Summary
- Explosions aren't just for action films, they shine in anime - especially in space anime battles.
- From Cowboy Bebop to Xenosaga, enjoy epic space battles with a touch of magic and drama.
- Discover intense space fights in anime classics like Gurren Lagann and Space Pirate Captain Harlock.
Explosions are great in action films, but they are fun in anime as well, especially when animators get super bombastic with the art style. Space anime is the place to go to find the best explosions in small and large-scale fights. There have been cosmic levels of anime war raged since the 70s, and it’s a genre that isn’t as prevalent these days.
Let’s round up the best instances of anime that focus on space battles or have stellar episodes about cosmic fights that put the universe in jeopardy. There may be spoilers ahead to fully divulge these space bouts, so buckle up.
7 Darkest Sci-Fi Anime Of All Time
Dystopian fictions are a common theme in science fiction anime. These shows have the darkest content available.
8 Cowboy Bebop
See You In Space, Cowboy
Cowboy Bebop
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- 1998 - 1999
- Network
- TV Tokyo, WOWOW Prime
- Showrunner
- Shinichirô Watanabe
Cowboy Bebop is often regarded as one of the best anime of all time thanks to its animation quality, adult stories, and intense action both on the ground and in space. The story follows Spike and his crew of bounty hunters on the Bebop, going through standalone episodes with a few tying directly to each character. One of the best demonstrations of the star battles happens in the episode “Heavy Metal Queen,” which features space truckers going through an intense cylindrical space highway full of traps. Overall, anime fans could want nothing more, as this was a perfect one-season run.
7 Dragon Ball Super
Goku Goes Beyond
Dragon Ball Super
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2015 - 2018
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Showrunner
- Tatsuya Nagamine
After Dragon Ball ended, Dragon Ball Z began its run by adding a lot more cosmic invasion storylines to the anime. The beginning finds Goku and his allies defending Earth from an invading species called Saiyans, which then leads to a showdown on a nearby planet called Namek. There were plenty of wild battles throughout the series, but Dragon Ball Super is when battles started to be fought in actual space. Also, Goku goes through a lot more hair colors through new Super Saiyan levels if fans can believe that, since he had already reached godhood several times over in previous iterations.
6 Gurren Lagann
Turning The Galaxy Into A Weapon
Gurren Lagann
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2007 - 2007
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Gainax
- Number of Episodes
- 27
The first two-thirds of Gurren Lagann takes place on a planet resembling Earth, but in the final act of the anime, things are taken to space. Like Dragon Ball, as intense as things got on the ground, things only became more unreal when they took to the stars.
The 8 Most Influential Mecha Anime From The '90s
A lot of the most influential mecha anime debuted in the 90s. These titles remain legendary to the present day.
Some spoilers would be necessary to demonstrate how cosmic things got, but for those who haven't seen the show, we'll just say that mechs have never had so many drills and transformations in anime before or since. "Over the top" does not begin to describe the action in this series.
5 Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Kamille’s A Man’s Name, And I’m A Man!
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
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- 1985 - 1986
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Sunrise
- Creator(s)
- Yoshiyuki Tomino
Mobile Suit Gundam is the first season of the anime. Most of the original series focuses on one conflict, with returning characters set apart between years of conflict. Most of these early series have a lot of space battles between ships and mechs.
While the original series is still fun to go back to, its sequel series, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, is better for a few reasons. The animation looks better, the battles are better planned, and the universe feels more filled in thanks to the lore set up previously. That said, to appreciate it completely, viewers have to watch Mobile Suit Gundam too.
4 Outlaw Star
Magical Girls Running Starships
Outlaw Star
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 1998 - 2001-00-00
- Directors
- Mitsuru Hongô
- Writers
- Katsuhiko Chiba
Outlaw Star is from the same anime studio as Cowboy Bebop, Sunrise, so it can be easy to confuse the two since both began airing around the same time in North America. Gene is a jack-of-all-trades space pilot who runs with a crew of eccentric characters, ranging from a girl he rescued who now powers his ship to a female assassin. Gene isn’t without protection either, as he has a weapon called a Caster, a gun that fires magically infused bullets. Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop are probably even when it comes to the number of space battles, but Outlaw Star does have the advantage of more bombastic fights thanks to the infusion of literal magic into the anime.
3 Space Pirate Captain Harlock
Don’t Sully His Name
Space Pirate Captain Harlock
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 1978 - 1979-00-00
- Directors
- Rintaro
- Writers
- Haruya Yamazaki, Shozo Uehara
Space Pirate Captain Harlock had one of the most fascinating stories when it was distributed in the 80s outside of Japan. It was cobbled together with another anime called Queen Millennia to turn the anime into Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years.
Best Anime About Space Exploration
Space may be a place where no man has gone before, but anime certainly has.
Thankfully, the original version can now be watched on numerous channels. It’s as classic as the original Gundam series or any of the Lupin shows as far as 70s anime goes. Who wouldn’t love to watch an anime about a pirate captain sailing around space, shooting down villains, and swashbuckling like he was in the 1600s?
2 Tenchi Universe
Love In The Stars
Tenchi Universe
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 1995 - 1995-00-00
- Network
- TV Tokyo
- Directors
- Hiroshi Negishi, Tatsuya Ishihara, Yasuhiro Kuroda
Most anime fans probably caught Tenchi Universe on Toonami in 2000. For many, it was their first introduction to a harem-based anime that just so happened to have cool Star Wars-like laser sword fights and battles in space. The anime follows an ordinary high school student, Tenchi, who keeps getting bombarded with characters from space, including a princess, a pirate, and an inventor. Turns out, he is destined for greatness along with getting his heart tugged from all angles. It’s not a full-on space adventure, but there are still plenty of great star battles to watch.
1 Xenosaga: The Animation
A Forgotten Adaptation
- Writer: Shigeyasu Yamauchi
- Studio: Toei Animation
- Released: January 5, 2005 (Japan)
- Episodes: 12
Xenosaga: The Animation was released before the third game came out and was a quick twelve-episode recap of the first game, albeit with quite a few changes. The basic premise remained intact with a scientist, Shion, creating an android named KOS-MOS that could take on aliens known as Gnosis. A lot of religious artifacts and magic were also thrown around for good measure. "Cosmic" does not begin to describe the events of this anime. While it’s not as good as the PS2 trilogy of games and is hard to track down, fans owe it to themselves to see it at least once.
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