Summary
- Anime fans can explore the mecha genre through accessible and available content from the past, covering a range of current issues and societal themes.
- SSSS Dynazenon and Promare are recent mecha anime that offer unique storytelling, visually stunning animation, and compelling characters.
- Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection are also highly recommended for their engaging narratives, political intrigue, and significant contributions to the genre.
As one of the oldest and most prolific genres of animated entertainment, there's no shortage of great mecha anime for fans to enjoy. There's so much great mecha anime content - dating back to the mid-20th century - that fans looking to deep dive into the genre might feel overwhelmed by the diversity of choices. However, one of the easiest ways to explore the genre is to watch the most accessible and available content and use that as a springboard for a more thorough exploration.
Fortunately, there is plenty of available and accessible mecha anime content to explore. On the one hand, the content adheres to the classic idea of mech, robots so fully integrated into human society that they are almost taken for granted. On the other hand, many mech anime take into and address contemporary sensibilities about a range of current issues, from gender equality to sexual identity, racism to technological creep.
10 SSSS.Dynazenon Brings Super Sentai Action to the Mecha Genre
Production Studio: Studio Trigger
The Gridman series is the most interesting new mecha anime franchise to have come out in years. SSSS Dynazenon, which is the second series in the franchise, follows the story of high school student Yomogi Asanaka who along with three other people he previously never knew, is tasked with operating a giant mecha to fight an equally large kaiju monster threatening their city.
With elements of Ultraman - whose creators are one of the producers of the series - and classic super sentai, SSSS Dynazenon is a great series to explore the newer trends in mecha anime.
9 Full Metal Panic Brings Real Warfare Consequences to Mecha Battles
Production Studio: Gonzo (season 1), Kyoto Animation (The Second Raid), Xebec (Invisible Victory)
Full Metal Panic is an anime series that dates back to 2002 but has had many new entries over the years, with the most recent being Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory in 2018. The series revolves around an independent military organization known as Mithril, who use mecha designed by those with special gifts, known as Whispered.
The series' protagonist, Sousuke Sagara, is a former child soldier, and Fullmetal Panic often deals with the trauma that comes with such a difficult background. Sagara's relationship with Whispered girl Kaname Chidori gives the series a solid core beyond fighting.
8 Promare Thrives on Its Characters
Production Studio: Trigger
The fact that Promare was created by the makers of the stellar mecha anime Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann should be enough to convince any fan of the genre that it’s worth watching. There’s also the fact that it's the first full-length animated feature release from Studio Trigger – the makers of well-received works like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
While the story of a band of heroes courageously taking out an existential threat is nothing new, the characters who make up the team in Promare are truly worthy of the viewer's attention. Studio Trigger’s ultra-stylized format is mesmerizing and almost makes it worth viewing alone.
7 Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Throws Size and Scale Out the Window
Production Studio: Gainax
Gurren Lagann is an absolutely insane anime series by Gainax, masters of insane mecha series. The story follows Simon and Kamina, two humans who live underground and are desperate to see the surface. After making their way up there, they discover the surface is a dangerous place overrun by beastmen who pilot mecha known as gunmen. Simon and Kamina steal one for themselves and thus begin the fight for the surface.
Gurren Lagann is well known for going beyond the absurd, with its mecha being some of the largest ever in any anime series.
6 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Offers a Female-Focused Mecha Series
Production Studio: Sunrise
No franchise has been more influential in the development of mecha anime than Mobile Suit Gundam. It revolutionized the idea of human-piloted mecha, rather than autonomous mecha working alongside a human partner. The Witch from Mercury flips the script by featuring an autonomous mecha that is powered by the a human soul.
In addition, in keeping with Mobile Suit Gundam’s revolutionary tendencies, The Witch from Mercury also introduces the first female lead role as well as Gundam's first suggested same-sex romantic relationship. All this wrapped in a compelling Mobile Suit Gundam story makes it a great all-around mecha anime series.
5 Darling in the Franxx Puts Romance Front and Center Alongside Its Mechas
Production Studio: Trigger
Studio Trigger's first take on mecha anime is Darling in the Franxx, a show that packs in everything a mecha anime fan could ask for. Debuting in 2018, Darling in the Franxx became one of the year's most talked about anime. It follows child prodigy Hiro and his partner, Zero Two, a human hybrid created specifically for piloting mecha in defense of humanity.
Darling in the Franxx has a heavy romance element to it, something that's definitely a little unusual for the mecha genre in general, but the development of Hiro and Zero Two's relationship makes the core of the show's character development.
4 Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection Finds a New Direction for a Classic
Production Studio: Sunrise
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection has all the elements of a must-see mecha anime. It’s a continuation of the Code Geass' three-part films, which reinterprets the original Code Geass anime series, one of the most popular mecha anime of its era.
However, the most important reason to watch the film now is to prepare for the Code Geass: Z of the Recapture. While little is known about the highly anticipated new anime, rumors suggest it might continue the timeline established in the films. As such, Re;surrection will provide the necessary background and context for the new anime.
3 Mobile Suite Gundam: The Origin - The Advent of the Red Comet Retells Gundam's Genesis
Production Studio: Sunrise
One issue with a franchise as large as Mobile Suit Gundam is that fans get so caught up in the numerous alternate stories that it’s easy to forget where it all started. The Advent of the Red Comet returns to the original by telling it from a different perspective, namely that of a young Char Aznable as he watches the transformation of Zeon into a military powerhouse.
As Mobile Suit Gundam is required viewing for mecha anime fans, Red Comet gives a summarized introduction to the franchise that can be used as a base to explore its copious side tales.
2 Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time Gives a New Ending to a Genre Staple
Production Studio: Studio Khara
The influence of Neon Genesis Evangelion on the mecha genre can’t be overstated. As such, it is essential viewing for anyone interested in understanding and enjoying the mecha anime experience. However, it’s not a story that its creator has made easy for fans to understand.
Evangelion 3.0 +1.0 Thrice Upon A Time is the perfect anime to get a taste of what the Evangelion franchise is about without too much time investment. Diehard fans will love it as a coda to the original series. New viewers, though, get a compelling, self-contained story with enough questions to explore the franchise deeper.
1 86 - Eighty Six Presents a Deep Story with Complex Characters
Production Studio: A-1 Pictures
A common critique of mecha anime is that it tends to emphasize action to the detriment of story and characters, but that's not the case for 86 - Eighty Six. While it offers plenty of eye-popping action, fights are not the rule. Rather, the action is more often used to the compelling, heavily character-based story of the manipulation of the “Eight Six,” a minority in the Republic of San Magnolia who are forced to pilot mecha to fight the drones of their enemies. However, things change when the leader of an Eighty Six squad decides to help them.
86 - Eighty Six's compelling characters and astonishing action sequences come together to help make it the best mecha anime that can be easily watched at the moment.
