A series with one or more pieces of (usually highly advanced) technology as a significant setpiece. Most of these are Mecha, of either the Real Robot or Super Robot subclass, but it is equally true of shows with cool bikes, high tech body armor, amazing racing cars, and space fighter craft.
Almost any genre of story can — and has been — combined with the Mecha Show. Any Japanese Sci-Fi series is almost certain to feature one or more machines in a starring role, as well as most Steampunk, Cyberpunk, and even Heroic Fantasy.
The most important part is that the focus of every episode is on the cool characters doing cool stuff with their cool toys.
See also: Mecha Game.
Examples
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Animation
Anime & Manga
- 8 Man (1963)
- Active Raid
- Agriculture Girls!
- Aku Daisakusen Srungle
- Albegas (Best known for almost being one of the shows which would have been used to make Voltron: Defender of the Universe)
- Aldnoah.Zero
- AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline
- Android Kikaider: The Animation
- Aquarion EVOL
- Aquarion Logos
- Area 88 (No Humongous Mecha to qualify, it does feature an array of cool fighter jets, and Military Mashup Machine)
- Argevollen
- Armored Trooper VOTOMS
- Astro Boy (The Anime Trope Maker)
- Astroganger
- Aura Battler Dunbine
- Babel II
- Back Arrow
- Bang Brave Bang Bravern!
- Battle Skipper
- The Big O
- Blue Comet SPT Layzner
- Bokurano
- Brave Series
- B't X
- Bubblegum Crisis
- Buddy Complex
- Captain Earth
- Captain Harlock (Has the mega-cool Arcadia and tons of awesome space ship designs)
- Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter
- Code Geass
- Cross Ange
- Cyborg 009
- Dai-Guard
- Daigunder
- Dairugger XV (Best known for being one of the shows used to make Voltron: Defender of the Universe)
- Daitarn 3
- Dancougar
- DARLING in the FRANXX
- Dennou Boukenki Webdiver
- D.I.C.E. (2005)
- Digimon Fusion (It is a rare case of the Mons becoming Humongous Mecha)
- DinoZaurs
- Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure
- Eldoran Trilogy
- Eureka Seven
- Fafner in the Azure: Dead Aggressor
- Fang of the Sun Dougram
- The Five Star Stories
- Future GPX Cyber Formula (It has loads of cool racing cars)
- Future Robot Daltanious (Best known for almost being one of the shows which would have been used to make Voltron: Defender of the Universe if a miscommunication didn't result in GoLion being selected over this one)
- Gad Guard
- Gaiking
- Galaxy Express 999
- Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet
- Gasaraki
- GEAR Fighter Dendoh
- Gekiganger 3
- Genesis Climber MOSPEADA
- Genesis of Aquarion
- Getter Robo
- Giant Gorg
- Giant Robo
- Gigantor (Tetsujin-28go) (The Trope Maker for Humongous Mecha anime)
- Gigantic Formula
- Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam
- God Mars
- God Sigma
- GoLion (Best known for being one of the shows used to make Voltron: Defender of the Universe)
- GoShogun
- Gravion
- Grey
- GunBuster
- GUN×SWORD
- All Gundam series.
- Mobile Suit Gundam
- Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
- Mobile Suit Gundam 00
- Mobile Fighter G Gundam
- Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
- After War Gundam X
- ∀ Gundam
- Mobile Suit Gundam AGE
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
- Gundam: Reconguista in G
- Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
- Gundam Build Fighters
- Gundam Build Fighters Try
- Gundam Build Divers
- Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE
- Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury
- Gundam Build Metaverse
- Hades Project Zeorymer
- Heavy Metal L-Gaim
- Heroman
- ID-0
- Idolmaster: Xenoglossia
- IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix
- Innocent Venus
- J9 Trilogy
- Braiger
- Galactic Gale Baxinger
- Galactic Whirlwind Sasuraiger
- Jinki:Extend
- Kill la Kill (It has Bio Punk high-tech body armour)
- K.O. Beast
- Kotetsu Jeeg
- Kuromukuro
- Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne
- LBX: Little Battlers eXperience
- Lord of Lords: Ryu Knight
- M3: The Dark Metal
- Machine Robo
- Machine Robo: Revenge of Chronos
- Machine Robo: Battle Hackers
- Machine Robo Rescue
- Every Macross series:
- Mado King Granzort
- Magic Knight Rayearth (Which twists the concept a bit by having the introduction of mecha as a Mid-Season Upgrade in it's own right)
- Majestic Prince
- Makyou Densetsu Acrobunch
- Martian Successor Nadesico
- Marvel Anime: Iron Man
- Mashin Hero Wataru Series
- Every part of the Mazinsaga:
- Medabots
- Metal Armor Dragonar
- Neo Human Casshern
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Ninja Senshi Tobikage
- Obsolete
- Overman King Gainer
- Panzer World Galient
- Patlabor
- Pilot Candidate
- Planet Robo Danguard Ace
- Planet With
- RahXephon
- Raideen
- Red Baron (The In Name Only Animated Adaptation of Super Robot Red Baron seen below)
- Red Photon Zillion
- RideBack
- Robotech
- Robotech II: The Sentinels
- Robot Romance Trilogy:
- Rumble Garanndoll
- Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
- Sei Juushi Bismarck
- Shippu! Iron Leaguer
- Space Battleship Yamato (It has rather nice fighter craft in addition to the eponymous battleship)
- Space Runaway Ideon
- Space Warrior Baldios
- Speed Racer, about a cool racing car.
- SSSS.GRIDMAN
- Star Driver
- Starzinger
- Str.A.In.: Strategic Armored Infantry
- Supercar Gattiger
- Super Combining Magical Robot Ginguiser
- Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross
- Super Dimension Century Orguss
- Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars
- Synduality: Noir
- Takara Tomy Super Robot Anime series
- Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion
- Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head Kidou Kyuukyuu Keisatsu
- Tomica Kizuna Gattai Earth Granner
- Technovoyager a.k.a Thunderbirds 2086 (It features cool rescue spaceships that can combine together)
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
- Tenkai Knights
- Tekkaman
- Transformers Anime
- UFO Warrior Dai Apolon
- Valvrave the Liberator
- Vandread
- Viper's Creed
- The Vision of Escaflowne
- Voltron and its various sequels
- Xabungle
- Zambot 3
- Zoids
Comic Books
- ABC Warriors
- Iron Man
- Mech Cadet Yu
- Transformers:
- The Transformers (Marvel)
- Transformers in 3-D
- Hasbro Comic Universe Transformers
- The Transformers -ation, a group of mini-series that started the continuity.
- The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots: Simon Furman's last miniseries on his run.
- All Hail Megatron
- The Transformers: Drift: Dealing with the origins and adventures of Drift.
- Last Stand of the Wreckers
- The Transformers (IDW): A monthly series that lasted from 2009 to 2011.
- The Transformers: Autocracy: A mini-series retelling the days just before the start of the Great War.
- The Transformers: Monstrosity: A follow-up mini-series to Autocracy.
- The Transformers: Primacy: Sequel to Monstrosity.
- The Transformers: Robots in Disguise: One of the main Ongoing series.
- The Transformers: Punishment: A one-shot that starts the seeds of upcoming Combiner Wars event.
- The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye/Lost Light: The other significant Ongoing Series.
- The Transformers: Dark Cybertron: The crossover event for More than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise.
- The Transformers: Windblade: Mini-series following the aftermath of Dark Cybertron as Robots in Disguise heads back to Earth.
- The Transformers: Combiner Wars: Another event for the Robots in Disguise book that will launch Windblade's sequel.
- The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers: Sequel to Last Stand of the Wreckers.
- The Transformers: Requiem of the Wreckers: The last chapter in the Wreckers Saga
- The Transformers: Till All Are One: Sequel series to Windblade.
- The Transformers: Titans Return: Another series wide event for the Transformer ongoings.
- The Transformers: Unicron: The end of the first IDW continuity.
- The Transformers: Regeneration One: IDW's continuation of the Marvel continuity, beginning in 2012.
- Revolution (2016): New event for the fall of 2016, establishing a Shared Universe between the various Hasbro/IDW titles including G.I. Joe, ROM, Action Man, M.A.S.K., Micronauts (IDW) and Jem and the Holograms (IDW) (though the last one won't being showing up in the crossover proper).
- Revolutionaries
- Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor
- Transformers vs. Visionaries
- Transformers: Deviations
- Transformers (2019): The second IDW continuity.
- Transformers: Last Bot Standing
- IDW Crossovers — A series of self-contained crossovers that are not canon to the other comic series.
- Mars Attacks The Transformers
- Transformers vs. G.I. Joe (2014-2017)
- Star Trek vs. Transformers (2018–2019): Starfleet and Klingons make first contact with the Transformer race in the setting of Star Trek: The Animated Series; also part of the Star Trek Expanded Universe.
- Transformers/Ghostbusters (2019): Set in and canonical to IDW's Ghostbusters comics, a rookie Autobot scientist is recruited into the paranormal investigators from New York while pursuing Starscream's ghost.
- Transformers vs. The Terminator (2020)
- My Little Pony/Transformers: Friendship in Disguise! (2020): Crossover with the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (aka G4 of the franchise.) Again, yes, really.
- Transformers/Back to the Future (2020-2021)
- The Energon Universe, a 2023-present continuity produced by Skybound Entertainment and published by Image Comics featuring Transformers and Joes as well as original material.
- Mazinger Z Versus Transformers: A one-shot crossover manga with Mazinger Z.
- Transformers '84: IDW's one-shot prequel to the Marvel continuity from 2019.
- Transformers '84: Secrets and Lies: a miniseries serving as a sequel to the one-shot.
- Transformers: Generation 2
- GoBots
- Transformers: Beast Wars (2021)
- Fun Publications Transformers:
- Transformers Classics is a splinter timeline to the original Transformers Marvel comic in which the events of Generation 2 and some other stories did not occur.
- Transformers: Shattered Glass
- Transformers: Shattered Glass (2021): A 2021 reboot by IDW Publishing.
- Transformers: Shattered Glass II: 2022 sequel miniseries to the above reboot
- Transformers: Timelines is the label which many of Fun Publications' Transformers stories are put under.
- Transformers: TransTech
- Transformers: Wings of Honor
- Beast Wars: Uprising
Fan Works
- A Crown of Stars (You have Humongous Mecha... and Transforming Mecha, space-ships, war ships, jet fighters, tanks...)
- Advice and Trust
- The Child of Love
- Children of an Elder God
- Cool Cat and the Beauty of War and Destruction (Crack Fic where General Aladeen gains his own mecha to fight Prince Heinel)
- Doing It Right This Time
- EVA Sessions: Someplace Vast and Dry
- Evangelion 303 (War planes replace Humongous Mechas in this doujin)
- Ghosts of Evangelion
- A Glass of Wine
- The Gospel Of Malachel
- Hail to the King (Thuktun Flishithy)
- Here There Be Monsters (One of the main villains is a sentient humongous mecha)
- HERZ
- Higher Learning
- Last Child of Krypton
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genocide
- NGE Mitigation
- Nobody Dies
- Once More With Feeling (Crazy-88)
- The One I Love Is...
- Read the Fine Print (Evangelion)
- Rise of the Minisukas
- RE-TAKE
- Scar Tissue
- Shinji and Warhammer40k
- The Second Try
- Super Robot Wars GQ
- Superwomen of Eva 2: Lone Heir of Krypton (The main plot is about Asuka becoming a super-heroine, but the giant mechas are still a main focus)
- Thousand Shinji
- Voltes V Versus Voltron The Godaikin Wars (Voltes V, Voltron, Combattler V, Daimos and Space Sheriff Shaider crossover)
- Walking in the Shadow of Dreams
- Xerrooreborn's Megas XLR
- You Are (Not) At Fault
Film — Animated
Film — Live-Action
Literature
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- 86 EIGHTY-SIX
- Bullbuster
- Dirty Pair
- The Four Horsemen Universe
- Full Metal Panic!
- Gearbreakers
- Heavy Object
- Infinite Stratos
- Iron Widow
- King of Kings: GaoGaiGar vs. Betterman
- Knight's & Magic
- The Mech Touch
- Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash
- Mobile Suit Gundam Twilight AXIS
- Robur the Conqueror
- Schwarzesmarken
- Titanicus: A Warhammer 40,000 novel focused on Imperial battle titans.
Live-Action TV
- Airwolf
- Ambassador Magma
- Daitetsujin 17
- Denjin Zaboga
- Denkō Chōjin Gridman
- Giant Robo
- Jumborg Ace
- Kikaider
- Knight Rider
- Mech-X4
- Power Rangers
- Robot Detective
- Space Ironmen Kyodain
- Spider-Man (Japan)
- Stingray
- Street Hawk
- Supercar
- Super Human Samurai Syber Squad
- Super Robot Red Baron
- Super Sentai
- Tekkouki Mikazuki
- Thunderbirds
- Ultraman Z
- Voltes V: Legacy
Tabletop Games
Video Games
- See Mecha Game
Toys
Web Animation
Webcomics
Western Animation
- BattleTech (1994)
- Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot
- The BOTS Master
- Centurions
- Challenge Of The Go Bots
- Dinotrux
- Exo Squad
- Frankenstein Jr.
- The Heavy Gear CGI cartoon.
- Kingdom Force
- Mech Cadets
- Mega Man (Ruby-Spears)
- Mega Man: Fully Charged
- Megas XLR
- Mighty Orbots
- My Life as a Teenage Robot
- Robotboy
- Robotix
- Robozuna
- Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
- RollBots
- Super Giant Robot Brothers!
- Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!
- SWAT Kats
- Sym-Bionic Titan
- Thunderbirds Are Go
- Transformers
- Voltron
- "What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?"
