Viewers can choose from many anime subgenres due to the medium’s versatility. Amidst the various subgenres, futuristic sci-fi is one of many fans like to see. It is not a secret that a considerable amount of viewers have a penchant for edgy cyberpunk and dystopian future anime series, leading studios to create classics like Akira and Cowboy Bebop.
While the best shows set in the future ironically belong to the old days, the subgenre is picking up again with series such as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. This list will, however, simply focus on anime set in the 22nd Century, and although there are not many to choose from, the available few are still enjoyable.
10 Overlord
Overlord takes place in the year 2138, after an online gamer, going by the alias Momonga, decides not to log out from a popular online game, Yggdrasil, after the announcement of the game’s termination. Instead, he chooses to play on as his guild’s leader and preserve their headquarters in the Tomb of Nazerick moments before the game shuts down.
However, to Momonga’s surprise, he discovers that the game has not disappeared, but instead, he and the Tomb of Nazerick were transported t to a new world where NPCs (Non-playable Characters) have become living and breathing beings. Overlord is an interesting story taken from the point of view of a benevolent villain who seeks to conquer the world to find his lost comrades. Overlord also boasts great fight scenes complemented by great animation.
9 Doraemon
Doraemon is anime series adapted from a 1960s manga of the same name, written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The anime begins when the 22nd-century descendants of Nobita Nobi, a young Japanese schoolboy who is terrible academically, lazy, and unathletic, send him a robotic cat named Doraemon to help better the lives of his descendants.
Doraemon has a four-dimensional pouch containing 1,293 different tools needed to solve any of Nobita’s problems.
Despite being a cat robot, Doraemon is afraid of mice because of a mouse-robot bit off his ears, which explains his earless look. Due to the grief of losing his ears, Doraemon's initial yellow color changed to blue. The anime series targets children but has comedic elements that make it an enjoyable watch for many adults.
8 Psycho-Pass
A hardcore cyberpunk psychological crime thriller anime series, Psycho-Pass is one of the edgiest anime series ever made. It takes place in 22nd-century Japan after a biomechatronic computer, known as the Sibyl System, is created to measure an individual's likelihood of committing a crime by determining their Crime Coefficient. Once this coefficient crosses the threshold of 100, the individuals are followed, apprehended, or killed by the Crime Investigation Department officers.
The story is mainly told from the perspective of Akane Tsunemori, a newbie inspector charged with assessing crime scenes accompanied by her enforcer Shinya Kogami. Psycho-Pass is ultraviolent, featuring grotesque death scenes and other mature content. It is for viewers who cannot get enough of edgy dystopian series.
7 Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross
The human race departed the Solar System in 2120 to settle on various planets throughout the galaxy. The inhabitants of a far-away colony on the terraformed planet, Glorie, are protected from unknown dangers by the formidable army of the Southern Cross.
Glorie is also the ancient home of the Zor, an advanced race aliens with human-like characteristics that have returned to retake their world, but the humans are unaware of this. Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, or Robotech Masters as it is also called, is an innovative and distinctive anime that featured one of the first-ever female protagonists in anime history.
6 Fafner in the Azure
The story of Sōkyū no Fafner or Fafner in the Azure takes place in the year 2146 after the Festum attack the remote Japanese Island of Tatsumiyajima. The Festum are the alien species responsible for eradicating the entire world, and their end goal is to assimilate all life within the Universe.
Before the Festum attacked the Island of Tatsumiyajima, the Island was peaceful for many years as it was left untouched due to a cloaking device that hid it and left many of its inhabitants unaware of the world’s destruction. Sōkyū no Fafner excels at keeping its audience interested and connected to the characters as they interact. This deep emotional connection helps the show resonate more with its viewers.
5 DT Eightron
In the far future of the year 2187, the Earth is left almost inhospitable due to global warming, and as a result, humans create domed cities to help themselves survive on a scorched Earth's surface. However, over time, wars and hazardous conditions lead these domed cities to lose contact.
DT Eightron tells the story of Shu, a young teenage boy from a school-type dome city governed by a data program called Zero. The children in Shu’s domed city are coerced to live and work as programmed drones, leaving them unable to feel, have needs, or intuition. DT Eightron is an excellent anime for fans of sci-fi and dystopian realities.
4 Martian Successor Nadesico
The story of Martian Successor Nadesico begins in 2196 while the Earth is fighting an alien invasion by the Jovian Lizards. Neagral Heavy Industries builds the space battleship ND-001 Nadesico to gain an advantage in the war.
The story’s main protagonist is Akito Tenkawa. Nothing is known of his past except that he was a resident of Mars Utopia colony, escaped its destruction by the Jovian Lizards, and landed on Earth with no memories other than a morbid fear of the invaders. However, one thing is going well for Akito: all the women aboard the ship are head over hills for him, or is it?
3 Space Battleship Yamato
Space Battleship Yamato is a sci-fi anime television series written and produced in the 1970s by Yoshinobu Nishizaki. It begins in the year 2199 when the Gamilas, an alien race, release radioactive meteorite bombs onto the Earth, making much of the planet inhospitable. In response, humanity has gone underground to escape the harsh surface environment. But, unfortunately, the radioactivity is seeping through and affecting the underground inhabitants.
To tackle this development, humankind builds a spaceship within the wreck of the massive Japanese battleship Yamato, which sank in World War II, to escape its doomed fate. The spaceship built within is subsequently called Space Battleship Yamato. Space Battleship Yamato excellently blends drama, sci-fi, and action to create a timeless masterpiece that has garnered many fans over the decades.
2 BlazBlue Alter Memory
BlazBlue Alter Memory is an anime adaptation of the video game franchise—BlazBlue. The story takes place in December of 2199 when people eagerly await the conclusion of the year and the beginning of a new one.
As the celebrations occur, news spreads that Ragna the Bloodedge (or Grim Reaper), an SS-class rebel with the most expensive bounty ever on his head, has appeared in Kagutsuchi's 13th Hierarchical City. Ragna’s goal is to topple the order that governs the world. Subsequently, a ragtag group of indomitable fighters converges in Kagutsuchi to claim the bounty on Ragna.
1 Ultraviolet: code 044
In the distant future of the year 2140, by using the Hemophage Virus, humanity is able to alter and manipulate genes to create formidable super-soldiers. Subject to this gene manipulation and alterations, 044 becomes a strong female soldier. However, there is a catch to gaining these abilities: her time to live is limited. The government has assigned her to eliminate the vicious group known as the Phage and its leader King.
She runs into Luka, a Phage soldier, during combat but cannot kill him. Daxus II, the head of the government organization, labels her a traitor for her hesitation, and she flees with the wounded Luka. Now, 004 must protect herself and her newfound companion as she comes under attack from both Phage and the government. Ultraviolet is action-packed, fast-paced, and will give viewers no time to catch their breath.