When it comes to mecha anime series, it’s pretty much a given that I like them as they were what I was initially exposed to when it came to Robotech and Macross. These were the big boys of the 80’s but their influence waned over the years, though they have been a key part to what many animators and creators grew up with as well that are working in the trenches today, so there are some real beauties that continue to get made. While I absolutely adore the Macross mecha elements and they are for me the cornerstone of my education to that particular sub genre, they’re not exactly the pieces that I’d draw out when talking about the best mecha series out there. Like the other challenges, there is originally just one question with the overall big picture, but we’ll again break it down a bit to talk about a variety of shows that are worth having the title best of.
Best Overall Mecha Series
While Macross is my cornerstone, the Universal Century Gundam series and OVAs are what really took it to a whole other level and made it into a sprawling storyline about so many characters, so many mecha types and intense amounts of politics and intrigue. The original TV series had a shoddy release here but the movies were those rare types that show that compilations can be done well and better than a TV series. My first introduction to Gundam was through 0080: War in the Pocket and that made me an instant fan as it dealt with a fascinating side story to the One Year War and the subsequent fallout from it. There’s such a rich tapestry to this original storyline that went through Z Gundam ZZ Gundam, F91 and even the usually derided but I like it 0083: Stardust Memories OVA. With the return of the UC calendar with Gundam Unicorn, it’s like being a kid all over again in reminding me of just how great these series can be.
Best OVA Mecha Series
Old school wins out here again with Gunbuster taking the nod. This series was one of my early introductions to Gainax after Wings of Honneamise and it totally blew me away with how they started out with a simple little high school style comedy, playing up the tropes easily enough, and then went into such a huge scale yet kept it amazingly personal. It was creative, inventive and has not been replicated in the slightest since then. This is when I discovered the kind of storytelling that I adore and made me a die-hard fan of Gainax and their ability to pull the rug out from under you when you least expect it.
Most Epic Mecha Series
Which, of course, is why the best of the modern shows is also the most epic as we see Gurren Lagann rise to the top here. With its start in similar territory, working in a small underground place with a fringe group of human survivors after the world had ended for quite some time, it proceeds to tell an intense and over the top story of brotherhood and friends and doing what’s right that leads to a universe-wide conflict that just keeps pushing and pushing. Every ounce of this show is infused with such passion, such energy and such amazing mecha designs and combinations that it’s incredibly intoxicating to watch it unfold.
Best Unloved Mecha Series
While this show has gotten little love, Zegapain proved to be the series that could do great things and go unnoticed. Done with a nod towards The Matrix to a large degree, it gave us a world in which what we saw wasn’t real and when the reality arrived, those who could see it had to do their best to defend it with great looking mecha designs and a real sense of style to it that kept it from seeming like it was just more of the same. Zegapain was the kind of series when it came out in that you found some very passionate fans watching it, but it never caught on. It has so much going for it, tells such a great story with some very neat hooks and tricks to make the virtual reality world possible, all while tying in videogame playing and giant mecha with an end of the world storyline. It’s still one of the best series out there.
Honorable Mention
While he gets the best nod here with the Universal Century Gundam series of releases, I have to make a special shout out to Yoshiyuki Tomino who has been involved in dozens of the best and most creative series over the years. While there are certainly failures in there, the man has definitely wielded considerable influence over the years. He amazed me with Gundam and did the same when I got a hold of Aura Battler Dunbine. And he left me confused but entranced with Brain Powered when that came out. Where he showed me just how creative he can get, we got Overman King Gainer. Through all the variations and ideas he’s had, he’s helped to shape the mecha genre in a huge way and definitely deserves a shout out there. Especially because of the opening sequence he gave us for Brain Powered and just the sheer craziness of Overman King Gainer which still blows me away nearly a decade later.
