I had a lot of expectations for Mechamato season 2. While the design of its villains and heroes is robust, its weaknesses in storytelling are more prominent this time.

Monsta put a lot of effort into designing the villain of the week, Mechamato’s various armour modes and the weapons that he wields. They all look good, and I hope Monsta makes toys out of them soon.

Still, it could not hide the flaws in the show’s writing.

My issues with this season come from the lack of forward momentum. The heroes never change, while the villains become more powerful. The story looks like it tries to take a step forward in the first few episodes and does try to take a step forward in the two-part season finale, but it’s predictable and a little too late.

Repeating themes, repeating villains, and episodes that clearly could have been shorter are usually minor issues, but when the story is stagnant, they stand out. The exaggerated facial expression of the characters look more horrific than the overused horror theme, and popular culture-themed episodes will not age well.

Additionally, I think the story’s setting, a contemporary small Malaysian town, doesn’t work. Things will make more sense if Mechamato is set in a slightly futuristic small Malaysian town where robots are typical. This could perhaps establish the human and robot relationship in Mechamato.

Right now, it is all a bit confusing. Amato, a middle school kid, is the judge, jury, executioner, and rehabilitator of all the captured robots, and they call him master. The power dynamic here is messy.

I am also unsure if Mecha is a robot since his design is so different from the other robots, and he acts like a biological creature. He’s the only round robot, likes eating food, and is affected by smells and loud noises.

That said, Mehamato season 2 has its moments, especially at the beginning and end. Once again, the design variaty is excellent, and the use of slowdown is masterful. I hope to see better story progression in season 3 and more Mechamato toys released.