With the ingredients of a standard sci-fi animated series, Mech Cadets almost shines with its thoughtful approach to grief, parental expectations, and self-discovery for its child-to-teen audience. From Stanford losing his father and his dream of being a pilot to Frank becoming a Robo pilot despite his prosthetic leg, the series tries to build something substantial beneath the generic giant mechas and alien antagonists. But with so many mecha/robot franchises coming to mind, the show has no distinctive qualities to stand apart. It's an overall straightforward animation that carries expected lessons on responsibility and teamwork, which kids will surely enjoy, that is, until the next Transformers-esque show is released. 

The racially diverse cast and the explicit inclusion of a disabled character are an immediate plus to this series. And because it's made for kids, the show chooses gray morality to ensure the goodness of these characters is always visible. But as the sum of its parts screams "mass appeal," the shiny rubbery CGI and the tired mecha storyline irrevocably harm any charm it could have had.