I'm in danger of running out of Farscape

[Clertar]

Since you mention anime, the classic Slayers checks some of the boxes albeit in a fantasy setting rather than sci-fi. From what I remember watching it 20 years ago, it's generally pretty lighthearted but the plot also goes to some serious and dark places.

[Radar]

Since you mention anime, the classic Slayers checks some of the boxes albeit in a fantasy setting rather than sci-fi. From what I remember watching it 20 years ago, it's generally pretty lighthearted but the plot also goes to some serious and dark places.

There is not as many clashes with structured empires, but it has a band of misfits as the main heroes. It is actually one the fantasy series that depicts how stereotypical D&D group plays - just count how often the collateral damage from Lina's spells was worse than the threat she dealt with.

[Mikeavelli]

Can't believe no-one has recommended The Expanse yet. It is less goofy than Farscape, but just as compelling.

It was going to be cancelled like every other good sci fi show, but then it turns out Jeff Bezos is personally a fan of the series and bought it. Now Amazon is ensuring it gets finished.

[factotum]

Also might be worth giving the Expanse a go. Sure, there are military guys and politicians involved, but the main crew are a bunch of people who just got kind of dragged into events beyond their understanding, might be worth doing.

Can't believe no-one has recommended The Expanse yet.

Um...I did?

[Mikeavelli]

Um...I did?

My apologies, you did

[Red Fel]

On that topic, actually - since people have been really helpful already, could someone recommend me some anime with alien/monstrous creatures in the core cast? I've already gushed over the puppets and effects on Farscape, if that gives you an idea of the vibe I'm after. It just seems that even in the shows with all sorts of fun, wacky non-humans, they're relegated to short-term villains - the best you tend to get are functionally human "monsters" like a Hiei or a Viral. This is part of why My Hero Academia got me to dip my toe back into shonen - the heroes are still mostly human, but there are some fun and weird designs in there like Tape Boy and Squidward and Principal Rat.

Well, within recent years, a subgenre has emerged which might check both of your boxes - monster protagonists and rebellion. To wit: Monster isekai. The basic idea is to take the general isekai premise, which usually involves the protagonist dying and reincarnating in a fantasy world, and subvert it slightly by having the protagonist reincarnate as a monster. This immediately also sets the protagonist against the world, as the world tends to consist primarily of non-monsters who see monsters as something you kill.

Two examples, on very different ends of the spectrum, are Overlord and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. In Overlord, the protagonist is a salaryman who played an MMO in a monster guild. He falls asleep in-game on the night the game is shut down, only to awaken to discover that he - in his in-game form as a massive skeletal lich - along with all of the monster NPCs in his guild base - now all self-aware - has been transported to a fantasy world. He decides to see if anyone else from his world is present in this new one, and the best way to do that is to make a name for himself as the terrible skeletal sorcerer that he is. For obvious reasons, him-against-the-world is a major aspect of the plot. It has some comedy elements, but it tends to get pretty dark.

In Slime, the protagonist is a salaryman who dies in a mugging. His last wish as he lay dying is that, in his next life, he should be immune to being stabbed... or ideally to pain at all. So he reincarnates as a slime - the simplest form of monster - with the power to consume and absorb anything. Due to some shenanigans, in short order he becomes incredibly powerful, and decides to form a monster society. Unlike Overlord, which is very conflict-driven and dark, Slime tends to be lighter and funnier, and despite how OP the protagonist is, it focuses more on society-building than society-conflict - the monsters aren't fundamentally evil, for the most part, they just want a place to live. Don't expect a lot of drama from this series, is the point - there's a bit of personal tragedy, but the sense of rebellion does drop off a bit after awhile. On the other hand, aside from a few moments of melodrama, it makes for a pretty fun, light, satisfying romp.

Both series have all sorts of interesting monsters in the core cast. In Overlord, aside from the protagonist, you've got the former-NPCs who now serve as his guardians and confidantes - vampire, demon, weird mime thing, ice-bug-robot-thing - as well as various monstrous creatures he encounters. In Slime, you have the slime himself, as well as goblins, dire wolves, oni, lizardfolk, a tsundere dragon, and a demon or two, each with their own culture and personality. Yes, in both series, you encounter non-monsters as well - especially in Overlord, which gives them much more backstory and depth to set them up in conflict with the protagonist - but you spend most of your time with the monsters.

[Dragonus45]

Two examples, on very different ends of the spectrum, are Overlord and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. In Overlord, the protagonist is a salaryman who played an MMO in a monster guild. He falls asleep in-game on the night the game is shut down, only to awaken to discover that he - in his in-game form as a massive skeletal lich - along with all of the monster NPCs in his guild base - now all self-aware - has been transported to a fantasy world. He decides to see if anyone else from his world is present in this new one, and the best way to do that is to make a name for himself as the terrible skeletal sorcerer that he is. For obvious reasons, him-against-the-world is a major aspect of the plot. It has some comedy elements, but it tends to get pretty dark.

Caveat with Overlord, don't watch if you aren't a fan of intensely evil monsters as protagonists. Things start out fine, but they escalate. Oh boy does it escalate.

[Lord Torath]

Jinjitsu, just remember that there is a Farscape movie that ties up the series (which otherwise has a totally unsatisfying ending).

[Calemyr]

Two examples, on very different ends of the spectrum, are Overlord and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. In Overlord, the protagonist is a salaryman who played an MMO in a monster guild. He falls asleep in-game on the night the game is shut down, only to awaken to discover that he - in his in-game form as a massive skeletal lich - along with all of the monster NPCs in his guild base - now all self-aware - has been transported to a fantasy world. He decides to see if anyone else from his world is present in this new one, and the best way to do that is to make a name for himself as the terrible skeletal sorcerer that he is. For obvious reasons, him-against-the-world is a major aspect of the plot. It has some comedy elements, but it tends to get pretty dark.

I've found both of these very enjoyable, myself, and I'm definitely a big Farscape fan. Both have large casts of exotic and fascinating creatures. The two are incredibly different, however, in tone and style.

Overlord is dark and imposing in style and tone, which is oddly juxtaposed with the main character's inner monologue. The main character IS a normal salaryman, but is forced to play the role of an evil skeletal lich, surrounded by the (now sentient) NPCs he and his friends made back when the world he is now in was just an MMO. Figuring out what's going on and why and how to thrive in this new environment is the goal. While Momonga (the player) is a pretty decent guy, Ainz (the character) and his crew are most definitely Lawful Evil. It is dark and gothic and horror-themed, and suitably epic, and most of the humor is derived from how the fanatically loyal Lawful Evil monsters surrounding him attempt to interpret Momonga's words and actions. Also worth noting, Ainz is level 100 in a world that thinks 20 is legendary - not that Ainz is the sort to ever assume that him and his are ever truly safe.

Slime is cute and fun and rarely tense, in a way that is light and enjoyable without being saccharin. The main character is clever and happy and looking to build a positive environment. While he does face challenges, they're rarely enough to cause him much trouble and he usually gets more out of talking things through than by flaunting his ungodly power levels. If you tend to play Warcraft by building a functioning community, rather than wasting too many resources on that "war' bit, Rimiru is your guy. Tends to have more modern slang, which tends to date it a little, but not too bad if you're willing to put up with a little "awesomesauce" and such.

The third I'd add is Goblin Slayer, which is something of a midpoint between the two. Goblin Slayer and his crew are definitely the good guys, but evil is very real and not pretty, with goblins being infamous for being far more dangerous than their reputation suggests and for killing men and... not being so kind to the women. Nothing is outright shown, but enough is insinuated to make you outright despise goblins and root for the Goblin Slayer, a very simple man with a very simple goal: let others worry about dragons and demon kings, goblins will always exist and they will always prey on the helpless. Despite this, the story gets pretty tense and epic and ultimately expands into a full multi-racial party that includes a human priestess, an elven archer, a dwarven cleric, and a lizardman shaman, with the non-humans representing their own cultures rather than some homogenized melting pot. The show has some notable eccentricities, such as having zero names - everyone is known by a title of some sort, even if it's just their race and class, as well as an unabashedly blatant D&D-based spell system.

Caveat with Overlord, don't watch if you aren't a fan of intensely evil monsters as protagonists. Things start out fine, but they escalate. Oh boy does it escalate.

This is very true. The main character grows increasingly monstrous as the story progresses, losing his humanity as he continues to live in the body of a lich and the company of a murderous band of monsters. If I were to compare the anime to a video game I've played, I'd compare it to Spec Ops: The Line - the only game I've played where the creators have outright stated they consider turning the game off halfway through to be a legitimate plot choice. Like that game, however, what it does with its characters and story are fascinating.

The other thing I'd say for Overlord is to repeat something my brother once told me about why he liked it: Nazarick (the group of monsters surrounding the main characters) are unrepentant man-slayers who at best don't think twice about killing a human that's in their way and at worst actively enjoy making the death as painful or horrifying as possible. They are, by and large, unquestionably bad guys. They also do not all share the same morals despite congregating at "the deep end of the alignment pool". That said, however, they are a group united by bonds of respect and absolute loyalty, and stick together in a way that very few stories are ever able to believably convey, not even in the setting of Overlord.

[quinron]

I've honestly been really put off by isekai as a whole genre, mostly I think because of how many of the shows involve getting sucked into a computer game. Blame it on having played A LOT of .hack when I was a teenager, but I'm just really done with shows (especially anime shows) about video games. The fact that it sounds like the same thing but with TTRPGs has put me off watching Goblin Slayer.

That said, I may check out Slime. It sounds like there's no weird video game pretense to the fantasy world, though I still fear finding out otherwise.

[Dragonus45]

I've honestly been really put off by isekai as a whole genre, mostly I think because of how many of the shows involve getting sucked into a computer game. Blame it on having played A LOT of .hack when I was a teenager, but I'm just really done with shows (especially anime shows) about video games. The fact that it sounds like the same thing but with TTRPGs has put me off watching Goblin Slayer.

That said, I may check out Slime. It sounds like there's no weird video game pretense to the fantasy world, though I still fear finding out otherwise.

No explicit video game references in Slime but the setting does have some weird rules to it like skills and the like. Overlord really doesn't have anything video game like to it at all outside of the character having been in an MMO when he got booted over and without going to into spoilers it actually does a lot to explore that kind of thing in a way that most series don't.

[quinron]

No explicit video game references in Slime but the setting does have some weird rules to it like skills and the like. Overlord really doesn't have anything video game like to it at all outside of the character having been in an MMO when he got booted over and without going to into spoilers it actually does a lot to explore that kind of thing in a way that most series don't.

Ehhh, yeah, having checked out the first episode of Slime and replayed a bunch of .hack//G.U. lately, it seems it's not so much a matter of seeing video game mechanics as it is one of literally being in a game that turns me off. Goblin Slayer would probably be fine in this regard, though I still don't think I'd like it because I adore goblins and vastly prefer them as mischievous punks rather than the barbaric monsters they are in that show.

BTW, the first ep of Slime was really fun! I'm looking forward to more of it. I may also check out Overlord, though I'm very trepidatious.

[Radar]

Ehhh, yeah, having checked out the first episode of Slime and replayed a bunch of .hack//G.U. lately, it seems it's not so much a matter of seeing video game mechanics as it is one of literally being in a game that turns me off. Goblin Slayer would probably be fine in this regard, though I still don't think I'd like it because I adore goblins and vastly prefer them as mischievous punks rather than the barbaric monsters they are in that show.

BTW, the first ep of Slime was really fun! I'm looking forward to more of it. I may also check out Overlord, though I'm very trepidatious.

In that case I am wondering, what your opinion would be on Grimgar: of Fantasy and Ash. It is a short series (only one season was animated so far) about a group of teenage people thrown into a fantasy world, but it is very far from a typical wish-fulfillment isekai. They do not have experience nor extraordinary skills and the main career available on the frontier they are at is being an adventurer.

The series focuses a lot on the emotions and character development. It also has amazing fight sequences not because of flashy effects, but that they do convey the weight behind the swings, the actual danger and how the enemies are not some mindless monsters - those goblins or kobolds also struggle to survive. Grimgar is pretty serious but not all dark and depressing.

[Rynjin]

In that case I am wondering, what your opinion would be on Grimgar: of Fantasy and Ash. It is a short series (only one season was animated so far) about a group of teenage people thrown into a fantasy world, but it is very far from a typical wish-fulfillment isekai. They do not have experience nor extraordinary skills and the main career available on the frontier they are at is being an adventurer.

The series focuses a lot on the emotions and character development. It also has amazing fight sequences not because of flashy effects, but that they do convey the weight behind the swings, the actual danger and how the enemies are not some mindless monsters - those goblins or kobolds also struggle to survive. Grimgar is pretty serious but not all dark and depressing.

It's also comedically predictable, to the point that I simply couldn't enjoy it. By the time episode 2 or 3 rolled around, me and my brother were riffing the hell out of it. "Oh, something seems to be going right...someone's gonna get injured in 3...2...1...yep, there it goes!".

We had a bet going from mid-episode 1 on how long it would be before a certain specific character died; I said 6, he said 5. Turns out we were both wrong: it was 4. We had a good laugh and dropped the show after that.

[Calemyr]

Ehhh, yeah, having checked out the first episode of Slime and replayed a bunch of .hack//G.U. lately, it seems it's not so much a matter of seeing video game mechanics as it is one of literally being in a game that turns me off. Goblin Slayer would probably be fine in this regard, though I still don't think I'd like it because I adore goblins and vastly prefer them as mischievous punks rather than the barbaric monsters they are in that show.

BTW, the first ep of Slime was really fun! I'm looking forward to more of it. I may also check out Overlord, though I'm very trepidatious.

It might be worth noting that Goblin Slayer is NOT an Isekai. Nobody in the story is from a different world, nor are any players or DM referenced. The anime does love using the sound of rolling dice, particularly to mark the end of an episode. However, the motto of the series is "He doesn't allow the gods to roll the dice."

Slime is a reincarnation isekai. Lots of game-like mechanics, but the world is not a game and reincarnated "heroes" are rare. That said, Rimiru is very quick with references and does like comparing things to video game mechanics.

Overlord is a video game isekai, but Momonga is the only one (apparently) to transfer over, and the setting is (again, apparently, the manga isn't finished to my knowledge) real, in a world that seems to import something from other realities every several centuries. This has an interesting effect on the setting, as things like game terminology, items, and abilities have been integrated into the culture (and mythology), but that culture is portrayed as "real" and not a game. So it's this weird merger between MMORPGs, TTRPGs, and a story of political gamesmanship and psychological corruption that I personally find absolutely fascinating, combined with probably the most comically one-sided power balance I've ever witnessed (in general, there are actual threats that can make Nazarick work and worry).

Interestingly, all three could almost be considered harem anime, as the main characters are surrounded by attractive women with definite interest in them, but nothing comes of it for practical reasons. Ainz and Rimiru have male minds but genderless bodies, while the Goblin Slayer is oblivious to it all and seems to be asexual (which given his experience with goblins and their predalictions strikes me as a logical coping mechanism).

Cowboy Bebop is a definite suggestion as well, but it scratches a different itch left by Farscape than the others. It's about a quartet of interplanetary bounty hunters (sometimes called "cowboys") in a future where the solar system has been colonized and (partially) terraformed. The group is made of strong and entertaining characters who are clearly capable but constantly struggling to keep afloat and deal with their own individual pasts. Kinda like Firefly, only with a jazz inspiration rather than a western one (ironic given the name, but true). And an anime, of course. The English dub is flat out amazing and still considered a gold standard for the art. The plot has a tempo much like the music it is inspired by, being slow and cool for the most part but getting wild and energetic when it needs to.

The non-anime suggestion I'm most partial to is mostly Babylon 5, which focuses heavily alien cultures and their interplay with human cultures. You've already seen Firefly, of course, which is my go-to suggestion.

[Dragonus45]

Ehhh, yeah, having checked out the first episode of Slime and replayed a bunch of .hack//G.U. lately, it seems it's not so much a matter of seeing video game mechanics as it is one of literally being in a game that turns me off. Goblin Slayer would probably be fine in this regard, though I still don't think I'd like it because I adore goblins and vastly prefer them as mischievous punks rather than the barbaric monsters they are in that show.

BTW, the first ep of Slime was really fun! I'm looking forward to more of it. I may also check out Overlord, though I'm very trepidatious.

I hear you there, I tend to love goblins as well and if a nuanced take on that kind of thing interests you, and you are interested in web novels at all, then I absolutely must tell you about Wandering Inn. Which admittedly is an isekai set in a very much non generic fantasy world where people have levels and skills not totally different from the way it gets handled in Slime and which once it hits it's stride and when it hits it's peaks is the single best piece of fiction I have ever read.

As for goblin slayer, if you could find your way past the bit with the goblins being the worst I do really appreciate a story where a core theme is the importance of practice, maintaining and caring for your equipment, and lateral problem solving, and other things that tend to be left out of a lot of RPG media.

[truemane]

If that's what you want from Voyager, don't bother. It takes the effort to setup what should be an insane level of conflict within the crew (about half the crew is made up of former deserters/rebels against the Federation) and it NEVER comes up as a plot point after the first two episodes. You can imagine they don't really bother with much inter-crew clashes outside of that, either.

There was that one episode where Tuvok made them all jog a lot. Problem solved!

*eye roll*

This is the first time I can recall Orphan Black being mentioned here.

As it happens, it’s one of my absolute favorite shows. Watch the first two episodes and see what you think.

I'm good friends with a guy who was Tatiana Maslany's PA for a number of years. His best story was when she had an audition for a part in Force Awakens and so he got to read part(s) of the script some years before it was released. And he'd be all cagey about what it said because he wasn't supposed to know about it. Pretty cool.

[Red Fel]

Cowboy Bebop is a definite suggestion as well, but it scratches a different itch left by Farscape than the others. It's about a quartet of interplanetary bounty hunters (sometimes called "cowboys") in a future where the solar system has been colonized and (partially) terraformed. The group is made of strong and entertaining characters who are clearly capable but constantly struggling to keep afloat and deal with their own individual pasts. Kinda like Firefly, only with a jazz inspiration rather than a western one (ironic given the name, but true). And an anime, of course. The English dub is flat out amazing and still considered a gold standard for the art. The plot has a tempo much like the music it is inspired by, being slow and cool for the most part but getting wild and energetic when it needs to.

Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Firefly - they all hit that same "group of rag-tag protagonists wandering through space having adventures and stuff" vibe. Outlaw Star in particular does have some non-human elements - the Ctarl-Ctarl - but for the most part, you'll miss that Henson-y alien element that made Farscape so unique.

[Calemyr]

Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Firefly - they all hit that same "group of rag-tag protagonists wandering through space having adventures and stuff" vibe. Outlaw Star in particular does have some non-human elements - the Ctarl-Ctarl - but for the most part, you'll miss that Henson-y alien element that made Farscape so unique.

Outlaw Star is great (I've stolen the gun-mage "Caster" concept for a few table top characters), but the quality is a little awkward. Unlike Bebop, it shows its age. Also, it has a very focused plot, which creates a different experience. Sure, episodes can be one-off, but they never take their eye off their goal. Farscape is, like Firefly, about the need to "Keep Flying" above anything else. So I've tried to keep my suggestions to at least keep that theme in mind, along with a preference towards a heavy focus on exotic cultures and races.

[Rakaydos]

Here's a left field suggestion, a tabletop RPG called Myriad Song. The core book races DEFINATELY scratch the scifi "very nonhuman appearance, human personalities" approach. (Humans and analog robots, yes, but also Space Raptors, Sillicon Sparklewolves, anthro spider ladies, an intelligent fungus that mind controls a nonsentient ape-thing from their home planet, amphibius eels and squid, a giant beetle/firefly, and a tentacle tailed bird race.)
Apparently the expansion, Myriad Aliens, starts there and goes off the reservation with it.

[Daevah]

I logged in after like 4 years just to say it's a travesty that no one mentioned Killjoys in this.

I just finished the series and it's absolutely amazingly charming. You have a good, solid plot (nothing super special, but they don't try to pull any super weird plot twists either) and now that I'm rewatching it, you can see that it was planned and neatly wrapped up with a bow from the beginning. It has a unique and solid set design that changes from neat to grubby depending on where the cast is, fun music and believable effects.

But what really shines in this show is the cast and the believable motivations and relationships they have. Bounty hunters turned found family trope. You come for the badassery, but you stay for the badassery AND because you love each and every of them. My personal cherry on top is the casual representation concerning people of color, woman/men ratio and sexuality, even disabled people get a whole sideplot in one season. You can see the showrunners and writers respected their product. It's really a neat 5 season series and I'm certainly gonna keep rewatching it regularly!

Very brief Google summary: Killjoys follows a trio of hard-living, fun-loving bounty hunters – Dutch, John, and D'avin. Working for the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition (RAC), they work in a four planet-and-moon system known as the Quad. Taking on warrants to apprehend people or property, RAC Agents are given high authority by their agency.

Now I'm gonna peace out for another 4 years.

[quinron]

I logged in after like 4 years just to say it's a travesty that no one mentioned Killjoys in this.

I just finished the series and it's absolutely amazingly charming. You have a good, solid plot (nothing super special, but they don't try to pull any super weird plot twists either) and now that I'm rewatching it, you can see that it was planned and neatly wrapped up with a bow from the beginning. It has a unique and solid set design that changes from neat to grubby depending on where the cast is, fun music and believable effects.

But what really shines in this show is the cast and the believable motivations and relationships they have. Bounty hunters turned found family trope. You come for the badassery, but you stay for the badassery AND because you love each and every of them. My personal cherry on top is the casual representation concerning people of color, woman/men ratio and sexuality, even disabled people get a whole sideplot in one season. You can see the showrunners and writers respected their product. It's really a neat 5 season series and I'm certainly gonna keep rewatching it regularly!

Very brief Google summary: Killjoys follows a trio of hard-living, fun-loving bounty hunters – Dutch, John, and D'avin. Working for the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition (RAC), they work in a four planet-and-moon system known as the Quad. Taking on warrants to apprehend people or property, RAC Agents are given high authority by their agency.

Now I'm gonna peace out for another 4 years.

You undersold the best part - it's Canadian! I've been watching a lot of Canadian TV lately, and I've become convinced that only Canada is doing good pulp sci-fi these days.