> If you have seen even a few episodes of Robotech/Macross/Gundam that's plenty. Even a bit of Voltron or having seen the movie "Iron Giant" may do. Power Rang

> If you have seen even a few episodes of Robotech/Macross/Gundam that's plenty. Even a bit of Voltron or having seen the movie "Iron Giant" may do. Power Rangers might be the most mainstream concept for US-audiences. (It helps of course that Power Rangers is somewhat loosely based on Sentai Zyuranger, but a large chunk of the scenes were replaced with American actors) Power Rangers is a really good example of the mainstream trope that NGE is deconstructing. A team of "teenagers" are given all-powerful giant robots to kick the ass of the bad guy. And... you just trust Zordon, right? Zordon doesn't have like, nefarious purposes or anything. And these "teenagers" have the right psyche for the job right? We won't need like, a sad commander constantly barking orders at these teenagers to get in the freaking robot to save the world. And these teenagers won't get hurt right, in these fights? Like, if a heat-ray hits the robot and the internal fluids of the robot begin to boil, the pilots won't get severe burns or mental scars from these traumas? Oh... right. Why 13-year-olds? I mean, there's an in-universe reason that I don't want to spoil. But its really because its a deconstruction of "teenagers in giant robots" trope that was all the rage in the 90s (like Power Rangers).