In Steins;Gate, a group of friends led by Okabe Rintarou discover a way to send messages back in time through a mobile phone. Unfortunately to them, their “innocent” experiments begin to have huge repercussions to the current timeline - with Rintarou the only one recognizing these events. With Steins;Gate itself having a suspenseful premise, just what other sci-fi anime meet this level of suspense?
10 Ghost In The Shell (Various)
Fans of sci-fi who want to indulge in one of the most prolific sci-fi franchises of all time won’t have regrets with Ghost In The Shell. Starring Major Matoko Kusanagi and Public Security Section 9, she and her team are tasked to deal with various cyberterrorism incidents in a futuristic 21st Century Japan, where cybernetics and virtual reality have become synonymous with everyday living.
Unlike other sci-fi anime, Ghost In The Shellgoes full cyberpunk mode with its premise, taking players down a rabbit hole of interesting concepts with a police procedural format. While its cases tend to be a bit overwhelming for newcomers, those who stick to the endgame of any Ghost In The Shell anime will meet rather peculiar individuals, get acquainted with interesting concepts, and ask questions pertaining to the future of mankind with cybernetics in the picture.
9 Real Drive (2008)
Those who loved Ghost In The Shell who don’t want to encounter as much sci-fi but tackle equally-intense issues will appreciate Real Drive. In its setting of 2061 AD, humans developed the Network society that allowed people to “connect” their consciousness in a manner similar to virtual reality. While the Network society has a dream of making humanity more harmonious, a lot of issues have arisen with its development, such as manipulated information, personal data leaks, and other concerns.
The anime begins when Misamichi Haru begins his work as a cyber diver, tasked to investigate odd occurrences within the Metal or the Meta-Real Network, which was designed to be a more secure Network realm.
8 Psycho-Pass (2013)
Even the most “perfect” of societies have drawbacks, and even dark secrets. In Psycho-Pass, protagonist Akane Tsunemori is assigned as an Inspector under the Criminal Investigation Department of a near-future Japan, where a system named the Sybil System is seemingly capable of measuring one’s biometrics to determine not just where one excels, but what to do to achieve a perfectly “happy” emotional state. Members of the Criminal Investigation Department are tasked to hunt down those with high Psycho-Pass, or Criminal Coefficient, as this determines their inclination to do crime.
It’s this premise that Akane tries to adjust to and slowly begins to question, especially when they encounter the enigmatic Makishima Shogo, a mysterious criminal mastermind. Despite its futuristic premise, themes such as measuring one’s emotions, and even the combination of technology and biometrics are slowly being explored in the real world.
7 Time Of Eve (2008)
Stories with androids don’t always have to end in violence, and this is what Time Of Eve shows in its setting in the near future. In Time Of Eve, Rikuo Sakisaka has taken for granted the existence of androids, given their common occurrence all over the world. This changes when his Sammy, his home android, has seemingly begun acting independently. His only clue was an odd phrase in his activity log: “Are you enjoying the Time of Eve?”
When Rikuo and his friend Masakazu Masaki begin investigating Sammy’s movements, they discover a cafe known as “The Time Of Eve” where its patrons, also androids, seemingly develop their own kind of independence. Throughout the anime, these androids and Rikuo have adventures that seemingly show different interpretations of Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, making for quite an unusual exploration of robotics as a concept.
6 Armored Trooper VOTOMS (1983)
Despite its age, Armored Trooper VOTOMS is probably one of the more prolific military space series out there. Whereas Gundam shows the horrors of war with awesome-looking mecha, VOTOMS takes a more realistic approach to war. The premise of the series is generally similar, with VOTOMS taking place between a century-long galactic war between the Balarant and Gilgamesh nations.
Caught in the middle is Chirico Cuvie, an Armored Trooper pilot from the Gilgamesh elite force Red Shoulder Battalion, who is seemingly charged as a traitor after a mysterious mission. When he gets a chance to escape, he’s accompanied by an enigmatic woman from the same mysterious mission, with this companion serving as his only clue to solve the mystery of the war to begin with.
5 Moonlight Mile (2007)
Space itself can become the site to a wonderful journey, and Moonlight Mile shows how one’s dreams can transition from one passion to the other. In Moonlight Mile, mountaineers Gorou Saruwatari and Jack Woodbridge see the International Space Station at the peak of Mount Everest, and both eventually start the dream of going into space. It’s their dreams of getting into the final frontier where the anime begins, with the show portraying both friend’s approaches to get into the “Nexus” program that aims to harvest Helium-3 as a new energy source.
In Moonlight Mile, Gorou becomes a construction worker who may hopefully become selected as an astronaut for the mission. Likewise, Jack trains to become a military pilot to get chosen for his credentials. It’s the rather “close to home” nature of Moonlight Mile, coupled with quite the realistic depictions of astronaut training and its many perils, that make Moonlight Mile a great watch.
4 Space Brothers (2012)
Taking a similar route to Moonlight Mile is Space Brothers, this time the tale of two brothers. In Space Brothers, Mutta Nanba and his younger brother Hibito have seen what they think is a UFO fly towards the moon back in 2006, which prompts them to begin their dreams to get into space. The anime, set 19 years later, takes them to 2025 with both brothers having taken different approaches to their goal of space travel - with Mutta aiming for Mars, while Hibito aims for the Moon.
Whereas Hibito has become a full-fledged astronaut and is on his way to go to the Moon and fulfill his lifelong dream, Mutta takes a different route but retains the dreams altogether. He finally gets his shot to go to space when he receives an invitation to an astronaut training program, where the anime goes full-blast in its realistic depiction of space training coupled with “feels-good” hopefulness.
3 Planetes (2003)
Unlike other sci-fi anime, Planetes has quite the straightforward yet captivating premise. It takes place in the near future, where its characters are crews of the DS-12 “Toy Box” of the Space Debris Station, and are often ostracized for being the “lowest” members of the company. The anime details their individual struggles to prove their worth among the team, all the while doing various space debris collection missions.
Interestingly enough, Planetes has quite a lot of ongoing plot elements and side-stories to keep things equally engaging and realistic. It has quite the realistic depiction of both space travel and outer space itself, such as animation adjusting frame count to mimic concepts such as weightlessness and momentum. The anime also accounts for other realistic things in space, such as contracting space illnesses such as brittle bones, cancer, and even isolation-induced mental illnesses.
2 Knights Of Sidonia (2014)
When shapeshifting aliens called the Gauna destroyed the Earth back in 2394, remaining humans managed to survive aboard colossal spacecraft. Set in 3394, Knights Of Sidonia takes place in the spacecraft Sidonia as it travels space in search for a new settlement. The anime itself follows the life of Nagate Tanikaze, who has always lived in Sidonia’s underground layer until his selection as a pilot for the Garde, mecha designed specifically to protect Sidonia from the Gauna.
Despite its mecha premise, Knights Of Sidonia has the perfect blend of desperation, action, and hopefulness - making it a great gap between more action-packed mecha anime like Gundam, to philosophical wonders like Neon Genesis Evangelion, and more hard sci-fi like Steins;Gate. This is especially considering the nature of Nagate, who has never known anyone from the surface, acting as a representative for viewers who wanted to learn more about the surface.
1 Ergo Proxy (2006)
Going beyond the realm of usual sci-fi is Ergo Proxy, taking place in a post-apocalyptic future where humans and androids called AutoReivs would’ve lived in peace had it not been for a virus that gives AutoReivs self-awareness. This led to AutoReivs developing urges to commit mass murders, leading to protagonist Inspector Re-L Mayer to investigate. Throughout the story, Re-L uncovers a conspiracy involving species called Proxies, all subjects of government experiments, and their involvement in these incidents.
While other sci-fi anime are seemingly grounded in more realistic concepts, Ergo Proxy goes all out in its blending of metaphysical concepts with hard sci-fi themes, resulting in a complex yet equally-captivating take on science fiction.
A thematic Steins;Gate sequel tentatively titled Steins;??? is set for an unknown release date.
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