10 Best Science Fiction Anime On Netflix

Some of the best science fiction anime of all time are available to stream on Netflix. Since the very earliest anime, creators have sought to explore the farthest reaches of space, time, and the possibilities of technology. Netflix’s library only holds a small portion of them, but the ones it does have are more than worth checking out.

The best science fiction anime not only develop creative concepts but also feature bold and brave characters just as willing to search for all their world’s possibilities. What they find along their journeys shocks and amazes the audience just as much as them. The best science fiction anime on Netflix balance great characters and plot with deep social commentary.

10 Neon Genesis Evangelion

Original Anime Series Created By Hideaki Anno & Gainax

As if living in a hellscape of a near future where humanity is bombarded by otherworldly Angels wasn’t bad enough for Shinji Ikari, his absentee dad is convinced Shinji piloting a giant robot called an EVA is key to humanity’s salvation. Gendo Ikari is the head of the shady organization NERV, creators of the Eva, the only weapons capable of defeating the Angels. Together with the other child pilots, Shinji risks his life despite his mortal terror.

Neon Genesis Evangelion makes it on many other “best of” lists: best mecha anime, best body horror anime, best psychological horror, just to name a few. It takes its time before truly diving into the darkness and nightmarish imagery that it’s known for, delving into its ideas about freedom to choose, coming of age, and the will of humanity to survive. On top of all that the series is just gorgeous to look at. The scenes of the Eva units tearing their way through battle are iconic.

9 Ultraman

Based on the Manga By Eiichi Shimizu & Tomohiro Shimoguchi

Shinjiro Hayata has grown up knowing Ultraman only as a story from decades ago. But when aliens return to threaten the Earth, his father Shin reveals that not only was he the original Ultraman, but that Shinjiro inherited what it takes to assume the mantle himself. Harnessing his strange abilities, Shinjiro dons the iconic suit and fights to protect his planet.

Ultraman 2019 is not a reboot of the original 1966 anime, but an adaptation of its 2011 manga sequel. Currently, the only iteration of Ultraman found on Netflix, it earned the approval of fans for its clear love for the wildly popular source material. With some of the best sequel kids in anime and thrilling action sequences, it handily takes its place in the long-running franchise.

8 The Orbital Children

Original Anime Created By Mitsuo Iso

In the far future, humans are living on Earth, the Moon, and now space stations. When children from Earth and the Moon meet on the station Anshin, everyone expects a fun and interesting vacation. But when the station is thrown off course by space debris, the kids must band together to survive in the cold reaches of space.

This six-episode OVA was released theatrically as a two-part film in Japan, and on Netflix elsewhere. Its creator, Mitsuo Iso, is well established in the world of sci-fi anime, having directed 2007’s Dennoh Coil and served as a key animator on anime such as The End of Evangelion, Ghost in the Shell, and multiple Gundam series. The Orbital Children explores themes of the inherent strength of humanity and all the ways technology can influence lives for good or ill.

7 A.I.C.O. -Incarnation-

Original Anime Created By Studio Bones

In trying to create an artificial human, scientists instead cause the Burst, a horrific disaster that unleashes hordes of man-made monsters and renders Kurobe Gorge uninhabitable. Two years later, Aiko Tachibana and a team of daring explorers embark on a journey to the center of the Gorge. If they succeed, Aiko will not only reverse the disaster but uncover the secrets of her own origins as well.

A.I.C.O. -Incarnation- gets less attention than some of Studio Bones’ best anime, but it is still an interesting watch. The mystery surrounding Aiko and Burst goes hand in hand with the exploration of what this futuristic technology is capable of. Its plot keeps viewers guessing right up until the dramatic final episodes, a trait A.I.C.O. shares with many of Netflix’s other best science fiction anime.

6 Darwin’s Game

Based on the Manga Created By FLIPFLOPs

When Kaname Sudou gets a request from his friend to join a new mobile game, he thinks little of it. It’s only afterward that he discovers the awful truth: his friend is already dead, killed by the inescapable death game that Kaname has just signed up for. Unless he wants to be next, he’ll have to learn very quickly how to survive in Darwin’s Game.

While the Darwin’s Game manga ran on for much longer than the anime, the twelve-episode season is thrilling enough on its own. It plants the seeds of Kaname’s evolution from an inexperienced newcomer freaking out to a proud and fearsome leader of his own clan of players. It explores several aspects of the game, from lethal bosses to different players’ abilities to special events where anyone has a chance to rise to the top. Death games are a popular genre, especially on Netflix, so it’s no wonder Darwin’s Game is one of the best science fiction anime on the streaming giant.

5 Levius

Based on the Manga Created By Haruhisa Nakata

In one of the best boxing anime, the modified sport of Mechanical Martial Arts has risen out of the ashes of brutal war and scientific innovation. With the aid of the Agartha Water that powers their cybernetic prosthetics, fighters battle for glory in bouts that often end in death. Levius Cromwell, a young survivor of the war, has made the sport his life and will do anything to win.

Science fiction and sports are a surprisingly fun combination of genres. Throw in some steampunk for flavor and out comes Levius. Its strongest points are nail-biting action sequences and the exploration of what kind of world would make this their most popular sport: one of countless people ravaged by war and still mired in bloodshed and desperation. This kind of social commentary is embedded in science fiction, and Levius proves anime is an important part of that legacy.

4 Ghost In The Shell: SAC_2045

Based on the Manga Created By Masamune Shirow

In the year 2045, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her team are fighting to survive a global war, using their skills and cybernetic technology to get by. However, they’ve got not only enemy forces but some of the scariest robots in anime to worry about. It will take everything they have to survive the war and remain themselves.

The original 1989 manga by Masamune Shirow has become a cornerstone of not only cyberpunk, but science fiction as a whole. In the past decades, it has branched out into several adaptations, with this ONA set in the universe of the 2002 anime Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. SAC_2045 and its soon-to-be-two spinoff movies continue the franchise’s exploration of what the growing intersection between technology and humanity means for the concept of the self.

3 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Based on the RPG Series Created By Mike Pondsmith

In the dystopian Night City, citizens are forced to do whatever they have to just to survive. David Martinez uses cyberware technology to become an edgerunner, ducking the law to make a living as a mercenary. Alongside other edgerunners, he fights the corrupt system of Night City and the megacorporations that run it every day.

Another characteristically unique and fun entry into Studio Trigger’s body of work, Edgerunners is a prequel to the hit 2020 video game Cyberpunk 2077. Though it is only ten episodes, it packs every bit of action, character development, and worldbuilding it can into its runtime, with excellent results. Its standalone story is accessible even to those who know nothing about the game. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners isn’t just one of the best science fiction anime on Netflix, it’s one of the best anime series of all time.

2 Pacific Rim: The Black

Based on the Film Created By Guillermo del Toro

In the near future, Kaiju rule the Earth, and the only thing capable of fending them off are the massive machines known as Jaegers and their pairs of bonded pilots. Siblings Hayley and Taylor Travis are just two of many who lost their parents to the fight against the monsters. Taking command of the Atlas Destroyer, they brave the crumbling world around them to find their parents.

Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 film, Pacific Rim, is a modern sci-fi classic in its own right, and one clearly influenced by kaiju and mecha anime. Pacific Rim: The Black builds on the strengths of the film, with the Kaiju attacks and Jaeger battles on the same massive scale. Fans disappointed with the official sequel, 2018’s Pacific Rim Uprising, might be more satisfied checking this anime out.

1 Pluto

Based on the Manga Created By Naoki Urasawa

In a world where robots and humans coexist, robot detective Inspector Gesicht investigates a series of grisly murders committed with superhuman (or robotic) strength. Both robots and humans are targeted, ones who had the potential to change the world for better or worse. Gesicht must figure out what the killer wants and what their strange power is, before he becomes the next victim.

Already being called a contender for anime of the year, Pluto is the perfect example of a standalone anime. Though it’s a reimagining of an arc from the 1950s-60s classic Astro Boy, its strong story and suspenseful tone make it both effective and approachable on its own. It uses its premise to deliver strong messages against the horrors of war and about what makes someone (or something) human. Pluto might be Netflix’s most recent science fiction anime, but it’s already become the streaming giant’s best.

The best sci-fi anime on Netflix are evenly divided between classics that stand the test of time and new hits that made an instant impact. As science and technology move unstoppably forward, anime and all other sci-fi media will continue to reflect people’s feelings towards them and what they may mean for humanity as a whole. Netflix’s best science fiction anime prove how much the medium can add to the genre’s enduring place in popular culture.

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