10. Sentinels, X-Men
So last time I talked about how superheroes often end up fighting evil giant robots. It's almost a rite of passage for the cape & cowl set. Well the X-Men are lucky enough to have them as a consistent enemy. I talked about the Sentinels a little while back because of their upcoming appearance in Days of Future Past so I won't go too long here. But even besides their status as perennial foes of the X-Men, the Sentinels are kind of the standard bearers for giant mecha in American comics. While you can probably find plenty of huge robots in Western comics, most of these are one-off menaces or weapons for villains. There's not the same diversity and depth you'd find in Manga, but the Sentinels are the exception. Almost 50 years on and they're still kicking, trying to destroy all mutants. And with their classic Jack Kirby design, they'll probably be around for 50 more.
9. Gipsy Danger, Pacific Rim
The rookie. So you're probably thinking Gipsy and PacRim is too new to put on the 20 Greatest list, let alone in the Top 10. To which I would advise you to go watch Pacific Rim again. Gipsy here is the old warhorse, an obsolete model brought out to kick giant monster ass once again. And she does it flawlessly. When her pilots are in sync, almost nothing can stand in the way. The Hong Kong battle is testament to that. Gipsy singlehandedly took down two kaiju that had ripped through the other jaegers with ease. And her nuclear-powered core is what led to victory but that's getting spoilery. Point is, Gipsy Danger is the Millenium Falcon of giant robots. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts.
8. Gigantor
If Mazinger is the granddad of giant robots, then Gigantor is the great-granddad. Seriously. First appearing in 1956 as Tetsujin-26, Gigantor (as he's called in America) was the first giant robot featured in anime. But instead of being piloted or moving on his own, Gigantor was remote-controlled by young Shotaro Kaneda. So in some ways he's almost a predecessor of the Iron Giant. Gigantor makes this list for his historical significance, paving the way for pretty much everybody else on this list. And also his great theme song.
7. Voltron
What's cooler than one giant robot? Giant robots that combine together to form an even more giant robot. And there you can't do better than Voltron, Defender of the Universe. While not the first combining mecha, Voltron is certainly the most remembered and the one that will first come to kind. While most of the time it's five seperate giant robot lions, when times are dire they combine together into one huge dude that slices monsters in half with a sword. A sword made from a laser. Just look at him up there. Even if you don't know much about Voltron (like me) You can tell he's cool by looking at him.
6. Mechagodzilla
The Brainiac to Godzilla's Superman, Mechagodzilla was born from good intentions. Godzilla is always coming around destroying everything? Build a giant robot Godzilla to stop him. Genius! Too bad it didn't really work. Yes, in each of the different Godzilla continuities Mechagodzilla is either taken over by evil aliens or becomes evil and becomes more of a menace than Godzilla. Decked out like a kaiju-sized Terminator with guns, lasers, missiles and all sorts of things, every confrontation with Mechagodzilla is a sight to see. This is why it's usually the last fight in the movie. But despite how many times he's destroyed, he always returns. Like the atomic furnace that birthed Godzilla, his each appearance breeds escalation. And nothing shows that clearer than the undying Mechagodzilla.
5. Gurren Lagann
Ah, Gurren Lagann. You sweet madness, you. Where most shows would just come up with one giant robot and upgrade it once or twice throughout the series, Gurren Lagann is the one mecha anime where you can chart the character's progress by how big their robot is. Starting off with one robot a little bigger than a car, they progress up and up until you reach the finale and the robot is the size of a damn galaxy. So it makes the list for size if nothing else. But also because the entire show is a love-letter to giant robot anime as a whole. Each section pays homage to a different era of the genre, reveling in the tropes and creating some great animation along the way. After Gainax tore down the genre with Evangelion, they built it back up with this. Row-Row, Fight the Powah!
4. The Megazord, Power Rangers
So we've established that giant robots that combine to make bigger robots are cool. We've also established that giant robot dinosaurs are cool. So logically putting them together should be even cooler. And they are, just look at the Megazord. The mightiest weapon in the Power Rangers' arsenal, the Megazord can take down any of Rita's giant monsters. Though you have to ask the logical question of why they don't just bust it out at the beginning of each episode. At any rate, every time the Megazord is unleashed is a major "fuck yeah!" moment. A mammoth monument to the Rangers' ability as defenders of the earth. Bit of a nostalgic pick for me going with the original, but any of the Megazords could fit the bill. Actually makes me wonder why none of the villains ever tried making their own instead of going with giant monsters. The monsters aren't very effective against it.
3. Gundam Rx-78, Mobile Suit Gundam
I can't put into this one paragraph how much of a big deal Gundam is to Japanese pop culture and giant robots in particular. It's often thought of as the equivalent to Star Trek or Star Wars, that big and influential. And the thing that made it that big was realism. Gundam wasn't the bright and shiny Roddenberry future, it was a relatively down-to-earth war story just with giant robots. The mecha weren't fantastic Scientific devices that protected cities and fought monsters, they were mass-produced weapons built to go toe-to-toe with other mechs. This franchise is still going strong to this day and if you're even remotely interested in anime you'll encounter it at some point. Gundam brought a degree of realism, human drama and marketability that helped the giant robot genre to thrive in anime and still does. More than enough to make the list.
2. Optimus Prime, Transformers
"Freedom is the Right of all Sentient Beings" Preach on Brother Prime. Optimus Prime is, to me at least, the hero of the 1980s. Like Superman or the Lone Ranger before him, he stood for aspirational values. He fought for what was right and embodied virtues like Duty, Comraderie, and Fighting for others. Prime had no reason to help the puny humans of Earth, but he felt obligated to help them because he and the Autobots had brought the evil of the Decepticons to them. Prime continues to inspire people, a version of him is present in every Transformers continuity ready to knock down Megatron at every turn. Heck, he even inspires me. Just look at my icon. And like Superman and the Lone Ranger, he's had a shitty movie made about him.
1. The Iron Giant
Man, who doesn't love this movie? The Giant tops the list because he embodies everything great about giant robots and humanity. Like all giant robots, he's got tons of lasers and weapons. It's a shame he doesn't have any giant monsters to fight. But the human part comes in when he decides not to use those lasers and weapons. Instead of being the massive destroyer his creators intended him to be, the Giant took his own path. He decided to defend people, even if it meant getting destroyed himself. His arc in the movie is about becoming the sort-of aspirational hero like Prime above. And if a giant metal monster can find his humanity, then maybe there's hope for the rest of us. True, this is all because he's suffering from Kakarot Syndrome* but look how well that worked out in that case too. The Iron Giant is loveable, funny, a big softie and is voiced by Vin Diesel. He may not be the biggest, the strongest, most powerful or most interesting looking; but he's the most human. And ironically that's what makes him top the list.
*getting bonked on the head causing amnesia and identity loss
nit pick time, the power ranger's most powerful weapon for that era was technically the ultrazord (which granted, had the megazord at the center of it.) also, the villians did built their own zords, in that era too boot. it's called serpentera, and dwarfed the megazord by allot.
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