When earth was on the verge of destruction and much of humanity fled, it was remade by the mysterious entity Y into a series of cogs and gears. Noato Miura is a boy with a unique talent, he can immediately understand the mechanics of the cogs by noise alone. One day, a automaton named Ryuzu made by Y falls from the sky and Naoto discovers that the planet they have lived on for years is beginning to break down.
Distinctly steampunk in nature, Clockwork Planet presents a particularly intriguing world but ends up being a show carried by its characters. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Clockwork Planet, let fans know in the comments section below.
Anime Like Clockwork Planet
For Fans of Humans and Robots
Beatless
In this world, human-like hIE robots are treated like second class citizens to humans. One day, high schooler Arato Endou, who has always treated this robots as equals, is savagely beaten by one only to be saved by another abnormal hIE. In exchange for saving him, she asked that he register as her owner, thus taking responsibility for her actions.
In both Beatless and Clockwork Planet, the main character ends up with a robot girl, both girls also interestingly enough featuring coffins. However, while Clockwork Planet goes for a more action-oriented thriller, Beatless ends up having more slice of life vibes than action.
Dimension W
In the future, humans have discovered the fourth dimension, or Dimension W, which is supposedly a source of infinite energy. Harnessing this energy in coils, the New Telsa Energy corporation has now set up a monopoly on its sale. Ex-soldier Kyouma Mabuchi is skeptical of this energy and still drives a gas-powered car for his job to hunt down illegal coils.
Both series feature a guy and his new robot companion that get caught up in a huge conspiracy that threatens to unravel the whole world that they live in.
Planetarian
After the Space Colonization Program, Earth has been abandoned and humanity is near extinction. A deadly rain permanently falls on Earth and the only people alive, known as “Junkers”, continuously scavenge the ruins. One Junker sneaks alone into a dangerous part of Sarcophagus City where he meets Yumeni, a robot companion. She mistakes him for a customer in her planetarium and tries to show him the stars, but the projector is broken. Pitying her, he tries to fix it.
Both series focus on a world that has technically ended, though Clockwork Planet sort of jump started itself for awhile. The character relationships also focus on a guy and his robot companion, though Planetarian is less action and more melancholy.
Unbreakable Machine-Doll
The Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart was founded to train puppeteers in order to control automatons. After failing his entrance exams, Raishin and his automaton Yaya must defeat one of the top hundred students to gain entry as well as access to a forbidden secret art. However, the pair they challenge gets attacked by other students and they are forced to defend them. This means they must now explore other ways to gain entry to this exclusive school.
Essentially, both series are about duos. There is the skilled main character, and his robot that is distinctly in love with him. However, Machine-Doll is a more school life anime series, though it does have quite a bit of action.
For Fans of The Government is Not Your Friend
Guilty Crown
After being ravaged by the Apocalypse Virus, Japan has fallen under control of the GHQ, an independent military force dedicated to the restoration of order. However, a guerrilla group called Funeral Parlor seeks to put an end to their despotism. After a fateful run in with a key member of Funeral Parlor, weak and anti-social Shuu Ouma finds himself with a powerful new weapon, the ability to pull out manifestations of a person’s personality to wield as weapons. Now he must make use of it in order to free Japan once and for all.
Both Guilty Crown and Clockwork Planet follow a main character with a bit of a special skill. While they try to use it for good initially, a great governmental betrayal forces them into difficult positions.
Ergo Proxy
After the explosion of the methane hydrate layer, humanity was forced into a select few domed cities where society is strictly controlled. To assist humanity, autonomous robots called AutoReivs were spread throughout the cities. Enter Re-L Mayer, granddaughter of the regent, and charged with investigating a series of cases in which the AutoReivs have gone haywire. In her investigation she comes in contact with a mysterious monster called Proxy. After meeting a man called Vincent Law that was blamed for several of the incidents, the pair strike out across the wasteland to unravel the mysteries of the Cogito Virus.
Both series takes place in a world different from our own where humans an robots live alongside each other. However, something is going terribly wrong and the main characters find themselves entangled in it. That being said, Ergo Proxy definitely ends up a bit more philosophical at the end.
For Fans of Unique Worlds
Fractale
In the future, the world is managed by the Fractale System. One day, Claine, a boy living with his computer-generated parents, meets a girl named Phryne. She is being chased by someone, and when he rescues her, he ends up pulled into the conspiracy that involves their whole world unraveling.
Both series follow the adventures of a person that knows their world is dying. In both shows, this is a secret that people are ready to kill them in order to protect. They use their world to give them the slip in order to accomplish their ultimate goals.
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet
In the distant future, humanity has abandoned a ruined Earth and now lives in the furthest reaches of space fighting their eternal enemy, the Hideauze. During one of their massive space battles, a young soldier named Ledo and his mecha Chamber are flung through a warp hole into space. He crash lands on a strange planet that is covered completely in water. To his surprise, he finds that other humans also live there aboard massive fleets of boats. Found by the Gargantia fleet, Ledo must navigate this strange new world.
To say what really makes these two series so similar would be a bit of a spoiler. So instead, let’s say that though Ledo comes from a very advanced civilization, the giant life boats in the series certainly have a similar sort of steampunk vibe, though it lacks the same sort of robots.
Earth Maiden Arjuna
One day while on a trip with her boyfriend, Juna dies in a motorcycle accident. However, she is given a chance to live again if she agrees to protect earth from voracious worm creatures born of pollution called Raaja. Even with newfound powers, this proves not to be an easy task and the Raaja themselves cause her to question everything she knows about the world.
While this anime that has more environmental themes is a distinct departure from the steampunk themes in Clockwork Planet, this series definitely feels like Clockwork Planet might have after the the planet was reformed. Everything is changing rapidly and the main characters both struggle to fight against it.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Clockwork Planet? Let fans know in the comments section below.
