As much as Code Geass has some of the coolest designs in anime for it's mecha, that's not the reason it managed to grab so many fans in the mid-2000s. Like in most mecha anime, the robots take a backseat to the political storylines that drive much of the anime's conflicts. Lelouch's attempt to learn the truth about his family puts him and his rebel forces squarely in the center of conflict between multiple nations.
Many people likely finished that series wanting more, but unfortunately the next Code Geass series is a bit of a ways off. That said, anime itself has never suffered from a shortage of tense political stories that can cover a wide range of genres from space sci-fi to fantasy.
10 Joker Game Is A Historical Political Series About Spies Pre-World War II
Joker Game isn’t just a political thriller but a great series for people who enjoy historical anime as well. The D-Agency is a new organization invented in Japan that’s meant to help them infiltrate other countries and gain as much intelligence as possible. Much of Joker Game’s story involves pushing soldiers away from their codes of “respectable” combat and teaching them to embrace new ways of waging warfare. One of the main protagonists is someone from the Japanese Imperial Army who’s frustrated learning about the way spies operate, but learning to fight like a spy in service of his country.
9 The Heroic Legend Of Arslan Is About A Prince Trying To Get His Country Back
Arslan is more of an old-school political story with a dash of D&D fantasy tossed in for good measure. The protagonist is a young prince named Arslan who loses his kingdom and his father to a coup. He goes on the run to survive with nothing more than his servant Daryun to work with him. Together, they slowly build a collection of trustworthy people that can stand against the army that stole Arslan’s kingdom from him. Arslan’s most recent adaptation is incomplete, but is still one of the better anime series of the 2010s.
8 Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex Delves Into Cyberterrorism And Splits Into Two Major Storylines
Stand Alone Complex is a series for fans who need a lot to sink their teeth into, and are heavily into cyberpunk. The Ghost in the Shell universe takes place in the future and talks not only about the misdeeds by governments and massive corporations, but the effects of cyberterrorism on society.
Considering this series released in 2005, Stand Alone Complex feels more accurate now than it was then, in a world where technology means more than ever and hackers have the ability to expose the misbehavior of million-dollar companies. The 52-episode season is split into two parts following two major cases--one about the Laughing Man who engages in corporate terrorism, and the other about the Individual Eleven, dealing with refugees and the dangers of nationalism.
7 Night Raid 1931 Is A Political Spy Series Set In Shanghai
How does one make spy organizations cooler? By giving them superpowers. Night Raid 1931 takes place in Shanghai, following the Sakurai organization, who’ve been sent from Japan in the hopes of dealing with major threats to their country.
The series is full of spy missions galore, from rescuing Japanese presidents from the Chinese military to dealing with secret nuclear weapons development. Night Raid will be a joy for any anime fan with a minor in history, as it’s filled with references that will fly over most viewers’ heads.
6 Princess Principal Combines Spycraft, Politics, And Dangerous Yet Cute Girls
Princess Principal is the political series for people who still need their cute girls fix...and people who like steampunk. The series takes place at the start of the 20th century, where the Kingdom of Albion (basically Britain) develops a technology that allows them to make flying ships.
What makes this series such a surprise is that it doesn’t rely on the cuteness of the girls, but instead really delves into the differences between the two sides, as well as the detailed backstories of the main characters. Princess Principal is very clearly in love with spy fiction and the political thriller elements that come with it, too, given all the references the series makes.
5 Gundam 00 Is About A Group Of Highly Trained Soldiers Waging War On The World
Gundam 00 is basically Gundam Wing if it’s writing weren’t a mess. It follows five teenagers who were sent to Earth in hyper-advanced mobile suits, only this time with the goal of shutting down all war on the planet, whether people like it or not.
Gundam 00 does get lost a bit in the second season, but it has no problem exploring the effects of war on people at every level of society. Characters that seemingly have no relevance to the plot find themselves pulled into what Celestial Being is doing in a very real way, and every nation has their own response to these mega-powerful terrorists.
4 GATE Has International And Inter-World Politics For Its Storyline
One day, a gateway to an alternate dimension opens up in the middle of Tokyo, leading to massive loss of life as the people from the other dimension try to lay claim to the country. In response, the JSDF is sent in to not only shut down these forces but go into the other world. Most of GATE is about the JSDF being sent in to understand this “Special Region” and all the complex politics involved in their country.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world awaits their intel as they see the possibilities in a land that doesn’t have modern technology yet. If there’s one fault with GATE it’s that the series is almost too supportive of the JSDF, to the point that some of it’s detractors will often call it overly nationalistic. While this might be an arguable point, it’s also worth noting the Japanese Self-Defense Force has used part of it to recruit people.
3 Aldnoah.Zero Is A Mecha Series About Humanity At War With An Advanced Version Of Itself
Aldnoah.Zero is a story that goes a lot of places, though not all of them make sense. It’s an alternate history mecha series though, where after humanity got to the moon they discovered a gate that could transport them to and from Mars.
The humans who make their way to Mars declare their independence, but also find themselves wanting to rule over Earth as well. Aldnoah.Zero sees the mighty Vers Empire come to Earth with their superior technology and weaponry, including giant robots, to try and conquer the planet.
2 Mobile Suit Gundam Is Mainly About The Political Struggle Between The Federation And Zeon
Beneath the struggles of White Base against Char Aznable and Ramba Ral lie the political conflict that makes up the true narrative thrust of Gundam’s story. The entire point of Gundam’s endless wars is the desire of the space colonies to be free from the control of the Earth Federation’s government. The forces of Zeon create their own army and begin battling against the Earthlings for the sake of gaining their own autonomy.
The first half of the Universal Century storyline ends with the main antagonist of the original series trying to hit Earth with a colony for the sake of making Earth inhospitable to humans so they have to leave space together, ending the divide between the two sides.
1 Legend Of The Galactic Heroes Is About Two Empires Locked In A Stalemate Conflict
The long-running Legend of the Galactic Heroes is the epitome of political series. It’s a series that’s one half space combat, one half political intrigue. The story is supposedly about the battle between the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance, but it’s really about much more than that.
The two main characters, each geniuses on opposite sides of the war, spend as much time struggling with the people on their own side as they do with each other. There’s political coups, revolutions, and more within this series, and that’s just in the early parts of it. Fans can check out the original anime that ran from 1988 to 1997, or the Production IG version that’s still releasing new seasons.