Ollie Barder

Tokyo

Founder and Editor in Chief at Mecha Damashii

Writer at Freelance

Contributor at Forbes

Game Designer, @Forbes contributor, @mechadamashii founder and self-sufficient introvert. "Japanese Mecha Expert".

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Articles

‘Gundam GQuuuuuuX’ Finally Takes Us Down The ‘What If’ Rabbit Hole

1 week ago | forbes.com | Ollie Barder

Following the start of the Gundam GQuuuuuuX series last week, we now have a time skip back to a very different version of the One Year War. Much like in the movie version of GQuuuuuuX, called Beginning, the latest episode called “White Gundam”, after last week’s “Red Gundam”, is all about the big “what if” scenario that underpins this new Gundam anime. In short, the whole premise of this episode is based on the following: what if Char Aznable found the RX-78-02 Gundam instead of Amuro Ray?
‘Macross Zero’ Blu-Ray Review: Absolutely Worth The Wait

1 week ago | forbes.com | Ollie Barder

Back when the Macross rights were mostly resolved, I was looking forward to all the classic Macross anime coming Westward. Well, here we are, and it feels great. While we already had the excellent Blu-ray release for Macross Plus a while back, that was already released in the West back in the 90s, so much so that Bryan Cranston voiced one of the main characters.
The ‘Gundam GQuuuuuuX’ Anime Series Gets Off To A Promising Start

1 week ago | forbes.com | Ollie Barder

Following the Gundam GQuuuuuuX movie, Beginning, released earlier this year in Japan, the series has now started, and thus far it is rather promising. The problem with the movie was that it went hard on the background of the series being a “what if” switch up from the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Where Char finds the Gundam first, rather than Amuro.
‘Gundam Seed Battle Destiny Remastered’ Gets A New Gameplay Trailer

1 week ago | forbes.com | Ollie Barder

The news back in February that we were getting a remastered version of Gundam Seed Battle Destiny on Switch and PC is now followed with some gameplay footage. Having played the original PlayStation Vita version of the game back in 2012, it was a solid entry in the then long-running series of Gundam Battle games from Artdink. In fact, despite its cutesy aesthetics, SD Gundam Battle Alliance is also part of this series and like this new remaster, was also developed on Unreal Engine.
The ‘Gundam GQuuuuuuX’ Anime Series Gets Off To A Promising Start

1 week ago | flipboard.com | Ollie Barder

The Best Romance Anime Of 2025 Fans Can't Wait To WatchIt's 2025 and love is in the air - or at least, it is when it comes to the year's new romance anime. What are the top romance anime of 2025? Some …
‘Gunbuster’ Blu-Ray Review: Probably The Best Anime Gainax Ever Made

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Ollie Barder

One of the best anime that Gainax ever made has to be the seminal Gunbuster, and this Blu-ray release certainly does it justice. Released in 1988, Gunbuster was an OVA unlike any other at the time. Initially, it seemed to be a mecha parody of Ace o Nerae, a high-school girl’s tennis manga later anime. With the title of Top o Nerae and featuring high-school girls doing calisthenics in mecha, you would think Gunbuster was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
Peter Watts On ‘Blindsight’, ‘Armored Core’ And Working With Neill Blomkamp

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Ollie Barder

Back when Secret Level was released, I really enjoyed the Armored Core episode, only to find out the story had been written by Peter Watts, so I caught up with him to find out more. Peter is also one of my favorite authors. His novel Blindsight is a remarkably imaginative and thoughtful book, if also utterly terrifying. So to have Peter tackle Armored Core, a series of mecha games I have been dutifully playing for 28 years, was a rare and wonderful treat.
‘Gundam Wing’ Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary Today

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Ollie Barder

A fan favorite outside of Japan, Gundam Wing celebrates its 30th anniversary today. Released on April 7, 1995, in Japan, Gundam Wing was another alternate-timeline Gundam show, specifically that of the After Colony timeline. It dealt with a team of Gundams piloted by teenage boys sent to Earth to free …
‘Gundam Wing’ Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary Today

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Ollie Barder

A fan favorite outside of Japan, Gundam Wing celebrates its 30th anniversary today. Released on April 7, 1995, in Japan, Gundam Wing was another alternate-timeline Gundam show, specifically that of the After Colony timeline. It dealt with a team of Gundams piloted by teenage boys sent to Earth to free the colonies in orbit from Earth’s tyrannical dominance.
Adi Shankar On ‘Devil May Cry’ And Why Hollywood Drops The Ball

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Ollie Barder

Adi Shankar talks Devil May Cry on Netflix and why Hollywood keeps failing with its video game and anime adaptations. Shortly after the launch of the Castlevania animated series on Netflix, I interviewed Adi Shankar about his role in it. Now that Devil May Cry has received its own new animated series, Adi was kind enough to let me ask him about how that all came about. “I fought for this one.