What SciFi(s) influenced you most?

Obviously, if you're here, you're probably a big ol' nerd for science fiction and science fantasy. What are some pieces of media ( shows/movies, books, etc. ) that have influenced you the most?


Personally speaking - I was absolutely obsessed with Mobile Suit Gundam. Most specifcally everything Gundam Wing. It's definitely retro by scifi standards now, but I think that's part of it's charm. Bulky, heavy technology. An asthetic fitting of a time when humans have only just attained a ( somewhat ) stable, but tentative existence outside Earth.

And big robot fights

What about you folks?

Oh nice question. I am also a huge fan of Mobile Suit Gundam. Hands down my favorite anime. In fact, it was a huge influence when I first found Star Army and made my first character, Trowa. A very close second would be Sailor Moon, whom I took big inspection for my 2 female characters, based off my 2 favorites from the show, Jupiter and Pluto.

I loved Star Wars growing up, but the older I've gotten the more I enjoy 40k, especially the Gaunt's Ghosts series. That's also been a pretty big influence on my characters.

Geeeez, this question. Anime aside for the moment, I had a few. Dune (Yes, I know, cliche), The Heir to the Empire Trilogy, Star Wars (OG Movie Trilogy), and a lot of Babylon 5. I had also been influenced by two games series. Homeworld and Master of Orion. Also Warhammer 40,000 for the lore mainly for my Mechanicus and Imperial Guard bros. But if anime came into it, LOGH, Banner/Crest (Both) of the Stars, and The Irresponsible Captain Tylor.

All that influenced me in a nutshell. So it makes me a mess of things.

People can say what they will about Gundam Wing, the intro animations are still gorgeous.

Some really good call-outs in this thread in general. Mecha anime is a thing for sure. I tend to play Nepleslian stuff as if it's straight Gasaraki, and Yamatai stuff as Ghost in the Shell with some more cheesy 80s OVA flair (Bubblegum Crisis/Gal Force)...

Ultimate combination of influences?... Red Dwarf + 40k Mechanicus/Titanicus + Blame! + Early Borg from TNG + Dorohedoro + Armoured Core + Baroque (An obscure ass Sega Saturn game.)

Most of my heavy science fiction influences are books and comics/manga. While I do enjoy the sci-fi giants such as Star Wars and Star Trek, I was that Animorphs nerd in the back of the classroom too. That book series, plus C.S. Lewis' sci-fi trilogy, the manga Summer Wars and Full Metal Alchemist, and even a bit of anime via Voltron (the good seasons only). Sorry folks, Voltron went downhill fast in my personal opinion. I didn't watch it beyond a certain point.

But I've also had influences from other genres too. Fantasy and Drama, mainly. But since we're talking about sci-fi I'll keep it here lol. I have a Wayfarer series on the horizon by Becky Chambers that I'm jonesing to read. That, and one of my friends wrote a historical fiction retelling of Snow White. So I have to read that one too.

Current book I'm reading is an interpreted novel named A Monster Calls. Very interested in what it has to offer.

Summer Wars and Animorphs are certainly two things people never talk about.

The first is an amazing upbeat OVA; Well worth a watch if anybody hasn't!

The second is one of those things people gloss over being incredibly dark, probably because nobody has actually read them since being a teen, hah. I haven't either, but a lecture on youtube reactivated those neurons for me; Alien mind control, child soldiers, body horror... The 90s kinda stretched the meaning of 'kids media', huh?

Discovering Macross in high school was really big for me because the Robotech RPG book was the first RPG I ever GMed other than one I made myself in elementary school. Plus when Robotech was on Cartoon Network that really helped draw me into anime fandom because it was easy to get (as opposed ot having to go out and buy stuff). I had been a huge Star Trek fan since childhood (and to a lesser extent, Star Wars), and Macross is a space opera anime with everything I loved: Cool starships, aliens, military on military action, great colorful uniforms (you may be seeing some similarities to the Star Army here lol). Later, Nadesico was big for me. It's an anime that has all of the above but doesn't take itself that seriously (in fact it's a parody of its own genre). Other cool sci-fi anime: Starship Operators. Space Battleship Yamato.

Some sci-fi books I had when I was young that influenced me were The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted, The Death of Sleep, Star Trek TNG Technical Manual and a ton of Star Trek novels, the Thrawn triology...too many books to list lol...

You just reminded me the that first proper, unedited anime I ever saw when I was a kid was some weird thing with transforming planes and pre-famous Bryan Cranston as a cocky pilot... Caught it on TV way past a new years party in my aunt's basement, when I was supposed to be sleeping. Loved it but didn't know what it was until like a decade later... Macross Plus. It still holds up.

Now that I'm thinking about the old times, I forgot how big of a Ben10 fan I was. May cousin tried to get me into Power Rangers, but it didn't have the same effects on me. But Ben10? That was a massive part of my childhood.

Super Sentai, particularly the ones that the American Power Ranger series is based on. Also Macross and while it isn't anime per se, Battletech.