Mecha is one of the most notable anime genres of them all, with mecha anime having practically defined the medium to a large degree. Most people are aware of major mainstays such as Mobile Suit Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion, but there are several other classics among these works.
Unfortunately, not all of them are easy to find, and some of the best mecha anime are completely absent on streaming platforms. Many of these anime are so old and relatively forgotten. Others are part of big franchises, but they aren’t widely available, despite this pedigree. In the case of at least one, it’s largely treated as «lost media», and it may be truly impossible to ever watch it again.
10 Votoms Took the Best Elements of Gundam Even Further
The Votoms Anime Is One of the Hardest Classics to Come By
Armored Trooper VOTOMS was one of the many anime inspired by the success of Gundam, but it went even further than the original Gundam anime in terms of its grounded nature. The mecha themselves were treated as being unwieldy weapons, and piloting one was a veritable death sentence. Through these elements and the central premise of combatants continuing their conflict long after a war has officially ended, it’s definitely one of the best military anime from that time.
Unfortunately, for anime fans wanting to relive it or finally watch it for the first time, VOTOMS is almost impossible to watch, at least at an affordable rate or accessible venue. The classic 1980s mecha anime isn’t streaming on any major platforms such as Netflix or Crunchyroll, and the Blu-ray collection goes for an exorbitant fee. The license holders for the anime lost the license, and it’s unknown when it will return to print.
9 Dougram's Battle Against Dictatorship Can't Be Easily Viewed
The Battletech Inspiration Is Rarely Mentioned Among Anime Fans
Fang of the Sun Dougram was another anime made in the shadow of the first Gundam, and it was a Real Robot anime featuring a ragtag group and a powerful mechanized armor. Like Gundam, it had its fair share of ridiculous names, but the mecha action itself was fairly realistic. The armor actually felt like more of an advanced military vehicle, and the plot saw the main characters use it against a controlling dictator.
Dougram also inspired mecha-based tabletop games such as Battletech, but this hasn’t helped make it a well-known property. Unknown to all but the biggest mecha aficionados, it’s also not on any streaming service. It might be too old for modern anime fans, but it would be a great gain for streamers. In fact, platforms such as Hulu (which is losing major anime licenses by the tons) would benefit from having such an old classic.
8 Combattler V Began One of the Best Mecha Trilogies
The Combattler V Anime Was One of the Last Great "Classic" Super Robot Anime
Chōdenji Robo Combattler V was the first part of the «Robot Romance Trilogy», which, despite the name, isn’t necessarily romantic in tone. Though these were Super Robot anime, they paved the way for more modernized Real Robot anime, with Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino even working on one of them. In bridging this gap to what was to come, the anime had more complex and darker themes in its second season, moving beyond the classic «monster of the week» format.
Sadly, only one entry in the Robot Romance Trilogy (which isn’t related by plot) is available to stream. Voltes V can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Tubi TV, and it’s arguably more iconic in the Philippines than in Japan. Sadly, both Combattler V and Tōshō Daimos are absent from streaming services, and they also lack collected releases.
7 Robotech: The Movie Can Never Be Watched Again
The Robotech: The Movie Is One of the Most Notable Examples of Lost Anime
Robotech successfully spliced footage from the first Macross anime with other mecha anime, creating its own narrative and being one of the first major international anime hits of the 1980s and 1990s. This caused the studio to want to capitalize on the popularity of the series through a movie, which was created in a similar patchwork capacity. The result was Robotech: The Movie, which used footage from an anime «related» to Macross, as well as the cyberpunk OVA Megazone 23.
Sadly, the brief test runs for the movie in theaters were flops, and the home media releases are extremely rare. Likewise, Robotech only recently became available to stream because of issues with the rights, but this doesn’t include the movie. Now considered lost media outside of fan restorations, Robotech: The Movie was even removed from canon with the show.
6 Invincible Super Man Zambot 3 Was Ahead of Its Time
The Invincible Super Man Zambot 3 Anime Immediately Preceded Gundam
Released a year before the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Invincible Super Man Zambot 3 was one of the last breaths of the dominance that Super Robot anime once had. It looked a lot like a generic mecha anime of that era, but the story (involving three families in a world defending against an alien invasion) got dark fairly soon. Many of the in-roads leading to Gundam can be seen here, but this doesn’t mean that it’s widely available.
Zambot 3 isn’t on any streaming platform, which is a shame given its historical importance. It actually didn’t have many episodes, lasting for only 23, which was relatively short compared to other major anime of that time. Now, it mainly shows up in the Super Robot Wars video games, and it’s been almost completely forgotten.
5 Beast Wars Second Is One of the Many Transformers Anime
The Beast Wars Second Anime was a More Humorous Look at the Beast Era
Known as Beast Wars Second, Beast Wars II: Super Life-Form Transformers was an unrelated spinoff/sequel to the CGI Beast Wars: Transformers animated series. It had its own team of Maximals and Predacons, the former of which was led by the Optimus Prime-like Lio Convoy, as they battled for the mysterious Angolmois Energy. This echoed the previous generation of Japanese-exclusive Transformers anime, and this included being locked in the country and no other region.
Much like works such as Transformers: The Headmasters, Beast Wars II and its sequel Beast Wars Neo weren’t released outside Japan. This included the anime themselves and most of their toys, with the latter becoming apocrypha to many collectors. Likewise, these anime aren’t on any streaming service, leaving a large section of the Beast Era locked away for many.
4 Dragonar Was a Failed Attempt to Recreate Gundam
The Tomino Anime Wasn't Able to Recapture Lightning In a Bottle
Released in 1987, Metal Armor Dragonar was another mecha anime created by Yoshiyuki Tomino. It was meant to be a «new» Gundam, recreating the feel of the first 1979 anime in that series and giving a new property to a new generation of viewers. It got good reviews, but it sadly failed to be anywhere near as successful (which some see as a reflection of its being lighthearted in the same vein as Gundam ZZ, the less serious sequel to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam).
Given how it failed to make a splash, it’s no shock that Dragonar isn’t on any major streaming services. It also hasn’t been collected on DVD or Blu-ray anytime soon. It’s one of the few Tomino anime that’s almost never talked about among mecha fans, though Gunpla-esque plastic model kits can still be found and readily purchased for the brand.
3 Dunbine Was the First Mecha Isekai Mashup & Can't Be Streamed
One of the Best Isekai Anime Can Only be Bought on Bluray
Aura Battler Dunbine combined mecha with the now ubiquitous fantasy isekai anime genre, and it was the first use of these joined genres before the likes of The Vision of Escaflowne. Created by Tomino like many other classic mecha anime, it eschewed robotic armor for more insectoid mecha. This paved the way for Escaflowne‘s designs, not to mention more modern isekai mecha anime such as Knight’s & Magic.
Despite being part of the popular isekai anime genre, Dunbine isn’t on any streaming platform. It is, however, available on Blu-ray as part of a collection that can be bought on sites like Amazon. While the anime is still beloved by many, namely those who appreciate its use of isekai trappings, it’s currently more well-known for spawning the infamous and much-maligned OVA sequel, Garzey’s Wing.
2 Machine Robo's First Anime Was a Better Version of Gobots
Revenge of Cronos Was a Different Take on Transformers
Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos was the first anime for Popy’s Machine Robo toys, which in the West was used for the Gobots franchise. While Gobots is now regarded as a second-rate competitor to Hasbro and Takara’s Transformers brand, the different versions of Machine Robo largely had a more positive reputation. In the case of the first anime for the franchise. Revenge of Cronos combined elements of space opera anime with Super Robot anime and even tokusatsu shows such as Super Sentai, namely through the giant robot character Baikanfu.
Machine Robo as a franchise has remained in the shadow of Transformers and other franchises, and this has yet to change with newer, more experimental takes on the brand. Revenge of Cronos and its sequel, Machine Robo: Battle Hackers, have both been collected on Blu-ray in recent years. Sadly, they can’t be watched on any streaming service, so fans will have to pay a decent bit to see how it compares to the different mecha anime they’re used to.
1 Patlabor Is One of the Best Mecha Anime to Not Be On Streaming
The Patlabor Anime Takes Real Robot Mecha In a Different Direction
Patlabor was a multimedia anime franchise that manifested differently across its various incarnations, with the anime movies notably more serious than the anime TV show, the latter of which was closer to a sitcom. Featuring elements of police procedurals, it featured mecha as police tools instead of being used as weapons of war. This has made it one of the more unique takes on the genre that felt like the inverse of grittier cyberpunk works of the 1990s, but it’s still hard to find.
Patlabor isn’t on any streaming platforms such as Netflix or Crunchyroll, and it’s also unavailable for purchase through the streaming service Amazon Prime Video. There was previously a Blu-ray collection that had all the anime and anime movies, but this is now out of print and incredibly expensive on the secondary market. It’s rather sad given how prominent it once was among mecha enthusiasts, and this only shows how far the genre has fallen from its former prominence.
