Image: Gainax
Running out of sci-fi anime to watch? Indulge in these classic series and movies, both new and old.
There’s something special about sci-fi anime. Live-action projects always operate under the limitations of modern technology and budgeting, but animation has an easier go of it. It’s a lot harder to build a spaceship than draw one, after all. While sci-fi itself is a notoriously wide-reaching genre - covering the future of technology and what humanity might do with it for the most part - anime has thrived in telling brilliant sci-fi stories for decades. From thoughtful dramas to action-packed mecha shows, there seems to be no limit to the tales Japanese animation studios can pull out of the genre.
Some of these movies and TV shows have even gone on to become essential sci-fi classics with time. What would the mecha genre be without Neon Genesis Evangelion, and where would Cyberpunk 2077 be if not for Akira? The list of great sci-fi anime is long, but we’ve slimmed down the best of the best below. These are the 15 best sci-fi anime of all time:
Stein’s;Gate (and Stein’s;Gate 0)
Widely regarded as one of the best sci-fi anime of all time, Stein’s Gate follows an eccentric scientist named Rintarou Okabe who stumbles upon the possibility of time travel. Unfortunately, the more he dabbles in time travel experiments - with the help of his friends at home - the more he attracts the ire of a mysterious organisation called SERN. Soon, Okabe and his friends find themselves in mortal danger over circumstances they know very little about. Unless Okabe figures out how to make time work in his favour, he and his friends are doomed to a dark fate.
Stein’s Gate takes a while to get going thanks to an admittedly obnoxious protagonist, but Okabe and his friends grow and change throughout the series as they better understand each other and the rules of time travel together. Some consider its prequel Stein’s;Gate 0 inferior to the original, but it really is a critical piece of the story that makes the whole franchise that much more memorable.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Very little needs to be said about Neon Genesis Evangelion, a classic mecha series most know by name even if they haven’t seen it yet. The series revolves around the pilots of mechas called Evangelions, as they battle creatures known as Angels to prevent further disasters against humanity. It’s hardly a series that can be boiled down to such a simple premise, however - this franchise deconstructs the mecha genre by subverting common tropes viewers might have become used to. Don’t expect the good guys to win all of the time, and don’t expect to know where the story is headed until it’s over.
While the last two episodes weren’t received well by fans, several movies in the franchise have been released to retell the anime's story with key differences. The original series is still considered to be the best starting point, however.
Eighty Six
Eighty Six is one of the newer anime on this list, but the emotional payoff it delivers after a short 23-episode run cannot be understated. The series follows two kingdoms in the midst of a long and terrible war, with one side using autonomous machines to fight while the other uses mechs piloted by humans. These human pilots are referred to as the 86, made up of their Republic’s minorities and forced to go to war by racial supremacists.
The story follows a military officer who is given remote command of a unit of 86 veterans, and must now build trust with people who have no reason to trust her - all while discovering that the war between her Republic and the Empire might not be what it seems. This series doesn’t shy away from its mature themes and boasts some pretty spectacular animation, but what really stays with you is the emotional growth of protagonist Lena and the squad she commands, but never sees.
Cowboy Bebop
A strong contender for one of the best anime series ever made, Cowboy Bebop is set in a far-flung future where humanity has colonised the moons and planets of the solar system. Crime has become so widespread on a galactic scale that the police rely on bounty hunters to apprehend the solar system’s most wanted criminals. The show follows a group of bounty hunters on the spaceship Bebop, all of whom have rather complicated histories that tend to meddle with the bounties they chase.
Cowboy Bebop gained widespread popularity in the West thanks to its Western-leaning elements - cowboys, guns and crime stories - making it accessible to most as a starter anime if they so choose. The series’ memorable cast of characters, procedural stories and conclusive finale cement it as an all-time classic.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Here’s another series that could serve as a gateway anime for many in due time. Based on CD Projekt Red’s sci-fi game Cyberpunk 2077 (which is also based on Mike Pondsmith’s tabletop game Cyberpunk Red), the series follows a group of criminals looking to make a name for themselves in the dystopian, megacorporation-ruled Night City. Street kid David begins the story by losing everything in a shooting and decides to become a black market mercenary by using tech implants.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners boasts plenty of visual style thanks to Studio Trigger’s fantastic production, but the 10-episode story also presents an easily-binged story that never lets up in pace. As David careens towards his ultimate goal at a terrible price, we can’t help but watch and hope that he - and his friends - all make it out of Night City in one piece against all odds.
Vivy: Fluorite’s Eye Song
Vivy is another recent favourite of ours and one that seems to be increasingly relevant as the years go by. This anime is set in a world where AI-powered androids have become an everyday part of human society, fulfilling menial tasks to provide convenience and entertainment to their warm-blooded peers. The first-ever autonomous AI Vivy is relegated to being a songstress who needs to spread happiness with her voice alone, but finds difficulty doing so when no one finds emotion in her songs.
When an advanced AI from the future arrives and enlists her help to stop a devastating war a hundred years into the future, Vivy is thrown into a decades-spanning quest to avert doomsday. Vivy starts her journey as a cold, emotionless android and that’s very much on purpose - it’s only when she begins to meet other people along her quest that she begins to grow.
Heavenly Delusion
This clever sci-fi series excels not just because of its emotional storytelling, but its strong character work. Heavenly Delusion follows Maru and Kiruko, two youngsters who traverse the post-apocalypse in search of a fabled place called Heaven. In a separate storyline, a group of children live in a scientific facility where they are experimented upon by adults. The series weaves these two stories together over the course of its first season, building a large cast of characters you can’t help but care for in all their struggles.
Despite being set in the post-apocalypse, Heavenly Delusion does deal with thought-provoking questions regarding the nature of scientific discovery - and where an ethical line must be drawn in its pursuit.
Akira
If you’ve seen one Akira bike slide, you’ve seen them all. A historic entry in the cyberpunk genre, Akira is set in the far-flung dystopian future of 2019 (don't worry, we're on the other side of it now), where the futuristic metropolis Neo-Tokyo has been built on the bones of a destroyed Japan. Gang violence and terrorism are rife in the city, and a young man named Shoutarou Kaneda leads a biker gang while fending off a rival gang called the Clowns.
During one fateful fight with the Clowns, Kaneda’s best friend Tetsuo Shima becomes entangled with an esper who has escaped confinement. When Tetsuo starts to develop esper-like abilities himself, Kaneda has to find his former friend and save him - and the city - from destruction.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury
This anime gets extra points for being an accessible entry point into the larger Gundam franchise, as it happens to be a completely standalone entry that shouldn’t take too long to binge through. The series follows Suletta Mercury, who gets sent to the Asticassia School of Technology where students solve conflicts by dueling in giant mecha-like mobile suits. The top-ranking duelist receives a girl named Miorine Rembrane as their automatic fiancee, much to her chagrin.
When Suletta emerges victorious from a duel with the top-ranking duelist, however, she becomes engaged to Miorine - and their relationship becomes especially complicated when a forbidden Gundam called Aerial enters the equation. Packed with tense battles and memorable characters, The Witch From Mercury is full of twists and turns that ultimately lead to a satisfying conclusion.
Code Geass
After the Holy Empire of Britannia conquered Japan and established itself as a dominant military nation, Japan was renamed to Area 11 - but saw significant resistance efforts mounted against its newly arrived tyrants. This classic series follows a Britannian student who finds himself in the middle of a fight between both sides. Upon his escape, he is gifted an incredible power and decides to use it against Britannia to end their tyranny once and for all.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Not to be confused with the original Fullmetal Alchemist - which had to chart its own path once it ran out of source material - this anime remake fully adapts the manga it’s based on, set in a world where alchemy has evolved to almost magical extents. When two brothers attempt to bring their late mother back to life via alchemy, a tragic accident occurs and they’re forced to sacrifice an arm and a body each to stay alive.
Armed with metallic prosthetics, the two siblings set out to find the Philosopher’s Stone and break the laws of alchemy to restore their bodies to full health.
Psycho-Pass
Psycho-Pass is yet another beloved entry in the cyberpunk genre, set in 22nd century Japan where the Sibyl System is enforced to carry justice to criminals. The Sibyl System examines citizens’ mental states for signs of criminal intent and acts upon them swiftly - even if they haven’t done anything bad yet. The series follows a young woman named Akane Tsunemori, who enters the justice system with morals, unlike her peers. Unfortunately, she soon learns that the Sibyl System isn’t as perfect as it seems.
If you liked Minority Report, you should check this one out.
Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell has a simple question to ask: what happens when the line separating humans from machines gets blurred? The movie is set in 2029 - a not-so-distant future now - where cybernetics have broken down the barriers of the world, and with that convenience comes the rise of criminal hacking. When a hacker called the Puppetmaster starts causing chaos, a group of enhanced cops called Section 9 are called in to find and stop them.
Ghost in the Shell has become iconic enough in the film industry to influence future blockbusters like The Matrix and Avatar, making it a landmark entry in sci-fi.
Gurren Lagann
This classic series takes place in the far-flung future, where humanity has fallen under the role of the so-called Spiral King Lordgenome, forcing them to live in isolation underground. Two teenagers named Simon and Kamina desire to go to the surface and in doing so uncover a mecha called Lagann. The story then follows their fight to rescue humanity from the Spiral King’s rule. Gurren Lagann is often praised for its accessibility in the mecha genre, putting enough of a new spin on things to attract viewers who don’t often watch mecha anime.
If that sounds like you, give this one a shot!
Paprika
People have drawn comparisons between Christopher Nolan’s Inception and Satoshi Kon’s classic sci-fi movie Paprika, and for good reason. Both movies deal with the existence of dreamworlds, and criminals wreaking havoc on humanity by interfering with their dreams. In Paprika, a dream terrorist steals a device that allows humans to enter the dreams of others. The terrorist uses the device to create nightmares, but a research psychologist uses it to enter other people’s dreams as her alter ego Paprika.
As Paprika, she’ll have to navigate the surrealistic dream world to catch the terrorist before it’s too late.
