Mech Cadets
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Mech Cadets |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | Aaron Lam |
| Date(s): | 2023 |
| Medium: | TV Animation |
| Country of Origin: | United States |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Mech Cadets is an animated Netflix series about a group of teens who pilot living, alien Robo mechs against the invading Shargs. The series mainly focuses on Stanford, a janitor's kid who didn't make the cut for pilot selection, and his Robo mech Buddy, who chose Stanford as his pilot despite this.
The show was based on the Boom!Studios comic Mech Cadet Yu.
Canon
The story of Mech Cadets follows Stanford Yu, son of a janitor at Sky Corps, the international organization responsible for protecting humanity from the alien Sharg threat. When the series starts, the Sharg War has been over for 20 years, but the Shargs aren't gone- just held at bay by the Global Defense Ring, a massive shield around the planet. Humanity depends on alien Robos to fight the Shargs- giant mechs that form bonds with human pilots. Stanford attempted to join the Sky Corps academy to become a pilot, but failed the exam and became a janitor instead. After trying to sneak into the exam and being expelled from campus, he ran into Buddy, a robo who had been thrown off-course by a Sharg and landed outside of campus. Stanford bonded with Buddy, and was able to become a Mech Cadet.
From there, he and the other cadets; Maya, Frank, and Olivia; began their training. While Maya and Frank were chosen by Robos, Olivia became the test pilot for the new Hero Force program, and piloted a human-made mech. However, it was later discovered that Hero Force was powered by the core of a dead robo- one that General Park, Olivia's father, knowingly sacrificed. As the Sharg plot to invade earth ramped up, the Cadets were forced to stand up and fight, despite the tensions between them over Hero Force. They took their fight into space to repair a damaged GDR satellite, and ended up facing off against a Sharg Queen. In the ensuing battle, they were able to suck the Queen into an artificial black hole- but they lost Olivia in the process. The season ends with the Cadets hopeful to find Olivia again, out in the cosmos somewhere.
Characters
Cadets
- Stanford Yu
- Olivia Park
- Maya Sanchez
- Frank Olivetti
Other Kids
- Ava Patel
- Adam Williams
Adults
- General Aiden Park
- Dolly Yu
- Skip Tanaka
- Chief Max
- Chief Clark
- Charlie
Robos
- Buddy
- Tombo
- Big Red
- Thunderwrecker
- Veritas
Pairings
- Frank/Maya
Notable Tropes/Fanon
Notable Events/Fandom History
Early Ao3 Community
There are currently 19 fics in the Mech Cadets tag on Ao3. The first fic to be posted was written by MidKnight136; the second and third fics, along with the sixth, seventh, and tenth, were written by JustAnotherGeekyAuthor. The Mech Cadets fandom community is small, but closely knit; in the comments sections on the early fics, these users encouraged other writers to dip their toes into the fandom, leading to a few fics from users such as VastUnknownSEA and RugEater. In a fandom with only 19 fics in the year post-release, a few fics means a lot.
Oakwyrm Video Essays
In early 2024, the Youtube video essayist Oakwyrm posted a set of videos talking about Mech Cadets. The first essay focused on the character writing and general plot, as well as briefly touching on disability and queerness in the show, as is Oakwyrm's usual focus. The second video focused specifically on Frank Olivetti, his disability, and how disability is portrayed in the show. These videos, as well as Oakwyrm's presence on Tumblr, brought a minor surge of new fans to the show, leading to a bloom of new fics on Ao3. Many of those fics featured disability and chronic illness as their main focus.
Fanworks
Fanfiction
- Listening for the first time by JustAnotherGeekyAuthor on Ao3. The longest fic in the fandom, as well as the earliest multichap fic. Canon-divergent, focusing on a scenario where separating a cadet and their robo has dire consequences.
- and the dawn arrives when you're smiling by RugEater on Ao3. A character fic focused on Olivia, featuring interactions between her and the other cadets.
Archives and Communities
- Mech Cadets fandom tag on Ao3