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It's obvious that the Tau are based heavily off of Macross and Gundam, at least visually.

Obvious to the point that arguing about it is somewhat ridiculous.

asimo77 wrote:I still wonder why mecha implies anime.

Because most popular TV series that feature mecha are anime.

Robotech, Voltron, Gundam Wing, Gigantor (sort of )... I could probably continue if you'd like.

asimo77 wrote:I feel like those can all be considered regular robots and general sci-fi as well as anime.

But...

They're all actually anime. You see where I'm going with this?

Here's a list of mechs from popular media. I know, I know... wiki, but still there's a trend that you may notice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_mecha

asimo77 wrote: Otherwise I think you could take almost any fictional robot and say it's anime inspired.

To someone who isn't really going to ponder it too deeply, mechs with bazooka hands are going to be considered to have some sort of anime influence due largely in part to the fact that nearly every show that I can think of featuring mechs has been anime.