Editing Mecha (section)

==Early history==
The 1868 [[Edward S. Ellis]] novel ''[[The Steam Man of the Prairies]]'' featured a steam-powered, back-piloted, mechanical man.
The 1880 [[Jules Verne]] novel ''[[The Steam House]]'' (''La Maison à Vapeur'') featured a steam-powered, piloted, mechanical elephant. One of the first appearances of such machines in modern literature was the [[Fighting machine (The War of the Worlds)|tripod]] (or "fighting-machine", as they are known in the novel) of [[H. G. Wells]]' famous ''[[The War of the Worlds (novel)|The War of the Worlds]]'' (1897).  The novel does not contain a fully detailed description of the tripods'  mode of [[motion (physics)|locomotion]], but it is hinted at: "Can you imagine a milking stool tilted and bowled violently along the ground? That was the impression those instant flashes gave. But instead of a milking stool, imagine it a great body of machinery on a tripod stand."

''[[Ōgon Bat]]'', a ''[[kamishibai]]'' that debuted in 1931 (later adapted into an anime in 1967), featured the first piloted humanoid giant robot, {{Nihongo|Dai Ningen Tanku|大人間タンク}},<ref name="Ningen_Tanku">{{Nihongo|Dai Ningen Tanku|大人間タンク}} means Giant {{Nihongo|Ningen Tanku|人間タンク}} , {{Nihongo|Ningen Tanku|人間タンク}} is the Japanese title of [[The Master Mystery]](1919), and the Japanese name of the [[Powered exoskeleton]] appearing in the film.{{Cite web |title=人間タンク : 奇蹟の人 |url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/907163?itemId=info%3Andljp%2Fpid%2F907163&__lang=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629155048/http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/907163?itemId=info%3Andljp%2Fpid%2F907163&__lang=en |archive-date=2018-06-29 |access-date=2018-06-29 |website=NDL Digital Collections}}It was a general Japanese phrase meaning "humanoid tank" too.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKjJwuvi7mYC&pg=PA62 |title=日本ロボット戦争記 1939~1945 |isbn=9784757160149 |access-date=2018-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702035703/https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=AKjJwuvi7mYC&pg=PA62 |archive-date=2018-07-02 |url-status=live |author1=井上晴樹 |date=August 2007 |publisher=NTT出版 }}</ref> but as an enemy rather than a protagonist. In 1934, Gajo Sakamoto launched {{Nihongo|[[Tank Tankuro]]|タンクタンクロー}} on a metal creature that becomes a battle machine.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 July 2011 |title=Preview: Tank Tankuro |url=http://www.tcj.com/preview-tank-tankuro/ |access-date=2020-12-01 |website=[[The Comics Journal]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

The first humanoid giant robot piloted by the protagonist appeared in the manga {{Nihongo|''Atomic Power Android''|原子力人造人間|Genshi Ryoku Jinzō Ningen}} in 1948.<ref name="ndl">{{Cite web |title=原子力人造人間 |url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1637344?itemId=info%3Andljp%2Fpid%2F1637344&__lang=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325105734/http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1637344?itemId=info%3Andljp%2Fpid%2F1637344&__lang=en |archive-date=2018-03-25 |access-date=2018-03-23 |website=NDL Digital Collections}}</ref> The manga and anime ''[[Tetsujin 28-Go]]'', introduced in 1956, featured a robot, Tetsujin, that was controlled externally by an operator by remote control. The manga and anime ''[[Astro Boy]]'', introduced in 1952, with its humanoid robot protagonist, was a key influence on the development of the giant robot genre in Japan. The first anime featuring a giant mecha being piloted by the protagonist from within a cockpit was the [[Super Robot]] show ''[[Mazinger Z]]'', written by [[Go Nagai]] and introduced in 1972.<ref name="Gilson">{{Cite journal |last=Gilson |first=Mark |date=1998 |title=A Brief History of Japanese Robophilia |journal=Leonardo |volume=31 |issue=5 |pages=367–369 |doi=10.2307/1576597 |jstor=1576597 |s2cid=191411400}}</ref> ''Mazinger Z'' introduced the notion of mecha as pilotable war machines, rather than remote-controlled robots. Ken Ishikawa and Go Nagai, later, introduced the concept of 'combination' ({{nihongo||合体|gattai}}), where several units slot together to form a [[super robot]], with ''[[Getter Robo]]'' (1974 debut).<ref name="Clements">{{Cite book |last=Clements |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dyBdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA150 |title=Anime: A History |date=2017 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-84457-884-9 |pages=150–1}}</ref>

An early use of mech-like machines outside Japan is found in "The Invisible Empire", a ''Federal Men''<nowiki/>'s story arc by [[Jerry Siegel]] and [[Joe Shuster]] (serialized 1936 in [[Adventure Comics|New Comics]] #8–10).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carper |first=Steve |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NXOdDwAAQBAJ&q=Federal+Men+american+robots&pg=PT117 |title=Robots in American Popular Culture |date=2019-06-27 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3505-7 |pages=11–112 |language=en}}</ref> Other examples include the Mexican comic ''Invictus'' by Leonel Guillermo Prieto and Victaleno León; the Brazilian comic ''Audaz, o demolidor'', by Álvaro "Aruom" Moura and [[Messias de Mello]] (1938–1949), inspired by ''Invictus'', created for the supplement ''A Gazetinha'' from the newspaper ''A Gazeta'';<ref>{{Cite book |last=de Rosa |first=Franco |url=http://chiaroscuro-studios.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Grande-Almanaque-dos-Super-herois-Brasileiros-Chiaroscuro-Studios-Yearbook-2019.pdf |title=Grande Almanaque dos Super-Heróis Brasileiros |publisher=Chiaroscuro Studios |year=2019 |editor-last=Prado |editor-first=Joe |location=Brazil |pages=16, 127 |language=pt |editor-last2=Freitas da Costa |editor-first2=Ivan |access-date=2022-07-16 |archive-date=2022-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516105906/https://chiaroscuro-studios.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Grande-Almanaque-dos-Super-herois-Brasileiros-Chiaroscuro-Studios-Yearbook-2019.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Kimball Kinnison's [[Powered exoskeleton|battle suit]] in [[E. E. Smith|E. E. "Doc" Smith's]] ''[[Lensman series|Lensman]]'' novel ''[[Galactic Patrol]]'' (1950);<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Sofge |first=Erik |date=2010-04-08 |title=A History of Iron Men: Top 5 Iconic Exoskeletons |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/digital/fact-vs-fiction/SciFi-most-iconic-exoskeletons |access-date=2020-12-01 |website=[[Popular Mechanics]] |language=en-US}}</ref> the French animated film ''[[The King and the Mockingbird]]'' (first released 1952),<ref name="comm">{{Cite web |title=Le Roi et l'Oiseau'' de Paul Grimault (1980) |url=http://marnie.alfred.free.fr/le_roi_et_loiseau.pdf}}</ref> and [[Robert Heinlein]]'s [[remote manipulator|waldo]] in his 1942 short story, "[[Waldo (short story)|Waldo]]" and the Mobile Infantry battle suits in Heinlein's ''[[Starship Troopers]]'' (1958).<ref name=":1" />

A transforming mech can transform between a standard vehicle (such as a fighter plane or transport truck) and a fighting mecha robot. This concept of transforming mecha was pioneered by Japanese mecha designer [[Shōji Kawamori]] in the early 1980s, when he created the [[Diaclone]] toy line in 1980 and then the ''[[Macross]]'' anime franchise in 1982. In North America, the ''Macross'' franchise was adapted into the ''[[Robotech]]'' franchise in 1985, and then the Diaclone toy line was adapted into the ''[[Transformers]]'' franchise in 1986. Some of Kawamori's most iconic transforming mecha designs include the [[VF-1 Valkyrie]] from the ''Macross'' and ''Robotech'' franchises, and [[Optimus Prime]] (called Convoy in Japan) from the ''Transformers'' and ''Diaclone'' franchises.<ref name="Forbes">{{Cite news |last=Barder |first=Ollie |date=December 10, 2015 |title=Shoji Kawamori, The Creator Hollywood Copies But Never Credits |work=[[Forbes]] |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/12/10/shoji-kawamori-the-creator-hollywood-copies-but-never-credits/ |access-date=16 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Knott |first=Kylie |date=27 February 2019 |title=He created Macross and designed Transformers toys: Japanese anime legend Shoji Kawamori |work=[[South China Morning Post]] |url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2187735/he-created-macross-and-designed-transformers-toys-japanese |access-date=16 April 2020}}</ref>