The only mecha anime I'd seen all the way through prior to starting watching G Gundam were TTGL and Basquash (which is like TTGL, but with basketball).

It is without question the manliest Gundam.

[EDIT]Actually, correction: I did watch all of NGE, except I got bored and stopped midway through the second-last episode. Sorry, I wanted giant robots, not PHI 1000 bullshit.