Considering the genre itself is capable of surviving a near-endless number of permutations, it’s safe to say a medium known for putting giant robots into everything is well-acquainted with science fiction. But anime is more than Gundam. Over the years, some of the best anime (and fiction) in general have come from the science fiction genre.
We’ve been given space Westerns, hard sci-fi about space trash collectors, androids, and those barely scratch the tip of the iceberg. With so many new anime constantly being made, it’s easy to miss some of the best gems, so this list is devoted to the ten best sci-fi anime series ever.
10 PLANETES
The crew of the DS-12 has a very important job: Collecting space junk. It’s their job to protect satellites and spacecraft from being damaged by the various parts left out in space by collecting them and finding a way to destroy them. This is a problem that actually exists in real life, and that’s kind of the point of Planetes.
It’s a series that focuses on what actually happens in space and during space travel, emphasizing the science part of “sci-fi” for once. In doing so, studio Sunrise and director Gorō Taniguchi created a series that refuses to let the fantastical eclipse what matters most in every story: The characters. Join the DS-12's members as they work to reach their dreams while being looked down on as space trash collectors.
9 STEINS;GATE
In the city of Akihabara lives the mad scientist Rintaro Okabe, who operates the “Future Gadget Laboratory”...out of his own apartment. Though he sounds full of it, eventually he and his friends discover a machine that sends messages backward in time, effectively allowing them to time travel.
Steins;Gate is a science fiction thriller with enough twists to keep the viewer hooked from the second the anime switches from the earlier half's comedic roots into its “true” storyline. This series is rightfully considered one of the better sci-fi series of all time.
8 OUTLAW STAR
'90s kids already know all about Outlaw Star, as it was one of Toonami’s earlier pick-ups in the early 2000s when anime was first getting popular. The series follows Gene Starwind and Jim Hawking, a pair of freelancers willing to do almost any job if the pay is good enough. During one mission, the two find themselves in control of an experimental ship they eventually name the Outlaw Star, as well as a special android named Melfina.
With both the Outlaw Star and Melfina, the two set out to discover the Galactic Leyline, a legendary location said to hold great treasure. This series balances comedy, slick action sequences, and some of the most unique settings in anime to create one of the classic series of the late ’90s.
7 TRIGUN
Sci-Fi Westerns are like Reese’s; they’re two great things that shouldn’t go well together, but they’re somehow perfect. On the alien planet Gunsmoke, humanity has once again turned into a society that resembles the Old West, and we follow the story of Vash the Stampede, a man with a sixty million double dollar bounty on his head.
A gunfighter without equal, Vash travels the world while trying his best to never take another life. But just how far can one carry that conviction when everyone’s after your life?
6 GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX
Typically, the television series is never as good as the film it is succeeding, but with Stand Alone Complex that couldn’t be further from the truth. In the year 2030, cybernetic enhancements have become so common many people have switched to full-on prosthetic bodies. But with new technologies come new forms of crime, and that’s where Public Security Section 9 steps in, a group of elite law enforcement agents who deal with all forms of cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism.
Focusing on themes involving how increasingly advanced technology affects our humanity, Stand Alone Complex is the perfect watch for any cyberpunk fan looking to dabble in the world of anime.
5 CAROLE & TUESDAY
A testament to how science fiction can be about more than what we’re used to from Hollywood blockbusters, Carole & Tuesday asks a question barely any sci-fi series have touched upon: In a world where AI is capable of doing literally anything, what happens to the arts?
Carole & Tuesday is about a pair of young girls (who just happen to live on Mars) who both want to become musicians, even though all popular music in their time is engineered by complex artificial intelligence.
Animated by BONES, Carole & Tuesday is strikingly gorgeous to watch and features some of the best music of any anime series this decade. Unsurprising, since the chief director was Shinichirō Watanabe, known for his work on Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, two other series known for their incredible soundtracks.
4 GINTAMA
When people see images for Gintama, usually “science fiction” is the last thing on their mind, what with the main character and his partners looking like traditional samurai and all. However, the series' core idea is that Gintama takes place in an Edo-period Japan that’s been conquered by aliens.
As a result, the series is a hodgepodge of different time periods thrown together, from classic Edo-era architecture to modern ideas like Shonen Jump to futuristic tech like space ships. Capable of switching from a gag series poking fun at shonen tropes to telling action-oriented stories about the lead character’s past, Gintama has something for everyone.
3 LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES
With Production I.G. recently deciding to remake Legend of the Galactic Heroes, there’s a need now to delineate between which adaptation is worth watching. For now, the correct answer is the original series that ran from the late ’80s to the late ’90s, but only because it’s a “complete” adaptation. Set over a thousand years into the future, Legend of the Galactic Heroes imagines a reality where man has colonized most of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Humanity is split between two powers: The Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance. They spent well over a century deadlocked in their conflict until the emergence of two genius strategists on opposite sides sends their war rocketing towards a conclusion. LoGH is well-known for its massive scale space conflicts, but also for having one of the largest, yet well-defined casts in anime.
2 MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM
This should really go to the franchise as a whole. The Gundam license is constantly willing to innovate and has existed across many eras.
Prefer something more down to Earth and realistic? Go with 08th MS Team or Gundam 0080. Want to go completely nuts and accept the fact that giant robots don’t make sense? Go with G Gundam. Want to drown yourself in 80’s anime goodness? Well, there’s Zeta Gundam.
It’s impossible to be an anime fan for very long without watching at least one Gundam series, and most anime fans will have at least one series from the franchise they love.
1 COWBOY BEBOP
“I felt like I was watching a dream I could never wake up from. Before I knew it, the dream was over.” Though that’s a part of one of Spike Spiegel’s saddest quotes, it still symbolizes what it’s like to watch Cowboy Bebop—a series so perfect it feels like one’s watching a dream that’s over all too quickly.
Arguments could be made that Cowboy Bebop isn’t just the best sci-fi series of all time, but the best anime ever. It has timeless animation that doesn’t feel dated even twenty years later, one of the most likable casts in the medium, moving dialogue, all set to a jazzy soundtrack that can switch effortlessly from moody to energetic as the show demands. This show was a dream we wish we would never wake up from.