Just humble's fangirl journal

Inspired by this list, I decided to make my own compilation of media that influenced the Xenoblade and Xeno-series in general. I haven’t personally read or watched all of these works, but I based the list on the literature and films that inspired Tetsuya Takahashi, since he’s always been open about the art and media that shaped his writing. So this is more of a guesswork list built around his known influences and preferences. The list will probably grow over time, and I might be missing some titles—feel free to add suggestions in the comments!

Most of this list comes from works Takahashi and Soraya mentioned either in interviews, on social media, or directly cited as references. Some are also things fans picked up on, such as, similar themes, storytelling styles, or references across the Xenoblade and broader Xeno series. I also added media Takahashi probably grew up with, which is why you’ll see a lot of old-school classics in literature, anime, and movies. He’s said he doesn’t really watch much modern stuff, he prefers older works to modern ones. Many of these share thematic or narrative parallels with Xeno. While the influences are mostly sci-fi, both Takahashi and Soraya have also drawn inspiration from non-sci-fi works, and fans have spotted those references within the Xeno framework as well.

I’m putting this compilation together in hopes that other Xeno fans who want to understand Xenoblade’s philosophy and inspirations will have an easier time discovering the works that influenced Tetsuya Takahashi & Soraya Saga. For nonfiction sources (like psychology, ideology, or gnosticism), I’ll just list the themes rather than specific titles since there are too many to cover—but if I do read any of those books myself, I’ll add them to the list in the future.



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