After sending cockroaches and algae to terraform Mars as a second home for the now-overcrowded Earth, their efforts are coming back to bite them years in the future. Not only is an alien disease ravaging humanity on Earth, but the cockroaches evolved in murderous giants with a vendetta against humanity on Mars. Determining the disease came from Mars, a team of genetically-modified heroes from around the world are sent to the red planet and must fight in order to gather samples that will help create a cure.
Terra Formars may be a gorefest and the story doesn’t really start until the second season, but you can’t deny that some of that hardcore violence is, on occasion, satisfying. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Terraformars, then head on down below.
Anime Like Terra Formars
For Fans of Violent Aliens
Knights of Sidonia
In the distant future, humanity has been forced into the far reaches of space by mysterious aliens called the Gauna. Now humanity barely survives on seed ships travelling through the universe. However, the Gauna have found them again. Now humanity’s only hope is the mysterious Nagate Tanikaze that suddenly comes forward from the depths of the ship to strike back at the aliens.
Both Knights of Sidonia and Terra Formars tell the trials and tribulations of humanity’s struggle against a primitive, yet superior race of aliens that continue to evolve at an alarming rate. They also tell the story of a few “special” people that are able to fight back. However, Sidonia is more mecha than Terra Formars, but they both feature some good old-fashioned blood and guts.
Gantz
Kei Kurono is an apathetic young man that, while waiting for his train, runs into a childhood friend. When a homeless man falls onto a track, his friend coaxes him into helping save his life. Unfortunately, the train comes in and they both die. However, they both wake up in a strange room with other recently deceased people and a big black ball that tells them to kill aliens in order to gain their freedom.
Huge, apathetically vicious aliens? Check. Ridiculous over-the-top shock gore? Check. Special tools used to fight? Check. Essentially a space setting is the only thing that separates Terra Formars and Gantz from being the same anime. Both are horribly violent gorefests, but Gantz has the disadvantage of having an utterly whiny main character.
Blue Gender
In the distant future, humanity has been replaced on the top of the food chain by a bug-like alien race called Blue that forced them off of their planet. Now operating from a space station, humans strike back at the aliens, but their best hope might just lie on their old home.
Blue Gender was the Terra Formars before Terra Formars. Both series feature humanity being plagued by a bug-like alien race. However, not only do they feature different settings, Blue Gender tends to be more dramatic and atmospheric while Terra Formars is near pure action.
Parasyte
It happened suddenly and silently over night – aliens invaded Earth, nesting inside their host’s brains. However, when an alien tried to take over Shinichi Izumi’s body, it found itself trapped in his right hand instead. The pair now has no choice but to work together in order to survive as not only humans, but other aliens are against them now.
Both series features an alien race that has an extreme blood lust for humans in particular and want to destroy them for unclear reasons. They are also about humanity using the similar traits of the alien race to fight back. However, one series takes place off planet while the other is about an alien invasion on Earth.
Attack on Titan
Facing imminent extinction, humanity retreated behind a series of tall, thick walls to escape their most dangerous threat – massive human-like Titans with a taste for human flesh. With an enemy that eats humanity for fun rather than food, they are constantly threatened. As such, it is the duty of every human to defend the species. Enter Eren Yegaer who, after his village was destroyed by Titans breaching the outer wall, he and his adopted sister Mikasa join the Survey Corps. They are one of three factions of the military that scouts and combats Titans outside the walls. After joining in the brutal war, Eren discovers a secret about himself that could unravel what the world thinks they know about Titans.
While Attack on Titan gets infinitely more complex in plot and ends up being about more than just fights and flashbacks like Terraformars, like Terraformars, it does feature people fighting against a huge, weird, comical but also dangerous menace.
For Fans of Humanity in Decline
Freezing
Kazuya Aoi is entering his first day of training to become a Limiter, a man that works together with female Pandoras to fight the deadly alien invaders called Nova. During this fateful first day, he mistakes the powerful “Untouchable Queen” Pandora as his dead sister only for her to end up taking him on as her Limiter.
Both series exist in a future in which humanity has to fight aliens in deadly clashes. However, while Terra Formars is dark and serious, Freezing tends to land more on the ecchi side of the spectrum. Both series also feature main characters that have superior abilities to those around them even though they, too, have special abilities.
God Eater
In the year 2071, humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction by man-eating monsters called Aragami. Immune to traditional weapons, they roam the land, but an organization called Fenrir with it’s human-hybrid God Eaters are the only ones capable of killing these Aragami. Lenka is a new God Eater who must master his powers in order to have any hope of fulfilling his wish to wipe out the Aragami once and for all.
Both series share the premise of humanity threatened by horrific and widely unknown creatures while also having to deal with a series of government conspiracies. However, while the premise of God Eater sounds pretty dark, Terra Formars is darker.
Black Bullet
In the year 2021, a parasitic virus has ravaged humanity by turning them into monsters, driving the remaining humans into massive walled cities. However, while a special metal can keep these monsters at bay and fight them, children are already being born with the virus dormant within them. It is decided that these “cursed children” are humanity’s best hope for fighting the virus.
Both series feature a strong, heavily insect-inspired enemy and have the heroes undergo a treatment that gives them similar aspects of what they are fighting. However, Black Bullet stays firmly on their own planet.
For Fans of Augmented Humans
Tokyo Ghoul
The citizens of Tokyo now live in fear of vicious creatures called ghouls that blend in alongside humans and feast on their flesh. One day, Ken Kaneki, a shy college student, meets a girl called Rize who is also an avid reader like him. Unfortunately, as he finds out on his first date, Rize turns out to be a ghoul. Just when she is about to eat him, Kaneki is saved, barely clinging to life. In the process of surviving this attack, Kaneki finds out that he has now become a ghoul.
Like many of the characters in Terra Formars, Kaneki wakes up after surgery with mysterious powers. While in Terra Formars they were desired, they make Kaneki’s life miserable in Tokyo Ghoul. However, both series feature incredibly visceral violence as well as a long and interesting list of characters.
Guyver
Sho Fukamachi was a normal teenager until he found an alien object known as Unit. The Unit bonded with Sho and transformed him into a powerful life-form called Guyver. With this power, he ends up battling the mysterious Chronos Organization and their Zoanoids in order to protect his friends and the world.
Both Guyver and Terra Formars feature a limited amount of people that are compatible with augmentation in order to fight a near endless horde of monsters. While Terra Formars is more over-the-top violent, Guyver tends to stick to the old-school hero tropes. Interested parties should know that this references the 2005 Guyver and not the 1989 version, which is fine too.
Killing Bites
After unwittingly participating in a kidnapping, college student Yuuya finds his friends murdered by the girl they kidnapped. Forced to drive her somewhere, he now finds himself the prize in a match between two Therianthropes, animal-human hybrids. Being saved by the girl, Yuuya finds himself in the middle of a proxy war between four companies through a blood sport known as Killing Bites.
While there is less of a grand plot in Killing Bites (which is saying something), much like Terraformars ultimately was, it is animal people viciously fighting. If that’s all you need, then that’s all you get.
BNA – Brand New Animal
Throughout history, humanity has always been at odds with the beastmen – a race that can change their shape into beasts. The beastmen have all but gone into hiding after extreme discrimination, but Anima City was built to be a self-governing safe haven where they can live without fear. During the towns’ 10th anniversary, Michiru, a human that has recently turned into a tanuki, visits the city in an attempt to find a cure for her sudden transformation. Unfortunately, there is a explosion in the square, and she gets caught up in the event. Together with the white wolf Shirou, the pair look into the explosion and find that there is indeed more to Michiru’s beastification.
While the art style as well as some of the plot in Brand New Animal are very different from Terraformars, ultimately it is a show about human-animal hybrids. You will also find that there is more going on under the surface of each governing body in the show.
Blassreiter
Germany is suffering under an outbreak of Amalgams, which consist of rotting flesh that have fused with technology. They exist solely to cause chaos, and in order to combat this threat, the Xenogenesis Assault Team was established. Alongside protecting humanity from Amalgams, the organization is also researching newly discovered Amalgamated, powerful humans who still posses rational thought. Joseph Jobson is on such Amalgamated human who seeks to elude the organization, but finds himself wrapped up in the terrible truth behind the Amalgam.
Both series feature humans that were ultimately augmented via certain spoiler-ish ways. However, while Terraformars puts them to work through the government, Blassreiter has a main character that is actively trying to avoid the government.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Terra Formars? Let fans know in the comments section below.
