Calling all space junkies, robot enthusiasts and time travel theorists! If you love all things science fiction – aliens, time travel, galaxy hopping, robots, dystopias, virtual reality, etc. – then this is the list for you! It may come as a surprise to newer fans of the genre, but science fiction and animation have always gone hand in hand. In the days before high quality CGI and VFX, the genre relied on animation to bring its high-concept tales to life. The popularity of the original Star Wars trilogy in the late '70s and early '80s triggered an explosion of anime in Japan that hoped to emulate the space opera.

What followed was a rich and dazzling body of work that fanned all facets of the genre. Below, I’ve highlighted 8 must watch anime for all sci-fi junkies. For the sake of variety, I’ve selected one anime per sub-genre, but I leave out fantasy titles. To make it on this list, science and technology must be forefronts in the realities of each series. 

Virtual Reality Gone Awry: ‘Dennō Coil’

This indie darling deserves an order of magnitude more love and attention than it’s gotten. The brainchild of veteran animator and creator Mitsuo Iso, whose animation has been featured in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise and the works of Studio Ghibli and Satoshi Kon among countless others, Dennō Coil revolves around the Yūko Okonogi and her mysterious connection to Daikoku city — the epicenter of the emerging augmented reality (AR) world.

Seamlessly and gorgeously animated, Dennō Coil tricks viewers into thinking that the series will be a whimsical, light-hearted affair, but instead delivers a wholly immersive, intricate and heart-pounding experience from the first episode that only continues to escalate until the very end. Iso effortlessly creates an AR world that is introduced and developed organically, and the character designs — especially for the ‘pets’ of the show — are some of the most memorable I’ve seen. Although a sci-fi by designation, it would be a disservice to Dennō Coil to pigeonhole it to one category — the show is equally a mystery, a thriller and an action-adventure. Show this amazing series some love and check it out sooner rather than later!