Taking place in Yokosuka, a Naval installation town just south of Tokyo (and the setting of Shenmue, the Dreamcast cult classic), is home to Marine Girls’ High School. The high school prepares its young ladies to become Blue Mermaids or female sailors. You can sort of think of the Blue Mermaids as akin to Starfleet from Star Trek, which has various functions beyond exploration and military, but to maintain political relationships with other nations as well.

Through this anime, we learn of how Misaki learns to be a proper captain of the Harukaze. Misaki learns to be a ship commander and the rest of the cast also have to overcome their individual adversities, master their jobs, and learn to work as a team. Despite how cute it looks on the surface with its moe designs, it knows how to be intense with its relationships and be serious with how the crew works together.

In this spin-off to Sword Art Online, the cast plays the latest edition, Gun Gale Online, a more modern military oriented version to the titular online VR game. While it isn’t authentically a military anime, the foundational principles are still there for viewers to identify with. But when it comes to team play and taking out the enemy, it is important to coordinate with your unit in order to succeed.

In fact, some of the participants are former members of the JSDF and contribute their personal experiences to the game. But like in real life online military gaming, some people can take it too far when people threaten to get physical due to the adrenaline rush of immersing themselves into their roles. While Gun Gale Online takes place in the comparatively safe world of virtual reality, it still manages to capture a unique kind of intensity and high that feels like the real thing.

So you’re a typical Japanese businessman, you’re an atheist, and you die only to be proven wrong. Yeah, you’re probably going to Hell for not believing in God but as a final chance, God, or Being X, reincarnates you to an early twentieth century-like magical war zone and gives the body of Tanya, a young Germanic lady. And if you can’t have the young lady die a natural death (and/or acknowledge the existence of God), then you’re going to suffer in Hell forever and ever for being an atheist. So what’s the plan? Rise through the brass and avoid the front lines!

Despite being a little girl, Tanya is a competent and manipulative commander. She is politically savvy and knows her way around the system. Some say business and the military go hand-in-hand. In fact, a lot of big-time businessmen tend to take inspiration from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and Tanya in her previous life as a businessman probably did the same. On the same token, some famous businessmen come from military backgrounds as well. FedEx was founded by a veteran of the US Marine Corps, as was the founder of GoDaddy. As shown throughout the series, Tanya not only knows the structure but how to be an efficient battlefield strategist as well. So if you think businessmen can be competent military commanders, then try this series.

In order to maintain security within and outside the walls, you’re going to need some sort of security or military force. In the world of Attack on Titan, the walled cities have three special active units – the Survey Corps, the Garrison Regiment, and the Military Police Brigade. But before anyone can officially join, they must take part in some basic training or boot camp through the Training Corps. Try to think of that training arc of the series as akin to that basic training scene from Full Metal Jacket. Like in real life military units, people form cliques and it can get competitive for the sake to prove who he is the alpha male/female. In basic training, the cast members are taught how to use their three-dimensional maneuvering gear, the weaknesses of a titan, and the basics in mixed martial arts.

Upon completion of training, the top 10 graduates have the option of joining the Military Police Brigade, where they can enjoy the safety of the most inner walls. However, the top 10 of this series decide to join the Survey Corps, where they can venture outside the walls and fight the Titans first hand. As for the Garrison Regiment, they work guard duty within the walls and act as the defense while the Survey Corps is the offense.

A lot of fans and critics can agree on one thing in relation to Gate, it’s an unapologetic love letter to Japan’s military, the Japan Self Defense Force, or the JSDF for short. Considering that the original creator was previously in the JSDF, it is rather obvious it goes to that extremity. However, it has also been a source of controversy.

In regards to present Prime Minister Abe’s desires to expand its military might at the expense of Article 9 of Japan’s constitution which denounces war, many domestic and international accuse Gate of being propaganda due to its portrayal of the JSDF as being heroes as they kick ass in an alternate dimension. Considering some of the extreme measures that the JSDF do in the alternate dimension that relates to modern warfare, these concerns are understandable. While the images of the characters have been used in recruiting posters in recent years, some can agree it might send the wrong message on an international scale.

In a world where the witches endanger people, a group of peacekeepers known as Inquisitors are tasked with protecting the people by using non-violent means. If someone wishes to be an inquisitor, they can join the Taimadou Gakuen or the Anti-Magic Academy. Like some of our anime listed here, Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai is unquestionably unorthodox but still manages to capture a unique spirit that is in-tune with military traditions of honor and unity. Takeru is a platoon leader that is always doing his best to look out for his soldiers. Oka, on the other hand, has to learn how to put aside her personal vendettas and do what’s best for her team.

As for the rest of the team, you got a sniper, an engineer, and a magician. As you watch this anime, you learn how Takeru has to deal with his team individually and as a unit so he can make them be all they can be. Like all soldiers, the cast here does have their personal issues and complexes, but they all learn to put that aside in order to be dependent on each other when it counts.

Forget high school sports like football and baseball, or quidditch from Harry Potter for all that matter. What if you could go to school and participate in tank warfare by using old German tanks? Well, that’s pretty much what you got in Girls & Panzer. Despite much reluctance, Miho joins her school’s tank team due to coming from a family of experts in tank warfare. And if her school doesn’t win the national championship, the school will shut down. This anime shows how each character contributes based on their role from being a commander to how a spy can change the outcome of the game.

While the characters and the school in Girls & Panzer aren’t officially military in nature, the concept of the anime brings viewers into that kind of world of military structure and how a unit has to function. Though the games play a part but the relationship building and the character development are what define the qualities of this anime in context of being military in nature.

What makes this anime very unique is that despite the external conflict being the drive of this series, a lot of the internal workings within both the Free Planets Alliance and the Galactic Empire are a significant reason why it qualifies for this list. In this series, you see how the respective successes of Wen-li and Reinhardt are of significance to the sides they represent, but also how it hurts the reputations of their superior officers who only care about their positions. The series shows how their militaries respectfully function and how the two main leads rise within their ranks and gain followers and detractors.

While Reinhardt’s initial motivations to join the military is to one day become the absolute monarch, Wen-li, on the other hand, joins because he wouldn’t have to pay tuition for college. This is also true with military academies in the US. In fact, a good number of Americans join the US military for GI Bill benefits, which includes getting one’s college tuition paid for at the expense of Uncle Sam. This quality as to why some people join the military for these reasons is why LOGH is still a relevant series to this very day.

In the latest addition to the Macross franchise, we have Delta. In comparison to other military anime listed here, Delta focuses on a contracting unit as opposed to an official government sanctioned one. In contrast to official military units, private contractors have a bit more flexibility and can be seen as more expendable. Even so, this anime proves that it doesn’t change the nature of that when one serves, it is for a country whether it is their homeland or an ally. In some instances, service is motivated by blind patriotism such as the case for the Aerial Knights for the Kingdom of Windemere, while Hayate wants to uphold a family tradition and prove something to himself.

And what makes Delta unique to other military anime is that the Delta Flight Squadron provides back up to Walkure, an idol unit that uses their singing talents to calm down the aggressions of a prominent virus. So if you want some military action with a flavor of Japanese idol singing, Delta is certainly one of those unique anime to check out.

Taking place during the events of the first Gundam series, this series focuses on the titular unit, the 08th MS team. While you see them out on the battlefield always defying the odds, the series focuses on how they form as a unit. Shiro is an idealistic platoon lieutenant who commands a group of motley crew soldiers with realistic issues. One member is Sanders, who many soldiers call a curse because he’s the lone survivor of previous units he has been assigned to. But thanks to the support of Shiro, Karen, and the rest of the team, they show that Sanders is truly not a curse as they survive mission after mission.

In addition, the series gives you a chance to learn more about some of the team members as individuals. With Michel, you are constantly reminded that he has a fiancee waiting for him and is always writing letters to her. For Eledore, the team’s sound analyst, he wishes to one day become a successful musician. On the Zeon side, you learn about the family dynamic of Aina, her brother Sahalin, and Norris’ paternal relationship with her. What makes this list number one is that this anime masterfully demonstrates that in the end, military units are pretty much family.