From Gundam to Voltes V, here are our picks for the most anticipated Mecha and Robot-themed shows of 2022.

It’s the New Year! The New Year means new opportunities, new resolutions, and of course, new mecha shows to watch out for (as well as merchandise to collect). While Mecha has been pushed aside in favor of more Fantasy-themed adventures, like Isekais, it is not without its good amount of offering from 2021.

Eighty-Six surprised us as they bring us back close to the roots of the Real Robot genre (kind of), SSSS.Dynazenon gave us a good dose of Super Robot/Tokusatsu action in anime form. We were blessed with a new Gundam story from the Universal Century with Hathaway’s Flash. And finally, we had our closure with Evangelion 3.0+1.0.

The list is still not extensive as we want it to be in terms of shows. But even so, the offerings were promising and gave proof that Mecha is not entirely gone. That trend will hopefully continue as we already have a good lineup of shows and adaptations to look forward to in 2022.

Gundam is back with a new story: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

The king is back baby! Seven years after the success of Iron-Blooded Orphans, Sunrise is finally ready to give us another original Gundam story in Mobile Suit Gundam The Witch from Mercury. The series was announced during the 2nd Gundam Conference back in September of 2021 however, not much info was revealed aside from the title. What we know though is that this will be the first original Gundam story ever since Iron Blooded Orphans.,and that it is coming sometime this year. A new original story means a new universe or timeline with new characters, although will still possibly follow the usual Gundam tropes, and of course, new mobile suits. Speaking of Mobile Suits, just like every other Gundam show, a new Gundam series means new Gunpla so my fellow mecha pilots, I guess it’s time to start saving up.

Speaking of Gundam, the story of Hathaway Noa also continues this year with the next installment to Hathaway’s Flash titled “Hathaway’s Flash – Sun of Bright.

All hail Lelouch: Code Geass: Z of the Recapture

On the talk of continuations. The story of Lelouch Lamperouge continues this year with the next installment to the new Code Geass movie series, Code Geass: Z of the Recapture. Lelouch’s comeback was celebrated by Code Geass fans and easily became one of the most highly anticipated Mecha projects when it was first revealed back in 2016. The second film, Z of the Recapture was announced during Lelouch’s Birthday Celebration and is set to come out sometime this year.

More Gundam: Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island

Do you know what would make a new Gundam Universal Century story? Well, a seemingly random episode from the original Mobile Suit Gundam series of course! Now, we have to be honest this initially felt like a weird choice for us. Cucuruz Doan was a character in the original Mobile Suit Gundam television series introduced in Episode #15. In the show, Doan was a former pilot for the Principality of Zeon who was tasked to slaughter innocent civilians, specifically children. Bothered by his conscience, and as well as that very disturbing consequence of war, he instead chose to desert his post, and take the children with him to a remote island in the Pacific where he thought no one will find them. Of course, the protagonist and young Gundam Pilot Amuro Ray would stumble upon them accidentally, and while an initial altercation between the two took place, they ultimately worked together towards a similar goal. Cucuruz Doan is perhaps one of the very few episodes in the original run of MSG that tried to humanize or show the more human side of the supposed enemy faction, the Principality of Zeon, from the perspective of the main protagonist. As such, the film will hope to expand on that and perhaps give us more background on Doan, the island, the events leading to his desertion, and even perhaps his ultimate fate. Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island is set to come out later this year although just like the Witch from Mercury, no actual release date is announced just yet.

Also, feddies suck, Sieg Zeon.

Support Local? Voltes V: Legacy

Ah, the show that is already dividing fans even before it’s coming out. Actually, even we are not entirely sure if this series makes it this year or perhaps production will extend to the next.  Voltes V: Legacy is the heavily anticipated Filipino adaptation of the iconic Super Robot series, Voltes V. Complete with a local cast, and a local production studio partnering with Toei. This is also going to be the first live-action adaptation ever of Voltes V ever since its inception so huge expectations weigh heavy on the production crew. So far the mini teasers and video spots have been well received, mainly because of the surprisingly good quality of CG although there are still parts that leave much to be desired. Still, assuming that the show is still in its early or perhaps nearing the middle part of its production, we can only assume and hope that this one does not disappoint.

Also if this one comes out this year or not too.