Top 3 Netflix anime sci-fi shows for February 2022 (and the secret code to get more)

If you're looking to scratch your anime itch then Netflix really is the best service – setting aside Crunchyroll, the anime-specific streaming service – as the red giant has consolidated a whole host of iconic content, all easily accessible to everyone.

Seriously, go and look at the selection: everything from huge hit shows to niche underground productions can be found depending on how deep you're willing to look. Of course, coverage varies by region but in the UK and US, at least, you're spoilt for choice.

With the weekend fast approaching, we can't think of anything better to do than curl up on the sofa and stick on some sci-fi anime, transporting us to a world of vibrant colours, epic fights, and intrigue.

If you want to see everything has to offer, we've also found the (not so secret) code: 2729. Click the link or type that in to see all the Netflix sci-fi anime shows.

When you forgive this show for, like so many others before it, being a little too indebted to Neon Genesis Evangelion, there's plenty to enjoy.

The pitch of this show is that protagonist Daisuke, who is absolutely not Shinji from NGE (cough cough), along with some of his high school chums are transported 300 years into the future, where they are then recruited to fight a cyborg enemy known as the titular "Revisions". How does Daisuke and chums fight these giant enemies to save the world from destruction? Only with equally giant "string-puppet" mecha suits of course.

Yes, so as you can see, all very echoes of NGE, but that doesn't mean it is worth a watch, and especially so if you're a fan of this sub-genre. It's rumored to be getting a second season, too.

Cowboy Bebop 

Cowboy Bebop really is a show – and an absolutely excellent one at that.

A neo-noir sci-fi epic, everything about this show is cool, from the incredible graphic design to the characters and even the English dubbing, which follows the Ghibli model of being more than an afterthought. (Of course, purists will say you should just read the subtitles, which, fair.)

A critical and commercial success in Japan and then worldwide, there is a reason that Netflix paid so much money to produce a live-action version (to then cancel it after one season).

If that whole saga peaked your interest, go and watch the original and marvel in its excellence. You won't regret it.

Sword Art Online

Closing out the list is Sword Art Online, the TV adaptation of the incredibly successful comic book series.

There are two series available on Netflix – both are, of course, excellent – and the basic premise is extremely on brand, given it aired in 2012.

The year is 2022 (weird!) and a virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released, letting people control their avatars with their bodies.

Of course, a dark twist emerges and things go from there.

It's eerily similar to the metaverse when you think about it, but that makes it no less fun to watch.

Bonus pick: Akira 

Okay, okay, this one isn't technically a show – well, it is certainly a show, but not the TV kind – but we'd be remiss not to include it as it's on Netflix right now.

The 1988 movie Akria is, probably, one of the best anime titles ever released, so much so that you can still see it in theatres across the UK today.

Set in 2019, which is cool in and of itself, the story follows biker gang leader Shōtarō Kaneda and his childhood friend Tetsuo Shima, who has incredible telekinetic powers. 

Do we need to say more? Given that you're reading this article, probably not, so just go and watch it again. And, of course, if this is your first time, then you need to see this movie.

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