The biopunk genre is not the most popular in anime; however, various shows have shown how intriguing biopunk can be. Biopunk explores elements of genetic engineering, biotechnology, and synthetic biology. In biopunk shows, what it means to be human or alive is often explored as individuals or groups of people tend to undergo human experimentation.
What sets the biopunk genre apart from other similar but related genres, like cyberpunk, is the biological modification and genetic engineering processes the characters tend to undergo. While biopunk is in itself an interesting genre, various anime shows have portrayed it through the lens of intriguing characters that have people questioning the shows that best portray the genre.
8God Eater
Made after theGod Eatervideo game, theGod Eateranime series takes place ina post-apocalyptic worldwhere an organization known as Fenrir develops divine weapons to use against monsters called Aragami. These divine weapons are called God Arcs, and they are composed of biological cells called oracle cells.
While theGod Eaterseries does not focus on genetically modified humans, the divine God Arcs, a central part of the series, are genetically modified with biological cells. This makes the series fit well into the biopunk theme. Moreover, it also portrays other themes that blend nicely with its biopunk theme, making it an interesting watch.
7Black Bullet
A parasitic virus called Gastrea suddenly appears in the year 2021 and ravages humanity. To protect humanity from the epidemic, humankind is forced to live within monolith walls made of varanium, a metal able to subdue the Gastrea.
As children are born after the virus has long spread, humanity discovers that some children have gained superhuman abilities through the mutation of the virus. These children are then dubbed cursed children and are used to fight against the virus. Due to the nature of the virus, only females get superhuman abilities, and they are often paired with members of the Civil Securities organization, which was formed to combat Gastrea.
6Knights Of Sidonia
Long ago, the alien race Gauna destroyed Earth and most of humanity. The remnants of humanity fled on various seed ships after narrowly escaping their destroyers, but Gauna has been pursuing them ever since.
In the year 3394,the seed ship Sidoniais assaulted by Gauna after Nagate Tanikaze wakes from his lifelong sleep in search of food. Without his knowledge, Nagate is quickly thrust into a war where he must use giant mechs to protect his species. However, Nagate discovers the dark truth of how humanity has survived for centuries with Gauna at its tail. With the genetic engineering and moral dilemmas that the anime series delves into,Knights of Sidoniamakes for a good biopunk watch.
5Terra Formars
TheTerra Formarsanime series showcases extreme genetic engineering, which makes it stand out as a biopunk anime. While the anime does not consist of deep-rooted plots and conspiracies, its simplicity and straightforwardness make it refreshing and easy to follow.
In the anime series,humans plan to conquer Marsand make it a place where life can thrive. However, they quickly see that they must exterminate the bio-enhanced cockroaches who have taken over the planet. To defeat the cockroaches, humans need 10 samples of the male and female species of cockroaches to study them better. However, getting those samples proves more dangerous than anticipated, as the cockroaches possess inhuman speed and strength.
4Ergo Proxy
Set in a post-apocalyptic futurewhen most of humanity has been wiped out,Ergo Proxyportrays a world in which humanity lives in domes where the inhabitants have no knowledge of the outside world. Alongside humanity are the AutoReivs—robots created for specific functions.
Everything is balanced until the spread of the Cogito virus, which causes AutoReivs to become aware, threatening the delicate balance between man and machine. To investigate the cause of the virus, the Regent’s daughter, Re-I Mayer, comes together with her AutoReiv partner, Iggy. As Re-I discovers the mysterious beings called Proxies, she meets Vincent Law and discovers that there is more to the mystery than first presumed.
3Parasyte: The Maxim
One night, tiny worm-like aliens called Parasites arrive on Earth and take over humans by burrowing into their brains. While Shinichi Izumi is asleep,a Parasite tries to take over his brainbut fails as Izumi awakes. The Parasite then enters Shinichi’s body by burrowing into his right arm.
As the Parasite is unable to burrow into his brain, Shinichi and his Parasite enter a unique situation where both retain their intellect and separate personalities. As other Parasites attack Shinichi upon realizing that his brain is intact, Shinichi and his Parasite use their unique bond as an advantage, as Shinichi feels obligated to battle the other Parasites and save humanity.
2Elfen Lied
As a biopunk-based anime series,Elfen Liedportrays a special breed of humans known as Diclonius. These mutated humans are born with a short pair of horns and telekinetic abilities. In the series,Lucy, a Dicloniuswho was born due to the inhumane experiments carried out on her, tries to escape from the government. To escape, Lucy kills many, as she’s been corrupted and prone to bloodshed by her endless torture and confinement.
As she battles her captors to gain her freedom, Lucy is injured in the head. The head injury is so severe that she has a split personality. With the split personality of a harmless child who can barely talk, Lucy comes across Kouta and his cousin Yuka, and together, they enter into a realm of government secrets and artificially engineered creatures.
1Neon Genesis Evangelion
TheNeon Genesis Evangelionanime series features the aftermath of a global cataclysm that takes place 15 years in the past. While the anime portrays the humongous mecha genre, various elements of biopunk are also portrayed, which makes the anime stand out even in the biopunk genre.
In 2015, after the global cataclysm, Shinji Ikari was summoned by his father after years of neglect to pilot a giant humanoid robot called an Evangelion. However, upon deeper inspection, Shinji discovers that the Evangelions are not just robots but living organic creatures that have cybernetic machines and computer components grafted onto them. Moreover, the Evangelions were created from the samples of the first angel and then genetically modified.
