Highlights
- Mecha anime spans decades and evolves, introducing influential elements like combining robots and pilot-controlled giants.
- Series like
Tetsujin-28-go, Mazinger Z,
and
Getter Robo
pioneered the genre, shaping modern Mecha anime conventions. - Shows like
Patlabor, Mobile Suit Gundam,
and
Code Geass
introduced mature themes, political intrigue, and character-driven stories.
When it comes to anime, it often seems like there are as many different genres as there are stars in the sky. There’s an anime genre out there for everyone, even people who say they don’t like anime. One of the oldest and most popular anime genres has to be Mecha; series centered around giant robots typically piloted by humans.
It might sound like a simple premise, but the genre has evolved a lot over the years. While even the most casual fans have likely heard of Mobile Suit Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion, there have been hundreds of Mecha anime series released over the years. With so much history in one genre, it’s fascinating to try to pick out the anime that have had the most influence. This isn’t to say these are the best mecha anime. Honestly, some of them are a little rough by today’s standards, but they introduced elements that were later picked up by the genre’s heavy hitters.
10 Tetsujin-28-Go (1963)
Mecha’s Robotic Roots
|
Release Date |
October 1963 |
|---|---|
|
No. of Episodes |
96 |
|
Studio |
Eiken |
|
Streaming Services |
N/A |
First released way back in 1963, Tetsujin-28-go told the story of a young boy, Jimmy Sparks, and his flying, giant robot friend, Gigantor. Created by Mitutseru Yokoyama, there have been various incarnations of the anime over the years, and its impact on the Mecha anime genre is hard to deny.
Arguably the first giant-robot series, it set the stage for all later giant-robot shows, including Mecha anime. Since Jimmy controls Gigantor with a remote control, rather than piloting him directly,, many fans don’t consider the show to technically be a Mecha anime. However, as the genre’s great grandaddy, it introduced popular tropes, like a fascination with criminal organizations and children controlling giant robots, that persisted long after its run concluded.
9 Mazinger Z (1972)
Mecha’s First Pilots
|
Release Date |
December 1972 |
|---|---|
|
No. of Episodes |
92 |
|
Studio |
Toei Animation |
|
Streaming Services |
Crunchyroll |
If Tetsujin-28-go was the precursor to modern Mecha anime, then Mazinger Z could arguably be described as the first proper Mecha anime (although some genre fans might want to split hairs on that claim). Mazinger Z was the first giant robot anime to feature a mecha with a human pilot, a staple of the genre today. Does it make sense that giant, super-advanced, and often sentient robots need a meat bag to pilot them? Not really, but it’s a vital part of the genre nonetheless.
The show introduced other genre tropes too, including the classic “mid-season replacement” trope that has cost toy-buying parents so dearly. Mazinger Z also birthed its own incredibly successful franchise, full of spin-off manga, video games, and other anime shows. Some of these have become important in their own right, like Shin Mazinger Zero, one of the best Seinen Mecha manga ever released.
8 Getter Robo (1974)
Robots Joining Together, Literally
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Release Date |
April 1974 |
|---|---|
|
No. of Episodes |
51 |
|
Studio |
Toei Animation |
|
Streaming Services |
N/A |
The 1970s were a really influential time for the fledgling Mecha genre. In 1972, Mazinger Z introduced the concept of a piloted mecha, and just two years later, Getter Robo evolved that idea further. This anime was the first to have a team of heroes piloting individual robots that could combine into one single mecha.
Getter Robo’s combining robots helped define the Mecha genre. An obvious example would be Voltron, but other later anime like Mobile Suit Gundam, usually known for being more realistic, incorporated the idea of combining robots as well. The show’s influence even extends outside of anime, and its footprint on shows like Super Sentai (Power Rangers in the West) is clear.
7 Macross: Do You Remember Love? (1984)
The Beginning Of Big Budget Anime
|
Release Date |
July 1984 |
|---|---|
|
Runtime |
1h 55min |
|
Studio |
Tatsunoko Production |
|
Streaming Services |
N/A |
The original Macross is an underrated Mecha anime more people should watch. It has a reputation for being a little generic, but it actually introduced a fair bit to the genre. It had plenty of mecha action, but blended it with an emphasis on music and romance, as well as being one of the first transforming robot anime. The love triangle at its center added emotional depth and showed that Mecha anime could be about more than giant robots beating the snot out of each other.
Even more influential, arguably, was its film adaptation, Macross: Do You Remember Love? Its title might be a little cringeworthy, but the film was huge. Rather than going down the traditional (and cheap) compilation route, the studio made an original film, featuring eye-wateringly beautiful hand-drawn animation. The film cost 400 million yen, which was unheard of at the time, and proved that Mecha anime and anime in general were worthy of such a huge budget. Macross also showed that Mecha anime could be serious, something that influenced the likes of Code Geass and Evangelion.
6 Patlabor: The Mobile Police (1989)
A Mecha Cop Show
Before Patlabor came along in 1989, Mecha anime had largely been focused on taking down larger-than-life threats, like alien invasions and giant monsters. Patlabor was so influential because it was one of the first to put the mecha in a slightly more mundane setting.
The series is set in a world where mecha are used for everyday tasks, but criminals have begun to take advantage of the powerful machines, known as Labors. The police have responded by introducing their own mecha, Patrol Labors. The series follows Izumi as she joins a mecha unit to battle criminal conspiracies, workplace revolts, and occasional monsters. A blend of procedural drama, character-driven stories, and plenty of social commentary, Patlabor was a more “grown-up” mecha anime that helped prove the genre wasn’t just for kids and could have something important to say.
5 Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)
Anime For Grown Ups
There can be no discussion about influential Mecha anime without mentioning the original Mobile Suit Gundam. When most people think about anime with massive mecha, Gundam is usually one of the first franchises that comes to mind. The show was so revolutionary that it almost failed and was canceled after just 43 episodes due to low ratings. Thankfully, a collection of compilation films revitalized interest in the anime, leading to its eventual stardom.
Gundam had a more realistic approach to mecha. Rather than robot superheroes, they were just another tool of war. The show’s story was surprisingly complex and full of political intrigue and moral ambiguity. This more adult-oriented focus may have initially hurt the show’s ratings, but it helped inspire later anime like Patlabor and Macross as well as modern heavy hitters like Code Geass and Evangelion. The Gundam franchise itself also grew into an absolute powerhouse full of films, shows, and iconic toy lines that has grossed nearly $26.5 billion.
4 Voltron (1984)
A Hit In America
|
Release Date |
September 1984 |
|---|---|
|
No. of Episodes |
124 |
|
Studio |
Toei Animation, World Events Production |
|
Streaming Services |
Crunchyroll |
Calling Voltron influential might be a little controversial. On paper, it doesn’t really stand out, and it didn’t add anything to the Mecha anime genre that fans hadn’t seen before. Its biggest selling point, mecha joining together to form the iconic Voltron, had already been done ten years prior with Getter Robo.
But Voltron was influential; not artistically, but commercially. The 1984 Voltron series was hugely important in introducing all anime, not just Mecha anime, to Western audiences, and paved the way for other imports of Japanese anime. It’s also widely held to be the anime that really popularized the whole combining mecha trope, even if it had been done before. Voltron made the mecha genre popular on a global scale while proving the commercial viability of anime outside of Asia.
3 Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (2000)
Revitalized The Genre In The West
|
Release Date |
March 2000 |
|---|---|
|
No. of Episodes |
49 |
|
Studio |
Sunrise |
|
Streaming Services |
Crunchyroll |
This entry comes with a bit of a caveat. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is an influential Mecha anime in the West, but it never really took off in Japan, at least not compared to other entries in the franchise. The reason is that by 2000, interest in Mecha anime had waned in the West, but it was just as popular as ever back home.
The show aired on Toonami and was one of its most popular early series. The show had awesome mecha designs, excellent character development, and a compelling story that followed Heero Yuy and his fellow pilots after they crash-land on Earth. The show didn’t really add anything new to the genre as a whole, but is responsible for turning Gundam into the mega franchise that it is today, with its success leading Cartoon Network to invest in several more Gundam series and endless toy lines.
2 Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Rebellion (2006)
A Modern Classic
Released in 2006, Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Rebellion will soon be old enough to drink. Compared to a good deal of other anime of the era, it has aged remarkably well, and is still one of the most popular Mecha anime around. It’s also considered one of the best sci-fi anime ever made.
Code Geass is the ultimate evolution of the idea of “Mecha anime for adults.” It has great mecha action sequences, but the focus is really on mature themes like politics, the nature of violence, and rich character development. Centered around a rebellion, the anime’s story focuses heavily on anti-totalitarian views and the moral ambiguity of the show’s protagonist. That protagonist, Lelouch, is one of the best that anime has ever produced, and inspired later, morally complex heroes in anime. Code Geass also proved that successful mecha anime shows could be accessible to newcomers, unlike shows like Gundam and Macross, which have tons of baggage.
1 Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)
The Experimental Mecha Anime
Was Neon Genesis Evangelion as revolutionary as some fans like to claim? That’s up for debate, but its impact on other anime is impossible to deny. Released in 1995, many anime fans view Evangelion as an anime that deconstructs the Mecha genre. While many older Mecha anime glorified the brutal action of their shows, Neon Genesis cared more about the psychological trauma inflicted upon the child heroes forced to fight for humanity’s future.
Neon Genesis’ storytelling was ambitious, grim, and aimed squarely at adults. It was a bold choice considering it was released during a time when anime was still widely considered as TV for kids in the West. The series explored themes like existentialism and mental health and asked serious philosophical questions of its viewers. Evangelion’s massive success meant that other anime began mimicking its storytelling style to boot. Unfortunately, this hasn’t always been a good thing. Neon Genesis Evangelion also popularized the habit of making it next to impossible to work out which parts of an anime franchise are considered “canon” and which aren’t.
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