YMMV / Mech Cadets

• Angst? What Angst?: While there is a lot of build-up to The Reveal that the Hero Force units are powered by the core of a Robo General Park had murdered instead of repaired once the secret is out no one but Ava seems to care all that much. The Mech Cadets get over it in one scene and even the Robos, who should by all accounts be shocked by this horrific betrayal of trust from humanity's side, show no visible reaction to it.
• So Okay, It's Average: Overall reception of the show seems to be neutral to positive, with the general consensus being that it's neither offensively bad nor groundbreaking. Many reviewers state that while premise and characters are a bit on the generic side, it's a solid, fun cartoon to watch at least.
• They Copied It, So It Sucks!:
  • The show has gotten some flack from Voltron fans, specifically fans of the most recent incarnation Voltron: Legendary Defender, who accused it of seemingly imitating the premise of teenagers being chosen by color-coded sentient Humongous Mecha to defend against an invading force from outer space.
  • Most of the show's detractors criticize that Mech Cadets doesn't really bring anything new to the mecha genre and seems mostly derivative of other works that have in some way made their mark, like the above mentioned Voltron or Pacific Rim.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Despite being confirmed as fully sentient, the Robos aren't given much character or personality aside from being loyal to their bonded humans. The fact that they can't talk (or at least not in a language the viewer can understand) doesn't help as while they presumably communicate with their pilots in some scenes the viewer only gets one half of the interaction.
• Unintentional Uncanny Valley: The animation on Mech Cadets is rough, to say the least, as per most Polygon Pictures projects. Most of the time it looks just fine but there are several characters whose facial expressions can come across as a bit too stilted to be natural and the movement on the background extras are pretty choppy. Dolly and Ava get it the worst, with the limited animation making it look like their faces are permanently frozen in an uncomfortable smile. The Robos aren't much better, often feeling weightless despite being Humongous Mecha, akin to Pacific Rim: The Black's treatment of the Jaegers and Kaiju.

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