The giant mech is a mainstay of the anime, with biggest mechs in anime history often leave a proportional impact on the medium. More than most other mediums, mechs are an important part of anime history. With platform series like Tetsujin 28-go (or Gigantor known in the US) and Gundam establishing some of the vehicle’s most important transformational elements and forms, it has left plenty of room for Series like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Eureka 7 redefine what is possible in anime mech.
Part of redefining what is possible in anime mech also comes with redefining what it really means to be a giant cyborg. Once upon a time, the Tetsujin 28-go’s 50-foot-long machine was considered absolutely colossal, but as the years passed, that stature became less and less impressive. While the size of the mech doesn’t necessarily correlate with the quality of the anime contained in it, some of the biggest anime mechs happen to find themselves in the middle of some of the best anime mechs.
10 Danguard Ace – 656 feet tall
Appearing at the lowest end of the size spectrum, but still taller than most mechas, there’s Wakusei Robo Danguard Ace’s Danguard Ace battle bot, used in the anime as the ultimate Earth’s best defender. land against the forces of mad scientist Dr. Doppler, who managed to keep humanity stranded on Earth despite its increasingly uninhabitable nature. Danguard Ace rises to a 656-foot (200-meter) skyscraper. It is also one of the few mechas that has appeared in both the Japanese anime mecha and the American comic book universe. It is one of three machines that served as the frontline force in Marvel’s Shogun Warriors comic book series from 1979 to 1980.
9 Gunbuster – 787 feet tall
In addition to his role as the main mechanic in the directorial debut of Hideaki Anno, who will go on to direct the classic mecha anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, the original Gunbuster, which combines two smaller mechas, Buster Machine #1 and Buster Machine #2, when fully formed, is an impressive 787 feet (240 meters) or more than half the height of New York City’s Empire State Building. In the anime, Gunbuster serves as Earth’s leading “mobile suit” in the fight against alien invaders who want to destroy humanity from existence. The only problem is that Gunbuster is so advanced that it takes months of training, after finding the right candidate, to be able to operate the space battle bot effectively.
Macross 8th Quarter – 1,549 feet tall
Continuing the evolution of the mecha anime from a single robot body to composite bodies made up of two or more independently functioning parts, Yasuhito Kikuchi and Shoji Kawamori’s Macross Frontier’s Macross Quarter expanded its scope. further by being both a robot warrior and an effective star. cruiser when not in battle bot mode. Not only can it engage enemies like a normal star warship, if slower, but when necessary, it can also transform into a lethally controlled “mobile suit” with legs, arms and The head can be moved. As a combat robot, Macross Quarter stands 1,549 feet (472 meters), taller than most existing buildings on Earth.
7 Zearth – 1,640 feet tall
Bokurano by Hiroyuki Morita and Kazuyoshi Yaginuma tells the story of a group of kids who accept an offer to ride a new advanced “mobile suit”. At first, the kids believed the offer was just a routine quality-assurance, error-checking gig. However, after starting the simulation, they quickly realized that it was no ordinary test plan, but a life-or-death struggle and the alien mechanics where they must continue to protect Defend the Earth or die trying to escape from his job duties. The Zearth was the machine they were forced to run, and although thinner than the ones that came before, its minimalist form still stood at 1,640 feet (500 meters) tall.
6 Shikoutazer – 1,640 feet tall
While Tomoki Kobayashi’s Akame Ga Kill! cannot be considered an anime mecha, it contains one of the biggest mechas of the genre, named Shikoutazer. The story revolves around the adventures of rural boy Tatsumi who comes to the capital to earn money for his village as a swordsman. His plan fails after he is tricked out of money and forced to work for a powerful but oppressive family. There he learns how corrupt the government is, and after being rescued by a rebel force known as the Night Raid, he joins them to overthrow the evil rulers. The rulers, however, had the Shikoutazer as a 1,640-foot (500-meter) tall mechanic who acted as the ultimate protector of the royal family and all who tried to harm the empire.
5 SDF-1 Macross – 3,970 feet tall
The second addition of the Macross mecha anime franchise to this list is the Super Dimension Fortress (SDF-1) Macross, the towering, Macross-like machine that serves as a mid-range cruiser intergalactic stars. SDF-1 appears in Tatsunoko Production’s Macross, telling the story of the sudden and unexpected arrival of SDF-1 on Earth, bringing the world together, and using SDF-1 to explore the universe just for it and its crew teleported light years away. When in combat bot form, the SDF-1 is 3,970 feet (1210 meters) tall and is capable of accommodating the population of a small city.
4 Dekabatsu – 3.1 miles high
Gainax Studio Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann’s hit mecha anime continues the city-scale mecha genre with the iconic Dekabatsu that stretches 5 kilometers into the eye-watering sky. This massive mechanism was originally used by Earth’s inhabitants to battle the mysterious alien species known as the Anti-Spirals, but after the Anti-Spirals were forced to retreat, the Anti-Spirals used these Giant machines including Dekabatsu to suppress humanity and force. They live below the Earth’s surface for generations. The only way humans can overcome Dekabatsu is to simultaneously attack it with hundreds of smaller machines until its weak point is identified and compromised.
3 “Soldier Mode” Macross Cannons – 3.7 miles high
Kenichi Yaygai’s Macross II: Lovers Again creates the third Macross franchise on the list, which is the Macross Cannon Warrior Mode. This mech first appeared after making peace with the alien race that first attacked the world. However, a new intergalactic threat, known as the Marduks, begins to strike Earth. Fortunately, prior conflict experience with aliens means that Earth is prepared for the challenge. One of the weapons available to them is the Macross Cannons, which are 3.7-mile (6,000 meters) long Super Dimension Forts like the SDF-1 and the Macross Quarter. The main difference is that when the Macross Cannon is in bot combat mode, it forms a cannon configuration that allows it to fire massive energy capable of wiping out an entire fleet of star cruisers.
2 Getter Emperor – As Big As A Galaxy
While the idea of robots combining to form a giant super-mechanical these days is almost a cliché in mecha anime, it wasn’t like that before Getter Robo, anime depicting the super component The first mechanic was called Getter Robo. Getter Robo is used by mankind to protect them from the evil intentions of the Dinosaur Empire, an evolved race of dinosaurs that has blamed humans for the extinction of their dinosaur ancestors, many species Dinosaurs once roamed the Earth. Later, when humanity decided to explore space with the Getter Robo, a new model appeared that combined the powers of the three Getter Robo to form a giant Getter Emperor. According to Getter Robo Anthology Chapter 4, when completely unobstructed, the Getter Emperor is as large as a galaxy.
1 Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – Bigger Than The Universe
While humanity was eventually able to defeat the Anti-Spiral, at the end of the first Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan story the alien invaders didn’t just run back to their corner of the universe. Instead, they regrouped and returned with an even larger force, armed with even larger machines. Faced with another attempt to destroy them, humans decide it’s time to eliminate the Anti-Spiral threat once and for all. To this end, series protagonist Simon has accumulated enough Spiral Energy to create Super Tengen Toppa Guren Lagann (STTGL), a machine so massive that it’s bigger than the observable universe. . Of course, the power of STTGL is incalculable. It is truly the “mother of all mechas”.
While anime mecha fans know that robots and mobile suits can reach sizable sizes, it’s impressive how ridiculously massive mechs can be found in anime and manga. In just a little over 50 years, the biggest mechanic has gone from Astro Boy to several stories high Gigantor to Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann that pervades the universe. Although it may be hard to visualize, only time will tell how big biggest anime mech will become in the future.
