Fantastic sci-fi

[BWTraveller]

I was wondering if there were any good anime/manga/LNs that have a very fantasy-like sci-fi story. I've seen plenty of sci-fi-like fantasy, where lots of futuristic gadgets are given along with careful explanations of the way the magic works to basically take the "magic" out of it and make it just a different force. What I'm looking for is more the sort of an inverse, where a clearly sci-fi type story is given a variety of fantasy motifs that make it look more fantasy than science fiction. For example, a story full of swords and sorcery type content, but done in space. I thought about this after seeing the two endings of Outlaw Star (which is one of the closer examples along with Tenchi). Looking at the art there, many of the images are set in outer space or in an apparently spacefaring civilization, but at the same time it looks more like fantasy than sci-fi in appearance.

[SeijiSensei]

Despite its many appeals to quantum theory, I see Noein as more fantasy than science-fiction. Madoka Magica obviously straddles the fantasy/sci-fi boundary as well. In fact, I don't consider anime a source for much in the way of "hard" science fiction. Most anime sci-fi shows seem closer to fantasy than science to me.

Sometimes the director and writers make the connection for you. Look at the item Fumie uses (at 2:14) in this trailer to change the traffic signals in Dennou Coil. Look familiar? Yes, it's an ofuda, just like the ones the Medicine Seller uses to combat demons in Mononoke.

YouTube

https://youtu.be/ODTvrQFtEOM

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[monir]

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon meets your criteria perfectly. This show is such a must watch that if you haven't already I would strongly suggest you take leave of absence from your day job so you can make immediate time to watch the show.

Ghost in the Shell is another that I highly recommend. How highly? I would say it's a show that is worth quitting your job over (breaking up with your significant other, and even getting a divorce) so you may watch it unperturbed.

[Darthtabby]

The main one that comes to mind is Nobunaga the Fool, but that show was ultimately so disappointing I'm reluctant to recommend it.

I'd like to recommend some of the Macross series since I'm such a huge fan, but they generally provide at least a token explanation as to why singing has the effects that it does.

Maybe Yamato 2199? It's WWII in space, but it generally doesn't get overly bogged down in technobabble.

Last Exile is steam punk, but I'm inclined to recommend it here.

[-Antares-]

I don't know if any of my recommendations are really going to work for you because you like such traditional fantasy (and sword and sorcery in space! Very outside of my knowledge base). But Kaiba was the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of "fantastical sci-fi." It's technically sci-fi, but it really doesn't FEEL like sci-fi at all. It's an awesome anime, too. Dennou Coil, as mentioned before, will also fit with that.

Someone mentioned Macross... I'm thinking that Macross Zero particularly might fit this, as there's certainly "science" behind everything but it doesn't really touch on that much, and the presentation is so fantastical that it's easy to forget the universe ever had a sciencey explanation for its events. Macross Frontier might work too, though it doesn't feel anywhere near as "fantasy." It does, however, make a great companion piece to Zero (lots of references and similiarities between the two).

EDIT: Wait, what am I talking about? Yamato was mentioned in this... Leiji Matsumoto... okay, here we go. Leiji Matsumoto does a lot of scifi stories that have a very "romantic" (not necessarily using this word for the "love" meaning, though there is often that kind of love in his works too) view on everything. Yamato is definitely a good example, and I, too, would recommend 2199 as Darthtabby did. Furthermore, I'd also recommend the original Harlock series, Space Pirate Captain Harlock. These stories spend a lot of time out in space, in space ships and sometimes alien planets. But there are a lot of fantastical elements, both regarding the ships of the protagonists and the aliens they encounter (or have already befriended). They're both very high quality as well. Even Harlock, for its time, is shockingly good.

[Kerspunkle]

These probably aren’t what you’re looking for, but hey, might as well give it a shot. In my opinion, Trigun and Blood Blockade Battlefront seem sci-fi with a little fantasy elements.

Trigun takes place on a wasteland of a planet with characters toting guns, and it has other Western components. I was a kid last time I saw this anime so I might be remembering wrong, but some of the characters, namely Vash, Knives, and Legato seemed fantastical to me. Not sure if the first two technically count, but I believe Legato was psychic. Anyways—Powers, spaceships, guns. There ya go.

As for Blood Blockade Battlefront… well, aliens and vampires and all kinds o' other junk seemed pretty fantasy/sci-fi to me.

[kari-no-sugata II]

Try Crest of the Stars - and the sequel(s) Banner of the Stars

Some interesting sci-fi elements, used as a platform for an interesting story and characters.

[Kamijou Touma IB]

I agree Yamato 2199 is the way to go.

[BWTraveller]

Originally Posted by kari-no-sugata II

Try Crest of the Stars - and the sequel(s) Banner of the Stars

Some interesting sci-fi elements, used as a platform for an interesting story and characters.

I was torn about Crest of the Stars, since it definitely has a fantasy feel to it despite not having magic or any other supernatural elements, which is one of the key things I was looking for: a significant degree of supernatural or magical force being integral to everything sci-fi happening, like how in Tenchi one of the biggest empires in the universe, and certainly the most powerful, is largely built on what can only be described as fantastic supernatural forces. The fantastic appearance is enough to call it close though. A couple other that are closer and sort of hover on the boundary, not as fantastic as Tenchi but still full of fantasy elements, would be Heroic Age and of course Outlaw Star, which is more sci-fi but demonstrates a number of magical and supernatural elements throughout its running.