Anime Like exception
If you loved exception's Animation and Sci-Fi & Fantasy storytelling, these anime deliver a similar experience — selected for art style, narrative depth, and emotional impact. Each includes where to stream it now.
★ Top Picks

The Orbital Children
In 2045, two children born on the moon and three kids from Earth try to survive after an accident on their space station leaves them stranded.

Planetes
In the year 2075, mankind has reached a point where journeying between Earth, the moon and the space stations is part of daily life. However, the progression of technology in space has also resulted in the problem of the space debris, which can cause excessive and even catastrophic damage to spacecrafts and equipment.

Star Trek: Prodigy
A motley crew of young rebellious aliens commandeer an old Starfleet ship and must figure out how to work together while navigating a greater galaxy, in search for a better future. These six young outcasts know nothing about the ship they have commandeered, but over the course of their adventures together, they will each be introduced to Starfleet and the ideals it represents.

Captain Future
Curtis Newton, aka Captain Future, is an orphan. His parents died in their artificial satellite while he was an infant. His father was a scientist, who has abandoned earth for the satellite to dedicate his life for science along with his aging friend the genius Dr Simon Wright. Wright senses his death, and decides to implant his brain in a mechanical container. They both manufactured a superior robot and an android. Captain future dedicated his life to fight evil along with his three men, the brain, android, and robot.

BBK/BRNK
It’s been ten years since Azuma Kazuki has been in Japan, and upon his arrival he is taken prisoner by a group of armed men. Azuma is saved by his childhood friend, Kogane Asabuki, thanks to a living weapon she wields on her right hand, known as a Bubuki. Learning about these weapons, Azuma becomes a Bubuki wielder himself and sets out on a journey.

Galaxy Express 999
In a distant future, Tetsuro is a human boy who wants his body replaced with a robotic one. This is possible, but to do so he has to reach the Immortal Planet onboard the space train Galaxy Express 999. Maetel, a beautiful and mysterious blonde woman dressed in Russian style, joins him in the long journey through space. Every episode sees our heroes arriving in a new planet's space train station.

Battle of the Planets
G-Force, a five-member superhero team, fights to defend Earth and its space colonies from the threat of the planet Spectra.

Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut
The first astronaut in human history was a vampire girl. Following the end of World War II, the world-dividing superpowers, Federal Republic of Zirnitra in the East and United Kingdom of Arnack in the West, turned their territorial ambitions toward space. Both countries have been competing fiercely for development. East history 1960. Gergiev, the chief leader of the Republic, announces the manned space flight program Project Mechtat (Dream), which, if successful, would be the first feat for humankind. At that time, Lev Leps, a substitute astronaut candidate, is ordered to perform a top secret mission. The "Nosferatu Project"—a program that experiments with vampires prior to manned missions—will use Irina Luminesk as a test subject, and Lev is to monitor and train her. Even while trifled by the walls of the race and ego of the nations, Lev and Irina share a genuine sentiment as they aim for the universe.
More Anime Like exception

Birdy the Mighty: Decode
While pursuing fugitives the Space Federation police officer Birdy Cephon Altera finds herself on Earth.

Steins;Gate
A group of friends have customized their microwave so that it can send text messages to the past. As they perform different experiments, an organization named SERN who has been doing their own research on time travel tracks them down and now the characters have to find a way to avoid being captured by them.

Steins;Gate 0
Eccentric Rintaro falls into a depression after failing to save Kurisu, but then a neuroscientist offers him the chance to interact with an AI copy.

Tengoku Daimakyo
In the year 2024, the world has collapsed. Grotesque monsters lurk amongst the ruins of Japan, while remaining people scrape together what they can to survive. Kiruko, an odd-job girl in Nakano, accepts a mysterious woman's dying wish to take a boy named Maru to a place called Heaven. Maru is convinced that there will be a boy there who looks exactly like him.

Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199
The year is 2199. The human race has been crushed in their war with the Gamilos, driven into underground cities by the invader's assault. Scientists estimate they have only a year left. The young officers Susumu Kodai and Daisuke Shima receive a mysterious capsule from a ship that made an emergency landing on Mars and return with it to Earth. It contains humanity's last hope: the planet Iscandar on the other side of the Magellan Galaxy has the technology to defeat the Gamilos and restore the planet. The space battleship Yamato is entrusted with this task, but they have only one year before humanity ends.

DEMON LORD 2099
Five centuries ago, Demon Lord Veltol reigned over an immortal nation. Now, the time has come for him to awaken once again. The year is 2099, and civilization has reached peak evolution, leading to a high-tech landscape with towering skyscrapers—nothing like he’s conquered before. Veltol may be a relic of the past, but make no mistake, this new world will be his for the taking!

Blue Gender
In the 2030s Earth has been overrun by the Blue, which are mutated insect-like creatures that kill and harvest humans for food. Most of the surviving human race has moved to Second Earth, a huge spaceship that orbits the planet. Yuji and Marlene must work together to reach Second Earth and fight against the Blue.

Plunderer
In a post-apocalyptic world dominated by the so-called "Numbers," each human will have their identity branded with their own "Count," which could define any number related to their life. May it be one's walked distance or amount of compliments given to them by others, this Count could lead them to the abyss when it has dropped to zero. In the year 305 of the Alcian calendar, Hina has inherited a mission from her Mother, whose Count has depreciated to zero, to search for the Legendary Red Baron. In her adventure, she meets a half-masked swordsman named Licht who tries to hide his identity, as he is known as a degenerate for having an incredibly low Count.
Why These Anime Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with exception (2022): Animation and Sci-Fi & Fantasy themes, comparable animation style, and similar narrative pacing. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface anime most likely to resonate with fans of exception.
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