10 Must-Watch Sci-Fi Anime if You Love Evangelion (and Maybe Even if You Don't)

Science fiction is so prevalent in anime that Hollywood movies and TV series can only envy its diversity. Here you can find space opera, giant robots, cyberpunk, and even alternate history.

1. Space Pirate Captain Harlock, 1978-1979

An anime classic based on the manga by Leiji Matsumoto, a space opera about the pirate Harlock, who sails the galaxies on the starship Arcadia. The series is continued by another adaptation, Galaxy Express 999, which takes place in the same universe.

Despite the dated graphics, the anime is memorable for its romantic atmosphere, well-written world and vivid characters. And the main character, Captain Harlock, will make you fall in love with him from the first episode — he is a grim but noble loner, ready to die for his principles.

2. Planetes, 2003-2004

The characters of Planetes are space scavengers who clean the Earth's orbit from old satellites and their debris that can damage ships.

This anime is one of the most accurate projects about space. The creators were consulted by the Japanese space agency, so weightlessness, space suits, rotating stations, moon colonists with atrophied muscles — everything is shown very realistically. And this is what the near future of space will most likely look like.

3. Ergo Proxy, 2006

In the world of this anime, our planet has become uninhabitable, and people are hiding in domed cities. In life, they are helped in everything by cyborgs called AutoReivs, but due to the virus epidemic, they begin to acquire self-awareness, emotions and even a semblance of a soul. Inspector Re-l Mayer takes on the investigation of such incidents. She will have to face the immigrant Vincent, who clearly knows more than he says.

Ergo Proxy skillfully combines elements of cyberpunk, post-apocalypse and road adventure. The main advantages of Ergo Proxy are the darkly realistic image, the oppressive atmosphere of a dying world, deeply developed characters and philosophy.

4. Trigun, 1998

Trigun is a bright space western. Here on a distant, dusty planet, not a day goes by without a bandit attack on a train, a gunfight in town, or a brawl in a saloon. Good-natured gunslinger Vash the Stampede, who hides terrible secrets and memories behind his big smile, gets caught up in one skirmish after another.

The series grabs you right away with its action-packed storyline, stylish design, and charming characters. What makes it a masterpiece, however, is its strong storyline, which moves from reckless comedy to philosophical drama.

5. Steins;Gate, 2011-2015

Rintaro Okabe, a student, attends a conference on time travel with his friend Mayuri. There he stumbles upon the body of a murdered conference attendee, Kurisu Makise. In a panic, he sends an e-mail to a friend to tell him what happened. Suddenly, he encounters a mysterious phenomenon: people on the street are suddenly disappearing, and no one knows about Kurisu's death.

It turns out that he sent a message to the past, saving the researcher's life. But this shifts the timeline, causing more deaths and disasters all the way up to World War III. The characters have to figure out how to fix everything.

6. God Eater, 2015-2016

The plot tells of a future where mysterious monsters called Aragami have appeared for unknown reasons. The international organization Fenrir is called upon to stop the destruction and kill the monsters. To do this, they have a "divine weapon" consisting of Aragami cells.

People who carry this weapon and kill monsters are called God Eaters. Will humans be able to destroy the monsters? Who are the Aragami and how did they appear? This is what the characters of the series will have to find out.

7. No. 6, 2011

No. 6 is where the "elite" live after long bloody wars — only in such places are the remnants of civilization preserved. This is a kind of utopia, where everything is fine, while in the slums people are starving and dying of some unknown disease. Outside the city there is a wasteland where anarchy reigns and cheap labor lives.

The main action takes place after the main character Shion rescues a boy who has escaped from prison. And four years later, Shion met him again when he needed help himself. He was about to be imprisoned for a careless word, and he saw something he should not have seen.

8. Parasyte: The Maxim, 2014-2015

Unusual snow falls from the sky in a Japanese city. It turns out to be the embryos of alien parasites that have arrived to settle in a new home. Entering through the ear and into the head, they subjugate the victim's brain and gain complete control of their body.

But one parasite was less fortunate than others: unable to enter the brain of a Japanese schoolboy through his headphones, it was forced to take up residence in his hand. Now the boy and his unusual neighbor are learning to live in one body — and fight off other parasites.

There is plenty of action and outright horror in Parasyte, but first and foremost it is a dramatic story about empathy and respect for other people's lives.

9. Heavenly Delusion, 2023

After a global catastrophe, Japan is divided into two parts. Under the dome is a school where robots teach children and teenagers various sciences. It is safe here and the inhabitants hardly think about the world beyond the wall. Only the girl Tokio wants to go there, but the adults convince her that there are many dangerous monsters behind the wall.

Meanwhile, outside the dome, the boy Maru and his friend Kiruko are exploring the destroyed city in search of food and useful things. Maru looks very much like Tokio. They are about to meet and find out what unites them.

10. Star Wars: Visions, 2021-2023

Star Wars: Visions is a collection of animated shorts set in the Star Wars universe, created by famous anime studios, where the authors were given free rein and allowed to do whatever they wanted. But somehow it turned out that the series received little attention.

The anthology included very different stories: a heartfelt tale about a musical group, an impressive duel, an epic confrontation between twins, and a dark tale about the Jedi. At the same time, each episode is made in its own style.