The 15 Anime About Androids And Automatons

Androids and robots have always represented one of the main challenges in science and some anime manage to represent them in different ways.

From the funny tones of Arale to the more serious ones in Ghost in the Shell, anime can boast many examples of how to deal with androids and machines.

This listicle is ranked subjectively and according to how well these anime fit into the theme.

15. Miss Monochrome: The Animation

A 2013 anime released in 13 episodes with the central theme being music.

The story follows the events of the android assigned to hold concerts Miss Monochrome, so called because she always wears white, who dreams of becoming an idol.

One of the most popular short anime of that year, very enjoyable and with a memorable sound compartment.

14. Dimension W

A 12-episode anime with a distinct cyberpunk atmosphere.

2071, humanity’s energy needs are met through a system of infra-dimensional electrical inductors called coils. But as a result, there are energy smugglers who use the coils for destructive purposes.

Mabuchi Kyouma is wary of the new technology and has good reason to find out what damage these devices can cause. Kyouma accepts, on assignment from a certain Marie, several missions where he will be joined by Mira, a unique android coil.

If you are looking for the android-cyberpunk and futuristic science fiction combo it is one of the best choices without a doubt.

13. Hybrid Child

A boys love OAV series released in 2014 in 4 episodes.

In this alternate-future world there exists the Hybrid Child, a doll-android that can only grow through the love and attention of its owner.

It is neither a machine nor a human being, but it can develop deep sentimental bonds with its object of affection.

The relationship between a man and one such Hybrid Child will be the center of the events. A short but emotionally charged watching that will keep you glued to your screen.

12. Cyborg 009

Strongly vintage 50-episode anime released in 1979, based on the shonen manga of the same name.

Joe Shimamura and his companions may look like ordinary human beings, but they are anything but. Joe is actually Cyborg 009, one of the members of a team of cyborgs fighting for the greater good, each endowed with a special power.

One of the forerunners of the genre, which you cannot miss if you are a fan of the category.

11. Battle Angel Alita

The Alita anime adaptation was born in 1993 from the legendary seinen target manga, almost ominously called Battle Angel Alita.

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the story is set in the dump city where decay reigns.

Scientist Daisuke Ido, rummaging through garbage, finds the remains of a female-featured exoskeleton equipped with a still fully functioning cybernetic brain, which, however, retains no memory of itself.

Daisuke affectionately renames the cyborg with the name Alita and takes care of her artificial body with the intention of forming a pure and pristine creature. She doesn’t know her past, which is destined to surface.

A must-see for any fan of cyberpunk atmospheres as this anime has made and still makes history in the genre.

10. Chobits

A sentimental comedy marked as guessed by science fiction elements given by the presence of androids.

The series is set in a future where computers have taken the form of attractive female androids called persocon. Hideki Motosuwa would also like one, but the cost is exorbitant and he is currently broke. One day, however, he finds a persocon of an unknown model and decides to take it.

It should be mentioned that the manga from which it is taken is drawn and designed by CLAMP, the famous female mangaka group, and the character design is indeed distinctive.

9. Mahoromatic

A Sci-Fi sentimental comedy released in the early 2000s.

In the 1980s humanity is attacked by aliens, and as a countermeasure humans create the V1046-R Mahoro android, as their key to winning the war.

The prolonged use of energy weapons has reduced Mahoro’s remaining life span to 40 days, which can be increased to 400 with the removal of the weapons installed in her body.

Mahoro is left free to live out her final days as she wishes, and decides to put herself at the service of the Misato family as a maid.

The only member of the Misato family is Suguru, a young boy who attends middle school and is orphaned and rather introverted, though kind-hearted.

Although the plot is predictable, the anime will know how to grab you and destroy you sentimentally.

8. Time of Eve

Time of Eve is a 2008 net anime written and directed by Yasuhiro Yoshiura. It originally consisted of six mini episodes, which were later condensed into a movie in 2010.

The story is about young Rikuo, his pet android Sammy, and the bizarre patrons of the android café Time of Eve, all of whom are big tea and coffee drinkers.

The theme of the relationship between man and machine is certainly not foreign to anime of this caliber, but what is surprising about Time of Eve is the extreme optimism with which this theme is addressed.

The touching scene in which Sammy and Rikuo play the piano together comes to mind, a purely sentimental act that shows how there can be a genuine understanding between humans and androids.

This film tells us that coexistence with machines is possible, and not only dystopian scenarios are contemplated.

7. Astro Boy

If you think of the pivotal figure in manga and anime culture, who comes to mind? Of course Osamu Tezuka. This pioneering author also referred to as the “god of manga,” is also the father of Astro Boy.

We find ourselves in a futuristic world where robots and humans live symbiotically. Astro is a mechanical child endowed with both intelligence and human feelings.

Created by Dr. Tenma in the guise of his late son, Astro will later find himself becoming the defender of humanity. It will be his job to protect the Earth from mad robots, aliens or humans themselves who hate mechanical beings.

Astro Boy is one of the mandatory stops as far as science fiction or anime is concerned.

6. Plastic Memories

If you are looking for an anime that in terms of its plot and themes ends up being a real punch in the chest, then Plastic Memories is just for you.

In the not-too-distant future, it has become customary to use human-like androids for the most common chores. Their life expectancy, however, is limited to only nine years, and then they are decommissioned. But when the protagonist of the stories has to deal with the scrapping of certain units, he will make a discovery.

An anime that unabashedly relies on feelings, making them its pivotal theme. So get ready to feel strong emotions and shed a few tears.

5. Nichijou

An anime that can be summed up in one word, oozing from every pore: dementia. Nichijou literally translates as “everydayness,” but it is anything but.

We are catapulted, in fact, into gag-story episodes full of comic-demotic scenes that paint the lives of a group of out-of-the-ordinary students and their paradoxical experiences.

Robot girls with a spring-loader on their backs, deer in class between school desks, and more will be just among the more normal things you’ll see.

If you want to get lots of laughs and embark on a vision outside the norm, don’t think twice.

4. Ergo Proxy

Ergo Proxy is set in a post-apocalyptic future where survivors live under a dome city called Romdo, to get shelter from the lethal and toxic climate.

AutoReivs are humanoid-like robots that have been created to assist people in their day-to-day lives. They are a means to assist humanity’s recovery after the tragedy.

Unfortunately, these automatons have begun contracting an enigmatic disease called the Cogito Virus which grants them self-awareness.

Re-l Mayer, with the help of his AutoReiv named Iggy, will be tasked to investigate this phenomenon and prove himself to his grandfather, the ruler of Romdo.

3. Dr. Slump: Arale-chan

Before devoting himself to his ultimate masterpiece, Akira Toriyama, author of Dragon Ball, certainly stands out among the works he devoted himself to is Dr. Slump: Arale-chan, another iconic work born from his brilliant mind.

Inventor Senbe Norimaki, nicknamed Dr. Slump, is wont to create rather bizarre inventions, including Arale, a robot resembling an extremely naive little girl but endowed with unprecedented strength.

Dr. Slump will decide by all means to hide the little girl’s cybernetic nature, resulting in comic situations bordering on the absurd.

This anime was released from 1981 to 1986 in no less than 243 episodes marked by an incredibly nostalgic 80s atmosphere, a huge dose of comedy, and lots of wholesome fun.

2. Vivy

Produced by the more than well-known Wit Studio, Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song is an unreleased anime recently aired in 2021, consisting of 13 episodes in total.

The deeply science-fiction-driven story is set in 2056 when humanity invented androids. Our protagonist Vivy is one of them. The arrival of an android who claims to be from the future, however, disrupts everything.

A futuristic anime, with a truly captivating plot and full of twists.

1. Ghost in the Shell

Based on the manga of the same name by Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell is a work by Mamoru Oshii. This movie is the apotheosis of the thriller genre, examining themes like existentialism and the breakdown of the self.

Technological singularity and the role of innovation are some of the core elements of the philosophy in Ghost in the Shell.

It is 2029 and the world is almost completely automated. Much of the population consists of individuals who have cybernetic grafts that can enhance their senses and faculties. Coupled with this, it is possible to find completely artificial people, cyborgs.

One of these is Motoko Kusanagi, and she is part of Section 9 of the police. It will be up to her to solve the case concerning a particular terrorist called the Puppeteer, who operates through cyborgs themselves.

In a world where entirely artificial people exist, can one find one’s own identity? What does “living” really mean?