Netflix recently released a steampunk western anime, Bass x Machina. Set in a Western era with gunslingers and outlaws. The story follows Bass Reeves, based on a real lawman of the same name, who ventures into the desert with his bionic arm to hunt down his targets, even if it means facing supernatural threats.
What makes the anime stand out is that it mixes Western gunslinging and steampunk technology. For those who are looking for similar concoctions of anime, these six titles are worth watching, ranked by their worldbuilding, mechanical designs, and overall appeal.
6Samurai 7 – Samurais Get a Steampunk Redesign
Based on the legendary director Akira Kurosawa’s film Seven Samurai, anime Samurai 7 takes the live-action and turns it into a futuristic world filled with mechanical fighters. The anime tells the story of seven samurai who are hired by poor villagers to protect them from the Nobuseri, former soldiers who have turned themselves into machines.
The anime is similar to Bass X Machina, as both explore the lawless world where mechanical warriors threaten ordinary people. The anime adaptation gives the familiar story a Steampunk-ish identity, but its setting leans more towards science fiction and mecha, making the anime rank sixth.
5Princess Principal – Steampunk With Spies
Princess Principal takes the steampunk genre into the high-stakes world of espionage. The anime is set in an alternate historical version of 19th-century London, where it follows five young girls who are spies and are studying at the prestigious Queen’s Mayfair School. The anime is similar to Bass X Machina, as they both show a retro-futuristic world and use alternate-history settings as a premise.
The world setting and Cavorite-powered technology make it better than the previous anime on the list, but the espionage-driven story doesn’t explore more about the steampunk world, placing the anime fifth.
4The Case Study of Vanitas– Steampunk Vampires Reign
The Case Study of Vanitas puts vampires in a steampunk-inspired 19th-century Paris. The anime follows the story of Noe Archiviste, a vampire who is searching for the Book of Vanitas. He meets a human doctor claiming he can cure vampires of a mysterious curse called malnomen. The anime is similar to Bass X Machina in terms of supernatural themes, perfectly amalgamated with a steampunk world.
The Case Study of Vanitas shows Paris as an industrial marvel filled with multiple steaming pipeworks, making it more steampunk in aesthetic than the previous entries. However, its supernatural character drama takes more screen time, which keeps it at this rank.
3Last Exile – A Steampunk Take on Space Opera
Last Exile follows the story of two young pilots, Claus Valca and Lavie Head, who fly machines called Vanships. Both characters are gradually pulled into a conflict between two rival nations, Anatoray and Disith.
This anime is similar to Bass X Machina in terms of their society’s dependence on technology in daily life. It secures the third spot because its steampunk elements are incredibly well developed and go hand in hand with the story, unlike the previous entries on the list.
2Attack on Titan – Fighting Titans With Steampunk Technology
Attack on Titan might look like a dark fantasy anime where humanity is held inside huge walls to protect themselves from flesh-eating titans, but its world is heavily dependent on industrial, steam-powered technology. There is heavy reliance on Omni-Directional Mobility gear, which uses compressed gas to work.
1Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – A World Where Machine Meet Alchemy
One of the best anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood takes the top spot. The anime is not only about two boys performing forbidden alchemy and fighting dark forces but also shows a Victorian-era world filled with automail prosthetics that work through internal gears and pressure springs.
The striking similarity between the two projects is the mechanical arms of both the protagonists, which they use to fight enemies. It takes the undisputed number one spot because Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood perfectly blends the industrial steampunk technology with the magic science of alchemy rather than using it as visual dressing.
Have you watched any of these steampunk anime, or do you think another series deserves a place on this ranking? Let us know in the comments!
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