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Bibliography for GURPS Mecha

Hundreds of different mecha-related books, videos and comics exist. The titles below only scrape the surface, but are a representative sampling of the best sources available in English.

Novels

Bear, Greg. Hardfought (1983). Cloned, energy-exosuited soldiers fight aliens, but human identity is the main casualty.

Benford, Gregory. Great Sky River (1987). Post-apocalypse nomads in battlesuits fight to survive against alien robots.

Cherryh, C.J. Rimrunners (1989). After the Company War ends, a battlesuit trooper finds herself trapped, incognito, among civilians on the other side.

Haldeman, Joe. The Forever War (1974). Battlesuit troopers fight a never-ending war as society changes around them.

Heinlein, Robert A. Starship Troopers (1959). Mobile infantry fight the alien, pseudo-arachnid "bugs." Contains the best description of battlesuits and their use in print.

Keith, William H. Battletech: Decision at Thunder Rift (1986). The first of many Battletech novels by various authors. A good source for a military mecha campaign.

Keith, William H. Warstrider series (1994). Exotic aliens and "realistic" mecha that transform via nanotechnology.

McKinney, Jack. Robotech series (1987). Novelization of TV series. Good inspiration for a cinematic military campaign.

Rowley, Chris. The War for Eternity (1983). Ursoid aliens and their human allies fight power-armored space marines.

Saberhagen, Fred. Berserker Man (1979). An unusual boy uses an energy exosuit with incredible powers to take on robots.

Smith, E.E. "Doc." Lensmen series (1948). Some of the first-ever powered armor suits are worn by the Galactic Patrol.

Steakley, John. Armor (1987). Battlesuited marines versus alien monsters.

Tomino, Yoshiyuki. Mobile Suit Gundam (1990). Novelization of the anime series.

Wells, H.G. War of the Worlds (1898). The original invasion of Earth, spearheaded by Martian battle mecha.

White, Steve. Legacy (1995). Human marines in well-described powered armor fight to liberate an alien world.

Mecha Anime and Cartoons

Anime is available in video and comic book stores. A few of the many mecha anime shows that exist include . . .

Appleseed (Manga Video). Battlesuited cops, cyborgs and terrorists clash in a realistic cyberpunk future.

Armored Trooper Votoms (US Manga). After the war, an ex-commando seeks a cause. Very realistic mecha designs.

Aura Battler Dunbine (Sunrise). Humans are transported to a magical world to serve as combat pilots. The first show to combine mecha with epic fantasy. Wonderful biomechanical tech.

Battletech. American animated series based on the FASA board game. Features extensive use of computer graphics.

Bubblegum Crisis (Animeigo). Female, powered-armor vigilantes fight a ruthless megacorp in cyberpunk Tokyo.

Dangaio (US Manga). An over-the-top anime featuring space pirates, combining mecha and super "esper weapon" heroes.

Fight! Iczer-One (US Manga). She may look like a elf, but she's a super-powered android come to save Earth from the invading Cthuwolf (say "Cthulhu"). An ultra-cinematic blend of Lovecraft and the mecha genre. Weird and wonderful.

The Five Star Stories. In an exotic techno-feudal society, female androids are raised as co-pilots for super mecha.

Gall Force (US Manga). A space war between an all-female culture and exotic aliens lurches toward apocalypse.

Genocyber (US Manga). Bloody tale of teenage espers, megacorps and mad scientists features a psi-enhancing battlesuit.

Gunbuster (US Manga). Over-the-top series starts out as a cute girl "mecha academy" show, but later turns into a hard-hitting war story with a focus on relativistic time dilation.

The Guyver (US Manga). A schoolboy who bonds with an alien biomechanical battlesuit is hunted by a megacorporation.

Hades Project Zeorymer (US Manga). Battling secret organizations, with super mecha and angst-ridden cloned pilots.

Kishin Corps (Pioneer). Pulp action in the 1930s, as the Japanese and Germans develop mecha and fight aliens.

Macross Plus (Manga Video). Best of the many Macross sequels, this one focuses on rival mecha test pilots and the creation of a computerized rock star.

Madox 01 (Animeigo). An ordinary joe finds a secret battlesuit – now the military wants it back.

Magic Knight Rayearth. Schoolgirls are transported to a fantasy world, becoming mecha pilots and mages.

Mazinger Z. The first show to feature a piloted giant robot, and the originator of most of the genre cliches!

Megazone 23 (Streamline). The archetype of all mecha conspiracies, featuring a cycle that turns into a battlesuit.

Metal Fighters Miku (Software Sculptors). Cute girl battlesuit wrestlers.

Mobile Suit Gundam (Sunrise). A civil war between space colonists and Earth is fought by mecha. Many sequels; favorites include Gundam 0080 and Char's Counterattack.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (AD Vision). A secret agency battles invading alien "angels" using its neural-interfaced mecha, but the teen-aged pilots suffer severe mental trauma.

Orguss 02 (Manga Video). Battle mecha from an ancient civilization are discovered by a culture that resembles Eastern Europe circa 1914. Espionage, palace intrigue and mecha battles!

Patlabor (Manga Video). Nicely done mecha cop series set in near-future Tokyo. The Patlabor 2 movie even features combat mecha in a U.N. peacekeeping operation!

Project A-Ko (US Manga). Comedy about two rival high-school girls: the super-powered girl next door, A-Ko, and the filthy-rich mecha inventor, B-Ko. Very, very weird.

Robot Carnival (Streamline). Anthology featuring various robot stories plus a battle between steam-age mecha.

Robotech (Streamline). Classic soap opera and alien invasion TV series featuring transforming mecha. The English version is a compilation of three different Japanese series: Macross, Southern Cross and Mospeada.

Solar Fang Dougram (Sunrise). Rebels vs. the Earth government. Its mecha designs were reused in Battletech.

Vision of Escaflowne (Sunrise). A school girl is transported into a world of dragons, warriors, and mecha.

Live Action Movies and Television

Aliens. Marines vs. hungry aliens. In the climax, Ripley uses a power-loader exoskeleton to fight the queen alien.

Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future (TV). Battlesuit team fights robot overlord.

The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The Empire employs combat walkers to assault rebel bases.

Gunhed. A US-Japanese attempt to bring anime-style giant robot action to the big screen.

The Guyver: Dark Hero. Movie version of the anime.

M.A.N.T.I.S. A battlesuited TV superhero fights crime.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (TV). When the going gets tough, the Power Rangers summon their giant mecha! This show and others like it are part of a large genre of Japanese super-team shows.

Pacific Rim. Mecha versus kaiju!

Robot Jox. Giant drivable robots fight gladiatorial duels. There's also a sequel.

Magazines, Comics and Manga

Animerica (Viz). Anime news and articles.

Appleseed (Dark Horse). Masamune Shirow's complex and ongoing cyberpunk mecha cop series.

Bubblegum Crisis (Dark Horse). Adapts the anime.

Dirty Pair (Dark Horse). A pair of sexy but destructive female agents wreak havoc, often while using mecha.

Ghost in the Shell (Dark Horse). More cyberpunk counter-terrorist action from the author of Appleseed.

Gremlin Trouble (ABP). Manga-style comedy with gremlins, pixies and mecha.

Iron Man (Marvel). The classic battlesuit hero!

Mangazine (Antarctic). Anime news and articles.

Mecha Press (Ianus). Anime and gaming articles.

Numerous mecha-oriented, Japanese-language magazines and imported Art of (your favorite anime show) books, model kits and video games are available from specialty stores.

Games

Battletech (FASA). Classic mecha boardgame.

The Forever War (Mayfair). Boardgame of the novel.

Heavy Gear (Dream Pod 9). Original mecha RPG and card game.

Legions of Steel (Global). Excellent miniatures game featuring human and alien battlesuit troops fighting robots.

Mekton and Mekton Zeta (R. Talsorian). Anime-oriented mecha RPG.

Ogre Miniatures and Battlesuit (Steve Jackson Games). Miniatures and board games of armored warfare in the 21st century.

Project A-Ko (Ianus). RPG based on the anime.

Robotech and Macross II (Palladium). RPGs based on the anime shows.

Starship Troopers (Avalon Hill). Boardgame of the novel.

Non-Fiction

Ledoux, Trish and Ranney, Doug. The Complete Anime Guide (Tiger Mountain, 1995).

McCarthy, Helen. The Anime Movie Guide (Titan, 1996).

Schodt, Frederik L. Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics (Kodansha, 1987).

Shaker, Stephen, and Wise, Alan: War Without Men (Pergamon-Brasseys, 1988). Describes real-life mecha technology!

Shirow, Masamune. Intron Depot (Dark Horse, 1992). Color art from Appleseed and other work, with English and Japanese text, plus Shirow's discussions of mecha technology.

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