Anime series can tell grounded and intimate stories, but they often pride themselves on exaggerated extremes and a mix of unique genres that define the industry. Mecha is one of anime's more dominant genres and it mostly focuses on battles between giant robots, often in space.

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There are many tropes that define mecha series and it's easy for the uninitiated to write them off as sterile and action-based. Despite this, the mecha genre has gained a lot of nuance over the years. There are now plenty of unique and subversive series that will appeal to fans who typically ignore giant robots.

10 Neon Genesis Evangelion Is A Challenging Epic That Triggers Endless Discussion

Anime Evangelion Unit 1 Injured

Neon Genesis Evangelion has a reputation that's transcended anime. Evangelion is unquestionably one of the most complex and painfully personal explorations of the mecha genre, but its existential conflicts and avant garde sensibilities represent what audiences both love and hate about the series. The series' trademark psychological trappings are too obtuse for some viewers who just want to watch giant robots fight monsters without all of the depression and abandonment trauma.

9 Code Geass Uses Mecha As Debilitating Tools Of Corruption

Lelouch from Code Geass

The very best anime are ones that force the audience to reckon with their values and what they thought they knew about the show's characters. Code Geass is an excellent look into the slippery slope of heroism and how quickly someone's motives can become clouded by power. Code Geass creates a tumultuous conflict between Britannia and Japan where a mysterious mecha known as the Geass becomes the key to victory. Lelouch's Geass is a crucial aspect of the series, but the anime is focused on his transformation as a person, which isn't easy for everyone to accept.

8 The Big O Embraces Noir And Detective Instincts For Better Or Worse

Anime the big o

The Big O is a mecha anime that pulls just as much inspiration from Western programming, film noir, and detective stories as it does from previous giant robot series. The Big O is highly stylized and feels a lot like Batman tonally.

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The Big O struggled to find an audience in Japan, but Cartoon Network helped co-produce a second season. Audiences are either charmed by the mecha series' retro vibe and Western influences or avoid it for the very same qualities that others find charming.

7 Mobile Fighter G Gundam's Quirkiness Falls Flat For Some

Every country's Gundam flies into action in Mobile Fighter G Gundam.

Mobile Suit Gundam has more than 40 years of iconic mecha series under its belt. Gundam has slowly branched off of the Universal Century timeline to tell new types of stories, but Mobile Fighter G Gundam is one of the biggest stylistic pivots. G Gundam has just as much in common with the shonen genre as it does with mecha series. Countries are subjected to a universal mobile suit tournament, which allows for constant combat between the strangest Gundam from the franchise. It's a commendable risk, but G Gundam's facelift and younger demographic doesn't work for everyone.

6 Darling In The FranXX's Emphasis On Romance Becomes Its Downfall

Anime main cast from darling in the franxx

The relationship between a mecha suit and its pilot is an important aspect of the mecha genre and Darling in the FranXX specifically focuses on the concept of humanity as disposable. Darling in the FranXX is set in a future dystopia where children are bred for the express purpose of piloting the Franxx. Darling in the FranXX has stunning animation and begins with a lot of strong action sequences, but it slowly turns into more of a soap opera where characters grow increasingly insufferable.

5 Zoids' Nostalgic Charm Can Feel Empty And Reductive

Anime Zoids

There's a long history when it comes to animated series that are really just glorified commercials meant to peddle toys. The level of transparency in this department is prioritized but there are plenty of anime that are born out of corporate interests that still manage to tell moving stories. Zoids has gone on to spawn several anime series with rich universes, but even at its best, Zoids still feels reductive of similar fare like Voltron or even Power Rangers. Audiences are either pulled in by Zoids' familiar ideas and young pilots or are left unaffected by its hollow principles.

4 The Vision Of Escaflowne Gets Too Lost In Fantasy

Main cast of Escaflowne in judgment.

The Vision of Escaflowne made a lot of waves during the 1990s and its praises have little to do with the series' mecha impulses. Escaflowne is like an isekai series that's interested in fantasy and romance tropes.

RELATED: 10 Character Traits All Great Mecha Anime Protagonists Share

Hitomi learns that she's a pivotal figure in a magical world and it's her journey and growth that drives the series forward. Escaflowne deserves credit for how it combines the mecha genre with contrasting ideas, but the contrast will also leave audiences divided.

3 Bubblegum Crisis' Crime Fighting Doesn't Work For Everyone

The Knight Sabers fight crime in Bubblegum Crisis

Bubblegum Crisis is a refreshing change of pace that focuses on an all-female group of dangerous mercenaries who work to keep society safe. What's special about Bubblegum Crisis is that its empowered group of Knight Sabers make use of high-tech robotic exoskeleton suits to perform extreme forms of combat. These may not be considered mecha in a traditional sense, but the Knight Sabers are often up against giant robots. It all amounts to a creative spin on mecha staples that also highlights the importance of humans from a unique perspective.

2 Blue Gender's Mecha Madness Is Secondary To Violent Sci-Fi Horror

Anime Blue-Gender-Mech-Blues

Mechas can be efficient transportation, a natural evolution of technology, destructive tools of war, or something infinitely more complex. Blue Gender is a bleak 26-episode anime that depicts humanity as an endangered population that's losing against an extraterrestrial menace. Blue Gender uses its mechs to hold their own against these alien insects. There's a suspenseful story that unravels in Blue Gender, but it's far from the typical mecha narrative.

1 Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket Processes Conflict Through The Eyes Of A Child

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989); two characters looking at each other.

Mobile Suit Gundam has been around for so long that it's had several opportunities to deconstruct the mecha genre, but it was a much more restrictive genre back in the 1980s. Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket is a six-episode OVA series that marked a major change of pace for Gundam with its shift to small-scale intimate storytelling where robot battles are almost an afterthought. War in the Pocket delicately filters the atrocities of war through the eyes of a ten-year-old child, allowing it to be a much quieter and personal approach to the mecha genre.

NEXT: The First 10 Anime Mechas In Chronological Order