After watching the first look several times one thing bugs me: What is the place setting of Mechamato? Is it in Malaysia or another country?
Signs that it may be set in Malaysia:
- The road sign that Mechabot destroyed in a rage when fused with the trashcan has a golden hexagon highway shield, which is Malaysian
- The town where Amato transforms to fight the evil robots reminds me of Jalan Pudu with buildings of various shapes and sizes, and the railings. Though the architecture doesn't look particularly ethnic or colonial, but rather pretty 'neutral' to me. Definitely not Japanese because Japanese towns would be lined with flashy store signs. You can spot a public phone in the town especially at the end of the trailer, which may indicate that the events of Mechamato may take place decades in the past, like the 80s or 90s.
Signs that it may NOT be set in Malaysia:
- The architecture of the residential area resembles an American suburbia. The house is wooden but not stilted like a traditional Malay house; instead it has a porch that links directly to the street unlike Malaysian houses where a car porch and a front yard would grace the front. Not to mention the picket fence and what seems to be a garage - both foreign to Malaysia.
- In the Tok Aba clip, Amato prepares to school in casual wear which would be the norm in US, Canada and much of Europe, whereas in Malaysia almost all school kids wear uniforms. (But then I thought Amato may still be Malaysian but he moved overseas)
- In the first key art of Mechamato, you see the characters running past a snow-capped mountain with pine trees. Definitely not Malaysia.
Based on my findings, I predict that Mechamato will be set not in America, not in Malaysia either, but in a fictional country. Why? We've seen a lot of fictional planets in BoBoiBoy, and Pulau Rintis is fictional too, so why not a fictional country?
What do you think? Let me know in the comments ;)