10 Best Science Fiction Anime of All Time, Ranked

The best science fiction anime will not only feature but deliberate on technology, science, and related fields, which has led to the creation of new genres such as the mecha genre. However, sci-fi anime is not only limited to the piloting of giant robots, but also includes space travel, androids, and academic scientific discovery.

Some series will take a new spin on the genre, such as Dr. Stone, which alters the genius scientist archetype by placing it in a shonen landscape and structuring each episode to almost serve as a science lesson of sorts, all the while not diminishing plot value. Then, there are the mechas, which heavily carry the science fiction genre of anime, as the featured robots both allow for tremendous creative freedom and high marketability. Essentially, the science fiction anime genre revolves around this genre, with splashes of stand-out series that take more traditional routes.

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10 Psycho-Pass Is a Meditation on The Future of Justice

An original series directed by Shiotani Naoyoshi

The anime Psycho-Pass, produced by Production I.G, is a science fiction series in the purest sense, as its setting and characters embody an elevated form of living when compared to the modern status quo. The world of Psycho-Pass is so advanced that humans have developed tools that can measure the psychological status of a person and dole out punishment based only on the conjecture that they will commit a crime in the near future. The series follows main characters Tsunemori Akane and Kougami Shinya, an Inspector-Enforcer duo whose jobs are to deliver such a prescribed justice, all the while navigating the nuance in this complicated future.

With a plot built on numerous compelling twists, Psycho-Pass is a compelling watch. What keeps viewers coming back to the series though is that Psycho-Pass is a thoughtful exploration of crime and its place in Japanese society. Far from accepting the brutal dystopian world it presents, the series encourages viewers to question the overarching systems running the world. All of that easily makes Psycho-Pass rank among the best science-fcition anime, with the only thing holding it back being its lack luster follow ups.

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9 Gintama Is a Splash of Laughter In a World of Aliens

Based on the manga by Sorachi Hideaki

Although most of the best science fiction anime will take science and technology as the primary focus, Gintama, produced by Studio Sunrise, became a notable sci-fi series just by being one of the best comedy anime. Main character Sakata Gintoki doesn’t go on any grand crusades within the unique world combining Edo Period Japan with speculative alien civilizations, but the interactions between Gintoki and the latter are able to perfectly capture viewers with its world. Doing odd jobs and cracking silly jokes every episode, Gintoki elevates the anime into a prominent sci-fi series only through the hilarious premise of samurai oppressed by colonizing aliens.

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8 Macross: Do You Remember Love Is Really About Gender

An original film directed by Ishiguro Noboru and Kawamori Shouji

The world of Macross: Do You Remember Love is a depiction of devastation, as the movie incorporates a post-technological revolution world that has fallen due to its own hubris into its interpretation of the science fiction genre. The story follows Ichijou Hikaru, a mecha-piloting soldier aboard potentially the only mothership of humanity left floating in space. Meanwhile, the planet Earth is left uninhabitable. Throughout the narrative, not only are technological themes developed, but there is also deep consideration for the differences and roles that become of gender. While Hikaru wrestles with his own concept of love, giant aliens divided by gender wage war on each other and humans alike.

7 Gurren Lagann Dominates Underground Mecha

An original series directed by Imaishi Hiroyuki

Popular mecha sci-fi produced by Studio Gainax, Gurren Lagann, stands near the pinnacle of mecha and coming-of-age stories. The series follows a timid boy named Simon as he is convinced by his good friend, Kamina, to break out to the surface of their world where humans can only exist in the subterranean. The pair embark on a treacherous journey to find out the truth about their world that holds so much more than the caves they were born in. Through a multitude of mecha battles that create and lose friends alike, the story perfectly expands on a world of science fiction that features the reconquering of the world.

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6 Laputa: Castle In the Sky Is Science Fiction On the Verge of Realism

An original film directed by Miyazaki Hayao

Laputa: Castle In the Sky is one of the many successful films produced by Miyazaki Hayao’s Studio Ghibli, and takes the genre of science fiction into the realm of the floating nation Laputa and robots in the sky. The story follows a boy named Pazu and a girl named Sheeta, as the pair embark on the grand adventure of finding Laputa, the legendary, but dangerous floating castle. The world in the current timeline is one that has degenerated due to the previous era’s technology having reached too extreme a level and imploding on itself. In the modern lens, Laputa sparks harrowing realizations, especially considering Laputa’s ability to drop world-eviscerating bombs.

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5 Code Geass Plays Chess With Mechas

An original series directed by Taniguchi Gorou

Code Geass is a mecha anime that combines both science fiction elements with some aspects of the supernatural, all while embodied in political turmoil. All these genres are smoothly combined through the anime’s unique premise. The protagonist, Lelouch vi Britannia is a prince regulated to a political pawn of sorts who, by a stroke of luck but no coincidence, gains the power of Geass, granting him a gaze that has the ability to control anyone who meets it. This feature of the supernatural combines perfectly with a battle-torn world that has glaring resemblances to the modern day, as Lelouch gains a following and runs rampant with mechanized suits of war.

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4 Steins;Gate Creates the Mad Scientist

Based on the visual novel by Nitroplus

Steins;Gate is a comedic but thrilling science fiction anime produced by White Fox, and takes the idea of the mad scientist to the next level with inventions ranging from wacky microwaves to time machines. The story follows the extraordinary Okabe Rintarou who spends most of his time in the laboratory attempting to construct the most mind-boggling inventions. Normally seen with a typical dead-pan face, Okabe turns eccentric at the mention of technological innovations. Steins;Gate not only offers a scientific world full of absurdities, but explores the infinite mysteries of time and the consequences, aftermaths, and revelations of human intervention, making it a top-ranked science fiction anime.

WATCH ON Crunchyroll

3 Akira Is the Face of Cyberpunk Animation

Based on the manga by Otomo Katsuhiro

The classic post-war science fiction film Akira is one of the most deeply analyzed anime by both fandom and academia. The setting of Akira is a landscape of advanced technology and high crime, a defining juxtaposition of the cyberpunk genre, much of which is due to Akira’s influence. The story follows two truant boys, Kaneda and Tetsuo, as they stumble across the city of Neo-Tokyo. Tensions run high as the two embark on one high-speed bike chase too many.

Government-sanctioned atrocities and artificially induced supernatural powers surface, showcase Akira tackling themes of adolescent angst, atomic bomb renderings, corruption, religious fanaticism, and more, as the narrative’s main characters navigate a world of aggregating chaos. Akira is one of the most influential anime ever made, more than earning it a high rank among the best science fiction anime.

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2 Legend of the Galactic Heroes Is an Interstellar Masterpiece

Based on the novel by Tanaka Yoshiki, Katou Naoyuki, and Kamoshita Yukihisa

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a science fiction anime that takes futuristic worldbuilding to the next level, constructing empires, dynasties, and intergalactic space federations that impose the framework of modern thinking onto the infinite recess of space. Through war after war, and with every passing casualty, main characters Reinhart and Yang do everything to repopulate their ideals in a galactic society full of political turmoil. Additionally, the anime boasts an even larger cast of characters in support of the protagonists, each with a sophisticated set of thinking and meaningful contributions towards the movement of a high-stakes plot. Legend of the Galactic Heroes has served as the foundation of sci-fi anime for decades for good reason.

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1 Evangelion Is the Master of Mech

An original series directed by Anno Hideaki

Neon Genesis Evangelion is no stranger to the science fiction anime scene, as the series produced by Studio Gainax has cemented itself across multiple genres, including shonen, action, and most importantly, mecha. Despite being one of the foundational anime of the genre, the series takes the most interesting spins on robot construction. In the case of Evangelion, to even use the word robot is stretching the details, as the featured EVAs actually begin to display biological features as the narrative continues. With such a deep mystery unfolding, Evangelion follows protagonist Ikari Shinji through a perilous journey of moral reasoning, psychological navigating, and most notably, learning how to get into the robot.

With its beautiful animation, thought-provoking story, and memorable characters, Evangelion is one of the most important and influential anime series ever made. More than just historically notable though, Evangelion is just great science fiction. Dense philosophy and out-there concepts collide in a story that tackles themes like depression, parental abandonment, and societal response to disasters. All of this combines to make Neon Genesis Evangelion the best science fiction anime of all time.

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