The following list is what I consider the 10 best robot designs ever. I base this according to 3 factors:
Aesthetics. Is the design visually appealing?
Functionality. Is the design mechanically sound, or does it look mechanically sound?
Cultural significance. Has the design influenced other mech designs, or pop culture to a significant degree? Or is the design the pinnacle of other mech designs before it?
There's a lot of robots that didn't quite make the cut that I love dearly. What it came down to is how much I felt they exemplified those three criteria. And if any of them scored a little lower in one area I had to sideline them for a better robot. With that, let's get to the list, starting with number 10!
10) Johnny 5
Designed by Syd Mead this was the first truly functional looking robot I remember seeing as a kid, and not just some guy in a suit. He's so iconic, Pixar couldn't help but make a smaller, cuter version for their Wall-e design.
9) The Iron Giant
I love this design because it takes all of the robot designs from the golden age of Sci-fi and makes a perfect symbol of them all. Plus it's incredible how much expression and character they were able to achieve with so few moving parts.
The Iron Giant was designed by filmmaker Joe Johnston, which was refined by production designer Mark Whiting and Steve Markowski, head animator for the Giant.
8) District 9 Exosuit
I love this design because it's got alien vibes, but made with familiar looking technology, though it's weapon systems are anything but terrestrial.
Designed for the District 9 movie by Weta Designer Greg Broadmore.
7) Eva Unit 01
Designed by Ikuto Yamashita this thing wrinkled my brain when I first saw it. It was like a perfect evolutionary jump from the Japanese mech designs of the 80s.
6) Canti from FLCL
Canti's retro futuristic design so aligned with my sensibilities when I first saw FLCL in the early 2000s that I thought, this is the most beautiful robot ever designed. I think he's my favorite of the bunch here...but I couldn't move him farther up the list because he's scores lower on the influential scale.
Not sure who designed him, so I'll credit FLCLs creator: Kazuya Tsurumaki
5) AT-ST
Between the AT-AT and the AT-ST I thin this design is just better. We caught a glimpse of it in Empire Strikes Back, but would not get to see it in full action until three years later when Return of the Jedi came out. This is hands down, the best walker robot design ever made.
Designed by ILM and Nilo Rodis Jamero
4) K2SO
Standing on the shoulders of giants, the artists at ILM created a new classic with K2SO. A droid design that I think captures all the essence of previous Star Wars droids, imbues it with some contemporary shapes and proportions, and makes it what I think is the best robot in Star Wars.
Designed by the ILM art Department. Too many contributors to list here.
3) VF-1 Valkyrie
The VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross/Robotech was Designed by Shōji Kawamori and if this design doesn't reserve him a spot in heaven...then I don't know what to say.
I could write a novel about this design, but I'll just say this: It's a futuristic F-14 that transforms into not one, but two robots.
2) Voltron
Voltron was my FIRST robot crush. I watched the tv show faithfully. What makes this so awesome is that if it was just a team of FIVE giant robot lions that fought space beasts, I would've been completely satisfied...but no. Those lion bots combine to form a giant humanoid robot WITH a sword.
Perfection.
Designed by Takayuki Masuo, Yoshiro Harada
1) RX-78-2 Gundam
And this is it, the number one greatest robot design. I'll admit I'm not a huge Gundam Fan, I like it just as much as the next guy...but I can not deny its cultural impact, it's aesthetic appeal, and the care taken to fully flesh out the engineering of these things to the point of building an ACTUAL 1 to 1 size Gundam.
Designed by Kunio Okawara.
That’s my list. Of course, just as important as what was put on the list is why certain robots were left off the list. A few close runners up were Optimus Prime, Cherno Alpha, and the AT-AT. If there’s any that you think definitely should’ve been on this list, let me know which ones and why!
-Jake