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Some sci-fi films have more of a gritty outlook on what a technologically advanced society may hold, and others have a more lighthearted take, depicting a bright future full of possibilities. But whether the future looks bright or dystopic, full of hopeful, imaginative concepts or the advanced scientific technology creating disastrous consequences, these sci-fi anime movies are sure to keep you on your cyborg toes (do cyborgs have toes?)
Whatever the outlook, sci-fi tends to bring deep speculation about the world around us and the possibilities the future can hold, for better or for worse. The social commentary of this particular genre lends to a platform like no other that allows us to reflect not just on future possibilities of society, technology, and the advancement of science as a whole, but the core of human nature itself. And so, with sci-fi anime films being especially unique, the possibilities seem even more endless and imaginative with these picks!
1) Ghost in the Shell
In the technologically advanced near-future, humans have become capable of melding their bodies with machines. Major Motoko Kusanagi of Niihama City’s Public Security force, Section 9, is a police officer with her own cyborg capabilities. While protecting the city by investigating cyber crimes, she becomes more involved in one complicated case in particular more than she’d imagined. While trying to track down a mysterious cyborg hacker known as the “Puppet Master”, Motoko not only begins to question what it means to be truly human in a world where the lines between man and machine blur, but begins to question her own being as a “ghost” in a highly advanced mechanical shell. And the one who may hold the answers may be none other than her target himself.
Ghost in the Shell is both filled with sci-fi cyberpunk escapades and is also thought-provoking as it ponders the philosophical questions when it comes to the prospect of humans becoming so attached to technology that they become the cyborg equivalent of Theseus’s Ship.
Ghost in the Shell can be streamed on Pluto TV and Tubi.
2) Metropolis
The plutocratic city of Metropolis is a place where prejudice and discrimination drives increasing unrest and crime as humans blame robots for unemployment and being forced to live in slums. Detective Shunsaku Ban and his nephew Kenichi Shikishima arrive in the city in search of Dr. Laughton, a rogue scientist wanted for human organ trafficking and human rights violations who, at the behest of Metropolis’s wealthiest citizen Duke Red, secretly built a uniquely advanced android modeled and named after Red’s deceased daughter, Tima. When Duke Red’s adopted son Rock discovers Tima and tries destroying her, Kenichi inadvertently entwines his and Tina’s fates as they’re hunted through Metropolis’s underground together, the city plunging into revolution and unraveling the dark secrets of its corrupt class system.
Loosely based on Osamu Tezuka’s 1949 manga of the same name, 2001’s Metropolis film hits a bit close to home with its core themes. With AI becoming more of an issue for employment and the wealthy becoming an ever-looming influence on authority, Metropolis provides a commentary of caution.
3) Paprika
Although lab techs Atsuko Chiba and Kosaku Tokita have developed a certain device, the DC Mini, to dive into others’ dreams in the hopes that the technology could be used to help cure patients of psychological disorders, of course, such powerful technology is bound to have its drawbacks, especially if left in the hands of those who would put it to misuse. Which inevitably happens. After all, with the advanced ability to unearth peoples’ deepest desires, aspirations, and repressed memories deep within their psyche, people begin to act strangely and cause mental breakdowns when the technology is stolen and psychological terrorism ensues. With the help of one such patient, Officer Konakawa, who’d received the experimental therapy, Atsuko and Kosaku search to retrieve the stolen DC Mini and stop the mental attacks.
While the development of such technology that can explore the dream and mental world to a deep level seems like it could have both fun and beneficial uses, the prospect also seems just as terrifying as the chaos that ensues in Paprika.
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4) Summer Wars
OZ is the worldwide popular internet platform where most people gather with custom avatars for just about any and all functions for daily life. Of course, it’s also protected with highly effective security measures to ensure both the platform and its users are both safe. Not only is Kenji Koiso a part-time OZ moderator, but is also a whiz at math. But when his crush, Natsuki Shinohara, invites him on a summer trip to her family’s house in the country out of the blue, unbeknownst to him, she had planned on him acting as her fiancé in preparation for her great-grandmother’s 90th birthday celebration. When he receives a strange, coded message on his cell phone from an unknown sender, he cracks the code as a mere minor challenge, unwittingly spelling doom for OZ.
As much as society already seems to rely on social media and technology now, a sci-fi future where basically every part of daily life absolutely relies on a single combined platform seems not too far off. Even so, at least Summer Wars gives a bit more of a lighthearted take on the otherwise dystopian prospect.
5) Akira
In 2019, years after a disaster launched World War III in the 80’s, Neo-Tokyo finds itself in constant turmoil as the streets are run amok with crime and insurrection against its oppressive government. Shoutarou Kaneda, leader of a rebellious motorcycle gang, finds himself caught in the middle of a government conspiracy when his friend, Tetsuo Shima, discovers his own psychic abilities upon encountering a government esper escapee.
With motorcycle action sequences, body horror, dangerous psychic powers, and a dystopic setting rife with crime and government secrets as this film’s bread and butter, Akira is an absolute classic as an action-packed sci-fi film.
Akira can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
6) Belle
On the social media platform known as “U” where everyone is able to have virtual personas known as “AS”, people are able to live the virtual lives they can otherwise only dream of having in the real world. This includes one such user, a beautiful singer by the name of Belle, who, in real life, others would never have guessed is actually one Suzu Naito, a shy country bumpkin who’d lost her real-life ability to sing due to past trauma. But in U, her dreams of singing are able to come true. When rumors of a beast known as the Dragon spread across U, a chance meeting makes her realize that not only is there more than meets the eye about the mysterious user but also about herself.
Taking obvious inspiration from Beauty and the BeastBelle was even drawn by character designer Jin Kim who’d worked on Disney films such as Tangled and Frozen. When this sci-fi premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, it received a 14-minute standing ovation.
Belle can be streamed on Max, Prime, or Netflix where available.
7) Patema Inverted
All the princess of the underground civilization, Patema, knows is her own world, but since her friend went missing, she’s been inspired to explore the “forbidden zone”. But, turns out, Patema learns that it’s forbidden for a reason when she ends up falling into the bottomless pit and ending up on the surface, the now upside-down world threatening to swallow her into the sky. Thankfully, she’s saved by Age, a student in this totalitarian nation known as Aiga. Although the citizens of Aiga are taught to believe that Inverts like Patema are sinners
fated to be swallowed by the sky, Age questions such teachings, especially in discovering his new friend Patema. And so, the two begin to unravel the mysteries and conspiracies pulling their worlds apart, seeking to overcome their inverted worlds’ differences in order to coexist.
This sci-fi film turns the very genre on its head — literally. Although the twist of two worlds colliding as gravity draws these characters together and the inverted societies they come from try to pull them apart is certainly unique, the constant inversion of perspective may not be the best choice for those who get motion sick easily.
Let us know in the comments your recommendations for sci-fi anime films!
