Mecha: Origin of the Genre in Japan and the Best Anime

Do you know mecha anime? Is there a historical reason why giant robots are so present in Japan in particular? The trail goes back to the 1930s.

For decades, the mecha or meka [メカ] genre has been popular in Japan, with famous works like Gundam and the old tokusatsu series. For those who are unaware, the mecha genre covers anime, films, manga and series that feature giant robots.

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How did the mecha genre originate in Japan?

Giant robots now appear in countless manga, anime and toys. In the beginning there were individual stories that gradually grew into a genre of their own.

Giant robots have no deep roots in Japanese culture. Some see early precedents in the armor of samurai and in the legends of Japanese monsters.

Mecha are usually machines controlled from a cockpit by a single pilot or a small team. The word is the Japanese short form of the English term mechanism.

Gundam is one of the most popular mecha series in Japan. From September 2017 to August 2026, a life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue stood in front of the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza mall on the artificial island of Odaiba, and the building still houses The Gundam Base Tokyo, a large Gundam store.

The first mecha manga and anime in Japan

No single work can be called the first giant robot. An early precursor is Dai Ningen Tanku, the giant robot that appeared as an enemy in the 1931 kamishibai (paper theater) series Ōgon Bat. In 1948, the manga Atomic Power Android (Genshi Ryoku Jinzō Ningen) featured the first humanoid giant robot piloted by a hero.

In 1956 the genre broke through with Tetsujin 28-gō, the manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. The series ran until 1966 in the monthly magazine Shōnen, and in 1963 it became one of the first Japanese anime series to feature a giant robot. In 1967 Yokoyama created another classic with Giant Robo and is considered one of the fathers of the genre.

In interviews and essays, Yokoyama described where the ideas for Tetsujin came from: the design from Western armor, the concept from the film The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), and the name from the B-29 bombers that left his hometown of Kobe in ashes. The manga became as popular as Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was one of Shōnen's flagship series.

Later, series such as Gundam (from 1979) and Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) gave the genre new momentum, and tokusatsu shows like Super Sentai and the Godzilla films also helped popularize giant robots.

How the mechas evolved

In Tetsujin 28-gō, the robot was still remote-controlled. Only in 1972 did Go Nagai's Mazinger Z put the pilot in a cockpit inside the robot, an idea that became the model for many later series.

Mecha is a broad category that includes small and giant robots, as well as humanoid and animal-like forms.

Anime such as Code Geass, Gurren Lagann and Aldnoah.Zero helped break down some of the prejudice against the genre. A recent standout is Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (2022).

The best mecha anime of all time

Gundam is one of the biggest science fiction series in Japan, about people who fight in giant robots. The franchise began in 1979 with Mobile Suit Gundam and tells its stories in several separate universes.

I don't even need to say much about Gundam, since there are many different series and we already have an article about Gundam. The next series are my favorites and sit in my personal top 10, even though I am not a fan of the mecha genre.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

An original anime by Sunrise that premiered in 2006, mixing mecha, war and psychological thriller. It shows a world dominated by an empire and a brilliant student who wants to destroy that empire with a special power he received: his Geass lets him give a single command to any person, as long as he looks them in the eye. The plot is gripping and has one of the best endings I have seen in anime.

Aldnoah.Zero

This 2014 anime takes place in a future where humans have colonized Mars and developed far superior technology there. With their advanced robots, the Martians are militarily superior to Earth, which leads to a war between the two worlds.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

The anime tells the story of a war between humans and creatures called Anti-Spirals. Humans were forced to live underground until the protagonists manage to escape and fight the Anti-Spirals to live on the surface of the planet. (For me, the best anime ever.)

Evangelion

This anime is a classic that also helped popularize mechas in the 90s. It tells the story of an Earth attacked by powerful beings called Angels; to fight them, giant robots called Eva are built.

List of Mecha Anime

The list below collects well-known mecha anime with their release years, from classics like Mobile Suit Gundam and Macross to series from the 2010s.

Anime	Release year
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2	2008
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion	2006
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann	2007
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Second Season	2008
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans 2	2016
Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid	2005
Mobile Suit Gundam 00	2007
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin - Advent of the Red Comet	2019
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans	2015
Neon Genesis Evangelion	1995
Macross Frontier	2007
Knights of Sidonia: Battle for Planet Nine	2015
Full Metal Panic!	2002
Eureka Seven	2005
Super Dimensional Fortress Macross	1982
Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory	2018
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet	2013
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing	1995
Knights of Sidonia	2014
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED	2002
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam	1985
DARLING in the FRANXX	2018
Vandread: The Second Stage	2001
Aldnoah.Zero	2014
Gundam Build Fighters	2013
Guilty Crown	2011
Knight's & Magic	2017
Mobile Suit Gundam	1979
GaoGaiGar FINAL Grand Glorious Gathering	2005
Bokurano	2007
Samurai 7	2004
AKB0048: Next Stage	2013
The Vision of Escaflowne	1996
Heroic Age	2007
Gundam Build Fighters Try	2014
Valvrave the Liberator 2	2013
Fafner Exodus 2nd Season	2015
Asura Cryin' 2	2009
The Big O II	2003
Broken Blade TV	2014
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny	2004
Aldnoah.Zero 2nd Season	2015
Ride Back	2009
Martian Successor Nadesico	1996
Armored Trooper Votoms	1983
Zoids: New Century/Zero	2001
Kuromukuro	2016
Vandread	2000
Zoids: Chaotic Century	1999
IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix 2nd Season	2006
Zegapain	2006
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096	2016
Zoids: Guardian Force	2000
RahXephon	2002
Taikong Lixianji	2010
New Getter Robo	2004
Patlabor: The Mobile Police TV	1989
Giant Gorg	1984
Planet With	2018
Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!	2009
Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam	1983
Mobile Fighter G Gundam	1994
Tetsujin 28-gou (2004)	2004
Valvrave the Liberator	2013
Tekkaman Blade	1992
Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventures	1999
Mars Daybreak	2004
Genesis Climber Mospeada	1983
Turn A Gundam	1999
Infinite Stratos	2011
Gun x Sword	2005
GaoGaiGar	1997
SSSS.Gridman	2018
Buddy Complex	2014
Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels and Dragons	2014
Sentou Mecha Xabungle	1982
Muteki Kojin Daitarn 3	1978
Aquarion Evol	2012
Fafner Exodus	2015
Basquash!	2009
Macross Delta	2016
AKB0048	2012
Majestic Prince	2013
Blue Comet SPT Layzner	1985
Star Driver	2010
UFO Robo Grendizer	1975
Zoids: Genesis	2005
After War Gundam X	1996
Muteki Robo Trider G7	1980
Invincible Superman Zanbot 3	1977
The Big O	1999
Strain: Strategic Armored Infantry	2006
Toushou Daimos	1978
Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse	2012
Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne - Season 2	2012
Eureka Seven AO	2012
Danball Senki Wars	2013
Asura Cryin'	2009
Fafner	2004
IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix	2005
Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector	2010
Robotech: The Masters	1985
Zone of the Enders: Dolores	2001
Chou Denji Robo Combattler V	1976
Aquarion	2005
Macross 7	1994
Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne	2011
Voltes V	1977
Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars	2006
Gear Fighter Dendoh	2000
Mazinger Z	1972
Danball Senki W	2012
Great Mazinger	1974
Blue Gender	1999
Infinite Stratos 2	2013
Gunparade March	2003
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam	1993
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ	1986
Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle	2016
Godannar 2nd Season	2004
Hyakujuu-Ou GoLion	1981
Zoids Wild Zero	2019
Space Warrior Baldios	1980
Argento Soma	2000
Ninja Robots	1985
Dai-Guard	1999
Bubuki Buranki: The Gentle Giants of the Galaxy	2016
Koutetsu Jeeg	1975
Red Baron	1994
Fang of the Sun Dougram	1981
Innocent Venus	2006
Space Runaway Ideon	1980
Linebarrels of Iron	2008
Danball Senki	2011
Burst Angel	2004
Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu	2005
Aura Battler Dunbine	1983
Kousoku Denjin Albegus	1983
Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam 13	1998
ID-0	2017
Brave Fighter of Legend Da-Garn	1992
Golden Warrior: The Gold Lightan	1981
Gundam Build Divers	2018
Viper's Creed	2009
Dancouga: Super Beast Machine God	1985
Turning Mecard W	2016
Yatterman (1977)	1977
Overman King Gainer	2002
Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head: Kidou Kyuukyuu Keisatsu	2017
Destiny of the Shrine Maiden	2004
Kotetsushin Jeeg	2007
Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird	1991
Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula	2007
Chiisana Kyojin Microman	1999
Genki Bakuhatsu Ganbaruger	1992
IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix (2003)	2003
Choujin Sentai Baratack	1977
Tenkai Knights	2013
Getter Robo	1974
Transformers: Super-God Masterforce	1988
GR -Giant Robo-	2007
Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross	1984
God Mazinger	1984
Metal Armor Dragonar	1987
Super Dimension Century Orguss	1983
Schwarzesmarken	2016
Mirai Robo Daltanias	1979
Transformers: Armada	2002
Kinkyuu Hasshin Saver Kids	1991
Brave Express Might Gaine	1993
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE	2011
Mado King Granzort	1989
Gad Guard	2003
Transformers: Robots in Disguise	2000
Heavy Metal L-Gaim	1984

Seventy years separate Tetsujin 28-gō (1956) from the mecha series of today, and the genre has reinvented itself several times along the way. The list above brings together 175 titles with their release years, from Mazinger Z (1972) to Zoids Wild Zero (2019).