Kidou Senshi Gundam

The franchise of Mobile Suit Gundam, and specifically it's Universal Century timeline (UC), is one of monumental value for the anime medium as a whole, since it is one of the first animated media that features the human tragedies and the fragility of the human psyche in wartimes, the basis of which are the production cast's memories from their childhood, as kids who had to grew up in the aftermath of World War 2, which you can definitely feel as undertones throughout the franchise's origins.

The series and episode count could seem daunting and tad overwhelming as count, hence why at the start of this list a few "hooks" of a shows will be included, which are fairly standalone by themselves, with shorter episode count, but still having the titular Gundam thematic hallmarks as a series. If you were doubtful about whether this show is for you, they are very good indicator whether you'll enjoy your time with the Universal Century timelines, which is dubbed the "main" timeline for a very good reason.

Interested in the genre? Despite what people might say, mecha is a rich character focused genre with a variety of incredibly unique stories to tell. Here's a collection of shows with short, straight-to-the-point descriptions about each. Note that some of these were translated by fans, and aren't available officially/legally. A good amount of these are available on various streaming services, tho as for all well you might have to sail the high seas a bit. Disregard my personal scores, as its subjective at end of the day and you might like it. Also please don't dismiss some of these just because they're really old, they pretty much all hold up well even today. Check each out, and see what strikes your fancy. Any shows I personally haven't watch I got info on from fellow mecha friends of mine:

Adult Swim (stylized as [adult swim] or abbreviated as [as]) is an American timeshare cable television network bundled with Cartoon Network. The programs featured on Adult Swim are geared toward teens and young adults. Broadcast since 2001, much of the network's general content is known for its risqué, unorthodox and often bizarre presentation, while many of the series' features are developed in stark contrast with traditional American television programs. The block features stylistically varied animated and live-action shows including original programming, syndicated shows and Japanese anime, generally with minimal or no editing for content.

Source: https://toonami.fandom.com/wiki/Adult_Swim

Note: This Interest Stack is still being edited.

All shows featured in Super Robot Wars V
Not included:
Gundam Crossbone (manga)
Full Metal Panic (post-anime Light Novels)

All shows featured in Super Robot Wars X
Missing Gundam Crossbone (manga)

All shows featured in Super Robot Wars T
Not including: Crossbone Gundam (Manga)

Just some kool anime from the 70s

List of Original Anime Series' (not including sequels/specials/movies)
Original Anime are anime without source material

List of series featured in SRW1 - SRWAlpha

Classic 20th-century series and films that most old-school otaku have heard of and many older fans will cite as the reason they became a life-long weeb in the first place. Some have gotten sequels or modern reboots, while others have been relegated to the past and stand alone as fondly-remembered products of their time. If you want to take a journey through anime history, these shows are the place to start!

Additional info as requested by MAL staff:

Definition of classic: "A work of art of recognized and established value."

Criteria for this list: Were popular or well-known at some point during the 20th century, or were based on well-known source material of the time.

Mobile Suit Gundam is probably the most influential anime franchise ever, and contrary to common opinion, it is no a meathead action kids' show full of repetitive robot fights. Gundam is a very flawed but very meaningful work of art, full of thought provoking sociopolitical commentary on war as well as interesting supernatural conceptualization.

The Universal Century Timeline is the original Gundam "universe" conceived by Yoshiyuki Tomino, as well as the best Gundam timeline, but sadly it has a bad reputation for being extremely inaccesible due to the myriads of installments it has and the watch order that tends to confuse many with many remakes, alternative versions and branching spin-offs. The series is however easy to watch if you just have a clear order, and this interest stack is an attempt at offering a concise and simple list of the of the most important and best installments so you can watch the best stuff without having to plow through the admittedly abundant trash.

I will include all essential works and add a few ones that are not essential but still highly recommended for either high quality or thematic significance, but I'll make it clear when an installment is not *really* essential and just recommended. My criteria for essential is most of the time being crucial to the timeline or simply so high in quality that it makes no sense to skip it.

If you want a COMPLETE watch order including every installment and go deep down the rabbit hole I recommend the interest stack called "Mobile Suit Gundam: Universal Century Timeline Watchorder" by user giffica, as I found it to be a very thorough and well put together list.

Real robots are a subgenre of the mecha genre, in which the mechas are depicted as realistic warmachines as opposed to the superheroistic depiction of the super robot subgenre. It was started in 1979 by Mobile Suit Gundam.

A collection of select mecha anime from 1972 to 1980.

"Elitist" has been a very generic and broad term to generalise many types of not-so-mainstream or "deep" anime, so this list is very diverse and it's criteria are not always clear cut and objective. Nonetheless I try to provide a proper explanation for why each entry is included. Generally speaking these are shows that fit one OR more of these adjectives: Experimental, Avant-Garde, Psychological, Philosophical, Obscure, Classic, Critically Acclaimed, Artsy, Old, etc...

Some shows here are not necessarily obscure or underground at all, but they are still here because they have been stereotyped as "elitist" by the community over time, due to their experimental or artsy nature. Similarly, some shows here are not necessarily artsy or experimental in nature, but their old/underwatched/obscure nature gives them a reason to be here. Not all aspects have to be checked to be included. Only one per franchise.

I have personally watched the great majority of the anime in this list, but there are a couple which I haven't. Still added them because of how strongly they are stereotyped as "elitist" or have fitting characteristics to be classified as such. I know my list still lacks many essential classics, I will continue to add and expand into this list as I watch those personally.

For more recommendations, go to my other Interest Stacks, "Elitist Anime 2" , "Elitist Anime 3" and "Elitist Anime 4", whose links are:

- https://myanimelist.net/stacks/4256
- https://myanimelist.net/stacks/4756
- https://myanimelist.net/stacks/10188
- https://myanimelist.net/stacks/15961

Mecha? Super robot? Real robot? Androids? Cyborgs? Mechanical suits? All of them, fuck it. All have their merits and should be appreciated by all. Only really recommending stuff I have seen or have general enough knowledge of! (i'm pretty new to this sorry)

Anime with morally gray characters

Just some of the most popular Mecha anime, not the greatest. Some of them that I still need to watch too!

Shows with confusing/ controversial Watch order