In the 90s, anime, especially Mecha anime, was still in its infancy. There were fewer animation studios and less money to go around than there are today, but that didn’t stop creators from trying to make something unique.
As a result, we were introduced to a host of characters like Yuki Sohma and Sailor Moon’s Usagi Tsukino — characters who have since become iconic figures in anime history.
But if you look beyond these fan favorites, you’ll discover plenty of other notable characters (and shows) coming out during this period too!
Here’s a list of my favorite 90s Mecha Anime; enjoy!
1. Mobile Suit Gundam F91
First on my list of 90s Mecha Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam F91 is a 1991 Japanese science fiction film directed by Fumihiko Takayama.
It is the first movie in the Gundam franchise to be filmed in widescreen and the first to be shot in 70mm film format.
The story of Mobile Suit Gundam F91 takes place during the Universal Century timeline, between U.E. 1151 and U.C. 1190152, years after Mobile Suit Gundam (original series) and three years after Mobile Suit Victory Gundam when humanity has spread into space and colonized other planets including Jupiter’s moon Europa.
A colony drops onto Earth itself due to faulty navigation systems causing an interplanetary war between five major factions (United Earth Sphere Alliance [UESA], Republic of Zeon [R.Z.], Earth Federation Forces [EFF], Space Revolutionary Army [SRA] from Mars, Jupiter settlers) which lasts until UESF unit “Gundam team” pilot Seabook Arno destroys all enemies except for one group led by ace pilot Zechs Merquise.
2. Knights of Ramune
Knights of Ramune is a mecha anime with an interesting twist. It’s set in the future, where humans have colonized Mars, and the planet has become inhabited by creatures known as “Marduk.”
The Marduk are essentially humanoid giants who are capable of speech. They’ve been exiled from Earth after some war (which is never explained), and a group of them have been imprisoned on the moon for years.
When the story begins, one of these Marduk escapes from his imprisonment and ends up landing on Earth, where he becomes fascinated with our culture.
He falls in love with a young woman named Hikari, who lives nearby, then takes her back to his home planet so she can meet his family and friends—a decision that quickly proves disastrous!
Knights of Ramune is an action-packed show full of bright colors and high-flying mecha battles between giant robots called “Raimuns.” You’ll see plenty of these scenes throughout this series:
If you like 90s Mecha Anime but want something different than what’s readily available (and aren’t interested in watching Neon Genesis Evangelion), then Knights of Ramune might be what you’re looking for!
3. Martian Successor Nadesico
Martian Successor Nadesico is a mecha anime series created by Takeuchi Ryōichi and produced by Sunrise. The series is set in 2167, when humans began colonizing Mars.
The story follows the exploits of the crew of the Jovian Lander Nadesico as they attempt to survive their missions and make sense of their lives in space.
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a 90s Mecha Anime that was released in 1995. It’s a mecha series featuring giant Evangelion robots and the pilots who control them.
The story follows Shinji Ikari, a young boy who moves to Tokyo-3 with his father, Gendō, because of his role as a pilot of one of this titular Evangelion.
The first few episodes are typical for an animé: there’s lots of action, some humor, and plenty of exposition explaining what’s happening.
However, watching Neon Genesis Evangelion becomes more complicated than your average children’s show—with themes like depression and identity taking center stage—and it may take several views before you understand everything that happens here! Neon Genesis is available on Netflix.
5. Raideen the Superior
The story follows the adventures of an alien prince, Raideen, and his friends as they battle against the evil organization known as Zeravire. Raideen is one of the first anime series to feature a giant robot that transforms into a jet plane.
It also features a theme song performed by Seiichi Yamamoto, who went on to compose music for Mobile Suit Gundam and many other shows.
The voice actors for this show include Kōji Ishizaka (Raideen), Yoshiko Sakakibara (Chinami), Kei Tomiyama (Ito), and Masao Komura (Zeravire).
The 90s Mecha Anime aired on TBS in Japan from October 22, 1976, to December 26, 1976, and was later released across several countries, including France, Germany, and Italy, where it was retitled “Super Robot Raideen.”
6. Outlaw Star
Outlaw Star is a space opera mixing comedy, action, and drama. The show has been described as “a light-hearted romp with a fair amount of action and a lot of laughs.”
It follows the adventures of Gene Starwind and his partner Jim Hawking after they become entangled in an interstellar struggle involving pirates, outlaws, intergalactic mercenaries, and assassins.
7. Dominion Tank Police
Dominion Tank Police is a 90s mecha anime set in the future, but it feels like it could be an alternate reality version of Tokyo.
The story follows the adventures of Leona Ozaki, who, at the beginning of the series, is a rookie officer for OCP (Officer-controlled Combat Police). However, Leona soon becomes partnered with Aliases, a veteran officer.
Together they work to keep peace in Megatokyo City while fending off various evil groups trying to take control or destroy it.
The tanks are BattleCars and can go anywhere on land or water since they’re amphibious vehicles. These tanks have all kinds of weapons and features, such as retractable wheels and cameras, so you can see what’s ahead while driving them around town.
They also contain bulletproof shields that protect occupants from bullets fired by criminals or other enemies during armed conflicts with criminals known as “tankers.”
8. Gasaraki
Gasaraki is a 90s mecha anime series that will take place In this fictional world; the United Nations and a group of countries called the New Middle East Alliance are involved in an armed conflict over control of oil reserves (gasaraki means “back burner”).
The show follows several military units as they fight each other: one side uses conventional weapons while the other uses mechas—mechanical humanoid robots—that can turn into tanks or helicopters.
The show has a lot of political and military themes; it often explores how international conflicts are caused by economic motives like greed for money or power rather than simple hatred between different races or ethnicities.
One example is when some characters discuss why rival groups might choose to buy their own country’s industrial secrets instead of trying to steal them from another nation: “Why do you think they use their nationals?” asks one character rhetorically. “Because it’s cheaper.”
9. Blue Submarine No. 6
The 90s mecha anime is about a war between humans and a race of underwater creatures. The main character is a young officer who has to fight for his life while dealing with some interesting plot twists. The animation is very good, and it’s worth watching overall.
10. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is a 90s mecha anime set in the Universal Century, which is a fictional timeline that spans from 0079 to 0153. The series was produced by Sunrise and directed by Masashi Ikeda.
It aired on Japan’s WOWOW television network between April 7 and December 28, 1995.
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing was the first original Gundam series since Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam to have an entirely new cast of characters (including pilots) and the first franchise entry with an original storyline since Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam (which was released earlier than Zeta).
The plot follows five young boys who receive advanced mobile suits called Gundams at various points throughout their lives: Heero Yuy (the pilot of Gundam Wing Zero), Duo Maxwell (piloting Epyon), Trowa Barton (Gundam Heavyarms), Quatre Raberba Winner (Tallgeese IV) and Chang Wufei Chang ( Shenlong).
Furthermore, with these Gundams, they fight against O.Z. under its leader Treize Khushrenada for Earth’s freedom from its colonial rule and peace between human beings and colonies.
11. Cho Mashin Hero Wataru
The story follows a young boy, Wataru Ikusabe, and his father, who is kidnapped by the evil professor Bantorra.
Wataru and his friends must use their Mekabits (mecha fish) to fight against the professor’s Mecha Beast Army to rescue his father.
This 90s mecha anime show was based on an original manga titled “Cho Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru” (also known as “Super Robot Wars”).
The manga was written by Noboru Ōkouchi, who later wrote for other popular anime series such as “Mobile Suit Gundam Seed” and “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.”
12. Brave Exkaiser
Brave Exkaiser is a 90s mecha anime television series. It was produced by Sunrise and directed by Toshifumi Kawase. The series aired in Japan on Fuji Television from April 5, 1994, to March 30, 1995.
The show Brave Exkaiser takes place on Earth after aliens have invaded it from another world called the Dark Zone.
The only hope for humanity is with a robot created to fight back against these invaders – known as the Brave Robots or “BRAVES” for short – which are piloted by young boys chosen at birth who must work together despite their differences in order defend their homeworld from destruction at all costs!
13. Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040
In this 90s mecha anime, the story is set in A.D. 2040 and follows the adventures of the Knight Sabers, an all-female mercenary force.
The world has been ravaged by war, pollution, and economic collapse over the past decade—but things have turned around for Tokyo in recent years due to a massive influx of cash from an unknown source.
However, this newfound wealth has come at a cost: as more money flows into the city’s coffers, so does corruption and crime.
The Knight Sabers are hired by Genom Corporation for their protection after one of their top executives is murdered by another company executive called Dokuga (or “Duckie”).
As you might guess from its title, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 features plenty of high-powered weaponry—including smart guns (which can fire at multiple targets simultaneously), rocket launchers, and plenty of cool robots!
14. Getter Robo Go
Getter Robo Go is a Japanese 90s mecha anime series produced in 1999 by Sunrise. It is the third installment of the Getter Robo series and the second to be produced in an OVA format.
The plot of Getter Robo Go takes place several years after the conclusion of Getter Robo G, which was also a T.V. series but was not animated by Sunrise (the studio that made this).
It begins with Kenji Murasame piloting a new version of Getter-1 known as “Go” or “Jet” on its own to stop an alien invasion force known as General Mikiel’s army from conquering Earth.
15. Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell is a Japanese 90s mecha anime film directed by Mamoru Oshii and written by Kazunori Itō.
The film follows the exploits of Public Security Section 9, a fictional elite counter-terrorist task force led by Major Motoko Kusanagi that specializes in fighting technology-related crime.
Based on the manga of the same name, Ghost in the Shell was released on June 20, 1995.
The story follows Kusanagi as she investigates an elusive hacker called the Puppet Master. He has gained access to classified files from a major corporation and threatens to release them online.
At first, believing it to be a singular hacker, she finds out that their activities are part of an entire group of cyber-terrorist’s intent on creating widespread chaos throughout society via artificial intelligence robots reprogrammed for evil purposes
16. Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still
Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still is a Japanese 90s mecha anime film directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa and written by Yōsuke Kuroda. It is the third film in the Giant Robo franchise, following the OVA and T.V. series.
The story takes place in 1999 when a meteorite crashes into Tokyo Bay, creating an island that quickly becomes a hot spot for scientific research and development.
As a result, giant robots from various countries arrived to begin what would eventually become known as World War III.
During this battle, there is an assassination attempt on Dr. Mitsubishi (the chief scientist responsible for creating these giants). Still, he is saved by his assistant Kentaro Togami who pilots one of them (called Z-01).
So, He then goes on to defeat all three invading machines before being knocked unconscious by their leader Gaius Caesar Zeon’s super weapon, “Big B” ng Cannon.”
Conclusion
These are some of the best mecha anime from the 90s. I hope you enjoyed this list, and if you want to watch any of these shows for yourself, check out our website!
