With roots dating back to the late '50s, the mecha genre is easily one of the oldest and most varied in all anime. Many creators have used the genre as a vehicle to tell stories about war, featuring kids barely in their teens holding it together in a world where every day could be their last.
It can be a bit daunting to figure out the ideal way around this animated world where there are hundreds of possible shows to watch. Fortunately, the best mecha anime series of all time quickly distinguish themselves. Whether viewers are new the to genre, or want more mecha goodness, there's no shortage of excellent mecha anime to enjoy.
Updated by Sage Ashford, March 11th, 2024: The mecha genre spent so many decades at the top of the anime world, it's unsurprising there are so many classic series to check out. We've updated this list to include more major series from the '80s and '90s as well as more modern anime for fans to enjoy.
10 Best Mecha Fights In The Original Gundam Anime
The original Mobile Suit Gundam forever changed the mecha industry and the franchise's first series is also full of bold space battles!30 Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise Adds Amazing World Building to the GBF Franchise
Mobile Suit Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise
Two years after the legendary Build Divers protected EL-Diver, GBN undergoes a major upgrade, offering stunning sensory feedback for a more immersive experience. This attracts new Divers like Hiroto, a lone mercenary pilot; Kazami, a flamboyant party hopper; May, a dedicated solo player; and Parviz, a shy newcomer eager to team up. Their paths intertwine as they confront anomalies within GBN, leading them to uncover a hidden purpose behind the upgraded platform. Together, they form a new team, combining their diverse skills and strategies to navigate the ever-evolving virtual world, battle formidable opponents, and uncover the secrets of GBN's true potential.
- Release Date
- October 10, 2019
- Cast
- Daisuke Ono , Aoi Yuki , Natsumi Fujiwara
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Seasons
- 2
- Studio
- sunrise
- Creator
- Sunrise Beyond
- Number of Episodes
- 25
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.74 |
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Over a decade, the Gundam Build franchise built up a reputation as a light-hearted, low-stakes alternate universe where viewers could watch custom Gunpla models fight. Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise offers a slight change to this formula when the protagonists find themselves on the planet Eldora. Though they all initially believe Eldora is another part of Gunpla Battle Nexus Online, it isn't long before they realize Eldora is something else entirely.
Willing to depart from old traditions, Re:Rise surpasses the previous Gundam Build series in several ways. The show maintains the cool element of Gundam battles between custom Gunpla models, but adds a sense of drama to each fight by giving the group something tangible to fight for. Re:Rise's likable cast of inexperienced heroes is easy to root for as they deal with a threat none of them could've seen coming.
29 Darling in the FranXX Is a Visually Stunning Mecha From Studio Trigger
Darling in the Franxx
In a future world where humanity has been driven to endangerment by giant beasts, a strike force is assembled to destroy the monsters and save the world.
- Release Date
- August 2, 2019
- Cast
- Yûto Uemura , Kana Ichinose , Jeannie Tirado
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Seasons
- 1 Season
- Creator
- Atsushi Nishigori, Naotaka Hayashi
- Production Company
- A-1 Pictures, ABC Animation, American Zoetrope, Aniplex, Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.20 |
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Keeping up with their reputation of making banger anime, Studio Trigger created one of the most popular mecha shows of the 2010s with Darling in the FranXX. Even years later, it's still one of the most visually stunning anime around, making it worth watching just for people who love watching beautiful animation. While the main conflict is humanity's struggle against the powerful klaxosaurs, there's also plenty of teenage drama to keep viewers invested, as the show's mecha all require boy-girl pilot pairings.
Darling in the FranXX is one of the darkest Studio Trigger series, so fans should expect less Little Witch Academia and a lot more Cyberpunk: Edgerunners in terms of how serious things can get. Nonetheless, it's a true Super Robot type series at heart, featuring awesome action scenes animated with the bombast only a top-tier studio like Trigger is capable of.
28 Fafner in the Azure Is the Most Underrated Mecha Franchise
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.26 |
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Set in a world where humanity has been all but wiped out due to a conflict with aliens, Fafner in the Azure is one of the longest running "new" mecha franchises out there. When the quiet island of Tatsumiyajima is disturbed by an attack from the Festus, they're forced to put their most powerful weapon on the frontlines: the massive robot, the Fafner Mark Elf.
Spread across over a decade's worth of television series, OVAs, and films, Fafner turned into one of the biggest hits for mecha of the last few decades. Featuring character designs from Gundam SEED and writing from Mardock Scramble's Tow Ubukata, Fafner should be on the watchlist of every true mecha fan if they haven't already finished it.
27 SSSS.Gridman Combines Henshin Hero With Giant Robots
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.12 |
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The city of Tsutsujidai is under threat from kaiju. The town's best chance is Yuta Hibiki, a kid who lost his memories but can fuse with a being known as Hyper Agent Gridman. As Gridman, Yuta can battle and defeat these powerful kaiju, protecting his city. However, he and his friends are still trying to discover the person responsible for setting the kaiju loose in their city to begin with.
Studio Trigger's SSSS.Gridman is an awesome reinterpretation of the Gridman concept for a new generation. It combines Henshin Hero and mecha to create something unlike not just most anime, but most mecha anime. It features a strong cast of protagonists like most Super Robot series, and even the villains are handled well. Tokusatsu fans might have trouble adapting to anime, but not when it looks this good.
26 Galactic Drifter Vifam Asks A Group Of Children To Survive A War
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.48 |
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N/A |
Mecha series often show how children are affected by the existence of war, but no series approaches it the way Vifam does. Galactic Drifter Vifam starts with a group of children being separated from their parents and any adult figures at the beginning of a war. If any of the children want to see their parents again, they'll have to travel across space to track them down. Fortunately, they find mecha to protect themselves against the alien threat while they continue their journey across the stars.
Vifam isn't terribly well-known because it isn't a long-running franchise like other series from the '80s. However, fans can expect the usual magic from Sunrise when they check this series out. Its animation is surprisingly good for the era, the mecha fights are well-choreographed, and the character writing will quickly make viewers attached to the cast.
25 Zoids: New Century Zero Combines Mecha Battles With Shonen Tournaments
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.32 |
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N/A |
The Zoids franchise is one of the most versatile in mecha, spanning from traditional adventure to complex tales of war to straight up battle shonen. Zoids: New Century Zero will seem familiar to fans who grew up watching Toonami in the early 2000s. The story focuses on Bit Cloud, a junk dealer who gets pulled into the world of Zoids battling after discovering the Liger Zero, a robot only he can pilot.
Zoids: New Century Zero taps into the most fun part of watching mecha anime: the combat. There's an ongoing plot, but the main focus is on Bit and the Liger Zero, and seeing them challenge themselves against increasingly more talented Zoid Battling teams. This is for fans who just don't think there's enough tournaments within the world of mecha.
24 SSSS.Dynazenon Expands The Gridman World
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.40 |
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While SSSS.Gridman sought to deconstruct and examine mecha and tokusatsu tropes, its sequel series SSSS.Dynazenon goes down another path for something different but just as entertaining. Dynazenon plays most of the popular mecha and henshin hero tropes completely straight, but does so with an earnest attitude that long-time fans will find endearing.
It helps that Studio Trigger once again is knocking it out of the park with both character designs and animation quality. Both the kaiju and mecha have a contemporary, awesome look to them despite pulling from a series from the early '90s. Meanwhile, the fights are awesome enough that viewers will barely notice the show's monster of the week format. Still, there's plenty of mystery lurking in the background to keep people's attention when there aren't robots and monsters tearing the city apart.
23 Mobile Suit Gundam Started Mecha's Biggest Franchise
Mobile Suit Gundam
Original title: Kidô senshi Gandamu.
In the war between the Earth Federation and Zeon, a young and inexperienced crew find themselves on a new spaceship. Their best hope of making it through the conflict is the Gundam, a giant humanoid robot, and its gifted teenage pilot.
- Release Date
- April 7, 1979
- Creator(s)
- Yoshiyuki Tomino , Hajime Yatate
- Cast
- Hirotaka Suzuoki , Tôru Furuya , Toshio Furukawa , Kiyonobu Suzuki , Michael Kopsa , Brad Swaile , Cathy Weseluck , Chris Kalhoon
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator
- Yoshiyuki Tomino, Hajime Yatate
- Production Company
- Nagoya Broadcasting Network (Nagoya TV), Sotsu Agency, Sunrise
- Number of Episodes
- 43
- Main Cast
- Tôru Furuya, Shûichi Ikeda, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Yô Inoue, Brad Swaile, Michael Kopsa, Chris Calhoon and Alaina Burnett
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.77 |
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In 1979, Yoshiyuki Tomino created the first entry in a mecha franchise that would reach greater highs than any other. Mobile Suit Gundam created "Real Robot," a sub-genre of mecha anime that focused on mecha being used as military tools. The series also presented a more realistic protagonist, Amuro Ray, a young child forced to become hardened because of his time at war.
Mobile Suit Gundam stands the test of time even decades later, with its complex characters and storytelling. Even as they're constantly introducing new mecha to sell new toys and psychic NewType powers, the show remains just as fascinating a watch throughout.
22 RahXephon Is A Trippy Super Robot Anime
RahXephon
When machines called Dollem attack Tokyo, Kamina Ayato is led by Mishima Reika to RahXephon, a machine with the power to combat the enemy. However, he soon learns that nothing is as it seems.
- Release Date
- January 21, 2002
- Creator(s)
- Yutaka Izubuchi
- Cast
- Hiro Shimono , Aya Hisakawa , Houko Kuwashima , Maaya Sakamoto , Chris Patton , Monica Rial , Tiffany Grant
- Studio
- Bones
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.39 |
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10 Great Real Robot Anime That Aren't Gundam
The Real Robot genre has several great entries besides the Gundam franchise, with each of these showcasing mecha stories at their most realistic.RahXephon takes place in a world where Tokyo has been separated from the rest of the world, trapped within a giant bubble for three years. Over time, the people of the city continue their life as normal, until one day the bubble barrier is broken, allowing a group of humans inside known as TERRA. TERRA is an organization built to fight against the Mulians, beings from another dimension with plans to take over the world.
TERRA breaking into Tokyo leads a young boy named Ayato Kamina down a path to discover a mecha known as the RahXephon, which is destined to change humanity's fate. RahXephon is a top-tier mecha series that looks like Evangelion on the surface, but draws its influence from a lot of other sources, including classic Super Robot anime. That said, the anime is still a trippy, psychological experience that will leave mecha fans picking apart what happens in each scene for weeks.
21 Zeta Gundam Turns Everything Fans Knew About The Original On Its Head
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Eight years after the One Year War, the Earth Federation creates an elite force called the Titans to hunt Zeon remnants. When Titans proves to be no better than Zeon, the Anti Earth Union Group (AEUG) is formed to restore peace in space.
- Release Date
- March 2, 1985
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Seasons
- 1 Season
- Characters By
- Nobuo Tobita, Shûichi Ikeda, Hirotaka Suzuoki
- Creator
- Yoshiyuki Tomino
- Producer
- Kenji Uchida, Kuniaki Ohnishi, Toru Moriyama
- Production Company
- Sotsu Agency, Sunrise
- Number of Episodes
- 50 Episodes
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.90 |
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A sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam turns everything people knew about the original series on its head. The series introduces a new protagonist in Kamille Bidan, a rebellious teenager on the run from the Titans, a twisted faction of the Earth Federation forces. Kamille must join forces with the Anti-Earth United Government, an army fighting for the freedom of the Spacenoids.
While there, Kamille meets two iconic characters from the previous series: Mobile Suit Gundam villain Char Aznable and former White Base leader Bright Noa. Char serves as a mentor to this new hero, in a series which teaches nothing is ever black and white in war. A great series, Zeta Gundam doesn't offer much in the way of plot armor, so fans who don't like character deaths better watch out.
20 Gargantia On The Verduous Planet Presents A New Look At Humanity's Relationship With Outer Space
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.45 |
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In Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, humanity has left Earth behind for the stars. However, their exploration leads them into conflict with a new alien race, the Hideauze. In this war, young Ledo plans to fight against the Hideauze with the help of his Chamber, a giant robot. A battle flings him deep into space though, causing him to land on Earth. There, he discovers not all of humanity had evacuated.
Written by Fate/Zero and Madoka Magica creator Gen Urobuchi, Gargantia is a surprisingly optimistic show. Still, the series isn't short on emotional gut punches and surprising twists. Mecha fans will find it easy to get swept up in the series' mysteries — especially as Ledo discovers more about humanity's home world, and about their enemies the Hideauze.
19 Martian Successor Nadesico Is A Fantastic Mecha Parody Series
Martian Successor Nadesico
Some unknown presence is attacking Earth with dangerous robots and the only thing that can save the day is the crew of the Nadesico: a powerful spaceship.
- Release Date
- October 1, 1996
- Main Cast
- Houko Kuwashima, Yûji Ueda, Kira Vincent-Davis and Spike Spencer
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.50 |
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In Martian Successor Nadesico, humanity is in a losing war with the aliens known as the Jovian Lizards. Humanity's best hope is the new space battleship the Nadesico, but everyone on the Nadesico seems to be unfit for being in the military. One of their best pilots, Akito Tenkawa, would rather cook than go anywhere near a battlefield. Meanwhile, their next best pilot, Gai Daigouji, seems to believe he's in a Super Robot anime.
A loving parody of all things mecha, Nadesico feels years ahead of its time. The series pokes fun at a wide range of mecha series and will appeal the most to fans of classic mecha anime from the '70s and '80s. However, it's more than just a parody. Nadesico has enough dramatic moments to become genuinely moving.
18 Turn A Gundam Brings Gundam's Creator Back To The Franchise
Turn A Gundam
In the distant future, technology on Earth has regressed to World War I levels. Mankind's enormous twenty-kilometer-long space colonies and advanced weapons such as mobile suits have long since been forgotten, relics of a past age. However, an advanced civilization still exists on the moon.
- Release Date
- April 9, 1999
- Cast
- Romi Park , Takako Fuji
- Franchise
- Gundam
- Creator
- Yoshiyuki Tomino
- Number of Episodes
- 50
The 25 Most Powerful Gundam Mecha, Ranked
The Gundam series features a multitude of powerful mech suits but which one can be considered the strongest of all?
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.76 |
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After almost a decade away from Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino returned to the franchise to create his best statement on the franchise yet. In Turn A Gundam, Earth has spent several millennia uninhabitable thanks to constant conflict. Most of what remains of humanity lives on the moon, occasionally sending people to Earth to see if it's recovered enough to live on.
A young man named Loran Cehack is sent to Earth by the Moonrace for reconnaissance. There, he discovers the survivors of Earth have developed the planet into a livable environment. Loran becomes attached to the people of Earth, but suddenly the Moonrace land intending to take Earth for themselves. Given Tomino has an entirely different perspective on life, Turn A Gundam represents one of the best alternate universe series.
17 Big O Represents Batman If He Had A Giant Robot
The Big O
In a futuristic city with lost memories, an expert negotiator fights threats to the city with the help of an android and his own giant robot.
- Release Date
- October 13, 1999
- Cast
- Mitsuru Miyamoto , Steve Blum , Akiko Yajima , Motomu Kiyokawa , Tesshô Genda
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Seasons
- 2
- Studio
- Sunrise
- Creator
- Chiaki J. Konaka, Kazuyoshi Katayama, Kei'ichi Sato, Hajime Yatate
- Producer
- Tsutomu Sugita, Eiji Sashida, Ohashi Chieo
- Production Company
- Animaze, Bandai Visual Company, CTV Television Network
- Number of Episodes
- 28
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.53 |
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N/A |
In the 2000s, The Big O became one of the biggest mecha series in America thanks to Toonami. While the series wasn't nearly as big in Japan, America immediately took to the noir vibes of Paradigm City, a place where no one had any memories from prior to forty years in the past. They also loved the protagonist, Roger Smith, a smooth talking negotiator who felt like Batman with a giant robot.
The Big O's eponymous mecha feels iconic--a giant, imposing creature made of steel with weapons that crush everything from monsters to other mecha with ease. While the series leaves viewers with even more unanswered questions once they finish the show, it's still worth watching. The detective noir vibes are unlike anything else in mecha anime.
16 Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Aims To Constantly Top Itself With New, Impossible Feats
Gurren Lagann
Two friends, Simon and Kamina, become the symbols of rebellion against the powerful Spiral King, who forced mankind into subterranean villages.
- Release Date
- April 1, 2007
- Creator
- Hiroyuki Imaishi
- Seasons
- 1
MyAnimeList Score: |
8.63 |
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Studio GAINAX has a great track record with mecha anime. In the mid-’90s, they deconstructed robots with Evangelion, and in the late 2000s they presented the world with one of the best Super Robot anime in Gurren Lagann. The series begins when Simon and Kamina, two teens who live underground, find a giant robot and make the choice to go to the surface, where they learn of an alien force battling humanity to keep them as slaves underground.
Gurren Lagann contains all the hot-blooded energy anyone could ever want from a Super Robot series. Keeping viewers on the edge of their seats, the anime continuously tops each impressive feat with something more over the top in almost every episode.
15 Magic Knight Rayearth Merges Magical Girl With Mecha
Magic Knight Rayearth
Lucy, Anias and Marina, three girls from different schools are transported to the world of Zephyr as well as their mission to become Magical Warriors to rescue the captured Princess Esmeralda.
- Release Date
- October 17, 1994
- Creator
- CLAMP
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Seasons
- 2 Seasons
- Characters By
- Julie Maddalena, Wendee Lee, Bridget Hoffman
- Production Company
- TMS Entertainment
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.51 |
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Magic Knight Rayearth is proof that mecha has no limits to what it can be. One of the earlier isekai, Rayearth begins when it pulls three junior high girls from their world into the world of Cephiro. In this new world, the girls are asked to track down Princess Emeraude, who has been kidnapped by the high priest Zagato. Emeraude is the Pillar of Cephiro, and her prayers for the peace of Cephiro are the only thing that maintain the realm.
The girls embark on the quest to save Cephiro, gaining the favor of three powerful Rune Gods that grant them giant robots along the way. Magic Knight Rayearth is one of the '90s biggest anime series, proof that magical girl anime could be as different as they wanted to be. It was also one of the first successes of the legendary all-female manga group CLAMP, who would go on to create series like Cardcaptor Sakura and xxxHolic.
14 King of Braves Gaogaigar Is Hot-Blooded Super Robot Action at Its Best
The King of Braves GaoGaiGar
A special organization using giant robots and aided by an alien boy battles the threat of a menace that inflicts havoc by turning humans into destructive mecha menaces.
- Release Date
- February 1, 1997
- Cast
- Nobuyuki Hiyama , Maiko Itou
- Studio
- Sunrise
- Number of Episodes
- 49
- Directors
- Yoshitomo Yonetani
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.84 |
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The Brave Franchise Manga May Signal a Super Robot Revival
Sunrise's Brave series is being brought back in a new manga, and the former Transformers replacement could revive Super Robot franchises once again.Takara finished off their “Braves” franchise with a bang, as GaoGaiGar leans as heavily into the realm of hot-blooded heroes and Super Robot action as possible. The series features the secret organization Gutsy Geoid Guard standing together against the Zonderians, an alien race seeking to turn humans into robots.
Although the anime is definitely meant for kids, GaoGaiGar is still entertaining enough in the first half (and drama-filled enough in the second) that anyone could enjoy it. Plus, the mecha designs were done by the creator of the original Transformers, which should be enough to lure in any giant robot fan with a love of the ’80s.
13 Eureka 7 Is A Mecha Coming Of Age Story
MyAnimeList Score: |
8.05 |
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Eureka 7 is proof that BONES should make more mecha anime. Their talent for creating visually distinct worlds and giant robots is matched only by Sunrise, the creators of Gundam themselves. Eureka 7 follows Renton Thurston, the son of a military researcher who supposedly saved the world.
However, Renton's life is anything but exciting, as he spends most of his days just going to school, air surfing, and idolizing the mercenary group Gekkostate. His wish for a more exciting life is granted when a giant robot crashes into his house, giving him the chance to join the group he admires so much, only to find out it's nowhere near as cool as he'd hoped.
12 Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket Is The Best Anti-War Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
In the midst of the One Year War, 11-year-old Al Izuruha dreams of piloting mobile suits for the Zeon forces. His world is shattered when a Federation spy, disguised as his neighbor Chris, steals the prototype Gundam Alex hidden on their colony. Thrust into the conflict, Al unknowingly aids both sides, eventually facing the brutal realities of war and grappling with the true cost of his childhood fantasies.
- Release Date
- 1989-00-00
- Cast
- Ryô Horikawa , Tomokazu Seki
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- sunrise
- Creator
- Hiroyuki Yamaga (writer), Fumihiko Takayama (director), Sunrise (anime)
- Number of Episodes
- 6
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.98 |
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N/A |
Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket is one of Gundam's best, yet least discussed series. A six-episode OVA, Gundam 0080 focuses on ten-year-old Alfred Izuruha, who lives in the Side 6 colony. When Alfred discovers a Zeon mobile suit that's been shot down, and its pilot Bernie Wiseman, he's pulled into the war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon.
Gundam 0080 features top-notch animation and a story that cuts through Gundam's usual focus on cool robots to successfully communicate Gundam's usual anti-war themes. Gundam 0080 is the series to show to someone who hasn't tried out the franchise before. At only six episodes, it's even possible to finish it in just a weekend.
11 The Vision Of Escaflowne Merges Romance, Isekai, And Mecha To Create A Classic
The Vision of Escaflowne
Hitomi is a girl with psychic abilities who gets transported to the magical world of Gaea. She and her friends find themselves under attack from the evil Zaibach empire, and the Guymelf Escaflowne provides the key to it all.
- Release Date
- April 2, 1996
- Cast
- Kirby Morrow , Kelly Sheridan , Brian Drummond , Paul Dobson , Michael Dobson
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Sunrise
- Creator
- Hiroaki Kitajima, Shōji Kawamori, Ryōta Yamaguchi, Akihiko Inai
- Producer
- Yumi Murase, Masahiko Minami
- Production Company
- BEI, Bandai Visual Company, Sunrise
- Number of Episodes
- 26
- Network
- TV Tokyo
MyAnimeList Score: |
7.67 |
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A unique mecha-fantasy crossover that was part of the experimental anime invasion of the late 1990s, The Vision of Escaflowne is a combination of action, adventure, and high art. The series takes place in a steampunk-fantasy world and told from the point of view of teenager Hitomi, who is pulled from the mundane world of her high school onto the war-torn planet of Gaea.
The mecha in this series are the Escaflowne, mystical robots that fight for the King of Fanelia, a young man called Van. The visuals are pretty stunning, and some of the palace intrigue is as interesting as the wartime action on the ground. This is an ideal crossover genre for those who like anime that's more than strictly mecha, since Escaflowne also features a great romance.