Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa

"Fasten your seat belt Dorothy, 'cause Kansas is going bye-bye." — The Matrix. » Unique settings that are very different from our world, or have something that radically changes the experience of them, making them unique. Compiled by someone who's seen over 200 anime. I'll add more anime once I've watched them. This list contains no spoilers.


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✮ Spoiler notice
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I don't consider "unique setting" to be a spoiler, because I'm not stating what makes the setting unique, where it's encountered, or how often; whether it happens in a dream, during a coma, within someone's imagination, or the real world.

It's all very vague. All you know is that, at some point while watching, you'll encounter a unique setting.

Most titles, synopsis, and trailers reveal more than my list does, though I've been more conservative than even those because I know some people like to watch media without knowing anything about it prior.


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✮ Notes
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— I haven't included sequels, unless the original work it's based on takes place in a mundane setting, then I've omitted that work and shared the relevant sequel. I'll mention what the original work is in the description so you can search for that if you haven't seen it, so you can avoid spoilers.

— What about anime set in space? I'm still tweaking which anime in this genre to filter out. For now I want the setting to be more interesting than just "set in space." There are other lists of anime set in space, and there's no point in duplicating them.

— If I later remove items from this list, I'll add them to this description, so you don't have to worry about losing track of something.

— You can use the list order (highest rated anime on MAL are at the top) and my score to decide whether something is worth watching. I haven't excluded "bad" anime, though if something is very bad usually I won't watch it, meaning it won't make it to this list. If it has a setting that's unique enough, maybe I'll add it to the description.


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✮ Similar lists
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Interest stacks by other people and their differences to this one:

✸ Unique Settings & World-Building
by silveraaki
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9187

But it features examples of more mundane worlds that have good world-building.

✸ Dive Into a New world (Unique Settings)
by APolygons2
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/11626

Uses a different criteria than mine. E.g. They've included settings that are fairly mundane, but unique because of what's contained within that setting. My list focuses primarily on unique settings, not neccessarily what's happening, or who, is within it. You could remove the people or things, or most of it, and the setting would still be unique.

✸ fantasy worlds (with unique settings)
by bufi_
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9314

Focuses on fantasy worlds. Mine includes settings that don't include fantasy settings or elements.

✸ Bizarre Worlds
by Fivegears
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/41688

Has a more specific criteria of "alien, unusual or anomalous [worlds] where the rules aren't entirely clear at first."

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✮ Related lists by me
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Coming soon!

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✮ List order
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This list is sorted by MAL score (highest at the top).

standalone anime that doesn't have sequel/prequel.

part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/46012

This list includes those anime films distributed on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray in Mexico. Currently, due to the death of the home format in Mexico, they are all discontinued editions, but they are collectible pieces for every Mexican anime fan.

- Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/46626
- Part 3: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/46624
- Part 4: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/46628

Tired of adaptions, reboots, and remakes in your sci-fi anime? Frustrated that MAL doesn't allow you to filter by source material? Well, this list has you covered.

For the sake of including as much as I could, I've only listed one entry from each franchise/series (generally the first installment). Some entries have a manga that came out shortly before they premiered, but those aren't really adaptions since the production of the anime predates creation of the manga.

Part 2:
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/46791

Part 3:
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/46796

Part 4:
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/46816

Shout! Factory, LLC, trading as Shout! Studios (formerly known as Shout! Factory) is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued in DVD or Blu-ray format, include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy specials. Considered a boutique Blu-ray label, Shout! Studios, in addition to its mainline home video releases, also releases films under the sublabels Scream Factory (for horror film releases), Shout! Select, and Shout! Kids.

In its anime catalog, it has interesting titles that could be seen and enjoyed by anyone, although most of them are films distributed by GKIDS.

- Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/47285

Some of my favorites grouped together based solely on the vibes. Some have a stronger vagueness feel (think Tenshi no Tamago), others are more plot driven (think Shingeki no Kyojin), but the sum of worldbuiding, fantasy and atmosphere makes me think they fit together. I'd love to find similar stuff.
For manga, Witch Hat Atelier, Houseki no Kuni, Shuna no Tabi and Samenai Machi no Kissaten feel similar enough.