Unlike these popular subgenres of science fiction, cyberpunk, and steampunk, atompunk is not widely known, and it can be uncommon to find works that can be fully categorized as atompunk. Nevertheless, there are works that have elements of atompunk in them. Anime like Metropolis and Patlabor have these atompunk features in them.
Atompunk borrows technology from the future and fuses it with the past. The past here is the World War II era or the post-war era. The use of retro-futuristic technology, artificial intelligence, and space exploration is what makes Atompunk stand out. One thing to note is that the main focus of the sub-genre revolves around the atomic age while embracing the idea of technology and its advancement.
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7 Izetta: The Last Witch
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Japanese Title |
Shūmatsu no Izetta |
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Number of Episodes |
12 |
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Where to Stream |
Izetta: The Last Witch explores the idea of magic being used as a major weapon in World War II. With Germania targeting Elystadt, a weak country, Germania expected an easy win but quickly discovered they did not have the upper hand.
Izetta is a witch with the magical ability to manipulate any object she touches, and with these powers, she fights against Germania using her magical powers to manipulate and transform weapons on the battleground. This blend of magic and military features, along with the technological advancement caused by Izetta’s magical abilities, is what gives Izetta: The Last Witch an atompunk appeal.
6 Metropolis
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Japanese Title |
Metoroporisu |
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Number of Episodes |
N/A |
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Where to Stream |
Inspired by Fritz Lang's 1927 German silent film Metropolis, this anime adapts a retro-futuristic design as it implements robots in society. Robots and humans live together in this metropolitan city. Shunsaku Ban, a detective, and his nephew Kenichi enter a web of the city’s lies and corruption as they try to stop a mad scientist, Dr. Laughton. Due to his reputation for illegal trading in human parts, Shunsaku and Kenichi attempt to catch him.
In this attempt, Kenichi meets a girl, Tima, in his lab; however, she has no knowledge of herself, and Kenichi is determined to help her. In some way, she holds the key to the dominance of Metropolis. The robots in this anime have human-like characteristics, and they play an important role in the city. This feature, along with its retro-futuristic city design and dystopian world, makes it classified as entering the umbrella of atompunk works.
5 Patlabor: The Movie
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Japanese Title |
Kidô keisatsu patorebâ: Gekijô-ban |
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Number of Episodes |
N/A |
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Where to Stream |
N/A |
This movie revolves around the existence of robots and their co-existence with humans. It is 1999, and Tokyo is under construction with giant robots used as tools of development. These robots are also known as ‘labors’ and were created for everyday tasks, particularly construction and police work.
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These robots begin to go out of control, and the police have to figure out why before everything goes haywire. The use of retro-futuristic technology is quite evident with the existence of giant robots, and this pays allegiance to the atompunk genre.
4 The Big O
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Japanese Title |
Za Biggu Ō |
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Number of Episodes |
26 |
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Where to Stream |
N/A |
Set in a big city with massive skyscrapers and giant robots, this combination is what sets off The Big O in the atompunk genre. The robots, known as Megadeus in this anime, were designed with features from the mid-20th century, making them very futuristic and atompunk-like.
The Big O draws features from other genres, but the design and implementation of robots into society along with humans is a very notable trademark of Atompunk. This blend also inevitably introduces themes of class inequality as a result of technological advancement.
3 Last Exile
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Japanese Title |
Rasuto Eguzairu |
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Number of Episodes |
26 |
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Where to Stream |
Last Exile has more steampunk elements and can be categorized as such, but it does not take away the atompunk features and themes that can be found in this anime. The retro-futuristic setting of Last Exile resembles the late 19th century, with a subtle reference to the Industrial Revolution.
Technology in this anime revolves around the use of airships and flying machines because air is a prominent means of transportation. In this anime, the main characters, Claus and Lavie, are caught in aerial battles, which causes them to discover secrets about their world.
2 Captain Future
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Japanese Title |
Kyaputen Fyūchā |
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Number of Episodes |
53 |
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Where to Stream |
N/A |
This 1940s anime tells the adventures of Captain Future in space. Born on the moon to scientist parents, Curtis was still a baby when his parents were killed, and he was left in the care of Grag, an android, Otho, a robot, and Simon Wright, a shape-shifting alien. Curtis transitions to Captain Future as he grows to become a scientist with the goal of helping people.
This anime mixes the past with modernized technology, thus effectively tapping into the atompunk genre. With its main focus on space and space-related gadgets like spaceships, robots, and much more, this anime reflects a retro-futurist world.
1 Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
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Japanese Title |
Jin-Rô |
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Number of Episodes |
N/A |
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Where to Stream |
The use of advanced technology in displaced settings or alternate worlds is how viewers can tell if an anime has atompunk elements. This award-winning anime takes place in an alternate world where Japan is under oppression following World War II. In order to protect Japan against terrorists, the police deployed a special force unit known as Kerberos.
This technologically advanced machinery protects its users from attacks, and it also gives them firepower to use during combat. The characters in this anime suffer from the misuse of technology, which causes resistance, a theme that is commonly found in atompunk works.