The next page is a crossover arc with The Story of a Droid. If you haven't read Droid yet, I would highly recommend doing so first. Preferably up to at least Droid #7, to familiarize yourself with the characters. You can also read to Droid #8 and then transition directly into the x-over arc over there.
If you would prefer skipping ahead to the next Banshee arc (Records #1) instead, click here.
Finally done. Had this on the back burner for a while since I was really not looking forward to coming up with equivalent terms for all the technical gobbledygook.
Hope these work, but I'm open for any suggestions for improvement.
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The MBU-verse uses the term 機動戦車 ("Mobile/Manoeuver Combat Vehicle", "Mobile Tank", "Machine-Motion-Fight-Chariot") for walkers and mechs. In some of the comics this is just shortened to 戦車 ("Combat Vehicle", "Tank"), especially if a character is talking colloquially (where an English speaker would also be likely to use a shortened term).
Obviously calling it a "tank" in the English translation is right out as it invites unnecessary confusion (the Japanese term is also deceptive but not as jarring). So, "combat vehicle", but now this doesn't shorten to anything sensible in English. So I took a good long stare at 機動 ("Mobile", "Maneuver"), broke it down to its individual component kanji (機・動, "Machine-Motion"), then came up with Mechanambulatory ("Machine-Walking", "Walks-by-machine") as a substitute, which also intuitively shortens to Mech as we all know and love.
I briefly considered using MCV as the short term (which would also be funny to anybody who have played the C&C series), but wound up just picking the intuitive Mech instead.
There is another term, 拡張機動戦車 ("Expanded/Augmented Mobile Combat Vehicle"). This seems to (I'm just inferring things, this is not made explicit) refer to mechs with actual arms (what Danbooru calls mecha) instead of just legs and cockpit mounted weapons (AKA what Danbooru calls walkers). I used Augmented Mechanambulatory Combat Vehicle for this, which also shortens nicely to AugMech.
(Side note, AMCV and AugMCV don't sound as good.)
The characters will also often shorten 拡張機動戦車 to just 機動戦車 or 戦車, similar to how an English speaker would shorten names.
NegativeSoul said:
Kinda like the idea of having an extra leg serve more as a protect measure for the vulnerable joints of the main legs.
Rathurue said:
That's not extra leg. It's quite essentially like a stilts you wear on your knees, but armored to 11.
TenguerecheBionico said:
Me thought they were shin armor. Y'know in case of giant desks xD
Those are "hover units". Probably produces some sort of air cushion to lighten the mech and make it more maneuverable, instead of going all the way and actually making it actually hover. Or maybe it's some kind of Maglev system with the same function.
Though, yeah, probably also double as ablative armor.
Reading the kanji in a different way (if it were a Gundam vehicle) will give you "...expanded mobile tank..", but... yeah. Needed to come up with another term that also happens to fit the kanji.
