 If you liked
Full Metal Panic!
|
 ...then you might like
Kuromukuro
|
Both have a displaced warrior/soldier that pilots a mecha. He is proficient at his martial skills, and is initially cold and serious. He meets a regular girl and has to adjust to what it means to live a peaceful life in a different setting. In the end, he finds new things to protect and better reasons to fight. Both take some time to get rolling but have pretty solid characters and plots.