With the anime community growing more buoyant in recent years, various genres and subgenres of science fiction have been explored more and more, and dieselpunk is among the lot. Unlike the more commonly known cyberpunk and steampunk genres, dieselpunk is a far less widely known form of science fiction.
To understand this genre is to know that its primary identifier is the diesel-based technology portrayed in the '50s interwar period with retro-futuristic technologies. With its diesel-based aesthetic and retro-futuristic technology, the genre has created incredibly fascinating anime shows based on the dieselpunk theme despite its rarity. Although dieselpunk themes are commonly confused with steampunk ones, they differ as they showcase a different style with fuel-powered machinery.
8 Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood
Featuring the Elric brothers, the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood series portrays the adventures of Alphonse and Edward Elric. The Elric boys were born to Trisha and Hohenheim Elric. Their talented alchemist father, Hohenheim, left them, and their mother, Trisha, died of a disease. In the end, the brothers leave their home to learn more about alchemy's deep secrets.
Even though Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood has some magical elements, it shows itself to be a dieselpunk anime through its use of diesel-powered engines, weapons, and industrialization. With the shift in technology and various inclusions of diesel-run machines in wars, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood combines the dieselpunk genre with its magical elements.
7 The Big O
Set in a post-apocalyptic setting, Big O portrays the inequality of life where the rich and well-off live in a more habitable environment while the poor live like beggars and are left to fend for themselves on the streets. The series takes place in the fictional Paradigm City, whose residents believe themselves to be the only remaining survivors of humanity.
Big O's dieselpunk genre is showcased with the inclusion of androids and giant robots that coexist with humans. More popularly known as Megadeus, the giant robots play an important part in the plot of the story as the series follows the adventures of Roger Smith and the young female android Dorothy Wayneright.
6 Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World
With its varying level of technology, talking robots, heavier-than-air flight, and diesel-based transportation, the Kino no Tabi anime series appropriately showcases the dieselpunk theme.
Kino, the protagonist, is shown to be exploring a lovely environment with the help of her trusty talking motorcycle, Hermes. Kino learns about the world and all it has to offer as she travels to new places and experiences new cultures. She considers three days to be plenty of time to learn all there is to know about a destination. Kino uses her trusty motorcycle to simply observe the areas she travels to.
5 Pumpkin Scissors
With its portrayal of war and '30s technology where trains, cars, and industrialization appear, its dieselpunk theme is well portrayed as many technological aspects run with the use of diesel-based machines.
In the dieselpunk world of Pumpkin Scissors, the Royal Empire and the Empire of Frost have just ended a devastating 11-year battle. However, as a result of the war's conclusion, many troops from the Royal Empire have fallen into abject poverty and hunger, forcing them to resort to criminal activity. Later, as part of an effort to provide war assistance to the citizens of the Empire, the Pumpkin Scissors Unit is formed.
4 Baccano!
Baccano! portrays a 1930 era in which a potion of immortality that grants the drinker eternal life/youth is created. With the creation of the immortality elixir, the characters of the show are set off in a frenzy as they war over the elixir. With mafia gang wars and alchemists trying to devour each other, the world of Baccano! is set off into a frenzy as seemingly unrelated plots are showcased to be part of a much bigger conspiracy.
Despite the supernatural elements, such as immortals and demons, the anime's location in the industrialized '20s and '30s gives it a pleasant diesel-punk experience.
3 Last Exile
From the creators of Samurai 7 and Blue Submarine No. 6, Last Exile showcases a retro-futuristic theme intertwined with a diesel-punk one. In its fictional world of Prester, two youths, namely Claus Valca and Lavie Head, get involved in a war between two factions, and a shadow faction pulls the strings.
Seemingly at the height of the industrial revolution, flights made possible by aerial ships were the primary mode of transportation. Despite the somewhat primitive technology, the ships operate on something similar to anti-gravity. With the portrayal of immense naval and military battles, 15-year-old Claus Valca and navigator Lavie Head function as sky couriers before being involved in a dastardly plot.
2 Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Set in a post-war setting in the '50s when diesel-run machines were the main form of locomotion and the primary focus of western technology, the anime film portrays the life of Kazuki Fuse in an alternate Japanese reality and diesel-run era. As a member of a counter-terrorism unit, Fuse is tasked with killing a young female terrorist but is unable to do so and watches on as she commits suicide.
Reprimanded for his inability to take action, Fuse is sent back to base for re-evaluation. A few days later, he attends the funeral of the female terrorist and comes across her self-proclaimed elder sister. Through her, he gets involved in a government plot.
1 Metropolis
Portrayed in a retro-futuristic society where humans and robots coexist. Metropolis showcases itself to be one of the best diesel-themed animes around. With its incredible portrayal of humans, robots, and the emotions that differentiate them, Metropolis stands out among other diesel-based anime series.
In the anime film, robots are discriminated against by humans as they (humans) blame them for taking most of their jobs. In the chaos created by the anti-robot groups, Shunsaku Ban and his nephew Kenichi arrive at Metropolis to investigate the scientist, Dr. Laughton, who is suspected of trading human organs and violating human rights.