Sci-fi and anime go like bread and butter. Sure, not every series fits the genre, but a lot will throw in at least one scientific element or another. Ghost in the Shell and Akira are obviously sci-fi with their cyborgs and experiments. While Sword Art Online has its cake and eats it too by tucking its fantasy world into a virtual MMORPG.
While others just add a touch of sci-fi by throwing in an alien or two. Whether they’re comedies, romances, or harem shows, there’s a chance one of its characters will come from outer space. Some may even become iconic, like these famous anime alien girls. If people hadn’t seen them everywhere before, they’ll find out now.
8 Hyatt, Excel Saga
Starting off with a divisive choice, Hyatt's alien status depends on the source. In Koshi Rikdo’s original Excel Saga manga, she was just an ordinary girl who joined the ACROSS organization after seeing an advert. Whereas in Shinichi 'Nabeshin' Watanabe’s Excel Saga anime, she’s a Martian princess found in the Puuchuu mothership. That’s what Rikdo gets for giving Watanabe permission to make a sci-fi episode.
Regardless, she caught on as Excel’s quiet partner in crime. When Excel’s ranting and raving, she’s often the peaceful voice of reason. Which is probably why ACROSS leader Il Palazzo tends to favor her more. Her only drawback is that he drops dead from bloody coughing fits on a regular basis, often several times during an episode. As troublesome as it gets for her, it became part of her charm.
7 Mizuho Kazami, Please Teacher!
It’ll be no surprise to learn that some alien girls are love interests for average guys. It’s a cliché, yet it’s one that’s driven even the most iconic sci-fi series like Star Trek. Granted, Please Teacher isn’t exactly a heavy hitter in the sci-fi romcom genre. But its titular teacher made for a striking design.
Mizuho is an alien sent on behalf of the Galactic Federation to watch over humanity. She has to keep her true identity a secret but ends up trusting Kei, the lead character, with the truth when she becomes his homeroom teacher. So now, Kei has to keep Mizuho’s secret, while she helps him with his coma-like freezes known as ‘standstills’. Which isn't a bad arrangement when one has a hot-for-teacher crush.
6 Lala Deviluke, To-Love Ru
Not that every alien girl is so welcome. Rito Yūki would rather confess his love for his school crush Haruna, but he’s too shy and awkward to do so. It only gets more awkward when he bumps into Lala Deviluke, an alien princess. She fled her planet to avoid getting paired off with one of her father’s chosen suitors. Then, when she’s about to be retrieved by her fellow Devilukeans, she says she’s going to marry Rito instead.
Frustrated, Rito now has to help Lala adjust to life on Earth and play happy couple for Lala’s race. Especially her father, who happens to control most of the known universe. No pressure then. Lala bowls over Rito’s classmates, despite her naivety about Earth customs getting her into trouble (clothes don’t tend to be optional out in public). But while her looks are an otaku’s dream, her carefree personality and compassion ultimately warm others to her, including Rito.
5 Aisha Clanclan, Outlaw Star
Outlaw Star got beat out by Cowboy Bebop back in the Toonami days. It wasn’t as deep or as introspective as its rival space western. But it did have one thing that Bebop didn’t: aliens. Take Aisha Clanclan for example. She’s a Ctarl-Ctarl, an alien race of cat-like shape-shifters. It suits Aisha, as she’s wily, devious, and has an ego. Originally, she was meant to find the Galactic Leyline on behalf of the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire.
But after Gene and co make her look bad in front of her higher-ups, she forces herself on his crew as compensation. She’s tougher than her tiny frame suggests, as she’s able to withstand point-blank gunfire and bathe in molten lava. That's before shifting into her feral tiger-like form too. There’s more to her than brawn too, as she becomes a big sister figure to co-lead Jim Hawking. The others may be more reluctant to take her on, but Aisha proves her worth to the crew and for this list.
4 Haruko Haruhara, FLCL
If the lovey-dovey types aren’t someone’s cup of tea, the more antagonistic Haruko Haruhara may be more up their street. She makes an impression on FLCL lead Naota by running him over with her Vespa. Even after she revives him, she beats him up, stalks him, and generally interferes with his life. She says it’s for the Galactic Space Police Brotherhood as she looks for the energy being Atomsk.
But then she isn’t exactly the most honest figure around, as she places Naota (and Earth) in even more trouble each time she messes around. Not that those are within her Top 10 list of priorities. On paper, she sounds pretty evil. However, she carries off her deeds with such aplomb that she made the original FLCL OVA a must-watch. There wouldn't be a show if she wasn't there making things weird. It would be all Fooly, no Cooly.
3 Ryoko, Tenchi Muyo
Of all the different alien girls in Tenchi Muyo, Ryoko was the first, and is often regarded as the best. Borne from the DNA of scientific genius Washu Hakubi, and an aquatic alien species called Masu, Ryoko grew up to be a feared space pirate. She was closed off in a cave on Earth but was inadvertently freed 700 years later by Tenchi, destroying his school and revealing his own half-alien heritage in the process.
The franchise may be based on a harem manga, though Ryoko stands out from the others in that she isn’t the typical dream girl. She’s brash, impulsive, short-tempered, and drinks sake like it was water. Yet she has a soft side for Tenchi, despite also intimidating him. Which makes sense as she is a space pirate with a long rap sheet and an interest in dealing out (and taking) pain. But just as Tenchi is not just an average boy, Ryoko isn't just a plunder-happy tomboy. She got a heart of gold, which has earned her a legion of fans across the decades.
2 Queen Beryl, Sailor Moon
Someone’s got to provide the evil for fighting in moonlight. Though Queen Beryl wasn’t always evil. It’s just that she let jealousy get the better of her when Prince Endymion chose Queen Serenity over her. She sided with Queen Metaria and the Dark Kingdom, killing the two before being killed herself by Sailor Venus. Revived in the 20th Century, she and her minions seek to revive Queen Metaria with the Silver Crystal and finish off the Sailor Scouts.
Metaria may be the big evil force behind everything, but Queen Beryl is THE villain in Sailor Moon. She’s the most visible antagonist across the show’s multiple incarnations. Whether it's the original anime show, the live-action series, or the recently unearthed Saban pilot, she's there to make things worse for the Sailor Scouts. Whatever her form, she’s the quintessential evil alien queen in anime. Everyone else just follows her lead.
1 Lum, Urusei Yatsura
As famous as Lala, Mizuho and the others are, they’re following ground set by Lum. Rumiko Takahashi’s oni-based babe was the original alien interloper to turn some poor schlub’s life upside down. She was supposed to help her people take over Earth by beating their human representative Ataru in a game of tag (seriously). But when he got her by the horns, she was duty-bound to submit defeat and grant his wish to get married.
Except she thought his wish was to get married to her instead of to his girlfriend Shinobu. Now she gets in his way whenever she can, doing anything for her ‘Darling’. While also punishing him if he flirts with his ‘mistress’ Shinobu or other girls. She caught on ahead of her series, with her bikini-dressed figure appearing on merchandise before people outside of Japan knew what Urusei Yatsura was. As such, she is the most iconic of all alien anime girls.