In Western nations, Transformers probably served as many people's introduction to mecha; however, that beloved franchise is just a drop in the giant robot bucket. Mecha anime has been around for roughly half a century, and the theme's manga debut goes back even further. Classics like Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Giant Robo and Go Nagai's Mazinger Z helped write the blueprint that would go on to spawn timeless properties like Gundam and all-time great series such as Neon Genesis Evangelion.