Top 10 Anime Like Starship Operators [2024 List]

Starship Operators

For the 73rd class of cadets of the Defense University of the small planet Kibi, a shakedown cruise on the fleet's new starship "Amaterasu" is a fitting lead-up to graduation. As they are returning to their home planet, however, they are shocked to hear news of a declaration of war by the aggressive Kingdom against Kibi. When their planetary government surrenders without a struggle, the cadets decide to launch their own war, aboard the "Amaterasu". To gain funding, they make a deal with a galactic news network - and find themselves the "stars" of their own "reality show". Unfortunately, this is the kind of reality show that can get you killed...

Starship Operators has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: スターシップ・オペレーターズ, Starship Operators

Genres: Space Travel , Science Fiction , Action , Space Battles , Space Opera , Coming Of Age , Shipboard , War , Future , Plot Continuity , Space , Military

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10. Planetes

Planetes

In 2075, space travel is no longer just a dream, but an everyday reality for mankind. Advancements in science and technology have led to the colonization of the moon, the commercialization of outer space, and the formation of large space corporations. Ai Tanabe, an upbeat woman whose interests lie in the cosmos, joins Technora Corporation as a member of their Debris Section, a department dedicated to the removal of dangerous space junk between the orbits of the Earth and Moon.
However, Ai soon discovers how unappreciated her job is. As the laughingstock of Technora, the Debris Section is severely understaffed, poorly funded, and is forced to use a dilapidated spaceship nicknamed the "Toy Box" for debris retrieval. Undeterred, Ai perseveres and gradually becomes acquainted with the strange personalities that make up the Debris Section's staff, such as the bumbling but good-natured chief clerk Philippe Myers; the mysterious and tight-lipped temp worker Edelgard Rivera; and the hotheaded and passionate Hachirota Hoshino, who longs for a spaceship to call his own.
Winner of the Seiun Award in 2005, Planetes is an unconventional sci-fi series that portrays the vastness of space as a backdrop for the personal lives of ordinary people—people who may have been born on Earth, but whose hopes and dreams lie amongst the stars.

Planetes has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: プラネテス, ΠΛΑΝΗΤΕΣ

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9. Soukou no Strain

Soukou no Strain

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.

Strain: Strategic Armored Infantry has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 奏光のストレイン, Soukou no Strain

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8. Bodacious Space Pirates

Bodacious Space Pirates

The story centers around a spirited high school girl named Marika. She keeps herself busy with the space yacht club and her part-time job at a high-class retro café. One day, two strangers suddenly appear and claim to be subordinates of her dead father. They demand that she assume command of the space pirate ship Bentenmaru. A privateer ship's compact was made during a war of independence a century ago, and according to that compact, the ship must be inherited by the captain's next direct descendant. Marika finds herself embarking on a new life as a space pirate.

Bodacious Space Pirates has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: Mouretsu Pirates, モーレツ宇宙海賊, Mouretsu Uchuu Kaizoku, Miniskirt Pirates, Moretsu Uchuu Kaizoku

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7. Seikai no Senki

Seikai no Senki

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".

Banner of the Stars has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 星界の戦旗, Battle Flag of the Stars

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6. [Oshi no Ko]

[Oshi no Ko]

When a pregnant young starlet appears in Gorou Amemiya’s countryside medical clinic, the doctor takes it upon himself to safely (and secretly) deliver Ai Hoshino’s child so she can make a scandal-free return to the stage. But no good deed goes unpunished, and on the eve of her delivery, he finds himself slain at the hands of Ai’s deluded stalker — and subsequently reborn as Ai’s child, Aquamarine Hoshino! The glitz and glamor of showbiz hide the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry, threatening to dull the shine of his favorite star. Can he help his new mother rise to the top of the charts? And what will he do when unthinkable disaster strikes?



Note: Episode 1【推しの子】Mother and Children was pre-screened in advance in Japanese theaters on March 17, 2023. The regular TV broadcast begins on April 12, 2023. The first episode has an extended runtime of ~90 minutes.

Oshi no Ko has finished airing and it has 11 Episodes. It is also Known as: 【推しの子】, 【OSHI NO KO】, [Mein*Star], Favorite Girl, My Idol's Child, เกิดใหม่เป็นลูกโอชิ, Anak Idola, 【推しの子】Mother and Children, [Oshi no Ko] Mother and Children, 【MOJA GWIAZDA】, 我推的孩子

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5. Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Legend of the Galactic Heroes

For 150 years the galaxy has been locked in an interstellar war between the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance, fighting battles with thousands of spaceships and millions of soldiers on both sides. The crumbling Goldenbaum dynasty rules the Empire while the Alliance is in an increasingly dysfunctional democratic state.

Two new commanders enter the stage: Imperial Admiral Reinhard von Lohengramm and the FPA's Yang Wen-Li. Reinhard is a talented minor aristocrat given a high station—and a powerful grudge—after the Kaiser took his older sister as a concubine. Wen-Li originally joined the military only to fund his university education, but has become a brilliant though reluctant leader. Each begins to attract a circle of similarly gifted soldiers, generals and thinkers around him, and in time the rivalry between these two very different men will shatter the existing stalemate. As they deal with superiors and subordinates, maneuver through personal and political problems, plot strategies and fight battles, both will bend the course of events to their will and, in turn, be tested and changed by the greatest war in human history!

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a vast, sentimental and thoughtful military space opera. This 110-episode OVA is the central part of the franchise, and the other connected titles are supplements to it.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes has finished airing and it has 110 Episodes. It is also Known as: Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu, 銀河英雄伝説, LoGH, LotGH, Gin'eiden, GinEiDen, Heldensagen Vom Kosmosinsel

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4. Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova

Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova

By 2039, global warming had caused sea levels to rise and large amount of territory to be lost. As though in response, a mysterious group of warships clad in mist, "the Fleet of Mist," appeared in every corner of the ocean, and began attacking human ships. In spite of humanity mustering all their strength, they were utterly defeated by the Mist's overwhelming force. All of humanity's trade routes were blockaded by the Fleet of Mist, their political economy was destroyed, and the human race was steadily beaten down. Seven years later, the Fleet of Mist's submarine I-401 appears before cadet Gunzo Chihaya. The humanoid life form that pilots the sub, who should be their enemy, is instead offering her services to mankind.

Arpeggio of Blue Steel -Ars Nova- has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 蒼き鋼のアルペジオ ‐アルス・ノヴァ‐, Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova

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3. Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199

Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199

In the year 2199, Earth faces its greatest crisis. Due to unrelenting bombings by the alien race known as "Gamilas," the planet can no longer sustain its inhabitants. In exactly one year, humanity is set to become extinct.
In desperation, the people of Earth establish the Earth Defense Force, their last defense against the power-hungry Gamilas Empire. However, humanity finds a glimmer of hope after receiving a message from the mysterious planet Iscandar, which offers them a device that would restore Earth to its former glory. With salvation in sight, the Earth Defense Force calls on the prolific Space Battleship Yamato and swiftly assembles a crew to make the 148,000 light-year trek to Iscandar and receive their aid.
Among the crew are young officers Susumu Kodai and Daisuke Shima, along with several other newly promoted leaders, all under the command of the distinguished Captain Juuzou Okita. Forced to learn how to handle the ship's innovative technology while dealing with the onslaught of Gamilas fleets, the inexperienced cast of Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 must summon every inch of their resolve to survive the many hardships aboard the Yamato and complete their mission: to save humanity before it's too late.

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: 宇宙戦艦ヤマト2199, Star Blazers 2199, Space Battleship Yamato 2199

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2. Kakumeiki Valvrave

Kakumeiki Valvrave

By the 71st year of the True Calendar, humanity has expanded its reach to the stars. The nations of JIOR, ARUS, and Dorssia have set up colonies made of individual modules in space, each serving to house more than half of mankind. Yet, war is still being waged between ARUS and Dorssia, each looking for a way to break the stalemate in their favor, and the key to victory happens to be nestled within a lone JIOR-controlled module.Kakumeiki Valvrave opens with an average day in the life of Haruto Tokishima being turned upside down as Dorssia launches an invasion of the Sakimori Academy, hoping to claim the secret weapons that lay hidden within it—the powerful combat machines known as the Valvraves. To liberate their home, Haruto and four others sacrifice their humanity and bear the curse of the Valvraves, becoming undying immortals that can steal the body of others. Together, with the aid of L-elf, a genius-strategist and traitor to Dorssia, they’ll spark a revolution that will change the world.

Valvrave the Liberator has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 革命機ヴァルヴレイヴ, Kakumeiki Valvrave

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1. Mugen no Ryvius

Mugen no Ryvius

The year is AD 2225. Kouji Aiba and Aoi Housen are serving as astronauts in-training in Liebe Delta which is located on the edge of the Geduld Sea. When saboteurs with unknown intents suddenly strike during a routine dive procedure, the space station plummets into the Geduld, a plasma field that links all the planets like a nervous system and crushes any ship that strays too far into it. With all the adults onboard killed, the young astronauts will have to survive this long journey home in midst of the growing tension amongst each other. Meanwhile the organizers of the sabotage look on and prepare to attack once more.

Infinite Ryvius has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: 無限のリヴァイアス, Mugen no Ryvius

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