A few years ago you could not foresee the return to the cinema arena cyberpunk... but then came Blade Runner 2049, the live-action adaptations of Ghost in the Shell and Alita, combat angel and it turns out that we will also have a fourth Matrix film very soon that will reunite the team of the original film of the Wachowski sisters .
Cyberpunk is one of the most curious sub-genres in science fiction, with incredible technological advances that contrast with the terrible dystopian societies. Robots and artificial intelligences, megacorporations, intricacies and convoluted computer science, large buildings full of neon lights or an imposing military or police force in charge of enforcing abusive laws are some of the characteristics that we can find in cyberpunk cinema.
Live action cinema has managed to exploit this genre very well, but we can venture to say that where it really shines many times is in the field of animation. Japanese creators specifically have made an art of cyberpunk animation cinema, making some of the main and most significant titles of the genre.
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If you want to expand your list of cyberpunk cinema and you don't know where to start, today we bring you this list in no particular order with the best cyberpunk animation films that you should not miss. Let's go!
Ghost in the shell
Of course we have to start with one of the flagships of cyberpunk animation cinema. And is that Ghost in the Shell is one of the best examples of the genre, exploring issues such as the search for personal identity and how reproduction has become a mechanized procedure, with society prioritizing technological advances over social differences.
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Ghost in the Shell It is considered one of the jewels of animated cinema and it deserves all the medals that we hang on it. This 1995 film directed by Mamoru Oshii adapts the manga of the same name from Masamune shirow with an incredible graphic quality and a detailed and beautiful animation, which certainly cannot be missing from our list.
Metropolis
This 2001 film directed by Rintaro is based on the manga of the same name by the legendary Osamu Tezuka with a script of Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of Akira. Metropolis takes place in a gigantic futuristic city where humans and robots coexist and the social classes have become polarized to the maximum, with great inequalities among its inhabitants.
We have oppressed robots, a vigilante corps, an oppressive political party, and an investigation that promises to unravel a larger plot than originally promised ... come on, a perfect cocktail of the genre. This animated film combines traditional and 3D animation to develop the massive and spectacular settings of this Metropolis. The animation is beautiful and recovers the best of Tezuka's style, which makes it a visual spectacle that reminds us of the most classic anime.
Alita, battle angel
We continue with another classic, and this time it is the direct-to-video film of Alita, battle angel launched in 1993 and directed by Hiroshi Fukutomi y Rintaro based on the manga of Yukito Kishiro. The story begins when an expert cybermedicine doctor recovers a discarded android, fixes it, and names her Alita. Alita has no memories, but discovers that she has incredible skills for battle and becomes a bounty hunter while trying to regain her memory.
Again this cyberpunk animated film exposes what happens in society as a result of a series of technological advances. Alita, combat angel is one of those titles that you cannot miss, with a careful animation and incredible action scenes, as well as characters full of emotion and very well developed.
Megazone 23
Megazone 23 is another classic of the cyberpunk animation genre. This four-part direct-to-video film from 1985 is set in the very distant future, in which various environmental disasters have left Earth in a mess, so that humans now live in gigantic ships known as "Megazonas."
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Find out moreIn addition to the classic social struggles within the illusion of a perfect world that is actually a great prison, we have a massive futuristic city. With a plot very similar to the one we would later see in the Matrix in which the protagonist must choose between the real world or living in an illusion ... but with highlights! If you are fans of anime from the 80s, Megazone 23 It is a real delight with the best of the animation of the time.
Appleseed Alpha
The first installment of the Appleseed saga was released back in 1988 and adapted the series of the same name from Masamune Shirow, the also creator of Ghost in the Shell. Since then there have been several movies, series and even video games, with the first Appleseed being a movie that you cannot miss either. but let's focus on Appleseed Alpha, the 2014 movie.
This Japanese and American co-production serves as a sort of prequel separate from the rest of the continuity, in which the protagonists Deunan Knute and the cyborg Briareos go on a journey through the ruins of New York and face massive robots. . It is a film with CGI animation quite catchy all seasoned with more than correct action scenes. If you haven't given the saga a try, Appleseed Alpha it's a good way to start soft.
The Animatrix
We have mentioned Matrix several times because today it is one of the indispensable cyberpunk titles, and of course the franchise also had its foray into the world of animation. The Animatrix is an anthology of nine shorts directed by Kōji Morimoto, Shinichiro Watanabe, Mahiro Maeda, Peter Chung, Andy Jones, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, and Takeshi Koike within the Matrix universe.
Each little story has a different style, some in traditional animation and some in CGI animation, or a combination of the two. If you are fans of the Matrix, you cannot skip this gem of cyberpunk animation, which puts all the key elements of the franchise in the shaker and brings us impressive stories with cutting-edge and very effective animation.
Paprika
Paprika It tends to be left off the cyberpunk movie charts, but it has a lot to earn from being in the genre in its own right. This movie from Satoshi kon based on the novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui focuses on a new device that allows the user to see people's dreams. Dr. Atsuko Chiba begins to use this invention to treat patients with various psychiatric disorders illegally under the alter-ego of "Paprika", although the device could be fatal if it fell into the wrong hands.
In addition to incredible technological advances, in Paprika we have robots, a megacorporation and an impressive animation work with a visual section of 10, like all Satoshi Kon movies.
Akira
We have to finish with Akira because he couldn't stay out of our cyberpunk animation film recommendations. This animated film directed by Katasuhiro Otomo Based on his own manga, he presents us with a dystopian Neo-Tokyo with many classic cyberpunk elements, in which Shotaro Kaneda, the leader of a group of motorcyclists, and Tetsuo Shima, who has incredible psychic powers live ... makes him a threat to the government.
Akira has some of the most spectacular animations in anime history, with a story that keeps you hooked at all times and that certainly influenced the genre and influenced later cyberpunk works.
So far our list of the best cyberpunk animation films that you should not miss. And you, which of the list did you know? Which one have we left out and you can't stop seeing?
