10 must-watch cyborg anime that you should try

Cyborg anime featuring cyborgs or humans with robotic enhancements has long captured the imagination of fans. Whether fully mechanized or possessing a few augmented limbs, these cyborg anime characters showcase the rich storytelling potential of exploring the line between man and machine.

From sci-fi classics to recent hits, cyborg anime covers a range of thought-provoking themes like transhumanism, identity, and what it means to be human. They present cyberpunk visions of the future and fantastical reimaginations of alternate pasts where advanced technology exists.

Some even incorporate philosophy and spirituality. If the concept fascinates you as much as it does us, check out our must-watch list spanning some of the most memorable cyborg anime out there!

Ghost in the Shell, Cyborg 009, and 8 best cyborg anime

1) Ghost in the Shell

Ghost in the Shell (Image via Production I.G)

One of the most seminal cyborg anime in the sci-fi genre, 1995's Ghost in the Shell depicts a futuristic world where technology leaves little separating humans from robots. It revolves around Public Security Section 9, a counter-cyberterrorism squad led by the legendary Major Motoko Kusanagi, a full-body cyborg.

The Major grapples with what it means to have a cyborg body housing a human ghost or consciousness, wondering if she still retains her humanity. This struggle resonates with the rapid pace of real-world technological advances in cyberization and artificial intelligence.

With its success, Ghost in the Shell spawned an entire franchise, including a sequel film, TV spinoffs like Stand Alone Complex, and a live-action Hollywood remake. But the 1995 original remains iconic as a must-watch pioneer of cyberpunk anime.

2) Cyborg 009

A superhero team classic, this cyborg anime originated way back in the 1964 manga by Shotaro Ishinomori before getting adapted into various films and series. The story follows nine people worldwide who get kidnapped and forcibly turned into combat cyborgs by the evil Black Ghost organization.

But thanks to the powers granted by their cybernetic enhancements, they revolt and band together as the eponymous 009 team to fight back against Black Ghost. What gives Cyborg 009 cross-generational appeal is its high-stakes plots balanced with the camaraderie of the diverse protagonists.

It also features classic anime action scenes where their special abilities, like acceleration, transformation, and regeneration, make them nearly unbeatable. Brimming with retro appeal, Cyborg 009 is a classic cyborg anime highlighting the power of teamwork and the timeless allure of enhanced heroes!

3) Battle Angel Alita

In a post-apocalyptic world where humans, cyborgs, and mutants co-exist between the elite sky city of Tiphares and the sprawling scrapyard below, Battle Angel Alita tells the story of an amnesiac female cyborg rebuilt by Dr. Ido after being found as a disembodied head in a scrapyard.

She discovers that her enhanced body holds impressive fighting capabilities that prove useful as she navigates the dystopian world. Alita then gets caught in the power struggles between the ruling elites in the sky city of Tiphares and the rebellious group from below, aiming to stand as equals.

Adapted from the original manga, Battle Angel Alita is known for its established cyberpunk setting that blends sci-fi, action, and philosophical elements. Alita's journey tackles thought-provoking themes about self-identity and social stratification that resonate with many cyborg anime fans.

4) Appleseed

2004's Appleseed takes place in the futuristic utopian city Olympus after the devastating nuclear Third World War. Cybernetically enhanced humans maintain Olympus' idealistic order along with bioroids, genetically engineered beings designed to maintain societal functions.

The story has disillusioned war veteran Deunan and her cyborg partner Briareos, newly arrived into utopian Olympus, drawn into protecting the city from both external threats like terrorists and internal threats from a possible bioroid conspiracy.

Like Shirow's other famous franchise Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed deftly combines sci-fi adventure with deeper themes about sustaining a just society and questioning assumptions upholding societal status quos — balanced with cyborg soldiers in mechanized suits blazing guns in gorgeously-animated action scenes!

5) Casshern Sins

Casshern Sins (Image via Tatsunoko Production)

In a world where robots have become the dominant lifeforms after humanity's decline, Casshern Sins depicts a dystopian landscape where the robot civilization starts exhibiting mortality.

Enter Casshern, an amnesiac android superweapon who somehow caused the otherwise immortal robots to degrade, rust, and "die." Many now seek to kill him to halt the Ruin, while others hail him as a god who endowed robots with purpose about living meaningfully.

This gorgeously melancholic animation explores existentialism, morality, and survival themes through its hauntingly poetic visuals. This cyborg anime offers a unique take on the genre by focusing on the decline of artificial life.

6) No Guns Life

Taking place in a cyberpunk future where humans augment themselves with technology, many for work reasons, extending-gunfighter Juzo Inui lives alone, making a living resolving cases in an underworld filled with crime and terror.

After getting turned into a gun-headed cyborg against his will by megacorporation Berühren, Juzo tries regaining his humanity one resolved case at a time, understanding those like him and uncovering the conspiracy behind his unwanted cybernetic alterations.

While featuring slick animation and noir-tinged action fans expect of cyberpunk, the interest in No Guns Life lies in its niche perspective focusing on Inui, a grizzled veteran anti-hero cyborg down on his luck, and the disenfranchised people he ends up protecting.

7) Texhnolyze

Set in Lux, an underground city grown out of a deserted industrial town, Texhnolyze depicts a brutal society fractured by internal conflicts among warring factions struggling for control within the city. With scarce supplies, technological advances become key to survival and warfare in Lux.

This includes developing scientifically-bred humans and cybernetic enhancement or "Texhnolyzation" turning people into weapons. When Ichise, a street fighter, is unwillingly transformed into a "Texhnolyzed" cyborg, his struggle for identity sparks conflict with factions in Lux eager to use his power for political gain.

Brutal, brooding, and morbid, Texhnolyze is unique among cyborg anime. It tackles philosophical ideas about self-determination to the end while visualizing a surreal, subterranean setting and strange biomechanical designs with an experimental art style.

8) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Image via Bones)

In a fictional universe where alchemists wield science to work magic, brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric happily live until attempting forbidden Human Transmutation to revive their dead mother ends disastrously. Edward loses his left leg and right arm, while Alphonse loses his entire body.

Desperate to redeem himself and restore their bodies, Edward sacrifices his right arm to bind Alphonse's disembodied soul to a suit of armor using alchemy while equipping himself with Auto-Mail prosthetic limbs. This allows Alphonse to inhabit a hulking suit of armor as they seek the Philosopher's Stone to undo their fates.

This anime sets itself apart by seamlessly blending cyberpunk prosthetics with the magical system of alchemy alongside deeper conversations weighing science against morality and human truth. The brothers stand out in this unique cyborg anime—one with cybernetic limbs, the other as "living armor."

9) Megalo Box

Megalo Box (Image via TMS Entertainment)

A futuristic take on boxing focusing on "Megalonia," the sport's high-stakes underground version involving contenders with external mechanical frames called Gear.

It follows Junk Dog, an underground Megalo fighter who gets a shot at entering the coveted Megalonia championship by fighting without Gear, earning him the nickname Gearless Joe. Its retro-futuristic setting, underground sports drama plot, hip-hop aesthetic, and emotional character storytelling echo the genre's classics.

It also commemorated director You Moriyama's love letter to the historic boxing anime Ashita no Joe while innovating with a fresh cyberpunk spin celebrating the human spirit. While not strictly a cyborg anime, its exploration of human enhancement through technology earns it a place on this list.

10) Inuyashiki: Last Hero

Ichiro Inuyashiki is an elderly man who seems insignificant, but then becomes an unwilling cyborg when he is inadvertently destroyed by crashing aliens and reconstructed to cover up the incident. Though initially confused, Inuyashiki uses his new powers to help people in need and become a superhero.

However, a teenage boy named Shishigami who was converted into a cyborg by the same aliens becomes Inuyashiki's murderous rival. Inuyashiki explores deeper themes about humanity and heroism through the rivalry between these two cyborgs.

Inuyashiki struggles to retain his humanity and use his abilities for good in the face of Shishigami's cruel nihilism. This cyborg anime compellingly examines morality and redemption through his cyborg hero's journey.

Conclusion

The cyborg anime above showcases why stories rooted in exploring the intersection between humanity and technology have deeply resonated across generations.

Whether entirely mechanized or organically enhanced by cybernetics, these cyborg characters continue posing universal questions about the human condition we find ourselves grappling with in our increasingly cyber-connected world nowadays.

If this list awakened your interest in cyborg anime or made you want to revisit classics with a fresh perspective, be sure to check out titles you may have missed.