Anime is no stranger to the science fiction genre, delving into hard sci-fi, dystopian far-futures, and colorful space opera. The spaceships are often their own characters in these anime, and although mecha is commonly the genre with notable spaceships, they appear in other types of anime just as often.
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The most infamous anime spaceships often have a part to play in their own stories, even giving their names to the movies or shows in which they appear. The most powerful weren’t always the biggest ones with the most guns, although that is an important deciding factor in assembling this list of the strongest starships in anime.
6
The XGP15A-II (Outlaw Star)
Powered By Dragonite
Outlaw Star
- Release Date
-
1998 – 2000
- Directors
-
Mitsuru Hongô
- Writers
-
Katsuhiko Chiba
The complete translation of the original Japanese name is Future Retro Next Generation Outlaw Star, which includes part of the title for the original manga. The show includes some light mecha elements, along with the drama and comedy of other shows that feature outlaws in space, like Cowboy Bebop or Space Dandy.
The main character is Gene Starwind, and he’s the cowboy in this space opera that comes into possession of a protoype ship called XGP15A-II, which is powered by a mysterious substance called dragonite. The ship is eventually renamed the Outlaw Star, and it’s a fast and powerful ship, complete with the usual tools like missiles, melee weapons, and firearms, but the grappling arms were the most unique ability the Outlaw Star had, giving it an edge in battle.
5
The Starlight (Odin: Photon Sailor Starlight)
Following The Path Of Ancient Gods
- Release Date: August 10, 1985
- Distributor: Toei Company
- Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera
The Starlight isn’t just a spaceship; it’s a laser-sailing space schooner, and the first of its kind. The story begins on its maiden voyage, when a routine orbital flight turns into a rescue mission to help a lone survivor of a mysterious intergalactic battle. What follows is a mutiny in which the crew wrests control of the ship from the captain and heads into deep space to find a place called Odin.
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The power of the Starlight isn’t about its weapons or size, but how it runs a gauntlet that mixes ancient gods and their related powers, along with very real mechanized threats. Not only that, but they unravel a centuries-old mystery and defeat the Master Computer on their adventure to Odin.
4
The AAA Wunder (Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone)
Utilizes Its Own Magi System
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
- Release Date
-
September 1, 2007
- Director
-
Hideaki Anno
It’s not used for space travel, but the Autonomous Assault Ark Wunder is capable of traveling in the upper-atmosphere and frequently does, just like the Evangelions. Its design is a combination of the original Evas and the three NERV Magi supercomputers that powered them, so it can do everything an Eva does plus what a powerful battleship can do.
The AAA Wunder plays important roles in the first part of Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone but also appears in the following movies as the flagship of the fleet. It’s powerful enough to take on an Eva itself, and it first appears acting as Asuka’s backup when she is trying to retrieve Shinji and Unit 001.
3
The Yamato (Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199)
Interstellar Navigation, Space Travel, And The Survival Of Humanity
For those anime fans that appreciate modern mecha, this series is what took the genre up to eleven when the original was released in the late 1970s. The American remake is referred to as Star Blazers and dates from the early 1980s. The most recent version is a reboot that includes the same characters and storyline but gives everything more in-depth details and backstory.
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The Yamato is officially classed as a super-dreadnought space-battleship, with special abilities for interstellar navigation and travel. In this series, however, it has an even more crucial use — to hide the new and even more powerful starship the humans are building to defeat the malicious Garmillas Empire.
2
The ND-001 Nadesico (Martian Successor Nadesico)
Various Weapons, Plus A Gravity Blast Cannon
Martian Successor Nadesico
- Release Date
-
1996 – 1997
- Directors
-
Tatsuo Sato
Martian Successor Nadesico is a show that combines comedy and space opera, taking place in the year 2196. The Earth is under attack from an alien force, the Jovian Lizards, and the ND-001 Nadesico is designed and built to fight against them.
Armed with a variety of offensive and defensive tactical systems, along with a gravity blast cannon, the ND-001 Nadesico is close to 300 meters long and also serves as a docking and launch point for other, smaller ships. It has 12 decks and a crew of more than 200, so this is a serious battleship with various important responsibilities, even if the crew is dealing with post-traumatic stress and serious personality disorders.
1
The SDF-1 Macross (Macross Plus)
A Fortress To Protect A Planet
Macross Plus
- Release Date
-
August 25, 1994
When AI pop idol Sharon Apple broke from her programming and attempted to take over a whole planet using her hypnotic voice, she chose the Super Dimension Fortress Macross as the machine to defend her from the attacking fighter planes. It was being used as stationary infrastructure at the time as a way to symbolize the onset of universal peace, with the need for massive battleships and fearsome mecha suits now past.
The SDF-1 appears often in the vast Macross
franchise in both mecha and battleship form when a fighting starship is required. One of his arms is an aircraft carrier, the CVS-101 Prometheus, and the other is a semi-submersible assault landing vessel, the SLV-111 Daedealus, which gives an indication of its intimidating size and weapon capabilities.
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