Shows Like Planetes
For those captivated by Planetes, you will appreciate how these films questions the purpose and weight of our choices all while offering targets the intellect with complex, multi-layered ideas. Carefully balances character depth with narrative flow makes this definitely worth a watch.
Standard feature-length experiences.
Best for fans of who appreciate concise storytelling.
★ 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.

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.

exception
In a distant future where humans are forced to leave Earth, a spacecraft carrying a 3D-printed crew of specialists is sent to terraform a new planet.

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.

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.

Knights of Sidonia
An alien race called Gauna has destroyed Earth. leaving humanity struggling to survive aboard the spaceship Sidonia. Even though it’s been a century since the last encounter with the Gauna, military service is mandatory. For Nagate Tanikaze, whose grandfather secretly hid him in the forgotten bowels of Sidonia, it’s a strange new world as he’s forced to come to the surface. Yet his recruitment comes just in time, for the Gauna have suddenly reappeared.

EDENS ZERO
Aboard the Edens Zero, a lonely boy with the ability to control gravity embarks on an adventure to meet the fabled space goddess known as Mother.
More Shows Like Planetes

GANTZ
If you are chosen by the bizarre black sphere known as the Gantz, you are already dead—yet you might be able to reclaim your mortality. First, the Gantz demands that you undertake brutal missions of madness, killing aliens hidden among the population. It is your only chance and you have no choice. You must play this disturbing game. And if you die again—and you likely will—it’s permanent.

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.

Astra Lost in Space
In the year 2063, eight high school students and a kid are flown out to Planet Camp, tasked with surviving on their own for a few days. But shortly after arriving, an ominous glowing orb warps them to an unknown quadrant of space, nearly 5,012 light years away. Now, the only way back home is a slow, dangerous trek across the universe—a journey that’ll test them in ways Planet Camp never could.

Space Patrol Luluco
The show takes place in Ogikubo, which is the name of the specially designated area in space in the Milky Way where Earthlings and aliens can live together. Luluco is a female middle school student who lives with her father, and no matter where she is, Luluco is a common, "super normal" girl. As she is living her normal life, one day the mysterious transfer student ΑΩ Nova abruptly appears before her. That meeting will change Luluco's fate.

Space Brothers
When they were young, the brothers Mutta and Hibito promised each other they would become astronauts. Now, in 2025, Hibito has followed his dream to become the first Japanese on the moon, but Mutta has just been fired from his job. His brother reminds him of their childhood promise, and Mutta decides once again to aim for space.

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

Halo Legends
This sweeping science-fiction saga delves into the rich “Halo” universe with seven exciting stories (told in eight parts) focused on Master Chief’s mysterious origins, the Spartans’ advanced combat capabilities, and the tense rivalry between Spartans and Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs).

Stargate Infinity
This DIC animated action-adventure series follows four exceptional Air Force Academy cadets and a wrongly court-martialed Stargate veteran as they travel planets through gated wormholes protecting a myst. Based on MGMs successful sci-fi franchise Stargate.

DNA²
Karin, a DNA operator from the future, is on a mission to change the course of History by stopping Junta Momonari from becoming the Mega-Playboy who fathered 100 children and led to the overpopulation of the world. But Junta is no playboy; in fact he is allergic to girls. But when Karin shoots him with the wrong DNA-altering bullet, he starts sporadically becoming the Mega-Playboy capable of charming any woman. Karin must try to restore the situation to normal before the change to Mega-Playboy becomes irreversible.

To LOVE-Ru
The story is about Rito Yuuki , a high-school boy who cannot confess to the girl of his dreams, Haruna Sairenji. One day when coming home and sulking in the bathtub a mysterious, nude girl, appears out of nowhere. Her name is Lala and she comes from the planet Deviluke, where she is the heir to the throne. Her father wants her to return to her home planet so she can marry one of the husband candidates, but she decides that she wants to marry Rito in order to stay on Earth.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Jotaro Kujo is a popular high school student – at least until that day when he thinks he is possessed by a ghost, which is why he locks himself up. During a fight between his grandfather and his grandfather’s friend Muhammad Abdul, he notices that the ghost is his “Stand”, named "Star Platinium", his fighting aura. Later, his mother also gets such a “Stand” and thus falls ill. Jotaro learns that a man named Dio Brando, who was defeated by Jotaro’s great-great-grandfather a hundred years ago, is to blame. He joins his grandfather and Abdul to destroy Dio once and for all.

Seraph of the End
After a mysterious virus wipes out ninety percent of humanity, vampires emerge from the recesses of the earth to enslave mankind, treating them like livestock. After growing tired of donating blood in exchange for protection, 12-year-old Yuichiro Hyakuya and his best friend Mikaela Hyakuya plot an escape along with the other orphans. After being the only successful runaway, Yuichiro joins the Moon Demon Company, an extermination unit of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army dedicated to killing off vampires.
Why These Shows Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with Planetes (2003): Animation and Sci-Fi & Fantasy themes, similar pacing, and comparable production quality. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface series most likely to resonate with fans of Planetes.
See full details for Planetes (2003)



