My 5 Favorite Mecha Anime and Why They're the Best

[Hayden_Russell]

My 5 Favorite Mecha Anime and Why They're the Best

The mecha genre is pretty big, but here are our top 5 picks for the best robot action!

Read Full Article

 

[Zontar]

*Goes in hoping Macross made the list*
*Sees Robotech did*

I'm sorry it's just, Macross is just so much better then Robotech. Just comparing the parts that they have that overlap (the 36 episodes of Macross and first 36 episodes of Robotech) the story is just better handled in Macross and the main character isn't an asshole. Plus there isn't that stupid narrator who gives away the damn ending to the season every time he speaks. That narrator is second only to Legends of the Galactic Heroes.

The comparison only gets worst if you extend it to the franchises as a whole. Robotechs two other arcs or seasons or whatever you want to call them are just weak, with it's second only being better then Southern Cross by virtue of that anime being downright garbage. Add to that the spinoffs that has Macross still be a decent and active IP to this day (Macross Delta is coming next year, yay!) and the great movies and series that people like that had one entry so good (Macross Plus) that it got release in North America despite the bullshit Harmony Gold interpretation as to the meaning of their distribution deal that would never hold up if appealed on jurisdictional overreach grounds alone, to say nothing of the lunacy of the interpretation itself.

Also, no love for Martian Successor Nadesico? That show was great. Movie was terrible but the show was great.

 

[0hnoes]

Also, no love for Martian Successor Nadesico? That show was great. Movie was terrible but the show was great.

Nadesico and Gurren Lagann IMHO.

Nadesico the movie was ok I thought. A completely different tone from the TV series, but not quite as bad as many other anime tv series movies.

 

[The Wykydtron]

No Gurren Lagann or Code Geass? Maybe Code Geass is more hit or miss to some people, you could maybe argue it's a character centric drama very similar to Death Note with the whole dual protagonist thing that happens to have mechas in it instead of just a mecha anime?

Kinda why I like top 10s over top 5s, especially in this case where you HAVE to include obvious classics like Evangelion or Gundam so it's actually a top 3.

Why no Gurren Lagann tho...

 

[kris40k]

Nadesico and Gurren Lagann IMHO.

*looks at avatar*

Oh really?

Anyways. I loved Gurren Lagann, but calling it a great Mecha anime would be like calling Kill La Kill a great Magic Girl anime or Airplane a great disaster movie. All three are mocking their respective genres.

Edit: Satire. Satire is the word I was looking for, not mocking.

 

[MerlinCross]

Eva and Gundam made the list because of course they did. Gundam I'll side with but Eva, the series that seems to get rewritten like every few years or so? I just can't see why people get into this, even though they are some of my favorites to use in SRW games.

 

[Tono Makt]

Eva and Gundam made the list because of course they did. Gundam I'll side with but Eva, the series that seems to get rewritten like every few years or so? I just can't see why people get into this, even though they are some of my favorites to use in SRW games.

I hate the original Eva.

I HATE the original Eva.

I HATE THE ORIGINAL EVA.

But.

I also respect the original Eva. I respect the influence it has had, I respect the effort that went into it, and I respect what they were trying to accomplish. I still hate the original Eva with the sort of insane passion that led me to binge-watch the entire series in less than a day for the sole purpose of screaming at my friend who told me it was the best Anime ever WITH actual scenes to back up why I hated it so much.

So I would put Eva up there too, even though I hate the original Eva.

Personally, one of my favourite Mecha-Anime's is somewhat like Eva but in many ways one I feel is superiour to Eva; RahXephon. It didn't try to reach the heights that Eva reached for, but it didn't fall as flat as Eva did either - essentially, IMO RahXephon did Eva "right". But that being said, I still think Eva deserves to be on the list more than RahXephon would because Eva did try to reach for something greater, and in doing so it influenced others after it, even if Eva itself turned into a spectacular failure.

 

[Tanis]

Turn-A Gundam > MSG: 0079 >

Vision of Escaflowne needs some love as well.

 

[Subbies]

Those are strange ways of writing Big O

 

[Zetatrain]

You mentioned Robotech instead of Macross......but you listed Gundam as number 1 so I'll let you off easy this time.

Ok, in all seriousness I don't hate it as it was one of the first shows that got me into mecha anime and anime in general, though it goes without saying that Macross fans are sick of Harmony Gold.

 

[Tanis]

Personally, I think the original Gundam is a tad overrated.

Sure, the movies a pretty damn good, but the original series?

Eh, it DRAGS for a large part of the middle, and most of the characters don't become 'interesting' until either other series or late in the game.

Plus, Amaro is just an annoying brat for most it.
He's the 80s version of Shinji.