I Prefer Live Action, but These 5 Animated Sci-Fi Series Are My Favorites
Animation has long been more than just children's entertainment. Animated shows can address serious issues on a par with cinema, and the skills of the artists allow them to embody truly unusual worlds and plots.
It's hard not to notice that animation has reached a new level lately, with new projects touching on deep topics, dazzling with intricate and thoughtful plots, and ultimately proving to be no worse than high-budget live-action projects.
Here are five animated series that will definitely not disappoint even those who love high-profile sci-fi shows like Silo, Severance, and Black Mirror.
1. Terminator Zero, 2024
Malcolm Lee is a scientist working on an alternative to SkyNet. The scientist and his family are in danger: a robot from the future has come for them, whose only goal is to eliminate the Lee family.
After a series of unsuccessful sequels, the legendary franchise about killer robots from the nuclear future seemed doomed. But salvation came from an unlikely source.
Japanese anime studio Production I.G. and showrunner Mattson Tomlin took the Terminator back to its roots. Terminator Zero brilliantly recreates the horror aesthetic of the first film.
2. Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, 2023
Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is a mystical epic about heroes who fight an eternal battle against evil, reincarnated in new bodies. But the focus is not on the battles, but on the complex relationships between the characters, who are forced to keep their word despite changing circumstances.
The show becomes a very personal story about the weight and necessity of compromise when one is under the pressure of promises made long ago in a past life. Unicorn: Warriors Eternal has grown from a simple adventure with robots into something dark and infinitely sad.
3. Scavengers Reign, 2023
The spaceship Demeter 227 crashed near the remote planet Vesta. There were many people on board in cryosleep, but it seems that the company that sent the ship has no intention of rescuing the victims.
Several of the crew who were awake during the crash have landed on different parts of Vesta. Now they must survive on a planet where literally every creature and plant can kill them.
This is a return to the classics of science fiction, when directors and animators were not afraid to experiment and come up with something completely new, something that a person could not even imagine.
4. Psycho-Pass, 2012-2019
Japan in the 22nd century has become an almost perfect place thanks to the Sibyl system. It ensures security by creating a so-called psycho-pass for every citizen, a profile of their propensity for violence and illegal actions.
Those whose indicators slightly exceed the norm are sent for compulsory treatment, and the "incorrigible" are destroyed. Akane Tsunemori joins the Public Safety Bureau, whose agents carry out the AI's decisions. She will have to learn a lot about the underbelly of the futuristic paradise.
5. Pantheon, 2022-2023
Maddie leads a secluded life. Then one day, she is contacted online by a mysterious stranger who seems to know far too much about her. Soon she begins to notice the features of her dead father in him.
It turns out that his consciousness has been digitized by a scientific corporation, and now his intelligence and knowledge are being used for commercial purposes. Maddie decides to save her father, not realizing the powerful forces she will be up against.
How good is Pantheon as an animated series rather than a live-action project? It seems that the answer lies in the story itself: the beauty of people, their characters and images can be conveyed not only by a living person, but also by something created by his hands.
