Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Mooks / AnimeAndManga

Go To

1[[quoteright:349:[[Franchise/OnePiece https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/one_piece_marines_vs_luffy.png]]]]
2
3* Ghouls from ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}''. Mindless, infinitely disposable, and created en masse by inexperienced vampires.
4* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': [[TheDragon Baron Ashura's]] Iron Masks and [[TheDragon Count Brocken's]] Iron Cross. They were mindless, obedient cyborgs Dr. Hell created using corpses. The former ones vaguely resembled an ancient Greek soldier whereas the later ones look like modern soldiers. Knowing who are their commanders, it is pretty logical.
5** The Mykene soldiers and spies from ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' and the Vegan troops from ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'' also count.
6* The Galactor Troopers from ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' qualify as Mooks.
7* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
8** The typical low rank Marines. Luffy can defeat hundreds at once, and their role is just typically to showcase the abilities of a certain character (and freak out about how crazy he is), then continue the attack so that they can get mowed down some more. True to form, they are frequently endless, for all intents and purposes.
9** Don Krieg's [[ZergRush armada]] is an earlier example. With 50 ships and 5000 men, East Blue calls it an invasion force. The Grand Line? ''Target practice''.
10** This gets played for laughs in the Straw Hat crew. Zoro has once dubbed Sanji "Pirate A". Sanji did not take his mook status well.
11** An interesting occasion comes up in the climax of the Enies Lobby arc, in which two hundred Marine Captains are sent after the Straw Hats. The Straw Hats are initially concerned about this, as that's the rank [[ImplacableMan Smoker]] was when they last saw him. Fortunately, it turns out that Smoker's CowboyCop tendencies kept him [[AlmightyJanitor at a rank far lower than what suited his skills]], and the rest of the Captains weren't nearly that strong.
12** By the time a pirate hits the New World, an army of mooks is pretty much useless. Thanks to the ability "Conqueror's Haki" (which Luffy has), one can impose their will on someone, and, if their will is weak enough, knock them out. Luffy used this ability in the Fishman Island arc to knock out '''''50,000''''' mooks in one blast -- and the only reason he didn't knock out the ''other'' 50,000 is because his crew needed someone to fight.
13* Guts personally slaughters all of Lord Adon's men in ''Anime/Berserk1997'' after he and Casca are chased into an enclosed area in a forest, away from the site of the battle between the band of the hawk and the larger enemy force. One after another they charge him, barely distinguishable from each other and are cut down.
14* Pick any ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' show. Chances are, there's gonna be a notable MookMobile from it. For just a few examples...
15** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' has the ever-iconic Zaku II as the Zeon Principality's main mass-produced Mobile Suit. The Zaku [[MechaMooks hits]] [[GasMaskMooks a]] [[CyberCyclops number]] of Mook tropes, even in its name (which is derived from the term "Zako", which basically means "Mook").
16** ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' opts for the Hizack, which is basically a slightly redesigned Zaku utilized by the Titans.
17** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'' would temporarily move on from the Zaku design (while keeping its preferences for [[CyberCyclops mono-eyes]]) when Haman Karn and her [[TheRemnant Neo Zeon]] deployed the Galluss-J, which would only see mass-production in the First Neo Zeon War. The Zaku III is more of an EliteMook.
18** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack'' returns to the Zaku template with the Geara Doga, which is used by [[TheRival Char Aznable]] during his term over Neo Zeon.
19** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'' has the Geara Zulu, a successor model of the Geara Doga and yet another distant relative of the Zaku.
20** ''Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam'' has the Zanscare Empire's Rig Shokew, the first Mook machine to ''not'' bear much resemblance to the Zaku II, instead looking more insectoid.
21** ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'' tends to be more focused on 1-vs-1 battles, but the Death Army Mobile Suits (Dark Army in the English Dub) created by the [[MechanicalAbomination Devil Gundam]] (or Dark Gundam) certainly count. They are notable for having four legs as opposed to the usual two, and can even equip extra parts to replicate the fighting styles of the heroes' Gundams.
22*** Neo-Japan also had the ridiculously Zaku-like Busshi, which is a deep turquoise yet carries the traditional red mono-eye (the Death Army Mobile Suits carry a drastically different, almost organic mono-eye in contrast).
23** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' has the Leo, the universal mass-production suit for OZ. The Leo is noteworthy for being the mookiest of all Gundam Mooks due to how many scores of these machines go down in combat against the Gundams. The Aries, Pisces and Cancer models also count, as they fare no better against the Gundams than the Leos do. This trope ''is'' played with of course, as whenever the main character pilots (all of them being [[AcePilot Ace Pilots]]) use one, they are able to bring out their true fighting potential.
24** ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'' has fewer of these due to the AfterTheEnd setting, but the Space Revolutionary Army's Jenice and the New United Nations Earth's Daughtress (and both their variants) both qualify. While the Jenice is a Zaku expy with its mono-eye hidden under a grilled visor, the Daughtress has a more unique look, being a GM expy carrying tricloptic sensors on its head.
25*** In the later leg of the series, the New U.N.E. uses the Balient as its new mook model, which is superior to the Daughtress in its ability to fly. Then in the final episodes, we have the space-bound Daughtress Neo for the New U.N.E., and the S.R.A.'s heavily-armored Crouda.
26** ''Anime/TurnAGundam'' has the Ghingham Fleet's Mahiroo, which is actually introduced quite late into the series.
27** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' has the [[{{Expy}} suspiciously Zaku-like]] GINN as the ZAFT Mook of choice. They are notable by their grayish paint scheme and the large fin they carry on their heads, invoking a more knightly visage. Later on, the [[MidSeasonUpgrade GuAIZ]] is introduced in the later leg of the show: these are bulkier, green-armored machines with higher mobility and the same beam weapons used by the Gundams.
28*** [[spoiler:The Earth Alliance Forces run by Muruta Azrael and William Sutherland use the Strike Dagger, a mass-produced version of the Strike Gundam. They don't carry the Gundam Phase Shift Armor, but are armed with beam weapons, allowing them to easily outperform the GINN and other ZAFT machines (until the [=GuAIZ=] is introduced). They are notable for resembling the [[RedShirt GM Mobile Suits]] from the original Gundam, but carry the colors of the Strike's Phase Shift Armor.]]
29** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', ZAFT would take it a step further with its Zaku clones and whip out the similarly-named ZAKU Warrior, which carries the same deep green paint jobs that the Zaku II from the original Gundam series carried. This was an intentional homage (as were that of the [[EliteMooks GOUF Ignited]] and [[PraetorianGuard DOM Trooper]], which were also based off of Zeon's most recognizable Mobile Suits from the Universal Century), given that ''SEED Destiny'' released on the 25th Anniversary to ''Gundam''. The [=GuAIZ-R=], successor to the first series' [=GuAIZ=], is also showcased, but they are destroyed far easier than the ZAKU Warriors. In the final legs of the series, the GOUF Ignited (an obvious copy of Zeon's Gouf) ends up with mook status as well.
30*** On the Earth Alliance's side (or more accurately, LOGOS) comes the Dagger L, another GM {{Expy}}, but still carrying the Strike's colors. The slightly superior Windam would later be demoted to mook-dom later on in the series (similar to the GOUF Ignited) as the Dagger L became even more inefficient. Both are in contention for the most ineffective Mobile Suits in the franchise along with ''Wing's'' Leo, [[TheWorfEffect due to how ineffective]] [[CantCatchUp non-Gundam pilots tend to be]].
31** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' carries many Mook-like mobile suits within its roster, which serve a respective nation each. Season 1 has the [[TransformingMecha Union Flag]], the [=AEU=]'s [[SuperPrototype Enact]], and the Human Reform League's [[CyberCyclops Tieren]]. Near the end of the season, due to the factions uniting against Celestial Being and acquiring GN Tau Drive technology, they are all mostly replaced by the [[MidSeasonUpgrade GN-X]], a high-performance machine that near closes the technological gap between them and the Gundams. The GN-X line carries over to Season 2 in the crimson-colored GN-XIII, the mass-production model of the [[StateSec A-Laws]]. Flags, Enacts and Tierens still appear in Season 2, but as RedShirt units for [[LaResistance Katharon]].
32** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAGE'' has the Vagan's Gafran, notable for being included in the entire show despite the fact that by the final arc, they were incredibly outdated.
33** ''Anime/GundamReconguistaInG'' has the Jahannam, a green, roundish Zaku {{Expy}} with a visor displaying a red, glowing target line as opposed to a [[CyberCyclops mono-eye]].
34** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'': The Gjallarhorn peacekeeping force has the Graze in Season 1, and the [[MidSeasonUpgrade Reginlaze]] in Season 2. Interestingly enough, unlike most examples, an AceCustom version of the suit ends up being used by the heroes early on in the first season, which is later modified into another AceCustom by the name of Ryusei-Go.
35** While ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'' is mostly focused on duels in the Asticassia School of Technology, there are the occasional mass-production Mobile Suits. Jeturk Heavy Machinery gives us the Dilanza (not including the AceCustom models used by Guel and Lauda), while Peil Technologies has the Zowort, and Grassley Defense Systems utilizes the Heindree (the successor of the Heingra [[spoiler:seen in the Prologue episode]]). [[spoiler:The Dawn of Fold uses a Jeturk model called the Desultor for its attack on Asticassia in Episodes 11 and 12, but their true mook model seems to be the Prodoros.]] [[spoiler:In the final leg of the series, Prospera Mercury uses Gundnodes -- mass-produced, unmanned Gundam type drones -- to protect [[KillSat Quiet Zero]].]]
36* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': [[TheEmpire The Holy Britannian Empire]] originally used ''Glasgow'' [[HumongousMecha Knightmare Frames]] as their mooks, before being replaced by the ''Sutherland'' model by the time the first episode begins. Each Knightmare Frame model is described as being part of a generation, with ''Glasgows'' being 4th Gen, and ''Sutherlands'' being 5th Gen. ''Gloucester'' models are EliteMooks, close combat models usually used by [[WarriorPrince Princess Cornelia li Britannia]].
37** In ''[=R2=]'', the ''Sutherlands'' and ''Gloucesters'' for the most part are replaced by the ''Vincent Ward'', a mass-production 7th Generation Knightmare modeled after the original ''Vincent'', piloted by [[TykeBomb Rolo Haliburton]]. ''Vincent Wards'' can use Float Units and fly, but they are still no less dangerous to the BeamSpam of [[TheChessmaster Lelouch vi Britannia]] and his [[AceCustom Shinkiro]], or his other [[AcePilot top Knightmare pilots]], such as Kallen Kozuki with her ''Guren'' [=MKII=], and Kyoshiro Tohdoh with his ''Zangetsu''.
38** The Chinese Federation also use spherical Knightmares called the ''Gun-Ru'', which are mostly seen in the Chinese Federation Arc.
39* When some Ryozanpaku masters in ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' tell Kenichi that he is not as good a fighter as he ought to be because he didn't defeat his last opponent fast enough, Shigure, who nurtures some [[CoolBigSis sisterly feelings]] towards Kenichi, tries to defend him by telling them that the opponent threw too many mooks at him. This provokes the following responses from them:
40-->'''Sakaki:''' (''laughing'') There's no need to count trash... I once took out a master who had over 100 underlings.\
41'''Ma Kensei:''' I once slipped through 1000 soldiers and only took out the commander.\
42'''[[{{Manchild}} Apachai]]:''' I once completely annihilated [[ComicallyMissingThePoint all my enemies and allies]].
43* Terrorists, cartel goons, Nazis, mercenaries, yakuza punks, and other no-name bad guys tend to die in droves whenever the crew of the Lagoon Company or one of the many other badasses of ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' swings into action.
44** Balalaika's ''Vysotniki'' are EliteMooks. Most of them are nameless. They have no faces and personalities to remember, and have no storyline role apart from "Balalaika's muscle." Nonetheless, most of the above-mentioned badasses in the show recognize attacking them as nothing short of suicide, not the very least because Balalaika herself has a policy of coming down like the Wrath of God upon those who dare to hurt or kill them.
45* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' has mooks by the truckload, every one of them a cruel despoiler of the innocent. When Kenshiro shows up, their life expectancy usually drops to zero in [[YourHeadASplode quite messy fashion]].
46* Zombies generally have a soft spot for being mooks. In [[Literature/TheGardenOfSinners the fifth movie of ''The Garden of Sinners'']], it gets even worse than that. Simply put? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBrWcKIteAo&NR=1&fmt=22 Ryougi Shiki is a human wheat thresher.]]
47* Anyone below lieutenant rank in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'''s Soul Society arc, and any Arrancar other than the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Espada]] in the Arrancar arc. The Espadas' direct subordinates are EliteMooks.
48* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Every [[MonsterOfTheWeek witch]] that we see the labyrinth of has minions. Said minions utterly fail to be any kind of threat, and [[AllThereInTheManual secondary material]] indicates most of them weren't really designed for combat anyway.
49** The only threat every familiar poses, is that when left alone outside a barrier long enough, they turn into exact copies of the witch that was originally their boss.
50* ''Manga/FairyTail'': Appear later in the series courtesy of the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil being somewhat inverted: the early threats simply don't have enough manpower to field armies of FacelessGoons - unlike the Baram Alliance dark guilds and the kingdom of Edolas. As a result, mooks are treated as a reasonably credible threat and may sometimes overpower the heroes through sheer numbers.
51* ''Manga/SgtFrog'': All the members of the Shurara Corps aside from Shurara himself.
52* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': It's a running gag to discover that the various disguised underlings of Tatewaki and Kodachi are actually the faculty of Furinkan High School. When questioned about this by the protagonists, they invariably claim that Principal Kuno threatened with giving them the boot if they didn't participate the scatterbrained schemes of his children.
53* Appear irregularly in the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' series:
54** The Sunackeys/Snackeys of the Desert Apostles from ''Anime/HeartCatchPrettyCure'' are the first mooks to appears in the series. They are revealed to be living sand housed in a full body suit, making them literal punching bags for the heroines to wail on.
55** The Choarks of the Phantom Empire from ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure!''. Jumbo-sized Choarks called Saiarks are the MonsterOfTheWeek of the season.
56** The Nottoreis from ''Anime/StarTwinklePrettyCure'' are noteworthy because, unlike pretty much every other enemy organization on this series, the Notraiders eschew summoning monsters in lieu of employing armies of mooks to attack the heroines. The exception is Aiwarn, who can summon monsters, but only if she has a Star Princess pen.
57

Top