Star universe anime. The best anime about space: rating, plot, reviews and reviews

“Fantasy anime”, “Watch fantasy anime online”, “Watch fantasy anime online for free”. You can find millions of similar queries in the search engines of the World Wide Web. After all, anime in the fantasy genre is truly unique and is becoming more and more popular every day and attracts a huge number of anime fans. Undoubtedly, there are many sites offering to enjoy watching anime fiction online, but in them, it is the “Fiction” category that attracts fans to watch anime.
Excellent drawing, thoughtful characters, memorable dialogues and all this is united by the fantasy genre. Where else can you see fictional worlds, amazing creatures, learn an alternative history of the origin of humanity and look beyond the horizon?

Fantasy, or, more simply put, “fiction,” has been used by authors in literature, fine arts, cinema, and anime, since the appearance of the first intelligent person on earth. Most will say that this was not a fantasy, but only a superstition. Fear painted pictures of unimaginable and frightening events in the imagination of the first people, forced them to believe in fictitious gods - idols, and gave rise to fetishism. But these are all words. Fantastic how separate genre was born during the formation of man, gave him the opportunity to create and with each era it multiplied, branched into separate categories and subcategories. And with the advent of the first manga artists, the first artists involved in drawing, manga and anime acquired their own unforgettable, separate style, which cannot be confused with other categories related to this genre.
Those who watched, for example, SAO “Sword Art Online” or the same “Tokyo Ghoul” will confirm that after watching an ordinary Hollywood science-fiction film, they “simply” enjoyed the sea of ​​action, tweaked with computer special effects, but after watching the anime , felt something more. A certain incomprehensible and pleasant sadness and everything from a detailed fantasy world, where everything is possible and at the same time - nothing. After all, the natural and sometimes fake acting of live actors in Hollywood blockbusters is not the touching emotions on the faces of Kirito and Asuna when they say goodbye and leave virtual world SAO, having absolutely no idea what awaits them in the real world and, in general, are they alive and will they ever meet? Or the dynamic and fast movements of Kaneki Ken, dodging the deadly blows of the kaguns of hostile ghouls and all in order to survive and return to Touka safe and sound and drink the coffee that she prepared only for him and no one else. All the actions and words of your favorite characters penetrate into the very heart, sink into the soul and are required viewing, so that at least sometimes you can feel something aching in your gray and dull inside!

And, indeed, when a favorite fantasy anime series ends, many anime fans begin to experience something similar to depression, which can last for weeks. And only the appearance of a new season of a favorite anime series or another similar fantasy series can interrupt the strange sadness and return the anime fan to the ranks of a multimillion-dollar army.

Watch fantasy anime online in excellent quality on the Internet or download it via torrent and enjoy watching it on a video player installed on your computer or laptop, be it a TV series or feature film, is a must for every anime fan. After all, the fantasy genre in anime is like dreams, pipe dreams. After a hard time working day or studying, it is like a fresh summer breeze; watching at least one episode of your favorite anime series gives you rest for the whole evening, lifts your spirits and makes your imagination draw tomorrow’s weekday not as dull as it will actually be. Watching Sci-Fi Anime Recharges Tired Minds positive energy and pushes dark thoughts into the background, removes everything negative, makes you think, analyze and reason in a positive direction.

Anyone who watches fantasy anime looks at it differently the world, his thoughts are deeper, richer. He can see beauty in everything: in the flight of a sakura petal plucked by a mischievous wind, in the deep blue of the heavenly dome, in the clouds moving in the direction of a fiery sunset. And in people, no matter how disgusting they are in character, he will look only for the bright sides. He will remember that whole year events may pass him by, but in one second everything can change and change in better side. Having met a man with a black notebook and thoughtful eyes looking at the white sheets, he will smile with a smile on Light Yagami from the anime “Death Note” and picture in his imagination the God of Death Ryuk hovering nearby. When you encounter a girl with pink hair on the subway, you imagine Zero Two from “Darling in the Franxx,” and when ordering coffee in a small cafe, you look for the inscription “Anteiku” from the anime “Tokyo Ghoul.”

Watching anime online, choosing from the “Fiction” category, is the prerogative of both the veteran anime watcher and the novice fan who, on the advice of a friend or on his own initiative, decided to join the army of anime fans.

After all, it is with the fantasy genre that 80 percent of television viewers begin to get acquainted with the world of anime. Since meeting like this bright heroes, like the master swordsman Kirito from Sword Art Online, Yato from The Homeless God, the cold-blooded high school student and owner of the Death Note Yagami Light from Death Note, the unbalanced and strong Lucy from Elfen Lied and many other charismatic and unforgettable characters. Don’t forget about the multi-part anime - “Gintama”, “Tale of Fairy Tail”, “Naruto”, “One Piece”. They carry not only the genre of science fiction, fantasy, mysticism, but also the genres of comedy, drama and sometimes even art house.

So! It’s worth registering and starting watching anime in excellent quality in the fantasy genre online, discarding everything negative and letting positive emotions take over you completely, both in your heart and in your thoughts.

The endless expanses of the Universe through the eyes of Japanese animators.

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In cinema and video games, the theme of space has been studied almost thoroughly. Science fiction and historical films appear on screens regularly; in games, genre diversity begins with space simulators and ends with turn-based strategies and horror.

However, space is rare in Japanese animation. Over the past 60 years, approximately 14 thousand anime have been released, and only two hundred of them are in a space setting. If you choose the most interesting from these two hundred, then no more than 50 titles will remain. The problem isn't scarcity. good stories, but in budget and audience focus. It’s easier and cheaper to create a comedy series about the everyday life of Japanese schoolchildren than to spend a huge budget on complex fiction.

As part of Space Month, we look back at remarkable animated films, TV series and short films set in the solar system and distant galaxies.

Planetes

Trilogy by Leiji Matsumoto

The theme of space appeared in Japanese animation in the sixties. Most often, the heroes of anime series then were either children with superpowers, or good-natured robots or aliens. In every episode, the villains returned with a cunning plan, but their plans always failed. Only small children can watch this today.

Everything changed after the release of film adaptations of Leiji Matsumoto’s manga. His "Space Battleship Yamato" opened up the space opera genre to many viewers and attracted an adult audience to anime. If in the United States interest in science fiction and space grew after the release of Star Wars, then in Japan it all started with Yamato. The series also influenced animators, including Hideaki Anno, the creator of the famous Evangelion. He decided to work in the industry after he saw Yamato on TV at the age of 15.

The plot of Yamato begins in 2199 on a dying Earth. The oceans have dried up, vegetation has been destroyed, the atmosphere is uninhabitable, and cities have been reduced to dust. This is how earthlings paid for their unsuccessful contact with the Gamilus race. The surviving people moved to underground cities and have been fighting the alien fleet in vain for 20 years.

The situation changed the moment an alien ship fell on Mars. In its wreckage they found a message from the ruler of the planet Iskandar. She invited people to pick up a certain device that could revive the dead Earth (like G.E.C.K from Fallout 2). Along with the message, Starsia also included drawings of a powerful engine.

In the shortest possible time, people assembled a spaceship created in the image of the legendary battleship of the Second World War - Yamato. Now the fate of all humanity depends on its crew.

Space Battleship Yamato is Japanese Star Trek with subtle hints of patriotism, naivety and seventies romance. The success of the anime was so great that it became a phenomenon. Yamato is the first animated series to receive the Seiyun Award for Contribution to the Arts.

In the seventies, stores were bursting with themed goods, which adult fans also eagerly bought. The first clubs for anime fans appeared, plus “Yamato” greatly influenced the development of cosplay in the country.

Screensaver for the original series

As often happens, over time the franchise turned into a cash cow. Until 1983, seven sequels were released with the same problems. From season to season, the writers' imagination was only enough to invent colorful aliens planning to destroy the Earth and Yamato.

Aliens really differed from people only in color. This did not benefit the franchise or all Japanese science fiction. Biological identity with people was justified by the fact that humanity and aliens are the descendants of an ancient extinct race. Yamato perpetuated this stereotype, which is why colorful aliens are still found in anime.

It’s hard to watch the 1974 series today without making concessions to age. A good alternative for getting to know the Yamato universe can be its modern remake - Space Battleship Yamato 2199. The 2013 series expanded and refined the plot of the original, introduced new characters and retained the aesthetics of space operas from the seventies.

Matsumoto's romanticism was fully revealed in another of his works. "Space Pirate Captain Harlock"- a saga about a valiant pirate who navigates space on the ship "Arcadia". His personality is mysterious; only a few trusted friends know about his past. In the first film adaptation, Harlock fights the alien race of the Mazon, and in subsequent adaptations, he fights against human despotism and ignorance.

The Harlock universe includes six TV series and several feature films. Not all of them have stood the test of time, but the franchise will definitely appeal to fans instructive stories and fans of the “cloak and sword” genre.

Starship "Arcadia"

Any "Harlock" is a dramatic parable about eternal truths. The importance of friendship, masculinity, self-sacrifice, love, freedom and of course - the meaning of life. The whole drama rests on constant empathy for the characters. Each member of the Arcadia team has his own tragic story from past.

Alas, the full-length remake of 2013 did not save good graphics, nor James Cameron's praise. The film failed at the box office, did not recoup the production budget and received mostly negative reviews at home.

There was no trace left of the old charm of “Harlock”; the plot turned out to be crumpled and weak. Like a beautiful video clip with first-class CGI - it will go like another chapter in the saga of a valiant pirate - it’s no good.

Series "Galaxy Express 999"- the most profound, philosophical and large-scale work of Leiji Matsumoto. The author was inspired by the novel “Night on the Galactic Railway” by the Japanese classic Kenji Miyazawa and the play by Maurice Maeterlinck “ Blue bird" Each episode of the series shows the viewer a new planet, history and philosophical message.

Tetsuro, Maetel and the Express Conductor

At the beginning of the 22nd century, humanity has long been exploring space, studying and colonizing planets. Spaceships have been replaced by galactic railways, along which trains travel between the stars. Due to the development of technology, a social divide has occurred. The rich live forever because they got rid of their old body, completely replacing it with a mechanical analogue. People of flesh and blood have no choice but to eke out a miserable existence in the slums or leave the Earth forever.

The main character, the boy Tetsuro, has dreamed all his life of getting tickets for Express 999. This locomotive flies across the galaxy to a planet where anyone who wants it is given a free mechanical body. Tetsuro believes that with a mechanical body he will find the happiness he deserves. You will no longer need to worry about food, sleep, illness and cold.

Oddly enough, the mysterious woman Maetel had the coveted tickets. She agreed to give the boy a ticket for 999 if they traveled the whole way together. From that moment on, a journey of 113 fascinating episodes began.

Series screensaver

The most important thing is that the main character in Galaxy Express 999 is an ordinary selfish boy. Life has battered him, although he is brave, he is still a child at heart.

If we comprehend the metaphors of the series, then the locomotive is a person’s life, and the stars are the stages of growing up. With each planet, Tetsuro slowly learned the wisdom of life. Each meeting brought him benefit and taught him important lessons, albeit sometimes bitter ones. This is how everything happens in life, only without space and flying trains.

Matsumoto had other works, but it was Space Battleship Yamato, Harlock and Galaxy Express that immortalized his contributions to Japanese animation. The heroes of Matsumoto's works are featured on modern Japanese trains and on the streets of Japanese cities. Every year new film adaptations, products, re-releases of manga and TV series are released.

Robots

Anime featuring large humanoid robots often takes place in space in the distant future. Over the years, a stereotype has become entrenched in the minds of Western viewers that any anime in the “mecha” genre (Japanese: meka, from the English: mechanism) is intended for young children. Transformers, or, for example, the once popular Grendizer in Russia, are partly to blame for this.

Robots big and small

Serious "mecha" is most often found in the Real Robot subgenre. In it, robots usually do not transform, rarely have superpowers, and are mass-produced for military purposes. The target audience of Real Robot is teenagers and adults, because the subgenre often shows cruelty and light eroticism. The emphasis in the plot is not on battles, but on the development of the universe, drama, characters and their personal problems.

Mobile Suit Gundam("Mobile Suit Gundam") is the central franchise of the Real Robot subgenre. The two hundred titles include: films, TV series, video games, novels and manga. At the same time, “Gundam” is still divided into several universes independent of each other. It's easy to get confused.

Gundam models from various TV series

“Gundam” has many universes, but if you choose one, then first you should get acquainted with the “Universal Age”. It was with it that the franchise began, and they return to it to this day in branches and prequels. She also destroyed the ossified stereotype that all enemies in anime about robots are aliens.

Street fighting is found in many Gundams.

The events of the “Universal Age” begin in the near future. Humanity has been exploring the vastness of the solar system for 50 years. Terraforming is still a complex technology, but there are bases on Mars and the Moon. Some people moved to the cylindrical colonies “Parties” located around the Earth.

Soon, the colony "Side-3" declares independence from the Earth Federation and proclaims itself the Duchy of Zeon. Negotiations with the rebels fail - the colonists firmly decide to live separately from the earthlings.

The Cold War begins with an arms race, during which mobile suits are developed, and research begins on Newtypes - colonists with psychic abilities. Newtypes are endowed with amazing intuition: they can project their thoughts into space and sense other people at a distance.

Amuro and Char - newtypes and central characters of the “Universal Age”

In the year 0079 of the Universal Age (approximately 2066 according to the old calendar), a war begins between the two states, which will later be called the “One Year”. In less than a year, 3 billion people will die there, and the southern part of Australia will suffer from the colony dropped on it.

Sydney seconds before turning to dust

About 20 anime develop the universe of the “Universal Century”. For example, the prequel Gundam: Origin is about key events, taking place 10 years before the first series in 1979, and Gundam F91 will take the viewer 40 years after the end of the war. In terms of the scope of its history, the franchise can easily compete with Star Wars and its expanded universe.

The battles are built logically, and the negative characters in “Gundams” have never been stock villains with crazy plans and banal motivations. There is no clear division between good and evil; the characters are constantly changing.

Gundam is first and foremost a franchise about war and mobile suit pilots. This is the rarest work in Japanese animation that does not hesitate to discuss pressing social issues of the future. After all, humanity will never change; even in space it will fight for ideology or insignificant pieces of space.

Over the course of 40 years, the franchise has told the war in many different ways. For example, in the amazing miniseries Gundam: War in the Pocket, the conflict between Zeon and the Earth Federation is shown through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy, Alfred. He is not a Gundam pilot or a Newtype - just a student primary school fascinated by mobile suits. His home is located on neutral territory, and he is completely unaware that his colony will become a springboard for secret operation Zion.

Gundam Thunderbolt is perhaps the most violent and action-packed series in the franchise. “Ball lightning” can be described in one succinct word - carnage. Destroyed destinies, severed limbs and complete hopelessness to jazz accompaniment. Gundam is not presented here as a machine, bringer of peace, but as a hellish reaper who takes lives and turns soldiers into invalids.

Gundam's contribution is invaluable, but there are others decent jobs in the genre. IN Armored Trooper Votoms(“Armored Warriors of Votom”) the war between two star systems ended in the first episode. The main character, Kiriko, accidentally revealed a military secret and deserted from the army to save his life. Now a hunt has been announced for him, and he himself is forced to hide in the slums and fight with various scum. His friends are not brave warriors, but swindlers and crooks.

The series also has cyberpunk elements. Humanity has spread throughout space, but continues to disfigure the planets. Now this is of little use for normal life worlds with acid rain, nondescript cities, deserts, slave labor conditions and total poverty.

Votoms at one time got rid of many of the “mecha” cliches. There is no cheap pathos here and yet another teenage hero who, already in the first episode, superbly pilots a top-secret robot. Central character here is a deserter. Robots in Votoms are consumables, ordinary military equipment.

Scopedog is the most common armor in anime

An unusual situation happened with the series Macross(in Russia known as Robotech). It was intended as a parody of mecha and space opera, but this idea was later abandoned. At the very beginning, Macross had a lot of funny gags (like going to open space without a spacesuit), but by the sixth episode the mood of the anime had changed. The parody faded into the background, the series' budget was increased and the staff of animators was expanded.

Series screensaver

Macross reimagined many of the cliches of popular Japanese fiction. The premise is similar to Yamato: a spaceship called Macross flies through space towards a given target, constantly fighting off attacks from Zentradi aliens. Only instead of a distant planet, he flies to Earth, and the aliens themselves attack more out of curiosity.

Inside the giant ship, people built a city. Its residents are already accustomed to war; many calmly go to work or study. The ship has its own media, shops and other infrastructure. There has never been anything like this in the mecha genre.

They fight with the Zentradi on “Valkyries” (official name - Variable Fighter) - a hybrid of a fighter and a robot. The Macross itself also transforms from a starship into a giant two-kilometer robot.

But the main weapon against Zentradi is not the Valkyrie, but human culture. Love, sex, friendship and ordinary songs are alien to the aliens. The music demoralizes them, and the kisses shock them. Due to the influence of culture, some Zentradi will later defect to the human side.

It is not surprising that with such fresh ideas Macross has grown into a huge media franchise. Its sequels were not as successful, but they are loved for good music and colorful, memorable characters. Thanks to the same Macross Frontier, the franchise gained new fans in the late 2000s.

Realistic space

There is little science fiction about space in anime, and in order to list convincing ones or at least with a bias towards realism, one hand is enough. Dominates the series genre Planetes with a dry and realistic look at the immediate future of space exploration. The anime tells about the routine everyday life of space scavengers from the Teknora corporation.

Humanity has not advanced beyond a base on Mars and a city on the Moon, and the Earth’s orbit is clogged with space debris. The job of a space cleaner is dangerous, the pay is low, and there is almost no pleasure or romance. But someone has to do this.

The intro for the series briefly retells important stages in the history of astronautics

Science fiction is fiction, but such a profession will definitely be relevant in the future. If the superpowers start investing more money into space exploration, then the Planetes setting will turn into reality in 30 years.

The problem of space debris is already relevant. One small bolt will lead to disaster if it hits the glass of a spacecraft or its engine. In 1983, a tiny piece of drifting metal fell into the shuttle's window and left a deep crack in it. What if it is a fragment of a rocket stage or an abandoned satellite?

Pseudo-documentary chronicle Space Fantasia: 2001 Nights- adaptation of the manga by Yukinobu Hoshino, inspired by the novels of Arthur C. Clarke and the film " Space Odyssey 2001" by Stanley Kubrick. In an hour of running time, the filmmakers managed to talk about the discovery of interstellar travel, the terraforming of planets, the loss of interest in space, the decline of the Earth and the degradation of humanity. Parallel to the sad chronology is the story of a spaceship that everyone has forgotten about, despite its important goal - to spread life beyond the solar system.

Mini-series Dallos- the first independent work of director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Angel's Egg). Dallos, although released in 1983, is close in spirit and depressive mood to the seventies, the director's favorite decade. After the oil crisis and the Vietnam War, they were popular stories about the struggle of one person or a separate class of society with the state machine Dallos is just such a story.

The moon has turned into a state where most of the population is engaged in slave labor. Several generations have already grown up who have never seen the Earth, because the colony is located on the far side of the satellite.

Wealthy people live in comfortable sectors, while poor workers live in slums. Slum dwellers wear serial numbers, the bodies of the dead are not buried, but disposed of, leaving only a pathetic headband with a microchip from the person.

Not without ancient alien artifacts

Over time, dissatisfied people unite into a terrorist group that begins to fight against local authorities. The main demands of terrorists are the equalization of the rights of colonists with the rights of earthlings and freedom from slave conditions.

Ouritsu Uchuugun - Honneamise no Tsubasa(“Royal Space Force - Wings of Honneamiz”) - the debut work of the famous animation studio GAINAX. The film failed at the Japanese box office, but was praised by critics in the US and Europe. American Time magazine columnist Richard Corliss admired Honneamise no Tsubasa so much that he called for anime to be considered a separate art form.

Honneamiz is about the first human spaceflight at the height of the Cold War. The difference is that the story is not about our world, but about an alternative one. Familiar in terms of technology, but alien in structure.

The film has a pantheistic core, because the main character, astronaut Shirotsugu Ladatt, sees God in the Universe. God in Honneamise no Tsubasa is not a person who watches over people, but the cosmos itself and everything that surrounds us. Once in orbit, the astronaut reads a sermon and asks for forgiveness on behalf of all humanity.

The film is not even about the Cold War, but about man's place in the universe. Does he deserve to leave his cradle? Maybe first we should sort out our problems on Earth?

If we don’t want to ruin space, then there’s no need to fly there.

One of Shirotsugu's colleagues

Space westerns and comedies

By the mid-eighties, epics about a difficult future gave way to comedies about mercenaries and bounty hunters. Anime Crusher Joe And Dirty Pair based on the novels of the writer Takachiho Haruka.

The brave space mercenaries from Crusher Joe did not gain much popularity, which certainly cannot be said about the bosom pair of beauties from Dirty Pair. Kei and Yuri were among the sex symbols of anime in the mid-eighties. Each episode with them is a new crazy adventure.

Action movies with muscular men and femme fatales in the eighties they were at the peak of their fame. On Space Adventure Cobra, a series about a fearless macho, influenced " Star Wars", samurai films of Akira Kurosawa and spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood. The bounty hunter, with his “psycho-gun” built into his hand and an antique Magnum, mows down packs of pirates, aliens and cyborgs.

Cobra and his personal robot Milady

Shinichiro Watanabe managed to maintain the perfect balance between drama and comedy in the series Cowboy Bebop. It stands out from Dirty Pair and Space Cobra, from which it borrowed some ideas.

In anime of this kind, the plot usually lags around until the last episodes. However, thanks to the development of the characters and the revelation of the secrets of their past, “Bebop” does not feel “sitcom-like” or incoherent in its narrative. Each episode is a separate story with a bunch of side elements that in the end form a single plot.

On the battered spaceship Bebop 268170 live: Spike Spiegel - a daredevil and former member of a mafia syndicate, Jet Black - the owner of the ship and a former police officer, Faye Valentine - a mysterious woman with a dubious past, Ed - a young and slightly crazy hacker and corgi Ain - the smartest dog in the galaxy. They will have to catch criminals of all stripes: from drug dealers to experienced robbers and killers.

There is an opinion that the musical accompaniment from composer Yoko Kanno and the group The Sealbelts is the best in the history of anime. At first it may be difficult to agree with this, but if you try to remember something of the same quality and versatility, then “Bebop” will have no competitors.

The jazz-blues soundtrack here is an independent work that can be easily listened to in isolation from the original. No one will notice the catch if you turn on the soundtrack in some bar.

Selected compositions

But the main thing in “Bebop” is its melancholic, sometimes neo-noir atmosphere. Convincing life of the inhabitants of the planets and satellites of the solar system, philosophical conversations about life and death, gatherings in smoky bars and a decayed cigarette in hand against the backdrop of sunset. No matter how the future changes, people will remain the same.

Due to the excellent direction, you get the impression that you are watching a sophisticated Hollywood drama with elements of comedy and action. Cowboy Bebop was simply ahead of its time; very few series can compare with its quality (according to loyal fans, none). You may not love anime to the core, but Bebop is worth checking out for everyone.

Another work by Watanabe, Space Dandy, much less fortunate. Both seasons turned out to be an acquired taste, since not all viewers will understand the specific humor, references to American pop culture and parodies of old anime.

Dandy is a hunter of rare alien species. He travels through distant galaxies, accompanied by the QT robot vacuum cleaner and the intelligent cat Meow from the planet Betelgeuse. Behind rare species The aliens are paid well at the space registration center, but Dandy is unlucky. He constantly gets into various troubles, and the sinister Gogol empire follows on his heels.

For lovers of high-quality parodies and adventures in space, this is an ideal option. To some extent, the series can be called experimental, because many talented animators worked on it. The animation style in Space Dandy varies from episode to episode.

In anime Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star(“Star Knights from the Rogue Star”) humanity has long encountered several alien races and settled throughout space.

It is ruled by three forces: the military, pirates and freemen (adventurers ready to take on any hard work). Guy Gene Starwind and his partner Jim Hawkins run a small company on forgotten by god planet Sentinel-3. The company offers various services: from working as bodyguards to hunting dangerous criminals.

The series came out at a bad time. The anime was broadcast simultaneously with other fantasy westerns - Trigun and Cowboy Bebop. Most viewers ignored it, and it received recognition only with its release on video media in the USA and Japan.

Horror and thrillers

The Japanese did not work out with dark space. It’s not that such works didn’t exist, it’s just that they were released on cassettes and were purely operational in nature. Simply put, it was grindhouse and low-budget trash. If you dig even deeper, you will find pornography in the hentai genre, where lustful aliens stretch their tentacles towards cute girls.

Filmmakers Lily C.A.T they do not hesitate to cross “Something” and “Alien”. From “The Thing” they stole the image of a creature with wild metamorphoses. There is also a feeling of paranoia, because it is unknown which of the crew members are infected. From “Alien” they borrowed the premise (an alien gets on board) and all the minor elements: starting with the decoration of the spaceship and ending with the “Mother” computer.

Short film Roots Search- an example of when everything is so bad that it’s even good. The villain here is an alien who imagines himself to be a god and punishes sinful people in the spirit of “Final Destination.” The main character is a stupid girl with clairvoyant abilities and a “Mary Sue complex.” The illogical plot and terrible direction earn Roots Search the title of one of the worst anime in history.

A crazy movie called Hell Target tells the story of an expedition that sets out to search for a missing research vessel off the gas giant Inferno 2. On the planet, the heroes are faced with a deadly alien virus that enslaves the human mind and then kills with hallucinations.

The idea is interesting, but the implementation let us down. It's hard to understand what's happening on the screen and how the deadly virus works. Here he is presented as something living, capable of taking any form: either he will turn into a zombie, or into huge monsters or Valkyries from Scandinavian myths. Something good could have come out of this if the screenwriter’s creative vacillations had been stopped in time.

Among other short films, the film stands out Magnetic Rose from the collection Memories from director and mangaka Katsuhiro Otomo. Its plot is very reminiscent of the short stories of Ray Bradbury.

A scavenger team discovered an abandoned space station in the depths of space. It is well preserved and functions well after many years. Inside the station, astronauts see ghosts and snippets from the lives of dead people. In almost all visions appears mysterious woman in red.

Director Goro Taniguchi (Code Geass, Planetes, Junketsu no Maria) created his version of William Golding's Lord of the Flies in the series Mugen no Ryvius("The Endless Voyage of the Rivias Ship").

By the 22nd century, nothing prevented humanity from further colonizing space, if a powerful flare had not occurred on the Sun, which led to the spread of the “Geodalt sea” - an area of ​​​​high temperatures and pressure. To study the phenomenon, special ships and orbital stations were built.

At one of the stations, Libe Delta, a group of terrorists staged sabotage. The coup was averted, but the station inevitably plunges into Geodalt. Some of the staff sacrifice themselves to slow the fall and save the young students. But the heroic feat only delayed the inevitable death.

In search of salvation, the cadets search the station and find in its depths an unusual warship, the Rivias. On it they leave the Liebe Delta, but instead of the long-awaited salvation they get war - the government is going to destroy the ship. Inexperienced teenagers have no choice but to go deep into the solar system in search of help.

Mugen no Ryvius is a socio-psychological drama with elements of mysticism. You need to watch the series thoughtfully, slowly and without rewinding. Living, constantly changing characters are the main advantage. A kind and sympathetic girl will turn out to be a selfish bitch, and her best friend will turn into a local tyrant.

The viewer will be shown all the vices of society and how human consciousness under conditions of prolonged isolation and stress. At the end of the series, a dictatorship and local resistance will appear on the ship.

17 years have passed since the release of Mugen no Ryvius, but no one has yet managed to create a decent animated space thriller or horror. This is far from the most common genre in cinema, and even less so in anime.

Space operas

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is an extraordinary work not only in the space opera genre, but in all of Japanese animation. The series is based on the novel of the same name by writer Yoshiki Tanaka. Due to the number of characters, scale and development of events, LOGH can easily be compared to Tolstoy's War and Peace. There is simply no more mature space opera in Japanese animation.

The end of the 44th century, humanity has long left the Earth and gone into the far reaches of space. People abandoned their home planet due to lack of resources, atmospheric pollution, constant wars between colonists and earthlings.

By the beginning of the series, the galaxy is divided into two opposing sides: the monarchical empire of the Galactic Reich and the democratic Union of Free Planets. The Reich and the Union have been fighting each other for 150 years with rare truces.

Both sides are exhausted. In the Reich, the entire monarchical system is outdated and requires radical reforms. The Union is rotten from corruption and empty-headed politicians. Democracy is just a screen. Any dissent is not held in high esteem here, the propaganda machine is in full swing, and opposition leaders are being removed. Whether in the Reich or in the Union, the situation begins to change after the arrival of young and talented commanders.

What happens when you get into a spaceship?

Anime often raises eternal philosophical themes: human freedom, his place in society and the significance of war. For the sake of smart quotes or discussions, you want to rewind individual pieces of the series. True, LOGH has one serious drawback - after it it’s hard to perceive today’s anime. Against the backdrop of the 110-episode masterpiece and its three prequels, everything seems somehow faded and uninteresting.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is sometimes compared to the franchise Cross of the Stars(“Star Crest”), based on the novels of the writer Hiroyuki Morioka. And again there is war, but this time between people and their genetically modified version of Av.

Rare case, when young adult fiction aspires to be something more. Overall, the whole story is about space adventures teenagers - a beautiful elf-like girl of the Av race and young nobleman, whose father voluntarily surrendered the planet to the pointy-eared descendants of people.

Jinto and Lafille

Crest of the Stars has a well-written universe and great characters. The catch is that anime and novels don't have an ending yet. Hiroyuki Morioka has been writing his books since 1996, and in the next five years we are unlikely to know the ending.

In the shojo genre (anime and manga for girls), science fiction and space operas are rare guests. The best space opera for women was created by mangaka Keiko Takemiya. In his work Terra E("Reach Terra") she mixed ideas from the novels "1984", "Fahrenheit 451" and "O Wonderful new world" As a result, the manga received two film adaptations and an award for “Seiyun” in the nomination for contribution to literature.

Humanity has gone beyond the solar system, but has not multiplied. From now on, the population size is controlled by a supercomputer. People live under artificial skies and in cities that resemble a well-oiled machine or an anthill. Babies are grown in test tubes and placed in the care of foster parents. Having your own biological children is strictly prohibited, and over the years, people have forgotten about natural reproduction.

One day there was a failure in the fertility system - children with disabilities appeared. Deaf, blind and dumb, but with supernatural abilities, such as telepathy or psychokinesis. They were nicknamed Mew and were immediately listed as a potential threat subject to immediate destruction. The Mew themselves hid on a distant planet and dream of returning to Earth - forgotten homeland humanity.

A rare example of an atypical “shoujo” with serious themes, in a space setting and without deliberate sweetness. The plot covers 30 years in the life of the guy Jomi, who suddenly learned about his mysterious power and connected his life with the outcasts Mew.

Worth mentioning

It’s worth briefly recalling other notable anime, even if their plot is briefly related to space themes.

In full-length film Venus Wars shows an armed conflict between two states on Venus - Ishtar and Aphrodia (named after the continents on the planet). The main character is the former racer Hiro, who joined the Aphrodia rebels.

("Night on the Galaxy Railroad") - a feature-length film directed by Gisaburo Sugii based on story of the same name Kenji Miyazawa. It was from this book that Leiji Matsumoto drew inspiration for his Galaxy Express 999.

Cat Giovanni comes from poor family. His mother is sick, his father is missing, and he delivers newspapers for pennies. On the day of the Star Festival, he went in search of milk for his mother, but was tired and fell asleep on the hill. Giovanni woke up from the noise of a train that came down to him from the sky. In a mysterious way he was transported inside the train, where he immediately saw his old friend, Campanella. Suddenly the train started moving, soared into the sky and set off on a journey through the stars.

Where is the final station? Who are these strange passengers? How did Giovanni get the ticket? What is Campanella doing here? The viewer must find the answers. First of all, this philosophical parable, which will make you think carefully about the essence of existence. In part, the film is reminiscent of Soviet psychedelic cartoons, after which a depressive and pensive aftertaste remains on the soul.

Uchuu Kyoudai(“Space Brothers”) is an educational series based on the still unfinished manga by Chuya Koyama. If it weren’t for the procrastination and lack of this moment) adequate ending, then the series would have no value. If you want to see what happens next, you will have to read the manga or painfully wait for the continuation.

Two brothers saw a UFO as children and decided that they would definitely become astronauts. The plot touches on the real plan for space exploration for the next 100 years. Including: building a base on the Moon and the first landing on Mars.

Sidonia no Kishi(“Knights of Sidonia”) based on the manga by Tsutomu Nihei (Blame!) is still better to read than to watch. Not all viewers can handle the choppy computer animation. It's not as bad as the recent film adaptation, but it still hurts the eyes. Moreover, the rights to release manga in Russia

2075 The Earth has exhausted its resources and humanity rushed into space. Its development, study and depletion are now the main tasks of the governments of the leading world powers. The rest of the countries are left behind the rich space boat, they are being torn apart civil wars and hunger. The political situation is shaky, society is worried, but this has become the reality in the near future.
Space themes can be developed in different directions. Collecting space debris is vital for the free movement of transport; space debris collectors are either heroes or just scavengers. Construction of the lunar Tranquility City with a population of 120 thousand and rehabilitation center. Launch of a spacecraft with the most powerful engine in history towards Jupiter, data from research satellites.
From the scientific side, everything in Planetes is “combed” and to us, ordinary people, it seems convincing and not distracting. But the dream of space is not only a feeling of continuity with Tsiolkovsky, mentioned more than once. This is also a desire to understand the world, to merge with it (please don’t remember ‘Eve’; Planetes did not have religious motives), to break beyond the limits of the possible. You won’t find “dry material” anywhere in anime, but here is an unusual solution to the problem. Unusual in plan artistic embodiment: we perceive the universe through the eyes of characters whose original worldview does not let us get bored and think about the technical aspect.
It is right to talk about animated polyphony - the world of each hero is unique, independent and cannot be criticized from some objective side. As the story progresses, the characters' stories become known—and you enjoy learning about them. The focus is on the employees of the ‘Space Scrap Collection Department’ of the Technor Corporation. Fii Carmichael, Raavi Arvind, Hachimaki, Tanabe Ai, Yuri Mikhailov - did you feel international? All of them are presented, naturally, in interconnection and in action. They love, scream, collect cosmos, make dates and protect space. And the terrorists are stopping them, own fears and management. The collapse of ideals and the rethinking of values ​​- you will see all this. But I was pleased that the creators did not rely on fan service techniques; sometimes I had to rewind to enjoy the moment. No flickering, no pretentious dialogue. Explosions and heroic-ironic pathos are a completely different matter, this is action and the necessary minimum.
The philosophy of Planetes is not complicated, but it takes shape over the course of 26 episodes. Live life to the fullest - with all feelings - pain, happiness, despair, perseverance, with all ideals - achievable and eternal. Remark. The drawing is reminiscent of ‘Ra Xephon’ - very unique and pleasant to me. Tanabe Ai, Chief female character, voiced by Yukino Satsuki, the crazy Tina from 'Ai Yori Aoshi'.

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The fantasy genre is very popular in anime films, the main thing is not to confuse it with fantasy anime. With the help of this genre, you can turn the most daring and unimaginable ideas into reality. In modern difficult life Every person really wants to break away from all their problems and be transported to virtual reality for a while. That's why it's being removed big number fantasy anime and very often you can see them TOP anime. In these films you can be transported to other universes, communicate with unreal creatures, find a friend - a dragon or a cute little creature who not only understands you perfectly, but also speaks to you in human language.

Anime fantasy appeal to both teenagers and young viewers, as well as older audiences. At any age there is a desire to dream and fantasize. It is in this genre that you can find all sorts of incredible and unpredictable fantasies. Dry everyday life deprives a person of any creativity and interest. After watching best anime you can completely satisfy the need for unusual and strange stories. Well, if that’s not enough for you, then you can load your brain by watching detective anime. Science fiction about space gives you the opportunity to look at life with completely different eyes for a few minutes. After such a film, you begin to suspect a magical and fantastic quality in your everyday things, and you begin to imagine your life with elements of fantasy.

All children and teenagers dream of superpowers. It is very pleasant and unusual to watch a story where the characters are endowed with the most diverse and fantastic capabilities. For some, these abilities help them live and cope with difficulties and enemies, while for others, on the contrary, they only complicate and spoil everything. How nice it is to sit down in the evening with a mug of tea and watch anime free, be carried away into the unreal, dangerous and full of adventure world! No one should deprive themselves of this pleasure.