Anime Like Knights and Magic
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
If you’re looking at the inspirations behind any mecha-related anime you can eventually draw things back to Gundam, the granddaddy of all things mecha. The anime megaseries has been running since 1979, with iteration after iteration in all forms of different media. One of the latest anime series, however, is Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, which definitely takes a more gritty, grounded approach than the typical mecha anime.
Iron-Blooded Orphans stars a young man named Mikazuki, a member of a private security company called Chryse Security Guard, who basically use children and young adults like Mikazuki as slave labor. When Chryse is attacked by the military organization Gjallarhorn, Mikazuki and the others take the chance to overthrow the company and form their own PMC called Tekeden. Iron-Blooded Orphans is a bit more dark and serious than Knights and Magic, but its mecha action is second to none. The main Gundam of the series that Mikazuki pilots, called Barbatos, uses a series of unique weapons and attacks that don’t involve the typical laser swords or guns, instead wielding a massive iron spear. Piloting the mecha is central to the main character’s personalities and motivation in both Iron-Blooded Orphans and Knights and Magic, and any mecha fan should enjoy the latest Gundam series just fine.
