10 Best Gateway Anime
8. Gurren Lagann
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a complex show that not only deconstructs the mecha genre but asks questions about the nature of humanity and our connection to the divine. Studio Gainax and creator Hiroyuki Imaishi decided in the aftermath to produce a mecha show that was both a spiritual successor to Evangelion and also its polar opposite.
To say the creators threw everything at the wall to see what sticks, would be a bit of an understatement. The show is ostensibly about giant robot's piloted by teenagers fighting back against an oppressive regime. It starts with two friends, the ever cool and fearless Kamina and the shy and sensitive Simon, toiling away in an isolated subterranean village under the rule of the Spiral King.
Shortly after Simon finds a small mecha resembling a face, a giant evil mecha called a Gunmen crashes into their lives, and the show turns the dial up to eleven. Simon, Kamina and their new friend Yoko go on an odyssey to the surface. The plan is to free the people from the rule of the Spiral King, and with each episode, the show ratchets up everything; moving from small firefights between two mechas to massive space battles and planet destroying lasers!