Parallax
best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
Mechs weren't the center of Code Geass at all though.
I'm not even sure how you can say it's more pretentious than Death Note. Its pretty straightforward from start to finish (with bit of a BSG Season 3 hickup in season 2) whereas Eva was all about some bullshit. Hell, Eva didn't even do anything in its last two episodes because literally words.
I don't think it's more pretentious than death note. But it's still pretty up there. And the Mechs were a huge part of geass.