Once more, the prize for correctly guessing my year-end Top 10 list – or coming closest – was a Top 5 list of the winner’s choosing. Well, Eniid was the winner this time, correctly guessing 9 of my 10 series. A few posters managed that, but Eniid came closest to nailing the placements of those 9 shows. And the request? My Top 5 mecha anime.
This is a tough one, above and beyond the obvious fact that there are so damn many of them. In the first place, I’m not a hard-core mecha fan and not a real expert on the genre (and no genre inspires hard-core fandom quite so much as mecha). To be sure mecha series rank among my all-time favorite shows, but my affection for the major franchises – Gundam, Macross et al – is mixed. As such these five choices definitely rank as personal choices, no more and no less.
Then there’s the matter of definition. Do I go for a rigid one, or is any series or film which has mecha in it a “mecha anime”? If I were, for example, to consider Castle in the Sky a mecha anime it would certainly rank in my top 5. But this is difficult enough, so I’m limiting myself to what fans more or less broadly consider “hard” mecha. There’s a lot of great sci-fi anime out there that demands consideration, but for neatness’ sake I’ll limit myself to a very specific subset of it for this article.
As to the matter of franchises, my rankings reflect everything – originals, sequels, TV, films. Trying to break out individual series would be an impossible task in many cases.
So then, let’s give this a whirl:
Neon Genesis Evangelion – Without any question, Evangelion has to claim the top spot for me. The most influential TV anime of all-time, NGE is a singular generational event in anime and Japanese culture. It both helped define the otaku subculture and transcended it. Its popularity has never waned, and creator Anno Hideaki keeps re-imagining it over and over. But it’s the original 26 Gainax episodes that best represent Evangelion for me, and their ending the one that resonates most strongly. It’s almost impossible to imagine what anime would be like today without Evangelion, so profoundly has it been shaped by it, and I don’t think the medium would be as popular worldwide if NGE had never existed. While the series has its flaws I still consider it a masterpiece, visually stunning and emotionally shattering.
Eureka Seven – If Evangelion symbolizes the Gainax mecha aesthetic, Eureka Seven does the same for Bones, even if neither was their studio’s first stab at it. Eureka Seven is even more flawed than Eva for me, but there’s something quintessentially “anime” about it in a way no other franchise can quite match. It’s a more human and emotionally approachable effort than the intellectual and deeply philosophical Eva, with an innocence that very much exemplifies Bones’ best work to me. I’m in the minority in liking the sequel, Eureka Seven: Astral Ocean, even better than the original – though the movies have pretty much all been misguided failures.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – TTGL represented the last glorious creative peak for Gainax, though of course none of us knew that at the time. One could hardly imagine a more different series tonally than NGE, as reflects the stewardship of Imashi and Nakashima as opposed to Anno. Big, brash, ambitious, visually bombastic and beautiful, yet also sensitive and deceptively deep – that’s Gurren Lagann. It’s one of the signature series from the greatest year anime has ever had, 2007, and I suspect we’ll not see the likes of either again.
Bounen no Xamdou – A fairly obscure choice, I suppose, but Xam’d was a series which really resonated with me. More so than most mecha anime this one really focused on the character journey as opposed to the action, but to an extent that could probably be said of all the series on this list. A series that bears repeat viewing, Xam’d has an intricate and complex story which elegantly weaves together many threads in gently tragic fashion. Xam’d should get a lot more attention than it does when the history of mecha anime is discussed, because as a human story it has few peers in the genre.
Mugen no Ryvius – With two Gainax and two Bones shows on this list it seems only right that I include a Sunrise series too, being as they’re perhaps more associated with the genre than any other studio. That’s not the reason I picked Infinite Ryvius though. I chose it because while undeniably a show inspired by Evangelion (it even included an Eva reference in the premiere), it became incredibly influential in its own right (and all mecha shows which followed NGE were influenced by it anyway). There’s so much that’s elemental to sci-fi anime about this series – emo teenage boys, a group of pilots in competition with each other, teenagers lost in space without adult supervision, the treacherous voyage home. Ryvius is one of those shows that’s so influential it influences other anime without the writers or audience even being aware of it.
5 is a brutal number for a job like this, though I chose it so I have no one to blame but myself. The likes of RahXephon (truly “Bones’ Evangelion”) certainly deserve a mention, as does a modern classic like Planet With, and I’ve left most of the huge mecha franchises out altogether. But you have to draw an arbitrary line somewhere, and that’s what I did.
Thank you Eniid for the fascinating challenge you laid out for me, and to everyone who follows the site and supports it. As you know 2020 is LiA’s 10th Anniversary, and I’m looking forward to celebrating it in ways I haven’t quite decided on yet. As always, stay frosty.
Jindujun93
January 4, 2020 at 6:27 pmOut of curiousity, actually – did you ever watch anything from the Patlabor franchise? That one’s my definite favorite as far as the mecha genre is concerned (I just love Real Robo franchises too much – not to mention that it’s very much on the hard side of the sci-fi scale).
Some pretty good picks here, though. I only watched the top three (in fact, it took me until last year to finally watch E7 for the first time), while Xam’d and Ryvius are at least somewhere deep in the backlog for me. There’s just too damn much to pick from – the genre has so many good things (even if the quantity of new titles has been decreasing over the years), it’s seriously a herculean task to narrow it down to just five there.
Guardian Enzo
January 4, 2020 at 6:47 pmI like Patlabor, though it doesn’t quite reach the deep affection status for me.
Taimis
January 4, 2020 at 6:52 pmI enjoyed reading your list!
Would you count Visions of Escaflowne (another Sunrise series) as a mecha series? It’s one of my favorite shows of all time and it definitely crossed a lot of genres, i.e., shoujo, fantasy, etc. (That said, does Rayearth count as mecha too?)
I’m happy to see RahXephon get a mention. I often joke that it’s an Evangelion that Makes Sense. Great music too–though with the Escaflowne mention above, it might be obvious that I’m a huge Sakamoto Maaya + Kanno Yoko fan.
Taimis
January 4, 2020 at 6:54 pm*The Vision of Escaflowne. Sorry, can’t stand seeing the typo there. Especially after saying that it’s one of my favorite shows.
Guardian Enzo
January 4, 2020 at 7:05 pmIt all loops back to the difficult question of definition. As I said I consciously chose a pretty restrictive one here, and I don’t know that Escaflowne would quite qualify.
Rayearth… Again, this is all arbitrary but to me it comes closer to meeting the “hard” definition of a mecha anime. It wouldn’t make my top 5 but it might at least be eligible.
Litho
January 5, 2020 at 5:29 pmI too, consider RhaXephon as “Evangelion done right”. Evengalion, on the other hand, well, let’s just say that every anime that’s had and angsty self-depreciating girly-voiced fatiguing-as-fuck-to-watch male MC ever since, I blame on Evangelion.
Guardian Enzo
January 5, 2020 at 5:57 pmWhy? Do you think anyone was thinking about inspiring a legion of bad copycats?
Evangelion pretty much breaks down to viewers who get Shinji and those who don’t. Anno got him (obviously) but he does seem to have whiffed with a good chunk of the audience in that respect. Amazingly the series became preposterously popular, even with most of the viewers missing the point.
Litho
January 5, 2020 at 6:07 pmSo glad I don’t “get” Shinji. I’ll sleep much better at night now. Thanks.
Guardian Enzo
January 5, 2020 at 6:28 pmHappy to help.
Khalid
January 5, 2020 at 7:57 pmEscaflowne is unquestionaby mecha. Big Rahxephon/Maaya Sakamoto fan here as well 🙂
yustin
January 4, 2020 at 7:44 pmNext year, it will include Pluto. Haha
Guardian Enzo
January 4, 2020 at 8:31 pmI’ll believe it when I’m watching it.
yustin
January 4, 2020 at 10:00 pmThere is lack of information. I hope it airs this year.
Danger
January 5, 2020 at 12:00 amMan, I also have a fondness for E7:AO. I’m actually contemplating revisiting it, since I haven’t seen it since 2012. I remember E7 holding up (rewatched fairly recently), so I’m really curious how I’d perceive AO nowadays. Really wish BONES would just commit to another series or just let the franchise rest instead of continually making these half-baked movies.
Scampi
January 5, 2020 at 2:24 amKudos for including Xam’d Enzo, and here I was thinking most people only know it for the OP. I really loved Akiyuki’s mom and dad—I can’t believe I still remember his name but it’s so easy to recall, same for Nakiami because I remember the captain naming her so to stop her tears. The young soldier’s chilling descent into corruption and the dads fighting tooth and nail to save Midori was one of my favorite episode of all time. The ending felt a bit rushed and the mythology a bit obscure but I don’t mind not having everything explained because myths are like that. The cast of side characters in Xam’d are truly the strongest I’ve ever seen in any anime.
Guardian Enzo
January 5, 2020 at 9:43 amYeah, a really good cast all around. It’s a story about people that happens to have mecha in it, but it definitely is a mecha series.
elianthos
January 5, 2020 at 5:14 am1) Rahxephon ( the Eva – inspired bits are Eva done right :p, the rest is its own mythical animal. Occasionally convoluted but always fascinating, uplifting ending and I dearly the overall aesthetic to this day. Ditto on the music )
2) Eureka Seven ( the original series ) . Amaaazing graaaace power of Love, rainbow clouds, pink cars, yay optimism and cheese against all odds.
—-
3) Big O
4) Daitarn III ( not sure about the Japanese title) . A lot of nostalgia value & a sprinkle of childhood crush on this one. And good old shameless kitchen sink fun camp with the tragoc & bittersweet twist ending. Oh hey Haram Banjo hey.
elianthos
January 5, 2020 at 5:17 amP.S. Most honorable mention for Escaflowne. And Yoko Kanno ‘ s music delivering the goods.
Khalid
January 5, 2020 at 7:55 pmOne of my favorite anime soundtracks for sure.
elianthos
January 5, 2020 at 5:22 amLosty my 5) Gundam War In The Pocket.
And my guilty pleasure Full Metal Panic. Moe Rambo Sagara-kun is my pstd guerrilla baby boy :,}.
Mark
January 5, 2020 at 7:51 amNo Gundam? Probably one of the most influential anime ever. No Macross/Robotech? Robotech popularized anime in the West. No Mazinga? The original piloted mecha. No Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets/G Force? The original combining mecha and grandfather of all Sentai series , including Power Rangers. Would say Evangelion is the only one that belongs on that list.
Khalid
January 5, 2020 at 7:54 pmThis is a list of the author’s mecha favorite shows, not the most influential ones in mecha history. Besides, if he never watched Mazinger or Macross then he can’t include them.
Guardian Enzo
January 5, 2020 at 8:09 pmThat is indeed the salient point. Eniid didn’t ask for “the 5 most influential mecha franchises” but my personal top 5. And I’m glad too, because answering the first one would have been boring as hell.
lemartes
January 5, 2020 at 7:28 pmBounen no Xamdou was a great series. but underrated probably because of being a playstation network premier.
Guardian Enzo
January 5, 2020 at 8:11 pmYeah, that didn’t help. I missed it for a while myself because of that.
Khalid
January 5, 2020 at 7:52 pmThat’s an unexpected post, Enzo. Great list. Ryvius is a show I’m interested in watching but never sat down to do it. I’ll add to it to my list of mecha anime to watch this year.
Personally I’d pick Escaflowne and Rahxephon in a top 5, as both have made a lasting impression thanks to the art direction, beautiful music and creative setting and mecha designs. Both shows are quite unique, aged gracefully, and we never got something quite like them since they aired.
I’d pick Eva ang TTGL as well, but I’m unsure what to pick for the last spot. Contenders are Gunbuster, The Big O, Giant Robo and GaoGaiGar.
Guardian Enzo
January 5, 2020 at 8:10 pmI would say Rahxephon was probably the last one I cut.
hgfdsahjkl
January 5, 2020 at 8:21 pmI think it’s universally accepted that the top 3 are the best Mecha,anything comes after those
Guardian Enzo
January 5, 2020 at 8:25 pmI think agreement on that is a good deal less than universal. Just look at the comments if you don’t believe that.
Proto
January 6, 2020 at 6:28 amKudos for choosing Ryvious. It’s a shame that there hasn’t been more shows like this depicting odysseys in space. Terra he, Uchuu no Stellvia, and maybe more recently Astra no Kanata. We need more of those.
Guardian Enzo
January 6, 2020 at 10:46 amAgreed. Used to be a staple of anime and one of my favorite subgenres.
raikou
January 6, 2020 at 11:02 amOkay, maybe I should try Xamdou and Ryvius.
Your taste in anime is usually good, and Xamdou is Bones, I won’t be disappointed in battle animation.
sonicsenryaku
January 6, 2020 at 12:02 pmXam’d has moments of great animation but don’t go into it expecting plenty of crazy battles. It’s more of an adventure anime than it is action. Xam’d was very ambitious in what it tried to accomplish in animation at the time on a tv “budget” but there were times the show crumbled underneath that ambition and failed to maintain that consistency throughout its two cour-run. Mob Psycho and space Dandy are probably the pinnacle of consistent high production values on a tv budget Bones has been able to achieve with an anime (one of the reasons among others as to why they are my second and third favorite Bones’ shows respectively). Xam’d is a messy series, both in narrative and at times, character drama; but despite all that it packs a hell of a lot of charm, touching upon wholesome themes and packing a bunch of emotional highs viewers can easily resonate with.
Guardian Enzo
January 6, 2020 at 12:47 pmI agree there are inconsistencies in the animation. Honestly no biggie for me.
As for narrative I don’t see the same level of messiness that Sonic does. To a certain extent I love Bones shows because they’re a little messy in terms of character and plot – they’re like overeager puppy dogs. I think E7 is messier, for example, but I still love it.
But I don’t love Holland. He’s an asshole.
sonicsenryaku
January 6, 2020 at 1:36 pmAs I’m a strong believer in flawed masterpieces, I myself tend to find a level of charm with series’ that possess a little bit of messiness. For me, i find a series being consistent in its thesis and characters to be more important than whether its overall structure is messy or not. For me, there were times where Xam’d oscillated between being charmingly messy (which i was cool with) and narratively inconsistent (which is where the show lost some points for me). That being said, Xam’d is still a cool show that should be watched by any one who is a fan of studio bones and mecha anime that will fill you with inspiration. It’s still an evocative and touching story of human connection, the trials of overcoming distance in sustaining connections with others, and persevering over our inner demons all drenched in some awesome Sakuga and weird sci-fi goobly gook. If that strikes your fancy, Xam’d is the show to watch
raikou
January 6, 2020 at 1:00 pmHm, interesting,
So you preferred a little messy in terms of character and plot? can you elaborate more on that?
Guardian Enzo
January 6, 2020 at 2:31 pmWabi-sabi, baby.
Bones shows tend, to me, to have an eagerness and innocence to them that IG or Sunrise or generic studios lack. Idealism is another word you could use, though that’s not really right either. They wear their heart on their sleeve and sometimes have more earnestness than polish, and I love that about them. I do find beauty in imperfection, and the imperfections in a good Bones show make them that much more appealing.
raikou
January 6, 2020 at 3:48 pmEarnestness huh, I kinda get what you mean.
I always looking forward to anime from Bones, especially the original ones.
Space Dandy, ConRevo, Un-go, DtB (not really liking Star Driver, dropped captain earth, AICO was meh)
They’re like to take projects that differs from the mainstream anime, very ambitious.
That is a very nice opinion about Bones. Hoping for another amazing anime from them this year.
Guardian Enzo
January 6, 2020 at 3:55 pmYes, this is their original anime I’m referring to here (although HeroAca is quite a good fit, in this sense).
At one time Bones did very few adaptations – it was almost all original work. That’s changed a lot in the past few years.
Westinaction
January 7, 2020 at 3:34 amGreat list, Enzo! I’d have to put Bokurano as my favorite mecha anime, though NGE comes close. Here’s hoping for a great year.
Color2413
January 7, 2020 at 6:59 amInteresting and thoughtful list. I agree with some other posters who would have included Rahxephon, the show that first established Bones’ reputation as a first-rank studio and demonstrated that you can have a superb”thinking person’s mecha anime” that, unlike Eva, has a Swiss-watch plot and a coherent and satisfying ending.
Additionally, I am a huge fan of the Fafner franchise and would have included the gorgeously animated “Fafner Exodus.” This was criminally under-watched in the West, but was evidently quite popular in Japan.