What is Space Opera anime?

Space opera is a sub-genre of fiction that emphasizes romantic adventures in space. Space opera generally involves large-scale conflicts between opponents with powerful abilities and technology. The genre will often be melodramatic, sometimes playing music that can be nothing short of awesome. Warfare and a battle of wits are usually less emphasized, preferring romance (with exceptions, e.g. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu). Some space operas tend to be formulaic and sometimes even prosaic, often employing very simple devices and somewhat obvious strategies. An example of this would be the infamous laws of physics in the Macross universe, in which the main male lead will hardly ever get hit in battle.

Random Space Opera Anime You might like

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack

(Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack)

7.45

Description:

U.C. 0093 - Char Aznable, the infamous "Red Comet" of the One Year War, has come out of hiding to lead the Neo-Zeon Army and wage war against the Earth Federation. Only his greatest rival, Gundam pilot Amuro Ray, can stop him from dropping the Axis asteroid on Earth and causing a major global catastrophe. (Source: ANN)
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

119 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

1988-03-12

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Arata Naru Tatakai no Overture

(Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Overture to a New War)

7.88

Description:

Based on a series of sci-fi novels, this series tells the story of a massive conflict between the Prussia-like Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance. It describes all levels of the war, from the tactical to the strategic, but focuses most on the two opposing militaries' leaders: Reinhard Von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-Li. (Source: AniDB)
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

90 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

1993-12-18

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz

(Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz)

7.67

Description:

After Colony 196 - One year has passed since the war between Earth and its colonies ended. Heero, Duo, Trowa and Quatre bid farewell to their Gundams and jettison them to the sun. Relena Darlian is now the deputy minister of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. But as the Gundam pilots are adjusting to the peace on Earth, Relena is kidnapped and a new threat appears, led by Marimeia Khushrenada - daughter of the late dictator Treize Khushrenada and heir to the Barton Foundation. To make matters more complicated, Gundam Nataku pilot Wufei has sided with this faction. The Gundam pilots must recover their mobile suits and once again engage in battle before Marimeia's forces succeed on their bid for global domination. (Source: ANN)
Type

OVA

Episodes

3

Ep.Length

30 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

1997-01-25

Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Harlock

(Space Pirate Captain Harlock)

7.55

Description:

It is 2977 AD and mankind has become stagnant. Robots do all the work, the masses are kept tranquil by subliminal messages, and government officials are lazy, caring only about recreational activities like golf and horse racing. Captain Harlock has defied this insipid mentality, leading a group of like-minded rebels to a more adventurous life aboard the spaceship Arcadia. A mysterious force known as the Mazone has invaded the Earth, taking the form of mysterious cloaked women that kill anyone who suspect their nefarious doings, such as Tadashi Daiba who is now on their hit-list. After his scientist father is ignored by the government and killed by the Mazone, he joins Captain Harlock and his ragtag group of pirates to assist them as they try to save humanity from the impending alien threat. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Type

TV

Episodes

42

Ep.Length

25 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

1978-03-14

Macross F Movie 1: Itsuwari no Utahime

(Macross Frontier: The False Songstress)

7.75

Description:

Half retelling of the original Frontier series, half new story. Conspiracies arise within the Frontier government when Sheryl Nome arrives to the colonial fleet for her concert and is soon marked as a spy for Galaxy while childhood friends, Alto Saotome and Ranka Lee both try to achieve their dreams as the battle between Frontier and the Vajra draws closer. This movie serves as part one of the Frontier retelling and will conclude with the second, The Wings of Goodbye.
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

119 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2009-11-21

Seikai no Senki

(Banner of the Stars)

7.7

Description:

Three years after their adventure, Lafiel becomes captain on the brand new assault ship Basroil and Jinto finishes his training to become a supply officer and joins Lafiels crew. They set out to join a large fleet with the mission of defending the strategically important Laptic Gate from a force 15 times larger than their own. And to bring even more worries, their new fleet commander is from the Bebous family, a family notorious for their "Spectacular Insanity". (Source: ANN)
Type

TV

Episodes

13

Ep.Length

25 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2000-04-14

Macross F Movie 2: Sayonara no Tsubasa

(Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell)

7.81

Description:

Second Macross Frontier movie.
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

114 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2011-02-26

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE

6.29

Description:

In A.G. 101 (the 101st year of the Advanced Generation calendar) a mysterious entity known only as "UE", or "unknown enemy", attacks and destroys the space colony Angel. This brutal attack becomes infamous as the "The Day the Angel Fell", and marks the beginning of humanity's war for survival. The series begins in A.G. 108 when the UE attack the space colony Ovan, where Flit Asuno lives with his mother. Flit's mother is killed by the UE, and in her belongings (in an object called a "AGE Device") he discovers the blueprints for a powerful weapon from the past - the ancient messiah named "Gundam." From these blueprints, Flit spends the next several years studying engineering at an Earth Federation base on the Nora space colony and designing the AGE-1 Gundam. Seven years later, in A.G. 115, Flit completes the Gundam, just as the UE attack Nora. Flit and his lineage's battle piloting the AGE-1 to protect mankind is about to begin. (Source: GoodAnime.net)
Type

TV

Episodes

49

Ep.Length

24 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2011-10-09

Uchuu Senkan Yamato

(Star Blazers: The Quest for Iscandar)

7.45

Description:

In the distant future, the war between the human race and the Gamilon has taken its toll on the planet Earth. Constant bombardment of radioactive asteroids has rendered the planet's atmosphere uninhabitable. As a means of relief aid, Queen Starsha of the planet Iscandar offers the Earth Forces a device that can completely neutralize the radiation off the planet. For this task, the space battleship Yamato is launched from the remains of its World War II ancestor on a 148,000 light-year journey. However, the crew of the Yamato has only one Earth year to travel to Iscandar and back, or the human race will come to an end. (Source: ANN)
Type

TV

Episodes

26

Ep.Length

25 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

1974-10-06

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu Gaiden

(Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden)

7.78

Description:

Prequel to the original series, focusing on Reinhard and his steps up the chain of command in the Galactic Empire.
Type

OVA

Episodes

24

Ep.Length

26 Min

Rating

17+ (violence & profanity)

Status

finished

Aired

1998-02-09

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096

(Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096)

7.39

Description:

U.C. 0096... The manufacturing colony Industrial 7, which is still under construction, floats at Lagrange point 1. A youth named Banagher Links, who grew up without knowing his father, meets a mysterious girl who has stowed away on a ship bound for Industrial 7. As the white mobile suit Unicorn undergoes repeated tests and becomes the subject of diverse speculations, the hands of time begin to move. Banagher does not yet know that he has been caught up in the conflict surrounding Laplace's Box. What is Laplace's Box? What secret does it contain? The hundred-year curse of the Universal Century is about to be resolved. (Source: Official website)
Type

TV

Episodes

22

Ep.Length

23 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2016-04-03

Seikai no Senki II

(Banner of the Stars II)

7.81

Description:

Due to a lack of ambassadors for the recently-conquered worlds the rapidly advancing fleet of the Bebaus brothers leave behind, Lafiel is appointed Territorial Ambassador of the planet Lobnas II. Upon arriving to the planet Jinto and Lafiel discover that the planet was used by the United Mankind as a prison planet and now has a million prisoners on the only inhabited island. The prisoners are parted in three blocks. The western where women are housed, the eastern belongs to the men and the central is mixed under the restriction that all prisoners living there are sterilized. The women in the western sector want to emigrate from the planet of fear for the men and when they do the men in the east rebel, overthrowing the guards and capturing Jinto to try to stop the emigration of the women. At the same time an enemy fleet heads toward the system forcing Lafiel to abandon Jinto. (Source: ANN)
Type

TV

Episodes

10

Ep.Length

25 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2001-07-11

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu Gaiden (1999)

(Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden (1999))

7.79

Description:

A prequel to The Legend of the Galactic Heroes, focusing on the FPA's Yang Wen-li. A chronicle on how he earned the title "The Hero of El Facile" and his handling of assignments he received after the historic event. Spiral Labyrinth also continues with the background of Reinhard and Kircheis where the first Gaiden left off.
Type

OVA

Episodes

28

Ep.Length

26 Min

Rating

17+ (violence & profanity)

Status

finished

Aired

1999-12-24

Soukou no Strain

(Strain: Strategic Armored Infantry)

7.09

Description:

In the distant future, mankind is divided into two factions: Union and Deague. They have waged a war against each other for so long that no one remembers when it first began. The backbone of the Union military is the manned weapons system Strain, while the Deague uses an unmanned version, the Tumoru. Sara Werec, the daughter of a respectable family, is a 16-yearold girl who attends Grapera Space Armed Soldier Academy located in the Cranial Solar System, where she is training to become a full-fledged Reasoner (a Strain pilot). Her brother, Ralph Werec, had been sent to the frontline 130 light-years away to accomplish a special mission when she was 11 years old, a distance that requires 400 years of objective time to traverse by even the fastest Union spacecraft. However, in accordance with the theory of relativity, this corresponds to only two subjective years (time as experienced by those within the spacecraft). The two of them had lost their parents when they were young and the bond between the two is very close. It is Sara’s dearest wish to be reunited with her brother. To do that, she must travel to the battlefield where he is. One day, Sara’s planet is suddenly assaulted by Deague forces. To her surprise, her brother, Ralph, turns out to be one of the raiders who successfully kidnap a mysterious girl sleeping in a capsule. In order to find the truth, Sara gets in a Strain and chases after him. However, she is attacked by Ralph, and the Mimic, a copy of the pilot’s brain which is essential to controlling the Strain, is damaged. (Source: AnimeNfo)
Type

TV

Episodes

13

Ep.Length

24 Min

Rating

Mild Nudity

Status

finished

Aired

2006-11-02

Tytania

(Tytania)

6.67

Description:

One Man vs. an Empire! Through fear and conquest, the Empire of Valdana holds the future of most of human space within its iron hands, and for generations, those hands have belonged to the Landless Lords of the ruling Tytania dynasty. But now the foundation of the empire is crumbling, pockets of rebellion are forming and when a mission sent to punish the city-state of Euriya is shockingly defeated, the man responsible becomes the target of a galaxy-wide manhunt! For Fan Hyurlick, architect of Tytania's first defeat, glory becomes desperation as his own side betrays him. Now Fan must not only save his own life, but somehow turn the tables on opponents who have whole worlds to command! (Source: Sentai Filmworks)
Type

TV

Episodes

26

Ep.Length

24 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2008-10-09

Seikai no Senki III

(Banner of the Stars III)

7.65

Description:

Jinto and Lafiel were riding on a light-armed transport ship "Bokbrusue" and navigating at the planar space of the Hyde System. This was for Jinto to govern the Hyde System, which returned to Empirial rule after the Union retreated, officially as an Earl. However, the government of Martin, Jinto`s motherland, resisted obstinately against the Empirial rule. On the other side, "Daiichi Jyuurin Sentai" (the First Devastation Fleet), formed with the new ship type "Attack Vessel", travelled to the Hyde System for drilling practices, but... (Source: ANN)
Type

OVA

Episodes

2

Ep.Length

37 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2005-08-06

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These Seiran 1

(The Legend of the Galactic Heroes The New Thesis Stellar War Part 1)

7.79

Description:

Part 1 of the second season of Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These.
Type

movie

Episodes

4

Ep.Length

25 Min

Status

finished

Aired

2019-09-27

Top wo Nerae! & Top wo Nerae 2! Gattai Movie!!

7.39

Description:

This double feature comprises of Gunbuster and Die Buster (aka Gunbuster 2) condensed them into a single theatrical release told in two parts with a musical intermission in between. The first part, Gunbuster the Movie, condenses the six episodes of the original OVA into a 95-minute movie featuring a new 5.1 audio remix and a redub by the original Japanese cast. The second part, Die Buster the Movie, mixes large chunks of the second OVA series with a few altered or newly-animated scenes to create a truncated take on Nono's story. (Source: ANN)
Type

movie

Episodes

2

Ep.Length

95 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2006-10-01

Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2202: Ai no Senshi-tachi

(Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love - Beginning Chapter)

7.59

Description:

First of seven films for Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2202, which continues the story of Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199. Three years after the Yamato's return from the planet Iscandar. The people of Earth restored their planet with the Cosmo Reverse System, and they signed a peace treaty with Garmillas. In addition to reconstruction, Earth developed a new defense fleet that includes the state-of-the-art battleship Andromeda. The Earth goes down a path of military expansion, despite Starsha Iscandar's wishes. The Yamato helps accomplish this so-called peace, but it comes at the price of many invaluable sacrifices. The goddess Teresa, who prays for tranquility in space, calls the Yamato to a new voyage. The threat of Gatlantis is sweeping over the universe and approaching Earth. (Source: ANN)
Type

OVA

Episodes

2

Ep.Length

25 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2017-02-25

Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199: Hoshimeguru Hakobune

7.55

Description:

2199 AD. Yamato tried to leave behind the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy, after receiving a "Cosmo Reverse System" at its destination, Iscandar. However, suddenly, it encounters a mysterious group at the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The crew finds out that the group is called the "Gatlantis," and that its leader is the Gutaba expeditionary force commander who calls himself "Goran Dagaamu of Thunder." The commander demands that Yamato be handed over to him. Yamato, wanting to hurry to Earth, escapes the fray. However, Yamato is attacked by a devastating beam weapon called the "Flame Direct Attack Cannon" that can transcend space. Yamato was able to retreat, but ends up getting lost, and finds itself in a strangely colored irregular dimension. The crew decides to turn off the engine on the ship, and explore a mysterious planet. In order to collect information, Kodai, Kiryū, Sawamura, Niimi, and Aihara land on the planet. What they saw when they arrived was a ship that was not supposed to be there. Dagaamu chases after the traces of Yamato's warp, and also reaches the strangely colored space. The planet on which Yamato landed was in fact what Dagaamu had been looking for all along. (Source: ANN)
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

111 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

2014-12-06

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