Anime Innovative Anime Arsenals

[The Tentacle]

If you're a fan of the sci-fi space operas series you've probably noticed certain trends in weaponry that crop up in those sorts of settings.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  Stereotypical stuff that seems to be standard issue with space battleships and giant robots.  Yet after so many years they're still cool.  I guess you can call them "classics".  

Then there weapon designs that are so original you think to yourself "Darn, I wish I'd have thought of that." They might be designs that as based on scientific fact that give them an air of credibility or they could be a total flight of fancy that still comes off looking awesome on screen.  This thread is about all the cool toys that shoot, cut or explode and why they stand out in our minds.  Here are my picks:

[b]Beam Cannon[/b] - aka the "Main Gun".  There's one of these on just about every battleship in every sci-fi series you can think of.  But despite their commonality there's always that sort of excitement that builds when they're charged up to deliver the final blow that wins the battle.  Whether it's Angel Links Cherubim Cannon, Wing Zero's Buster Rifle or even the Kamehameha Wave the big guns have a timeless style of their own.

[b]Beam Saber[/b] - They are as much a staple of the Gundam franchise as they are of Star Wars.  Simple yet elegant, an energy beam you wield like a sword.  The newer series have kept this concept fresh by adding new twists on the original such as beam scythes, beam bayonettes on the end of rifles, beam claws that would make Wolverine jealous and all manner of other energy-based cutlery.  They even come in a wide assortment of colors.

[b]Homing Lasers[/b] - I'm sure there's someone out there with a sound theory as to how these things work but as for me, I'm clueless.  These are basically lasers that somehow bend in mid-delivery.  You've all probably seen these. Giant warships unleash a salvo of laserfire from every gunport they have.  You'd think only the ones being aimed directly towards the target would work but no, even the lasers being aimed straight up somehow curve to fire in the same direction as the rest.  Weird but cool concept.

[b]Holonic Armor[/b] - This is a pretty cool concept from the Zegapain series.  Armor made of solid energy.  Basically a forcefield their robots wear on their bodies instead of surrounding them like a bubble.  It not only protects the frame but can also be reshaped into blades and guns.  Plus it just looks damn cool.  

[b]Saw Blade[/b] - While beam sabers are cool for futuristic robots the modern day equivalents are usually restricted to giant versions of the samb blades soldiers wield.  I have to give a solid nod to Full Metal Panic for equipping their Arm Slaves with knives that had built-in chainsaw blades.  What looks like a serrated edge is actually a rotating saw blade.  How freaking cool is that?

[b]Molly Wire[/b] - From Adam Warren's version of the Dirty Pair manga comes the monofilament (molly) wire.  It's a spool of wire that's so thin it's practically one-dimensional.  It wire is suspended in an inert gas that's vented from the knife's handle and lit with a laser.  The wire could be unspooled to different lengths, making it a sword or a knife as needed.  And the dimensions of the wire were so small it could practically cut through just about anything with little or no effort behind the swing.

[b]Type 2902 Therm/Optic Camouflage[/b] - The members of Section Nine in Ghost In The Shell utilized this nifty stealth technology.  It bends the light around their bodies, making them invisible.  That's pretty well-known stuff but in the manga it was stated that the Type 2902 could even disperse the wearer's weight, effectively eliminating their footprints.  

[b]Titan Blade[/b] - The signature weapon of Sechs from Battle Angel Alita: Last Order.  It features two large chisel-point blades with serrated edges that were forged from "crystalized titanium".  I'm not even sure if it's possible to crystalize a metal but it sure sounds durable to me.

Edited August 3, 2010 by The Tentacle

[Gavin]

[font="Tahoma"][size="2"][b]Mecha-sized drills[/b] - Whether from Mazinger, Getter Robo, Gurren Lagann, GaoGaiGar or Megas XLR a gigantic mounted drill weapon always looks awesome. Bonus points in that a combat drill would be a prime weapon to punch/chew through enemy armour with little resistance.[/size][/font]

[Delta]

[COLOR=#35425e]Ooh how about those [b]morphing/upgrading weapons[/b]? Like Haru Glory's Ten Commandments Sword in [i]Rave Master[/i] or Cloud Strife's Fusion Sword in the movie. Amazing concept, not to mention they make room for a few [i]deus ex machina[/i].[/COLOR] Edited August 5, 2010 by Delta

[The Tentacle]

I can't believe I forgot about giant robo-drills.     Anyway, a few more:

[b]Progressive Knife[/b] - The standard-issue blade used by the Evangelion.  Some sort of apparatus built into the handles (a sonic pulse generator I think) caused the blade to vibrate, thereby increasing its cutting ability.  Very innovatite concept here that I really like.

[b]Smart Lasers[/b] - A step up from standard homing lasers.  These were featured in Vandread as the Nirvana's primary weaponry later in the series.  They not only homed in on enemies but also curved in mid-flight to avoid striking allied ships.  

[b]Nano Mist Shield - [/b]From Kiddy Grade.  Nanotechnology was used for a variety of purposes in this series.  The coolest of which was the NMS.  Nanomachines suspended in an inert gas gathered in such high concentrations that they actually formed a solid barrier that was utilized much like a standard force field.

I'll think of a few more eventually.