History Main / InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha

* Welcome to ''VideoGame/WildARMs'', an RPG based on the wild west complete with horses and steam-powered locomotives. Your Chocobo for the game is a 30-foot tall, ancient, walking death-machine. Enjoy!

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' had the Omega Weapon as a BonusBoss. And it had an upgrade for the BonusDungeon.

* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'':
** Time: present. Location: Siberia. Scene: a jeep fleeing with two passengers, one of them a victim of illegal Soviet experimentation. As they are nearly safe, a Hind appears and blows away the jeep. The survivor is about to get shot by the Hind's chaingun when suddenly a HUGE knife flies out of the forest and impales the heli. Enter the protagonist in an M9E mecha using equipment that shouldn't exist for about 50 years. Seconds later we are treated to a scene of mechas jumping around like ninjas. Note again: this is the present, not the future.
** This anachronism is actually lampshaded and becomes a major plot point later on.

*** Of course, [[MeaningfulName Otacon]] is an [[Otaku anime geek]] who got into robot engineering for the sole reason that he wanted to build HumongousMecha like in {{anime}}. Of course he is going to want to [[RuleOfCool snazz it up]]. His commentary in [=MGS4=] suggests he and the rest of the engineering team sneaked in a lot of little features like that, [[ThrowItIn just because they had the opportunity]].

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' devotes an entire chapter to buildup of piloting a giant robot. And it was awesome.

* ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'': The Goliath (and to a lesser extent the Dragoon) could've been a more normal tank-type vehicle, but that wouldn't have been [[RuleOfCool nearly cool enough]]. [[VideoGame/StarcraftII The sequel]] [[UpToEleven adds even more]].

** Taken UpToEleven [[spoiler:in the GrandFinale, the plot of which centers around [[BigBad Kuvira]] invading Republic City using a giant robot with an arm-mounted laser cannon. And it is ''awesome''.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', one of Pain's bodies is [[SchizoTech inexplicably]] some sort of HollywoodCyborg, with rocket boots, a RocketPunch, MacrossMissileMassacre deployed from his other arm, and a [[EnergyWeapon laser beam]] from his head. This just seems to be part of his bloodline ability rather than actual technology. [[spoiler:He pulls off the same moves using his own body after being resurrected by Kabuto.]]

* In the ''ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' Season 8 comics, Dawn ([[RentAZilla by now a giant]]) goes on a rampage through Tokyo, stomping on vampires and generally causing mayhem. The vampires counterattack with a HumongousMecha version of Dawn [[BewareMyStingerTail with a Godzilla-esque tail]] and the two of them battle it out in the middle of the city, with [[HollywoodNerd Andrew]] giving tactics advice from a helicopter overhead.

*** Of course, [[MeaningfulName Otacon]] is a [[HollywoodNerd Hollywood]] {{Otaku}} who got into robot engineering for the sole reason that he wanted to build HumongousMecha like in {{anime}}. Of course he is going to want to [[RuleOfCool snazz it up]]. His commentary in [=MGS4=] suggests he and the rest of the engineering team sneaked in a lot of little features like that, [[ThrowItIn just because they had the opportunity]].

* Christopher Ruocchio's ''Literature/TheSunEater'' books are about a TouchedByVorlons DarkMessiah who's story world is half ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' and half ''Literature/BookOfTheNewSun''. After much of the previous action in the series being boarding actions on starships or gladiator arena fights, the 3rd book has a planetary HoldTheLine action against the vile alien Cielcin. On the ground, are the colossi. These are bipedal, quadrapedal and other multi-legged GiantRobot{{s}} that have immense [[PlasmaCannon plasma]] [[WaveMotionGun artillery]] for bombarding enemy positions and the colossi also double as shielded, heavily armored large-scale troop transports.

A SisterTrope to LikeThatShowButWithMecha.

* The final battle of the SchoolFestival arc in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMaig'' throws in mecha just for the heck of it. And Franchise/{{Gundam}} references. [[RuleOfFunny Plenty of Gundam references]].

** A [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] ComicBook/LexLuthor pastiche (on an alien world where Bats had {{Superman}}-esque powers due to the environment) voiced by Creator/ClancyBrown had RaygunGothic evil robots. It was even more awesome than it sounds.

* Christopher Ruocchio's ''The Suneater'' books are about a TouchedByVorlons DarkMessiah who's story world is half ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' and half ''Literature/BookOfTheNewSun''. After much of the previous action in the series being boarding actions on starships or gladiator arena fights, the 3rd book has a planetary HoldTheLine action against the vile alien Cielcin. On the ground, are the colossi. These are bipedal, quadrapedal and other multi-legged GiantRobot{{s}} that have immense [[PlasmaCannon plasma]] [[WaveMotionGun artillery]] for bombarding enemy positions and the colossi also double as shielded, heavily armored large-scale troop transports.

* ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'', an anime about cruelty and child exploitation in an apocalyptic world where the majority of civilization has hit a technological regression, adds in mechas when they're entirely unnecessary. Doesn't stop the show from being terribly tragic, but sort of contradicts the Dark Age atmosphere.
* ''Manga/SoulEater'' is best described as a supernatural-themed FightingSeries. Towards the end, however, there's one fight scene where it manages to pull off this trope in the most absurdly hilarious way possible. And yes, it was indeed awesome.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' both follows and subverts this trope, ironically enough. The series is a tale of war, oppression, supernatural powers and BlackAndGrayMorality. It also has mecha that are constantly used as the primary weapon of both sides involved in the conflict. However, the manga version of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion attempts to follow the same plot as the anime, except the Knightmares are non-existant. Instead, they wage war using other weapons such as infantry, planes, VTOL-crafts, and ships. Kururugi Suzaku is seen piloting a VTOL-craft (an armed helicopter) most of the time. While this seems like a good idea in theory, the absence of mecha in the manga makes the scale of events look quite a bit weird, especially when Zero and the Black Knights are sometimes reduced to committing simple acts of vandalism on school grounds, which can certainly be considered less awesome than engaging in mecha action sequences.

* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob--''Bob fights a [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20090811.html giant robot lion]] for no apparent reason.

[[caption-width-right:300: Well, for once it's not Tokyo getting rampaged.]]

** The trope appears again with the tree houses that turn into giant fighting robots in "Tree to Get Ready".

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}'', but was justified, as it was in an episode parodying Power Rangers.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E23BackToTheBarn "Back to the Barn"]] has two characters, Pearl and Peridot, settle who is the best engineer by building, competing in, and finally fighting in two mecha.

Other popular [[GarnishingTheStory condiments]] for when authors feel a science fiction or adventure plot is in need of fresh flavor are [[RentAZilla giant monsters]], [[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons dragons]], [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies zombies]] and [[GratuitousNinja ninja]].

* Instead of having to fight one, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' gives the player a lore friendly version of a [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Gundam]] to ''[[FallingIntoTheCockpit pilot]]'', specifically the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00 Raiser]], for a one-time fight in one of the game's side quests. You even get a limited use version of that Gundam's SuperMode.

* The final battle of the SchoolFestival arc in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' throws in mecha just for the heck of it. And Franchise/{{Gundam}} references. [[RuleOfFunny Plenty of Gundam references]].

* In ''{{Film/Aliens}}'', MiniMecha loading bots are used to help load heavy missiles onto the drop ships. Ripley was trained to use those, and she utilizes it in the final battle against the alien queen, while dropping the PreAssKickingOneLiner "Get away from her, you ''bitch''!".

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' - because what's a massive, apocalyptic battle with without skyscraper-sized mechs that can level cities with a single shot? The newer editions have been critizised for introducing more and more stompy robots to the game, invoking this trope.

* The Knights of the Holy Lance in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' are what happens when you throw this on a pot with StupidJetpackHitler. They were supposed to have actual personalities and be ''feminine''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' features Liberty Prime, a giant robot who memorably spouts anti-communist propaganda in battle (making him a literal PropagandaMachine.) A particularly egregious example, as ''Fallout 3'' takes place in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] ScavengerWorld where the realistic odds of anybody getting a functioning giant robot are astronomical. The guy is just so damn cool though, that's he's become a MemeticMutation.
** Choosing to side with the Brotherhood of Steel in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'' gives the Sole Survivor the opportunity to assist with the rebuilding of Liberty Prime.

** ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' introduces the UNSC Mantis, a ChickenWalker loaded with firepower.

* IroncladTactics is "A fast-paced, card-based tactics game ... set in the [[DuringTheWar American Civil War]] ... WITH ROBOTS."

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''

[[caption-width-right:300:[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E14TheNextDoctor Well, for once]] [[UsefulNotes/{{London}} it's not]] [[TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse Tokyo]] [[TheTokyoFireball getting rampaged]].]]