Japanese anime brought a new layer to our popular sci-fi and these ten sci-fi anime helped redefine the genre.
Japan is a hot pot for sci-fi pop cultureas she cultivated and defined some of the greatest aesthetic and sensual aspects of the genre through a variety of media. Japanese anime itself is an incredibly influential figure in global pop culture, not only globalizing Japanese culture but also inventive new ideas coming from some of their best artists, writers and directors. Perhaps best of all, Japanese anime has been the most disruptive of the zeitgeist and the biggest influence on all of our notions of pop culture.
Where would the anime community be today without its giant mechs fighting in space wars, the existential crisis of androids, or various aliens falling through our bedroom ceilings? Anyway, this science fiction anime, which filled the air the most, as the various series under this banner had a hand in defining and rethinking the look of the worlds of tomorrow. Or at least how the world views the genre. Let's take a look at some of the greatest anime that really changed the sci-fi genre.
10 Evangelion
To get rid of the obvious early,Neon Genesis Evangelion not only considered one of greatest anime series of all time, but is also a defining stop in the evolution of sci-fi/mechanical anime. Beforeeve, gundamis probably the anime community's main entry into the mecha genre - essentially setting the tone with big robots, big fights, and space explosions.But "Evangelion» turned the community on its head, turning what could have been just another sci-fi epic into a deeply human story where the characters reflected and explored the consequences of their actions, choices, and place in the world.
If anyone wanted to know why series likeCode Geass, Guilty Crown orDarling in the Franxx became more based on themes and emotions than big fights, then look at the series that inspired them and many other anime to be artistically ambitious and high-concept.
9. Gurren Lagann
In terms of giant robot battles, one of the most visually ambitious and effectively written mecha series to date isTengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. In what could have been a long series about exploring the vastness of space and fighting various wars,Gainax created a series that captured the feeling and ambition of the heroes' long journey and turned it into a fast-paced, fast-paced shot. adrenaline, that isGurren Lagann.
This is a series of incredible epic fights, eccentric characters and, of course, stylistic animation. Following the trend of its style, in addition to exploring and reaching the end of the universe in its 27 episodes, the series' tone and themes of friendship, bonding and self-respect are also handled with incredible drama and overwhelming scale, just like friendship. get bigger and the feelings just keep flowing.Gurren Lagann is a sci-fi anime that just makes everything bigger, a lagundambut makes emotions feel deeper, a laEvangelion.
8 Lane's Experiments
Serial Experiments Line, in tone and style alone, is the epitome of '90s punk and grunge that only fuels the paranoia of the controlling establishment. In many ways, this series has established that voicing contemporary technological issues is a modern dystopia, as characters are literally sucked into the virtual world, the line between real and digital is blurred, and everything is covered in the influence of technology. Perhaps his most obvious influence on the world of pop culture is his direct influence on the creation of the franchise."Matrix ", which is essentiallyseries "Experiments Line", if only there were more kung fu and explosions.
7. The Promised Neverland
There are many sci-fi media that touch on the dystopian world and its tendency to objectify and abuse children, such as"The Hunger Games" , "Maze Runner" , Series "Coincidence" and almost every other YA novel. If something seems too good to be true in the distant future, it probably means it's too true for children; and although"The Promised Neverland" is no different, it definitely doesn't behave like other dystopias.
He literally and directly turns his child characters into "expendable" goods, which are bred and closed like cattle (which shows "Attack on Titan" some of what that phrase might actually mean). While"The Promised Neverland" is an epic adventure set to overthrow the establishment that currently threatens children, and is more like a Hitchcock movie in that it puts feelings of anxiety, fear and extreme horror at the forefront of its revolution as obstacles. and the series' villains take on the main characters with slow but relentless precision. All this is done against the backdrop of almostDisney the perfection of what is clearly not a humble haven.
6. Stein's Gate
Afterprimer in the time travel genre, there was an urgent need for something darkly colored and filled with suspense and mystery. Luckily for the video game community, 2009 gave them a video game.Steins; gate. And, fortunately for the anime community, in 2011 this game was remade into a well-written and fast-paced anime series.Steins; gate is an anime in which the concept of time travel becomes an heir to the mystery, limiting character interaction and control, and introducing asymmetric consequences.
In other words, the butterfly effect takes a really weird and wonderful turn when all you can send back in time is a text message. Because of this, the characters have no idea how and who actually changed something, removing all reliability and familiarity from their tricks. As the characters experiment with time travel, they also explore the different paths and stories of the characters they have affected, using time travel as a "What if?" opportunity to explore different points of view. If you haven't seen it, now is the right time.
5.Orange
Continuing on this list with the premise of time travel, we discover the simple, humble lives of a few high school students.Orange is not so much a concept adventure with time travel as an interesting “What if?”. drama in which a group of friends try to keep one of them from committing suicide. In this series, Naho Takamiya suddenly finds himself receiving letters from his older self lamenting his greatest regret in life, not being able to save his friend Kakeru Naruse as he goes through some of the hardest days of his life.
The idea of consequences in this series is not so much about butterflies creating tsunamis, but about changing relationships and understanding between characters as Naho desperately tries to mend her future regrets, but also struggles with what she can sacrifice or who she can be. it will hurt if she saves Kakeru. It's a wonderful story of regret and friendship that truly humanizes and warms up the time travel genre.
4 Dr. Stone
To pay tribute to a new anime series that not only feels unique to a sci-fi series, but turns the entire shounen genre on its head, «Doctor Stone" is one of the most promising anime summer season 2019. It follows two friends awakening in a post-apocalyptic world where a mysterious incident has petrified everyone in stone for thousands of years. Between the two of them is a genius who not only wants to restore civilization, but also invented a special solution that can free people from their stone cages.
However, the series puts who they decide to awaken at the forefront of the choices and consequences of the series, as the characters struggle with awakening all or just a select few, as well as who to awaken first. While the concept itself lends itself to incredibly unique and exciting situations, the series also has a healthy layer of science and history textbooks as it uses real-world scientific concepts to push them forward. Here, the biggest weapon between the characters is not their muscles, but their minds and resources as they compete to create a stronger society. It's science fiction that loves science fiction.
3.Psycho-Pass
Here is a cyberpunk series that has conceptual elements taken from a detective drama.Psycho Pass is a sci-fi/crime seriesin which government and law enforcement arrest and enforce the law against people with hostile psycho-passes, a worldwide measure of a person's emotional and mental resilience that determines their potential for criminal behavior. The weapons used in the series are incredibly deadly, but are only meant to be used on people with a dangerous mental state. Hence, emotional and mental stability become a commodity of one's own, since status and advancement in society can be judged and measured by their psychoanalysis.
Those with a clear psycho pass can walk the streets carefree, while those with a foggy one live in constant fear of being discriminated against or being corrected. From here, the series raises questions about what it really means to be evil and dangerous, as the idea of a psycho pass, and what it means to be indiscriminate, is put to the test against bad people with clear psychopaths and good people, tainted.
2. Paprika
As the only film on this list, one of Satoshi Kon's last works before his passing still redefines anime, not only because of its ambitious and inventive animation, but also because of the cool concepts it represents.Paprika is a world that features an evolving dream helmet that allows users to explore other people's dreams to dig into and explore other people's subconscious, with a detective trying to solve a case, and lots of direct references to the movie production process.
If this sounds familiar, it's probably because this movie, like "Lane Serial Experiments", is a direct inspiration for another famous American film "Start". Inception borrows some elements fromPaprika, such as emotional layers of dreams, dream invasion technology, and the famous window-breaking scene. If anything, the world may see dreams as the new frontier for science fiction.
1 Space Dandy
This list would be omitted if it didn't mention the wonderful work of Shinichiro Watanabe. And althoughcowboyBebop on my own is a masterclass in anime, its sister series,SpaceDandy, does much more with science fiction concept. Taking the anthology concept as a base like no other (several different anime directors and their art styles have picked up on this),SpaceDandy takes its various sci-fi adventure and subtly adds its own touches of philosophy and introspection, making its audience think when they were just laughing.
"Panties and Vests War, Baby" could have been just a surreal underpants-and-vest comedy episode, but it ends with a strangely sincere and dark scene where the Space Dandy flies off an exploding planet and looks up at the stars. "I'm Never Remembering You, Baby" could be just a cool take on any alien that can rewrite memories, but Dandy once again adds a touch of personality and friendship with his own distinct Dandy flavor. If a show can go from being a mere monster to literally traveling through purgatory, then this is a sci-fi series unlike any other.
