Anime like Planetes

Uchuu Kyoudai

Also known as Space Brothers.

Studio: Aniplex , Dentsu , A-1 Pictures , YTV , Sentai Filmworks , Trinity Sound
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

Mutta's life has hit rock bottom. He's been fired, blackballed from his profession and now he's had to move back in with his parents. Meanwhile, his kid brother Hibito has been literally riding a rocket and training to be an astronaut. The same career Mutta once dreamed of. So, is it ever too late to go after your dreams? Through a little coercing and a bit of covert activity, Mutta's family and friends can get his resume on the right desk, but from that point on it will be up to Mutta himself. Does he have what it takes to turn his life around and put his footprint on the moon? The first step on the highway to the stars is always the hardest, and in a job where crash and burn isn't just a euphemism, it will be the biggest risk Mutta's ever taken. But with the best support team ever, maybe he'll find what he needs to rekindle the spark inside him and light the biggest candle of them all!



Tags: Space , Work , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Ensemble Cast , Male Protagonist , Aviation , Astronomy , Tragedy , Educational , Age Gap , Foreign , CGI , Robots

Kanata no Astra

Also known as ASTRA LOST IN SPACE.

Studio: Lerche , KADOKAWA
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Mystery , Sci-Fi

Itʼs the first day of Planet Camp, and Aries Spring couldnʼt be more excited! She, along with eight other strangers, leave for Planet McPa for a weeklong excursion. Soon after they arrive, however, a mysterious orb appears and transports them into the depths of space, where they find an empty floating spaceship…



Note: The first and last episode aired with a runtime of ~48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.

Tags: Space , Clone , Conspiracy , Survival , Found Family , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Travel , Male Protagonist , Post-Apocalyptic , Female Protagonist , Politics , Shounen , Crime , Heterosexual , Tragedy , Kuudere , LGBTQ+ Themes , Transgender , Assassins , Tanned Skin , Aliens , Royal Affairs , Guns , Revenge , Nudity

Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor

Also known as Mobile Police Patlabor.

Studio: Studio DEEN , Touhouku Shinsha , Maiden Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Mecha , Sci-Fi

In the future, rapidly advancing technology gives birth to giant robots known as "Labors," so named for their usefulness in heavy industry. However, this also gives rise to "Labor crimes," resulting the need for a new branch of law enforcement equipped with and dedicated to the policing of Labors. When Izumi Noa, a female police officer, becomes the newest recruit of Special Vehicles Division 2, she and her top of the line "Patrol Labor" (or "Patlabor") Alphonse are swept into a series of adventures featuring crazed construction workers, eco-terrorists, and sea monsters.



Tags: Police , Episodic , Real Robot , Primarily Adult Cast , Work , Terrorism , Ensemble Cast , Conspiracy , Kaiju , Satire , Female Protagonist , Shounen

Ouritsu Uchuugun: Honneamise no Tsubasa

Also known as Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise.

Studio: Gainax , Maiden Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sci-Fi

"I will not give up. I will realize my dream...even if it means death!"

When cadet Shiro Lhadatt signs up with the Royal Space Force, he encounters ridicule and apathy from manipulative leaders and a cynical public. But a chance encounter with a devout young woman spurs Shiro on towards his destiny: to become the first man in space! While military leaders conspire to use the space program to spark an all-out war, Shiro and a team of aging scientists race against time to complete the first launch.



Tags: Space , Aviation , Military , Male Protagonist , Astronomy , Religion , War , Politics , Primarily Adult Cast , Dystopian , Anti-Hero , Foreign , Environmental , Nudity , Coming of Age

Chikyuugai Shounen Shoujo

Also known as The Orbital Children.

Studio: Production +h , Netflix , Avex Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Sci-Fi

The anime is set in 2045, where the Internet and AI are commonplace even in space, and centers on a group of children stranded in space after a large-scale accident occurs in a space station. By using narrowband, social networking, and a drone that they can manipulate through smartphones and low-intelligence AI, they overcome many crises.



Note: Also released in Japan as a 2-part film series with the same content, the first part showing in theaters simultaneously with the worldwide Netflix release.

Tags: Space , Artificial Intelligence , Survival , Conspiracy , Primarily Child Cast , Robots , Software Development , Philosophy , Terrorism , Disability , Suicide , Environmental

Cowboy Bebop

Also known as Cowboy Bebop.

Studio: Sunrise , Bandai Visual , Bandai Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Sci-Fi

Enter a world in the distant future, where Bounty Hunters roam the solar system. Spike and Jet, bounty hunting partners, set out on journeys in an ever struggling effort to win bounty rewards to survive.

While traveling, they meet up with other very interesting people. Could Faye, the beautiful and ridiculously poor gambler, Edward, the computer genius, and Ein, the engineered dog be a good addition to the group?

Tags: Space , Crime , Episodic , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Tragedy , Noir , Travel , Guns , Male Protagonist , Cyberpunk , Found Family , Philosophy , Terrorism , Tomboy , Martial Arts , Cyborg , Cowboys , Amnesia , Anti-Hero , Gambling , Yakuza , Heterosexual , Drugs , Police , Female Protagonist , Cult , Tanned Skin , Nudity , Circus , Seinen

SHIROBAKO

Also known as SHIROBAKO.

Studio: P.A. Works
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Slice of Life

Once upon a time, five girls made an animated film and it was so much fun that they pledged to get jobs in animation so that someday they could make another film together. Now, two years later, Aoi, Shizuka, Ema, Misa and Midori have learned the truth about the anime industry: it's not always fun, it's anything but easy, and having talent isn't always enough to open the right doors.

Which is why Aoi's overwhelmed by her job as a production assistant, Shizuka's waiting on tables between auditions, Midori's currently scriptless, Misa's switched to C.G., and Ema's working long hours as a key animator. Is it what they imagined? No. But are they ready to give up? Not just yet! Sometimes, when things happen in animation, they can happen in the most wonderful ways!



Tags: Work , Primarily Adult Cast , Drawing , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Meta , Otaku Culture , Educational , Office Lady , Primarily Female Cast , Coming of Age , Office , Acting , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Cars , Kuudere , Primarily Teen Cast

Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu

Also known as Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut.

Studio: Arvo Animation , Bandai Namco Arts , Shogakukan , ADK Marketing Solutions , Lantis , Magic Capsule , BS Nippon
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Set in a fictional world, 10 years after a long war divided the world into two superpowers: the Union of Zirnitra Republics in the east, and the United Kingdom of Arnak in the west. Both of these superpowers now test their ambitions against each other in a space race. In 1960, the Union's Premier Gergiev announces the Mechtat Program, a prestigious plan to launch manned missions into the final frontier. To this end, the Republic establishes the isolated city of Laika 44, where cosmonaut candidates compete for planned manned missions to space, and scientists develop the technology to make it happen, all in an environment of secrecy.

The story centers on Lev Leps, a backup astronaut candidate, and his new companion, the vampire Irina Ruminescu. As part of a daring new Operation Nosferatu, the Mechtat Program will use Irina as a test subject for various conditions expected in space, and ultimately as part of a manned mission, with Lev overseeing Irina's training as a cosmonaut. For reasons of their own, both dream of going into space.



Tags: Space , Vampire , Foreign , Historical , Tsundere , Heterosexual , Politics , War , Military , Aviation , Work , CGI

NHK ni Youkoso!

Also known as Welcome to the N-H-K.

Studio: GONZO , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life

Satou’s life – or what’s left of it – is a paranoid mess of conspiracy theories and social anxieties. He’s terrified of the outside world; his apartment is overflowing with the remnants of cheap take-out food; and his retinas have been permanently scarred by a steady diet of internet porn. But maybe it’s not all his fault. After all, the nefarious N-H-K is out there, and they’re determined to turn society’s fringe-dwellers into a brainwashed lot of jobless, hopeless, futureless recluses.

Enter Misaki – a mysterious girl-next-door type who is Satou’s last chance to beat down his inner demons and venture out into the light of day. She’s ready to help him overcome his crippling phobias, but Satou would rather cower in his existential foxhole and pretend to work on the demo for his virtual sex game.

He’s afraid to face the world. She’s strangely desperate to fix a total stranger. Maybe together they can be normal.



Tags: Hikikomori , Rehabilitation , Otaku Culture , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Philosophy , Denpa , Suicide , Primarily Adult Cast , Coming of Age , Psychosexual , Tragedy , Video Games , Software Development , Heterosexual , Disability , Politics , Yandere , Trains

Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor: NEW OVA

Also known as Mobile Police Patlabor: The New Files.

Studio: Touhouku Shinsha , Sunrise , Maiden Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Special Vehicles Division 2 is back on duty, along with their Ingram Patrol Labor (Patlabor) robots. Using their courage as well as the Ingrams, Captain Goto's motley crew of officers battle crime in Tokyo city. They also deal with their personal lives, as well as the supernatural.



Tags: Work , Police , Episodic , Female Protagonist , Real Robot , Primarily Adult Cast