Foundational Mech Anime Finally Comes to Crunchyroll, & It Still Holds Up After 4 Decades

Summary Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, a classic 80s anime, holds up well on its own with a compelling storyline and impactful characters.

Adapted into the third part of Robotech, this standalone series follows Stic Barnard on a mission to take down alien invaders on Earth.

With thrilling action and emotional moments, MOSPEADA is a must-watch for fans of older sci-fi anime.

The 80s anime Genesis Climber MOSPEADA has joined Crunchyroll's numerous offerings in its original run. The series would eventually be incorporated into a singular multi-series compilation to form Robotech. However, it's just as good by itself as it was initially released and holds up independently to this day. Shorter in length than its later iteration, it is a must for fans of older sci-fi anime series. Its a foundational work whose incorporation into Robotech has made it extra influential on mecha stories that would come later.

Genesis Climber MOSPEADA originally ran from 1983 to 1984 and was produced by Tatsunoko Productions and the now-defunct Artmic. It spans 25-episodes and follows a group of characters who join each other in a fight against alien invaders - called the Inbit (Invid in the Robotech iteration) - who have taken over Earth.

The series was later combined with two other original anime series to form three generations of storytelling for the American franchise, Robotech. The first generation was Macross (1982) and the second was Southern Cross (1984). None of these anime were actually connected to each other upon their initial release.

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Robotech's Predecessor Can Stand On Its Own

In Robotech, Genesis Climber MOSPEADA is used to conclude the series, making it the last fight against invasion and the final arc of the franchise's debut run. This iteration changed several of the characters' names, with some being in very subtle ways. However, the original anime was self-contained as a story, following Stic Barnard (Stig in the English sub), who is a soldier from Mars Base with the mission of taking out Reflex Point - the Inbit fortress. Genesis Climber MOSPEADA was created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma and featured music by Hiroshi Ogasawara and Joe Hisaishi. It successfully explores human nature, what it means to be human, and the impact of love.

While Genesis Climber MOSPEADA came out forty-one years ago, it holds up very well. There is some nudity, though nothing particularly lewd. There are some outdated jokes involving the series' thirteen-year-old side character, but her hyper-fixation with marriage makes sense with her backstory. This is especially true considering the world she is growing up in - largely on her own until she joins up with the main characters. One of the only major issues is that Episode 14 does not currently have an English sub available on Crunchyroll. However, the dubbed Robotech alteration has a version of this episode.

Genesis Climber MOSPEADA is a Thrilling Anime Classic

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Genesis Climber MOSPEADA keeps a steadily moving pace. MOSPEADA refers to motorcycle-like vehicles driven by the characters, short for Military Operation Soldier Protection Emergency Aviation Dive Armor. It also features a Legioss, which is a jet of sorts with several alternate battle forms. It has several episodes that follow typical anime tropes, such as birthday and beach "vacation" events, but they still progress the plot and contain relevant action apart from the episode seemingly inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. The majority of the characters have interesting backstories and there are several impactful emotional moments, making Genesis Climber MOSPEADA a thrilling and enjoyable series worth watching forty years after its release.

Genesis Climber MOSPEADA is available to stream now on Crunchyroll.