MechWest Episodes 1-3 Review

I’ve watched many indie animations this year. One of my favorites is MechWest, which is streaming on YouTube. This indie action-adventure series is by David “Dave” Gallagher, and co-written by Clifford James Taylor and Noah Gallagher. It begins with a robot/mech, witnessing the death of its two compatriots. Soon, a spunky teenage girl named Pearl West (voiced by Natalie Rarick), finds this mech. She lives in a nearby town named Fort West, in the steampunk Wild West, where coal-powered mechs do many tasks. They are treated as trash by the locals who almost rely upon them as slaves. The “Wild West” shown in the series has four nations inspired by “real-life desert cultures.” The official website notes it is filled with “hucksters, cowboys, and adorable ‘mechs.'”

It is different from other animated depictions, like Spirit Riding Free, which follows the usual way that time period is shown. The 3D-animation is top notch, flows smoothly, and fits with music by Lukša V. Montana. Pearl is nice to all the mechs in town, checking up on them. She comes across people like a rancher (and her brother) named Pico (voiced by Luis Bermudez), who manages robotic cattle. She works with him and her dad, Reed (voiced by Greg Melton). Soon she becomes friends with the aforementioned mech. She names it “Six,” after the number atop the mech, skipping home with it. This makes the first episode/pilot even more compelling.

She gets Six through a sticky situation as Perajhan bandits attack. These air/sky pirates drop down from the sky on an airship and attack Fort West. Araxai and Hercai, who are voiced by Micah Mason and Felicia Valenti, lead these marauders. There are some nice fighting scenes. Their one goal is to spread their form of terror. This makes them different from other sky pirates in media, like the gang trying steal a certain necklace in the film Castle in the Sky. On other hand, they want to seize Six for reasons which aren’t altogether clear.

After they leave, the Sheriff, a Black man named Quinn (voiced by Darrell Brown), has to deal with angry townspeople. Quinn reminds me a little of Captain Quaid in Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, who is voiced by Reg E. Cathey. It is later revealed that Six is unique. Unlike other mechs, he doesn’t eat coal, but uses another power source instead. Pearl lies about Six, for justified reasons, in order to protect him. I wonder if the crystal which powers Six will end up breaking or something. If that happened, it would put them all in a big bind.

Lukša V. Montana is a classical composer, arranger, and pianist. He’s also known for shorts such as Let them talk and Magical Mishap.  Otherwise, Dave Gallagher and Clifford James Taylor are the first episode‘s writers. They are joined by Moroni Taylor and Noah Gallagher on story, and Galen Chu as animation supervisor. The second episode is co-written by Noah Gallagher and Clifford James Taylor. They are assisted by the aforementioned Taylor, Moroni Taylor, Eden Sanders, and Ian Gilbertson. The third episode is again co-written by Noah  and Clifford. Additionally, the aforementioned Dave, Noah, Ian, Moroni, and Clifford worked on the story.

Some of the show’s staff have experience in animation. For instance, Dave Gallagher worked on several of Pixar’s Ice Age films. Moroni Taylor storyboarded for Spies in Disguise. Others are relatively new, meaning this is their first animated series. Additional members of the staff, like Luis Bermudez and Brian Hull, voiced characters in Invincible Fight Girl, Young Love, and Zach in Time. In an interview, Dave Gallagher said he “worked at Blue Sky Studios for 11 years. I was a character development supervisor. I modeled, I rigged, I animated, and guided rigs into the animation department.” He further noted that Noah is his father, with Avatar: The Last Airbender as a shared inspiration, bleeding into this series. Already, MechWest has spawned fanart across social media.

In the second episode, Pearl joins the cattle drive, led by Pico, while keeping an eye on Six. Pico later helps save Pearl when she can’t stop the mech-cattle from going off a cliff. Later, Six convinces Pearl to fix a mech-cattle, which is damaged and hurt. Pico angrily demands that Six leave. Afterward, the mech joins the questionable salesperson, Casey McCroy (voiced by Truman Florence). At the same time, Mercai and Araxai lead the airship to confront Pico, Pearl, and others. They demand Pico and Pearl hand over Six. One of the best scenes is when these sky pirates tear the mech-cattle apart with spiders with saws. This horrifies Pico and Pearl, showing that they both, in their own way, see the mechs as more than just machines. This is a key theme in the series: mechs are more than just machines which do work, but have inherent value.

That episode then reveals what I noted earlier: Six runs on crystals rather than coal. Pearl and Pico try to pick up the pieces after Hercai had the mech-cattle murdered. Another great scene is when she begins to question herself (who wouldn’t after this?). Pico says he will do his best to understand why she likes mechs so much, especially Six.

This shows that he cares, deeply, about his sister. Their healthy sibling connection makes this series that much better. With both now on the same side again, they work together and find Six again. They soon have to escape a steam-powered snake (which the Perajhans released). It eats Six. This horrifies them especially Pearl.

The mech saves them all. by blowing apart the snake and when Hercai and the others find it, they vow to get revenge. In the final scenes, Six glitches, and they (Pico, Pearl, and Casey) begin their travel to a city named Headstone. The third episode ups the ante, with Pearl and Pico arrested, with a woman saying they are friends with a “conman.” Twelve hours earlier, as they travel ahead, Casey talks about his life as a traveling salesman. They travel through the rough town of Centureno. Not long after arriving, they meet Casey’s old friend, Jesse Carnutt (voiced by Abe Hegeweld), who says he raised him. There’s the implication his family abandoned him. Pearl protects Six from Casey, who wants to take him apart. He declares that Six running on a crystal could “revolutionize” the entire mech industry.

I do wonder if Casey’s declaration about the mech will come back in the future. After all, why do the sky pirates really want Six? Did they create him? Is a prototype? Is this the reason for his electrical “spasms”? I’m certain this will be revealed later, but for now, all we can do is speculate. Having those unanswered questions shows that this series has depth in that it isn’t just giving the audience the answers. Instead, they have to think about it. This doesn’t take away from how heartwarming this series is, at times.

Pearl cares about Six, unlike anyone else, even pushing to get Six’s arm. Casey acts just like Craig in Invincible Fight Girl, in that he is a shyster, trying to get a buck out of every interaction. He cons them into gambling so they pay him back. Although Pico and Pearl are not keen on this plan, Pearl says they “have to” pay him back (do they really?). It reminds me a little of an episode in Star Wars Resistance (“The Voxx Vortex 5000”) where they played in a rigged casino in hopes of gaining some extra cash.

Back to the MechWest episode, usual customers in the casino are skeptical of Casey. This included Abigail Gates (voiced by Gabriel Ashton Brown), who Pearl faces in a card game. Jesse hints to Casey at his true nature: he doesn’t travel with something he can’t sell. He seems to confirm Jesse is right and declares that he wants to get Six away from Pearl. In the process, he reveals to him the mech is valuable, intriguing him.

As the game continues and ragtime music plays, Pico becomes skeptical of what Jesse and Casey are saying to one another (he’s right to be wary). Then Casey betrays them. He declares he is the joint owner of Six and Abigail wins. Where’s Lisa, from My Dad the Bounty Hunter when you need her? If she was there, they certainly would have won. Anyway, Abigail takes Six away to Pearl’s horror. Later, Casey sees Mrs. Waxman, claims that Six is not valuable. While she is angry, he tries to calm her down by saying he has a proposition for her. He is threatened by a growling man (her son) named Timothy. She wants to take his mech in exchange, which worries him. He soon leaves behind Pico and Pearl, but does not know that Abigail tells Mrs. Waxman the “truth”: Six is valuable. Pico and Pearl are imprisoned.

The third episode’s final part is the best: Six pushes Casey to realize he is doing something wrong. He makes a momentous decision. He decides to go back and free Pearl and Pico, and fights with Jesse, who refuses to let him leave. Just as it seems he will fail, Six lights a nearby brush on fire, causing Jesse’s wagon to catch fire, and explode. While this infuriates him, he can do nothing as Casey and Six travel back to town. The situation for Pico and Pearl gets worse. The woman who “won” Six, Abigail, is the sheriff!

She imprisons Pico and Pearl without due process. Her character is symbolic of how corrupt this town is. When it all seems hopeless, Casey and Six come in to rescue them. Just as it seems they will escape, the mechs refuse to let them leave. After Pearl acts nice to them, they turn on Timothy and the others because he has been mean to/discriminatory toward them (he calls one a “hunk of junk”).

The mechs turn on Mrs. Waxman, Timothy and Krab, all of whom voiced by Brian Hull. Pearl, Pico, and Casey are able to take advantage of this situation and flee. Even the latter’s mech, Skip, assists him. Other people, within the casino, grab as much money as they can. Later, Casey apologizes, saying he used to look up to Jesse. He gives them supplies, thinking he will never see them again. He is surprised when Pearl praises him, saying he can come with them.

Pico agrees he can join them as long as Jesse leaves Six where he belongs: with Pearl. Six then reveals he stole money from the casino! This is an unexpected twist, although not completely unsurprising considering he can be crafty as a mech. After Pearl tells him to not make it a habit, Casey says to let him know if he does. Of course, Pearl is annoyed by this. Casey and Pearl really have nice chemistry between them.

A secondary plotline, i.e. a substory, of the episode centers on Reed West, Pearl’s father. He visits Cyrus Childs (voiced by Henry LeBlanc). Cyrus reminds me a bit of a plantation owner, with his lush house, a so-called “southern gentleman.” Reed tells him about the attack from the sky pirates on the frontier town of Fort West, hoping to get his help. Cyrus declares that Perajh is not a myth anymore. He stands in front of a map which looks similar to that of the U.S.

However, much of the land behind him, on the map, is named “Meridan.” Florida is comprised of an archipelago. The Atlantic and Pacific oceans have different names. Near Meridan are the lands of Perajh, in the area equivalent to the Guadalajara region of Mexico and southern California in the real world, and the Cheyenne region. Cyrus says he has communicated the issues to Governor Bascom. However, he laments that the latter did nothing. He says this could be because Northern cities have never been raided and do not see it as an issue. This substory expands the series world.

The episode curiously ends with someone named Soraya (voiced by Chloe Mei-li Bundt). She is walking across a desert, and clearly exhausted. She travels with a bird named Kawar, and aims to find the pirates, her motivations unknown. There’s always the possibility that Pearl and Casey may develop a romance between them. On the other hand, perhaps they will remain friends. On the topic of romance, it would be great to add some queer characters to the cast. I’ve said the same about other indie series, like Gods’ School before.

In fact, as Michael Bronski says in A Queer History of the United States (p. 42-43) that westward expansion was, for women, a release from “enforced gender restrictions” in the East. Mothers or wives did not confirm to “urban gender expectations,” even taking on jobs traditionally held by men, including running ranches and farms. Some even ran brothels. In fact, life on the western frontier was be sex-segregated. This created “homosocial communities and relationships,” especially between men. The latter was recorded in fiction and poetry of the time. There was less evidence for lesbian relationships is available possibly because women didn’t have access to publishing.

MechWest joins indie animations Lackadaisy and The Amazing Digital Circus, according the third episode description. The latter says Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jurassic Park: Camp Cretaceous, and Star Trek Prodigy fans will enjoy this indie series. The description further states that “people mostly compare the quality to Pixar and Disney Animation.” I can see how the series has some qualities of ATLA. Even so, this series is very different. Similarly, I understand how the animation quality of this series can be compared to other Pixar or Disney series. Apart from those I previously mentioned, I can’t think of any other comparisons apart from comparing it to Nomad of Nowhere. Furthermore, since MechWest is considered steampunk, I see some similar aesthetics in Korra and Disenchantment.

I liked how the third episode of MechWest had a short clip breaking the fourth wall and asking people to support more episodes! MechWest, which is produced by Animischool Studios, will undoubtedly go forward. There will be more crowdfunding. There was a statement on their website they are “currently in talks to bring the show to streaming services.” There’s plans for an eight-episode first season, with three of those eight episodes aired already, and up six seasons of six to eight episodes each. I look forward to what MechWest has to offer.

MechWest is currently streaming on YouTube.