetic, he was able to enter the cadet course and become a pilot. However, mid-way through the movie his prosthetic is damaged in a battle with an alien. He is now faced with the decision of whether or not to have it replaced.

While having two complete functioning legs may at first glance seem like a no-brainer, for Frank it’s more complicated than that. Clearly proud of how well he has learned to get around on his crutches, he’s more maneuverable on them than I ever was with both my legs, a part of him wants to embrace who he is, rather than attempt to “fix” it. Frank’s struggle with making the choice he feels is expected of him, and the one he wants to make comes through beautifully thanks to Sunquist’s voice work. That Sunquist shares the character’s disability undoubtedly helped him connect with the character in a way that enhances his performance. 

While both of the preceding character journeys are delivered well, it is Olivia’s that steals the show. The daughter of the head general in charge of Earth’s defense, Olivia has only the grandest of exceptions for her future as a pilot. These pressures push Olivia to become a hard and often self-centered cadet. Her struggles with accepting when things don’t go how she thinks they should, especially in regard to Stanford’s getting to become a pilot, are a big piece of her character development. 

But while Olivia is often abrasive and wields a massive superiority complex, Mech Cadets makes it a point to never portray her as a true bad guy. It becomes clear from fairly early on that she does care about others, even if she often centers her own goals first. She is all for trying to build the new cadets into a cohesive unit right from the start, as she never loses sight of their duty to protect the world. It is her sense of duty and purpose that grants her the series’ biggest moment as the group struggles to defeat the show’s core threat.

How Mech Cadets handles this core narrative is not nearly as engaging as the character stories that come to surround it. While never outrightly bad, much of what transpires in the main story is largely generic, alien invasion sci-fi that frequently demands you suspend a fair amount of disbelief. There are more than a couple of times that glaring problems where the solutions the characters devise pull the viewer out of the moment. And these aren’t “science doesn’t work that way” problems, but rather flaws in logic as the show presents its world and how it works. A sub-plot revolving around Olivia’s father, General Park (Daniel Dae Kim), and a secret project he is working on is the only aspect of the larger story that ever really engages the viewer. 

For the most part, the visuals that Mech Cadets utilizes to tell its story get the job done. The CGI delivers some interesting alien designs, and some solid, kid-friendly combat. Though it does manage to present the more emotional moments of the story with a higher level of quality that reinforces the show’s character focus. 

While most of the visuals are just fine, the moments when the show looks back into the lives of its cast stand out. Changing to a black and white, simple 2D animation style, the show effectively separates the past from the present in a way that is striking and effective. 

So while Mech Cadets‘ core narrative struggles to deliver a compelling story, its cast manages to make up for this shortcoming with memorable personal journeys that are well worth experiencing. While it feels primarily geared towards a younger audience, the show’s character portrayal brings something that even older viewers will be able to get behind.

Mech Cadets is streaming now on Netflix.