> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://nsascherbooks.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Animated Mecha Fights That Inspired Battles in HOM: Shattered Boundaries - URL: https://nsascherbooks.com/animated-mecha-fights-that-inspired-battles-in-hom-shattered-boundaries/ - Published: 2026-10-02T21:37:47.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-02T22:04:38.000Z - Description: These hand-picked animated mecha fights inspired many action sequences in Hounds of Metal: Shattered Boundaries - Author: NS Ascher These aren't necessarily my all-time favorites, but these are inspirations for some of the fights that happen in [Hounds of Metal: Shattered Boundaries](https://nsascherbooks.com/hounds-of-metal-shattered-boundaries/). Specifically, in this case, I'm talking about the choreography of the fights themselves and the angles shown to us as the audience. If you've seen some of these (and get the context), then you can probably understand the significance of them too! As a fair warning, some of these fights are **spoilers** if you've never seen the series in question. ## Barbatos vs Graze Ein (Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/18d10dc6e666eab6de9215ae5b3d54df/2026/10/barbartos-ein-1.png) Iron-Blooded Orphans has an emphasis on melee combat. Unlike most of the other Gundams, including UC (the main timeline) and the alternates (self-contained), there are only kinetic weapons. I drew a lot of inspiration from the melee and kinetic only combat... mostly because of its savagery! There's a lot to be said about piloting a giant robot and charging at your opponent with a melee weapon... human on human melee is brutal and speaks for itself. There are a lot of great moments in this fight and you can really feel the oomph behind every melee strike. ## Gundam Exia vs 0 Gundam (Mobile Suit Gundam 00) ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/18d10dc6e666eab6de9215ae5b3d54df/2026/10/exia-final2.png) This happens to be one of my favorite fights and not just because I originally saw it as a teenager. The stakes in this one are... high. Setsuna (Exia's pilot) is, well... laying it all on the line here. Also, the 0 Gundam's callback to the RX-78-2 (with a twist) is so cool to see. The fight happens in space. There's a lot of melee, exchanging blows. The damage is real. It's just a very visceral fight. This fight and its conclusion in the YouTube embed is a major spoiler. You've been warned. ## Girge vs Athens (Break Blade) ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/18d10dc6e666eab6de9215ae5b3d54df/2026/10/breakblade.png) First, I want to emphasize that Break Blade is a great series. The animation is beautiful and the OST is amazing. I was very late in the game to even hearing about it... apparently the anime came out in 2014! With that said, the mechs, including their physics and lore, are so cool. The action of the battle sequence isn't as fast-paced as a lot of recent Gundam fights, but it doesn't really need to be. It's insanely gruesome and brutal and has a strange beauty to it. That said, just because they're not moving at 600+ miles an hour with boosters and thruster packs doesn't mean they're not moving fast. Or destroying each other. The last few minutes of this one are spoilers. The action's amazing, I promise, so watching through to the end is completely your call. Just don't say I didn't tell you so. ## Lancelot vs Guren Showdown (Code Geass) ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/18d10dc6e666eab6de9215ae5b3d54df/2026/10/code-geass2.png) Honestly, it took me forever to realize that Code Geass was a mecha anime (as opposed to just featuring a mecha here or there). I'm embarrassed to admit that, honestly. It took me a long time partly because every time I sat down to watch it... I was totally distracted by other things for years. Even as a young teen. Anyway, practically all the mech fights in Code Geass are well done, honestly. The two depicted here have many clashes, but this one is both among my faves and inspired a lot of described sequences in Hounds of Metal: Shattered Boundaries. It's something about their movement and their exchanged blows that really just... are great. Also: melee. ## Unit 01 vs Sachiel (Neon Genesis Evangelion) ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/18d10dc6e666eab6de9215ae5b3d54df/2026/10/eva01.png) This one is unique among all the others in this list, mostly because it's not mech-on-mech action. The EVAs are a little something beyond mechs and they don't fight other mechs generally; they fight "Angels." So, why be inspired by this if it isn't mech-on-mech action when writing a mech-on-mech action focused book? The melee is heavy after Unit 01 goes berserk. Pure rage. ## Gundam Aerial (Suletta) vs Dilanza (Guel) (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury) ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/18d10dc6e666eab6de9215ae5b3d54df/2026/10/suletta-first-duel.png) I happen to be a fan of Witch From Mercury. There are other sequences that are my favorites, but this one in particular just really conveys what Guel (the pilot of the Dilanza) was dealing with in this duel. My favorite sequence from this particular fight is Suletta's shield. The magnitude and force conveyed from that block was inspirational, to say the least. ## Mikazuki (Barbatos) vs Carta Issue (Graze) (Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/18d10dc6e666eab6de9215ae5b3d54df/2026/10/barbatos-carta.png) This fight is just brutal, which is something I really wanted to capture in Hounds of Metal. I think this sequence really leans into its brutality, especially if you know why this fight happens and just *who* is watching it. This fight also has some spoilers. ## Why these fights if they're not my favorites? Simply put: they all have an emphasis on melee combat. While cool, they also convey the seriousness of melee combat and the weight (literally and figuratively) behind slugging it out giant robot to giant robot. My novel, Hounds of Metal: Shattered Boundaries also has an emphasis on melee combat – and dives into the forces that affect the pilots in their cockpits! [![CTA Image](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/18d10dc6e666eab6de9215ae5b3d54df/2026/10/Coverwork_Extended_ebook.png)](https://nsascherbooks.com/hounds-of-metal-shattered-boundaries/) Fan of Gundam, Armored Core, or Evangelion? I'm writing a novel about giant robots and their pilots. [Learn more ](https://nsascherbooks.com/hounds-of-metal-shattered-boundaries/)