What is this genre all about? A transforming craft is a human-built object, usually a robot but sometimes also a vehicle of some sort, that can rearrange its parts in order to switch between a minimum of two forms.
We present you the list of Transforming Craft anime you should watch right now.
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Top 20 Transforming Craft anime you should watch right now. [2026 List]
- 20. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
- 19. Macross
- 18. Mobile Suit Gundam
- 17. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
- 16. Tenkuu no Escaflowne
- 15. Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2
- 14. Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV
- 13. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Movie 2: Lagann-hen
- 12. Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo
- 11. Transformers the Movie
- 10. Voltron: Legendary Defender
- 9. Transformers One
- 8. RideBack
- 7. Sousei no Aquarion
- 6. Vandread
- 5. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Ore no Gurren wa Pikka-Pika!!
- 4. Transformers: Generation 1
- 3. Megazone 23
- 2. Densetsu Kyojin Ideon: Sesshoku-hen
- 1. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Movie 1: Gurren-hen
20. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Simon and Kamina were born and raised in a deep, underground village, hidden from the fabled surface. Kamina is a free-spirited loose cannon bent on making a name for himself, while Simon is a timid young boy with no real aspirations. One day while excavating the earth, Simon stumbles upon a mysterious object that turns out to be the ignition key to an ancient artifact of war, which the duo dubs Lagann. Using their new weapon, Simon and Kamina fend off a surprise attack from the surface with the help of Yoko Littner, a hot-blooded redhead wielding a massive gun who wanders the world above.
In the aftermath of the battle, the sky is now in plain view, prompting Simon and Kamina to set off on a journey alongside Yoko to explore the wastelands of the surface. Soon, they join the fight against the "Beastmen," humanoid creatures that terrorize the remnants of humanity in powerful robots called "Gunmen." Although they face some challenges and setbacks, the trio bravely fights these new enemies alongside other survivors to reclaim the surface, while slowly unraveling a galaxy-sized mystery.
Gurren Lagann has finished airing and it has 27 Episodes. It is also Known as: 天元突破グレンラガン, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, Making Break-Through Gurren Lagann, Heavenly Breakthrough Gurren Lagann, TTGL, Gurren Laggan
19. Macross
After a mysterious spaceship crashes into Earth, humanity realizes that they are not alone. Fearing a potential threat from space, the world pushes aside their nationalism, conflicting interests, and cultural differences, unifying under the banner of the United Nations. The newly formed UN forces decide to repurpose the alien spacecraft, naming it SDF-1 Macross. Unfortunately, on the day of its maiden voyage, a fleet of spaceships belonging to a race of aliens known as Zentradi descend upon Earth, and the SDF-1 Macross, acting of its own accord, shoots down the incoming squadron, sparking an intergalactic war.
In an attempt to escape, the Macross tries to launch itself into the Moon's orbit, but the ship—as well as the city was in—is teleported to the far reaches of space. Caught up in the mess are Hikaru Ichijou, a free-spirited acrobatic pilot, and Minmay Lynn, an aspiring idol. Together, alongside Macross's bridge officer Misa Hayase, they experience an epic journey rife with grief and drama as they begin their trek back to Earth, facing with the cruelties of war along the way.
Macross has finished airing and it has 36 Episodes. It is also Known as: Choujikuu Yousai Macross, 超時空要塞マクロス, Choujikuu Yousai Macross, Cho Jiku Yosai Macross, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, SDF Macross, Robotech (U.S.)
18. Mobile Suit Gundam
It is year 0079 of the Universal Century. Mankind has moved to space, living in colony clusters known as "Sides." One of these Sides declares itself the "Principality of Zeon" and declares war on the Earth Federation, the governmental body currently ruling Earth. Using powerful humanoid robots known as "mobile suits," Zeon quickly gains the upper hand.Nine months into the conflict, the Earth Federation has developed its own powerful mobile suit called the Gundam. When Zeon launches an attack on the colony holding the Gundam, a 15-year-old civilian named Amuro Ray suddenly finds himself thrown into a conflict that will take him all across Earth and space, pitting him against the enemy's ace pilot, Char Aznable.
Mobile Suit Gundam has finished airing and it has 43 Episodes. It is also Known as: Kidou Senshi Gundam, 機動戦士ガンダム, First Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam: 0079, MSG
17. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
It is Universal Century 0087, and the One Year War between the Earth Federation and Principality of Zeon is over. The Earth Federation has created an elite task force, known as the Titans, who are responsible for hunting the remaining Zeon forces. However, the power-hungry Titans have shown themselves to be no better than Zeon, spurring the creation of a rebellious faction called the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG).
17-year-old Kamille Bidan lives in the colony Green Noa, home to a Titan base. Kamille gets in trouble after assaulting a Titan officer, an event that coincides with an attack led by former Zeon ace Char Aznable, now known as AEUG pilot Quattro Bajeena. When Kamille steals a Titan's prototype Gundam, he soon finds himself in the middle of the dangerous conflict.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam has finished airing and it has 50 Episodes. It is also Known as: Kidou Senshi Zeta Gundam, 機動戦士Ζガンダム, Mobile Suit Z Gundam
16. Tenkuu no Escaflowne
Hitomi Kanzaki is just an ordinary 15-year-old schoolgirl with an interest in tarot cards and fortune telling, but one night, a boy named Van Fanel suddenly appears from the sky along with a vicious dragon. Thanks to a premonition from Hitomi, Van successfully kills the dragon, but a pillar of light appears and envelopes them both. As a result, Hitomi finds herself transported to the world of Gaea, a mysterious land where the Earth hangs in the sky.
In this new land, Hitomi soon discovers that Van is a prince of the Kingdom of Fanelia, which soon falls under attack by the evil empire of Zaibach. In an attempt to fight them off, Van boards his family's ancient guymelef Escaflowne—a mechanized battle suit—but fails to defeat them, and Fanelia ends up destroyed. Now on the run, Hitomi and Van encounter a handsome Asturian knight named Allen Schezar, whom Hitomi is shocked to find looks exactly like her crush from Earth. With some new allies on their side, Van and Hitomi fight back against the forces of Zaibach as the empire strives to revive an ancient power.
The Vision of Escaflowne has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: 天空のエスカフローネ, Tenkuu no Escaflowne
15. Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2
Second Season of Voltron: Legendary Defender
Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2 has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2
14. Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV
In the original storyline as aired in Japan, Dairugger XV was simply an exploration robot, as well as an intended peace-keeping force. The Earth is in a time of prosperity. The president of the Terran League (the "Galaxy Alliance" in Voltron) launches a mission to explore beyond the galaxy. After commencing its mission of exploration, the starship Rugger-Guard is attacked by a ship of the Galbeston Empire. Dairugger, the super robot, is deployed in order to defend the Earth. It is somewhat by fate that they must help the people of Galbeston find a new planet before it explodes, and liberate it from its despotic Emperor. In the Japanese version, it does not have anything to do with King of the Beasts GoLion, as opposed to the U.S. version, Voltron: Defender of the Universe.
There are three assault team units: Land, Air, and Sea. There are a total of 15 parts referred to as "Rugger," which can combine together to form the super-robot Dairugger. The design of the 15 separate Rugger units came from the sport of rugby, since 15 players are required to form a rugby union. The U.S. version would rename the "Galbeston Empire" to "Drule Empire," along with editing a fair amount of violence and sexual content to keep the show safe for general audience broadcast.
Armored Fleet Dairugger XV has finished airing and it has 52 Episodes. It is also Known as: 機甲艦隊ダイラガーXV, Dairugger XV, Armored Fleet/Armada Dairugger XV, Vehicle Force Voltron, Dairugger 15, Voltron of The Near Universe
13. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Movie 2: Lagann-hen
Seven years have passed after the battle of Teppelin... Humans have since reclaimed the surface of the earth and enjoy an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity. However, humanity's increasing population growth triggers the sudden emergence of an unknown, powerful enemy.
The fearsome, manipulative power of the mysterious Anti-Spiral proves too overwhelming for humans to even fight back. When everyone becomes desperate and loses hope, Team Dai-Gurren members reunite to stand up once again!
Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 天元突破グレンラガン 螺巌篇, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Movie 2
12. Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo
The royal life of Princess Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi was as idyllic as the life of a sixteen-year-old princess could be. Beautiful, talented, athletic, loved by her people, and soon to be baptized in honor of her ascension to the throne of the Misurugi Empire, Angelise had everything. Even her kingdom was in a blissful age of peace and prosperity thanks to the utilization of an extremely advanced technology materialization force known as "mana."
However, everything Angelise has come to know soon crashes to the ground around her after she is revealed to be a "norma," a member of society resistant to the effects of mana and unable to use it herself. Just like the rest of the norma, Angelise is arrested and removed from society. Now she's being forced to work as a soldier based out of the prison camp, Arzenal, and fly a transforming robotic vehicle called a "Paramail."
To survive, Angelise will have to adapt to several different aspects of her new life in Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo, coping with prison society, relationships with other "norma" women, and piloting her Paramail against giant beasts known as DRAGONs. Will revenge be a great enough motive to encourage her to overcome these challenges? Or will the hate for those that betrayed her tear her apart in the process?
Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels and Dragons has finished airing and it has 25 Episodes. It is also Known as: クロスアンジュ 天使と竜の輪舞〈ロンド〉, Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo
11. Transformers the Movie
It is the year 2005. Twenty-one years after the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons resumed their neverending war on planet Earth, the Decepticons have conquered the robots' home planet Cybertron. After a surprise attack by the Decepticons, both factions wage a gruesome battle at Autobot City. In the midst of the battle, Autobot leader Optimus Prime dies during his fight with Decepticon leader Megatron. The Autobot Matrix of Leadership is then passed on to second-in-command Ultra Magnus. Meanwhile, a badly-damaged Megatron is jettisoned by Starscream into deep space, where he encounters the planet-eating robot Unicron and is reborn as Galvatron, the new Decepticon leader. With Galvatron's reign on the rise and Unicron's imminent arrival within Cybertron's orbit, the Autobots must act quickly and protect the Matrix or face total annihilation.
Transformers: The Movie has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: トランスフォーマー ザ・ムービー, Transformers the Movie
10. Voltron: Legendary Defender
Legendary Defender centers on five Earth teenagers — Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Shiro — who are thrown into the middle of an intergalactic battle and become the last line of defense for Arus and other planets against an evil alien force led by King Zarkon.
Note: The first episode is 68 minutes long and the rest of the episodes are 23 minutes long.
Voltron: Legendary Defender has finished airing and it has 11 Episodes. It is also Known as: Voltron: Legendary Defender
9. Transformers One
Witness the untold origin story of Orion Pax (young Optimus Prime) and D-16 (young Megatron). Once brothers-in-arms, see how they turn into sworn enemies and forever change the fate of Cybertron.
Transformers One has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: トランスフォーマー/ONE, Transformers One
8. RideBack
In the future, an organization called the GGP has taken control of the world. Rin Ogata was a promising up-and-coming ballet dancer, but suffered a serious injury while dancing and decided to quit. Years later in college, she comes across a club building and soon finds herself intrigued by a transforming motorcycle-like robotic vehicle called a "Rideback". She soon finds that her unique ballet skills with balance and finesse make her a born natural on a Rideback. However, those same skills also get her into serious trouble with the government.
Ride Back has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: ライドバック, RideBack
7. Sousei no Aquarion
Humanity is dominated by fear when the Shadow Angels invade after 12,000 years of slumber. There is hope, however—Mechanical Angel Aquarion, a fighting machine powered by the intertwined souls of pilots known as Elements. With prophecy being fulfilled, and the end of the world approaching, the last hope for the new century takes flight. For mankind to survive, one among the Elements must rise.
Aquarion has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: 創聖のアクエリオン, Genesis of Aquarion, Holy Genesis Aquarion
6. Vandread
In Vandread, men are from Mars and women are from Venus! Well, not quite. Technology has allowed mankind to colonize the entire Milky Way galaxy, and in one star system, the men and women live on two different planets, Taraak and Mejere. A bitter and very literal gender war rages, to the point where they don't even see each other as the sames species anymore!
Hibiki Tokai, a male third-class laborer from Taraak, ends up stuck on a battleship after a botched attempt at stealing a robot. When female pirates capture the Taraakian Vanguard, things don't look like they could get any worse for Hibiki. Unfortunately, they do; when the male crew of the Vanguard fire on their captured vessel out of desperation, they created a giant wormhole, which sucks the Vanguard and the Mejeran pirate's ships into itself! Now, stuck far away from their home planets, these men and women must learn to work together if they ever wish to make it back home.
Vandread has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: ヴァンドレッド, Vandread Stage One, Vandread First Stage
5. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Ore no Gurren wa Pikka-Pika!!
A special episode bundled with the Nintendo DS game based on the series. Envious of seeing how Simon keeps his Lagann clean and neat, Kamina asks the mysterious Chitori to clean up his Gurren for him, unaware of her true intentions.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Ore no Gurren wa Pikka-Pika!! has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 天元突破 グレンラガン 俺のグレンはピッカピカ!!, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Episode 5.5, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann OVA, TTGL DS OVA, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann My Gurren is Sparkling!!
4. Transformers: Generation 1
Fleeing from the war that has raged on the planet Cybertron for millions of years, the heroic Autobots led by Optimus Prime encounter a surprise attack by the evil Decepticons led by Megatron. The ensuing melee aboard the Autobot ship ends when the ship crashes on a volcano. Four million years later, an earthquake reactivates the ship's computer and resurrects both the Autobots and Decepticons, resuming the great war of the Transformers.
Transformers: Generation 1 has finished airing and it has 98 Episodes. It is also Known as: Tatakae! Chou Robot Seimeitai Transformers, 戦え！超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー, Transformers G1
3. Megazone 23
Shougo Yahagi is a young motorcycle enthusiast living in a world of hot bikes, hard rock, and J-pop idols. The general populace go about their lives in peace, under the watchful eyes of a computer program in the guise of pop idol sensation Eve, unbeknownst to them. Shougo himself is mostly concerned with riding his motorcycle and picking up beautiful women like Yui Takanaka, who aspires to be a dancer.
Shougo's life suddenly changes when his friend, Shinji Nakagawa, shows him a top-secret project: the "Garland," an advanced motorcycle that can transform into a robot. Ambushed by the military, Shougo hijacks the Garland and escapes into the city. Evading the military with the help of Yui and her friends, he gradually discovers that their idyllic society is only an illusion.
Megazone 23 has finished airing and it has 4 Episodes. It is also Known as: メガゾーン23, Megazone 23 Part II, Megazone 23 Part III, Robotech: The Untold Story (U.S.)
2. Densetsu Kyojin Ideon: Sesshoku-hen
A movie recap of the Space Runaway Ideon TV Series. Humanity's pursuit of knowledge leads them to the planet Solo, where they find mysterious remains of a long dead alien civilization, including the 3 part super robot 'Ideon', and a powerful warship. Using these, the Earthlings sent to investigate the ruins defend themselves in their constant conflicts against powerful aliens called the Buff Clan, who are in pursuit of 'Id', the mysterious energy that powers the Ideon.
The Ideon: A Contact has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 伝説巨神イデオン 接触篇, Densetsu Kyojin Ideon: Sesshoku-hen
1. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Movie 1: Gurren-hen
Animation studio Gainax presented a website for the release of a movie adaptation of the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann TV series in the fall of 2008. Both the original director and series script editor will return to work on the new project. Gainax will also be hosting four events to celebrate this occasion at this year's Tokyo International Anime Fair, featuring voice actors from the anime.
Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood's End has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 天元突破グレンラガン 紅蓮篇, Gekijouban Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Guren-hen, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann the Movie
