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Mainly I'm recommending Scavengers Reign because not only is it a top sci-fi concept, but it's also the best animated series of the year, rivaling or topping Primal or Invincible in visual attraction and complexity. A bunch of survivors crash land in various pods on an alien planet with an almost infinite variety of native lifeforms, and they must make their way back to the ship, which has also crashed and still contains a bunch of other humans in cryosleep.
I think this story has been done somewhere before (frankly it reads like a very 1970s concept), but I can't remember where. It doesn't matter - there's so much eye-opening originality to this series anyway.
Remember how fantastic the world-building was in Valerian (even though the acting was extremely lackluster) and how visually resplendent it was?
Like that, but in animation, made in America but it looks it's from Europe. Detailed attention to the creatures of this world is off the charts. Compare also to Fantastic Planet and the works of comic book legend Moebius, or the detailed bestiaries of Dark Crystal and Love & Monsters.
The story runs a little slow but then again there's so much to see visually along the way, along with figuring out the extremely complex way in which the creatures of this world, Vesta Prime, all fit in with each other like a intricate puzzle.
Casting-wise, there's a bit of "diversity out front", as the most prominent lead character (the one placed on much of the publicity) is a black lesbian, but she's no Mary Sue - she goes through a whole bunch of hardships which test her mettle, and also her 'metal', as she has a trusty robot companion who is apparently not what he seems (he may have been reprogrammed by the planet itself!). He takes his lickings and keeps on ticking. I'm not sure why the other survivors don't also have companion robots.
Also, it looks like the women are the smart ones in the story: the lesbian 'bad ass' knows how to grow crops, battle creatures, and fix bikes; the nerdy woman with the glasses is an expert at robotics and machines; the third one with the brown skin and slight build (Ursula) is intensely curious about biology and the nature of the planet's organisms and will probably be the one coming up with an important conclusion about the planet that will 'save' the ship's crew later on (or something like that). The two dudes, on the other hand, basically just want to hack-slash their way across the planet or kill things, and they seem insecure and unable to operate without the women. You get to the point where you assume this kind of stuff is intentional in the storytelling, not simply by accident.
The one extreme peril scene which I thought was amazing was actually more akin to body horror transformation, happening to a female protagonist. It's in Episode 3 (I've watched all three current episodes so far) if you want to check it out. There's no sex, or anything that's really sexy, not to say it couldn't happen later on.
Highly recommend for everyone to check out who likes top-notch sci-fi and incredible animation. (like beyond Studio Ghibli level, really!)
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