What is this genre all about? 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.
We present you the list of Space Opera anime you should watch right now.
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Top 19 Space Opera anime you should watch right now. [2026 List]
- 19. Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star
- 18. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
- 17. Seikai no Senki
- 16. Macross F
- 15. Seikai no Senki II
- 14. Seikai no Monshou
- 13. Kidou Senshi Gundam GQuuuuuuX
- 12. Legend of the Galactic Heroes
- 11. Macross
- 10. Kidou Senkan Nadesico
- 9. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These Seiran 2
- 8. Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
- 7. Musekinin Kanchou Tylor
- 6. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These Seiran 1
- 5. Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster
- 4. Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199
- 3. Kidou Senshi Gundam: GQuuuuuuX - Beginning
- 2. Seikai no Senki III
- 1. Seikai no Danshou: Tanjou
19. Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star
Gene Starwind has always dreamed of piloting his own ship out into the vast sea of stars. Unfortunately, not all dreams come true, as he spends his days working odd jobs alongside his partner, James Hawking, on the small planet Sentinel III instead. However, this all takes a turn when the duo takes on a job from Rachel Sweet who, unbeknownst to them, is actually a treasure-hunting outlaw. Tasked with protecting a mysterious girl known as Melfina, the meeting irrevocably changes the pair's lives as they are sent out into the great unknown aboard the highly advanced ship, Outlaw Star.Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star follows Gene and his ragtag crew as they brave the final frontier, navigating the stars in search of answers to the mysteries surrounding Melfina. Encountering dangerous bounty hunters, space pirates, Taoist mages, and even catgirls, there is sure to be an exhilarating adventure around every corner.
Outlaw Star has finished airing and it has 24 Episodes. It is also Known as: 星方武侠アウトロースター, Future Hero Next Generation Outlaw Star, Starward Warrior Knight Outlaw Star
18. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
It is Universal Century 0087, and the One Year War between the Earth Federation and Principality of Zeon is over. The Earth Federation has created an elite task force, known as the Titans, who are responsible for hunting the remaining Zeon forces. However, the power-hungry Titans have shown themselves to be no better than Zeon, spurring the creation of a rebellious faction called the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG).
17-year-old Kamille Bidan lives in the colony Green Noa, home to a Titan base. Kamille gets in trouble after assaulting a Titan officer, an event that coincides with an attack led by former Zeon ace Char Aznable, now known as AEUG pilot Quattro Bajeena. When Kamille steals a Titan's prototype Gundam, he soon finds himself in the middle of the dangerous conflict.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam has finished airing and it has 50 Episodes. It is also Known as: Kidou Senshi Zeta Gundam, 機動戦士Ζガンダム, Mobile Suit Z Gundam
17. 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
16. Macross F
In a futuristic universe, humanity waged war against a race of giants known as Zentradi. Facing extinction at hands of their foes, humanity escaped to the stars. In 2059 A.D., the 25th Giant Immigration fleet, also known as the Macross Frontier, undergoes its journey towards the center of the galaxy.
For the most part, life on the Macross Frontier proceeds as normal. But when famous singer Sheryl Nome visits, things go awry. Mysterious biomechanical aliens known as Vajra appear and attack, just as the citizens are busy clamoring over Sheryl.
17-year-old student mech pilot Alto Saotome joins the fray against the alien threat. While battling against a Varja, Alto rescues a young girl named Ranka Lee. Major Ozma Lee notes Alto's skill during his battle, and recruits him into the Strategic Military Services program. But his recruitment does not go smoothly, as the ghosts of Alto's past come up to haunt him.
Macross Frontier has finished airing and it has 25 Episodes. It is also Known as: マクロスＦ（ロンティア）, Macross F
15. Seikai no Senki II
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.
Banner of the Stars II has finished airing and it has 10 Episodes. It is also Known as: 星界の戦旗 II, Battle Flag of the Stars II
14. Seikai no Monshou
Based on a science fiction novel series, Crest of the Stars (Seikai no Monsho) is the first installment in this sci-fi saga. The story follows Jinto, whose world was taken over by the largest empire in the galaxy: the Abh. Jinto's father, the planet's prime minister, handed their world over to the Abh in exchange for a standing in the Abh Empire. As a result, Jinto became a prince and was shipped off for an Abh Education. There he meets a princess of the Abh Empire, Lafiel, whom he quickly befriends despite her cold exterior. The Abh Empire is plunged into war soon after and the story continues from there...
Crest of the Stars has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 星界の紋章, Seikai no Monshou
13. Kidou Senshi Gundam GQuuuuuuX
Amate Yuzuriha is a high-school student living peacefully in a space colony floating in outer space.
When she meets a war refugee named Nyaan, Amate is drawn into the illegal mobile suit dueling sport known as Clan Battle.
Under the entry name "Machu," she throws herself into fierce battle day after day, piloting the GQuuuuuuX. Then an unidentified Gundam mobile suit pursued by both the space force and the police appears before her, along with its pilot, a boy named Shuji.
Now their world is about to enter a new era.
Note: Prior to broadcasting, "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-" — a theatrical version using re-edited episodes — is scheduled to debut in Japan on January 17, 2025.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 機動戦士Gundam GQuuuuuuX, Kidou Senshi Gundam GQuuuuuuX
12. 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
11. Macross
After a mysterious spaceship crashes into Earth, humanity realizes that they are not alone. Fearing a potential threat from space, the world pushes aside their nationalism, conflicting interests, and cultural differences, unifying under the banner of the United Nations. The newly formed UN forces decide to repurpose the alien spacecraft, naming it SDF-1 Macross. Unfortunately, on the day of its maiden voyage, a fleet of spaceships belonging to a race of aliens known as Zentradi descend upon Earth, and the SDF-1 Macross, acting of its own accord, shoots down the incoming squadron, sparking an intergalactic war.
In an attempt to escape, the Macross tries to launch itself into the Moon's orbit, but the ship—as well as the city was in—is teleported to the far reaches of space. Caught up in the mess are Hikaru Ichijou, a free-spirited acrobatic pilot, and Minmay Lynn, an aspiring idol. Together, alongside Macross's bridge officer Misa Hayase, they experience an epic journey rife with grief and drama as they begin their trek back to Earth, facing with the cruelties of war along the way.
Macross has finished airing and it has 36 Episodes. It is also Known as: Choujikuu Yousai Macross, 超時空要塞マクロス, Choujikuu Yousai Macross, Cho Jiku Yosai Macross, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, SDF Macross, Robotech (U.S.)
10. Kidou Senkan Nadesico
Akito doesn't want to fight. Despite a childhood spent on the anime Gekiganger 3, a Mecha show, he'd rather cook than pilot a Mecha. Fate intervenes when his home on Mars is destroyed, and he is transported instantly to the Earth, mysteriously. He has questions no one can answer fully, but follows a girl from a chance meeting in hopes to discover any. The girl, Yurika, is captain of the private battleship Nadesico, and in order to follow her, he enlists as their cook. Possessing the nanite implants that allow to control mechas, he's a handy backup pilot for the mechas of the Nadesico. He joins a crew bent on avenging Mars that seems to be composed of only misfits, otakus, and ditzes; however, in reality, they are handpicked experts. They take their own private war back to Mars to face the harsh reality that life may not always be like a Giant Mecha series.
Martian Successor Nadesico has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: 機動戦艦ナデシコ, Kidou Senkan Nadesico
9. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These Seiran 2
Part 2 of the second season of Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These.
The Legend of the Galactic Heroes The New Thesis Stellar War Part 2 has finished airing and it has 4 Episodes. It is also Known as: 銀河英雄伝説 Die Neue These 星乱 第2章, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These Seiran 2
8. Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
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.
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn has finished airing and it has 7 Episodes. It is also Known as: 機動戦士ガンダムUC（ユニコーン）, Mobile Suit Gundam UC, Kidou Senshi Gundam Unicorn
7. Musekinin Kanchou Tylor
Justy Ueki Tylor had his life all planned out: join the military, get a cushy desk job, and then retire with a big fat pension check. The perfect plan... until he wandered into a hostage situation and somehow managed to save an admiral! Now Tylor - a man who wouldn't know what discipline was if it bit him on the backside - has been made Captain of the space cruiser Soyokaze.
The crew of this run-down ship is the craziest rag-tag team of misfits you're ever likely to see, and they're not too fond of their complacent new leader. But they'd better learn to work together, because they're about to go head to head with the mighty Raalgon Empire. For better or for worse, the Earth's fate has been placed in the hands of a man who's either a total idiot - or an absolute genius!
The Irresponsible Captain Tylor has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: 無責任艦長タイラー, Musekinin Kanchou Tylor
6. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These Seiran 1
Part 1 of the second season of Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These.
The Legend of the Galactic Heroes The New Thesis Stellar War Part 1 has finished airing and it has 4 Episodes. It is also Known as: 銀河英雄伝説 Die Neue These 星乱 第1章, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These Seiran 1
5. Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster
In the near future, humanity has taken its first steps towards journeying into the far reaches of the galaxy. Upon doing so they discover a huge race of insectoid aliens known as “Space Monsters.” These aliens seem dedicated to the eradication of mankind as they near closer and closer to discovering Earth. In response, humanity develops giant fighting robots piloted by hand-picked youth from around the world.
Shortly after the discovery of the aliens, Noriko Takaya, the daughter of a famous deceased space captain, enters a training school despite her questionable talents as a pilot. There, she meets her polar opposite, the beautiful and talented Kazumi Amano, and is unexpectedly made to work together with her as they attempt to overcome the trauma of war as well as their own emotions.
Gunbuster has finished airing and it has 6 Episodes. It is also Known as: トップをねらえ！ GunBuster, Top wo Nerae!, Aim for the Top!
4. 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
3. Kidou Senshi Gundam: GQuuuuuuX - Beginning
Amate Yuzuriha is a high-school student living peacefully in a space colony floating in outer space. When she meets a war refugee named Nyaan, Amate is drawn into the illegal mobile suit dueling sport known as Clan Battle.
Under the entry name "Machu," she throws herself into fierce battle day after day, piloting the GQuuuuuuX. Then an unidentified Gundam mobile suit pursued by both the space force and the police appears before her, along with its pilot, a boy named Shuji.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 機動戦士 Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-, Kidou Senshi Gundam: GQuuuuuuX - Beginning
2. Seikai no Senki III
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...
Banner of the Stars III has finished airing and it has 2 Episodes. It is also Known as: 星界の戦旗 III, Banner of the Stars III, Battle Flag of the Stars III
1. Seikai no Danshou: Tanjou
This is the story about how Dubus, Lafiel's father, and Plakia after an adventure on a mysterious, abandoned spaceship decided to have a daughter together and why Dubus gave her the name Lafiel.
Crest of the Stars: Birth has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 星界の断章 “誕生”, Seikai no Danshou: Birth, Passage of the Stars: Birth, Seikai no Danshou: Tanjyou, Lost Chapter of the Stars: Birth
