The 15 best animated series on Netflix right now

Arcane (2021–2024)

Video game adaptations don’t have the best track record, but Arcane bucks the trend. Based on the League of Legends universe, the series pleased fans while remaining accessible to newcomers.

The story primarily follows orphaned sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Powder/Jinx (Ella Purnell), who get caught in the clash between a wealthy utopia and its oppressed underbelly. Beyond the complex world-building and cinematic action, Arcane‘s stunning visuals blend hand-painting with 2D and 3D animation, making the series look like a living, breathing canvas.

Where to watch Arcane: Netflix

Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Katie Leung, Kevin Alejandro, Harry Lloyd

Archer (2009–2023)

This carefully stylized adult series parodies Cold War-era spy thrillers and the over-sexed, impossibly lucky, gun-toting antiheroes who populate them. Imagine James Bond meets Mad Men meets The Naked Gun, with filthy martinis and even filthier mouths. H. Jon Benjamin voices the titular Sterling Archer, who works for his own mother’s (Jessica Walter) spy agency, affording him ample opportunity to work out his (rather intense) mommy issues. 

Archer‘s jokes and bullets are rapid-fire, with long-running callbacks rewarding binge-watchers and loyal fans. Meanwhile, the sharp dialogue and elaborately convoluted missions take full advantage of the genre trappings.

Where to watch Archer: Netflix

Cast: H. Jon Benjamin, Jessica Walter, Aisha Tyler, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer, Amber Nash, Lucky Yates

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008)

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony; then everything changed when that blue alien movie came out. Okay, not really: This Avatar concerns Aang, a plucky young airbender who can control all four elements. The last of his kind, he teams up with Katara and Sokka to save the world from the tyrannical clutches of the Fire Nation.

Avatar: The Last Airbender garnered wide acclaim for its world-building and storytelling. (Forget the unforgivable M. Night Shyamalan live-action movie.) The sequel series, The Legend of Korra (2012–2014), is set 70 years after Avatar.

Where to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender: Netflix

Cast: Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack De Sena, Dante Basco, Mark Hamill

Big Mouth (2017–2025)

This Emmy-winning coming-of-age show recently concluded its eighth and final season, making it one of Netflix’s longest-running scripted series. Nick Kroll co-created the raunchy comedy, which explores puberty, sexuality, and the never-ending embarrassments of adolescence. 

Set in the world’s horniest middle school, Big Mouth is a raw, unfiltered look at sexual education with real emotional honesty. Kroll voices several characters, accompanied by John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, and Maya Rudolph as Connie the Hormone Monstress.

Where to watch Big Mouth: Netflix

Cast: Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, Jason Mantzoukas, Jenny Slate, Ayo Edebiri

Blue Eye Samurai (2023–present)

This landmark animated series showcases a brutal, blood-soaked revenge story set in Japan’s Edo period. Lauded for its poetic visuals and sophisticated storytelling, it brings a comparatively rare level of cinematic gravitas to adult animation.

Blue Eye Samurai follows Mizu (Maya Erskine), a blue-eyed child of a Japanese woman and an illegal white foreigner. Seen as a monster and raised in shame and secrecy, she adopts a male persona, trains as a master swordsman, and goes on a quest for vengeance. Evocative brush strokes accentuate the show’s heightened visual style, which enhances its impressive fight choreography and Japanese aesthetics.

Where to watch Blue Eye Samurai: Netflix

Cast: Maya Erskine, Brenda Song, Randall Park, George Takei, Kenneth Branagh, Masi Oka

BoJack Horseman (2014–2020)

It may be a cartoon about anthropomorphized animals in a showbiz funhouse mirror called “Hollywoo,” but BoJack Horseman isn’t afraid to go dark. Like dark dark. BoJack (Will Arnett) is a washed-up ’90s sitcom star trying to get his s— together while navigating the truths and consequences of his many fraught relationships — familial, paternal, romantic, business, and otherwise.

Tackling weighty issues like depression, addiction, exploitation, and three kids stacked on top of each other in a trenchcoat, this satire takes pleasure in firing off as many dumb puns as possible, while plumbing the depths of severe personal pain.

Where to watch BoJack Horseman: Netflix

Cast: Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Aaron Paul, Paul F. Tompkins, Kristen Schaal, J.K. Simmons

Death Note (2006–2007)

Not since the days of Lisa Frank stationery has a notebook had such a chokehold on students. This supernatural thriller follows a high schooler, Light, who discovers a book that has the power to kill anyone whose name is written on its pages. Under the alias “Kira,” he takes justice into his own hands, using the notebook to take out criminals in an attempt to eradicate crime.

Of course, power corrupts, and the anime explores how that truth impacts our naive, over-confident antihero. Death Note is about what happens when good intentions face irreparable consequences.

Where to watch Death Note: Netflix

Cast: Brad Swaile, Alessandro Juliani, Brian Drummond, Cathy Weseluck

The Dragon Prince (2018–2024)

Fans looking to scratch their Last Airbender itch will be pleased to know Avatar’s head writer, Aaron Ehasz, co-created another show that’s akin to Game of Thrones for a younger audience. The Dragon Prince follows Prince Callum, his younger brother Ezran (who can communicate with animals), and an elf named Rayla. The trio journey across a sprawling magical world to return a secret dragon egg and prevent war from encompassing the continent.

The series balances magic and humor while taking a serious approach to emotional growth and political turmoil, as our heroes battle dragons and their inner demons. The fourth season shifted the timeline and rebranded as Dragon Prince: Mystery of Aaravos, launching a new multi-season arc that ended with its seventh and final season.

Where to watch The Dragon Prince: Netflix

Cast: Jack De Sena, Paula Burrows, Sasha Rojen

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009–2010)

Based on one of the best-selling manga ever, this anime faithfully adapts its source into an epic sci-fi/fantasy series that has become a cultural touchstone. In a world where Alchemy is the dominant science, the Elric brothers seek the philosopher’s stone to restore their bodies. But an attempt to resurrect their mother goes haywire, costing Edward a couple of limbs and leaving Alphonse’s soul bound within a suit of armor.

Though shōnen-style anime is typically aimed at adolescent boys, Brotherhood transcends expectations, creating an emotionally mature story exploring sacrifice, morality, and redemption.

Where to watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood: Netflix

Cast: Vic Mignogna, Maxey Whitehead, Travis Willingham, Caitlin Glass

Related content: The best anime on Netflix right now

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020)

While most post-apocalyptic stories are bleak, barren, high-octane wasteland wars, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts takes a kid-friendly approach to its surreal landscape. When her underground human burrow is attacked, Kipo braves the surface world to rescue her father while battling “mutes” like Mod Frogs and befriending Timbercats. All the while, she’s hiding a secret that she’s part mutant, capable of transforming into a giant pink Jaguar creature.

Kipo’s lauded LGBTQ+ representation is fitting for a show that dives into identity issues and self-acceptance via a colorful milieu of shapeshifting mutants.

Where to watch Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Netflix

Cast: Karen Fukuhara, Dan Stevens, Sydney Mikayla, Coy Stewart, Dee Bradley Baker, Deon Cole

Love, Death & Robots (2019–present)

Masterminded by directors David Fincher and Tim Miller (Deadpool), this anthology evolved from the pair’s desire to reboot the 1981 film Heavy Metal. After years of false starts, Netflix finally greenlit the series and gave the two filmmakers carte blanche. Encompassing sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and satire, each episode features a different animation style while adapting works from celebrated genre writers.

There’s a thrill to seeing installments like “The Witness,” with boundary-pushing visuals that feel uncannily close to live-action. Then there’s the dialogue-free “Jibaro,” built on sound design and silent techniques in depicting the hypnotic connection between a deaf knight and a siren.

Where to watch Love, Death & Robots: Netflix

Cast: Chris Parnell, Seth Green, Debra Wilson, Dan Stevens, Fred Tatasciore

The Midnight Gospel (2020)

When Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward announced his follow-up animated endeavor, few could have predicted the absurdist aberration and psychedelic fever dream that would follow. Using real interviews from comedian Duncan Trussel’s podcast as dialogue, the show blends those conversations with surreal, trippy, occasionally gory visuals.

The Midnight Gospel is laced with philosophical and spiritual inquiries as its lead character, Clancy, travels the multiverse interviewing bizarre inhabitants of dying planets. Without spoiling anything, the climax builds to a cathartic crescendo that will resonate long after the episode ends.

Where to watch The Midnight Gospel: Netflix

EW grade: A (read the review)

Cast: Duncan Trussell, Phil Hendrie, Stephen Root, Maria Bamford

Naruto (2002–2007)

With a whopping 220 episodes, the first part of this anime follows the popular manga’s Naruto Uzumaki. A misfit orphan raised in Hidden Leaf Village, he embarks on an underdog’s journey from outcast to powerful ninja. Having discovered he’s the physical host of Kurama, a nine-tailed fox demon, Naruto must undertake a series of dangerous missions while fighting his inner turmoil and mythic external forces.

The series also consists of a second part, Naruto: Shippuden, and a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Considered a gateway anime, Naruto introduced an entire new generation to the artform. It has become a rite of passage in anime fandom, a fashion icon for headband lovers, and a champion of awkward running.

Where to watch Naruto: Netflix

Cast: Maile Flanagan, Kate Higgins, Yuri Lowenthal

Pokémon: Indigo League (1998–1999)

Gotta Watch ’Em All. If you’re feeling nostalgic for a ’90s fix, Pokémon: Indigo League is the original anime that helped launch an entire generation’s obsession with hoarding pocket monsters long before Labubus were a thing.

The origin story follows trainer Ash and his companion Pikachu as he thwarts Team Rocket on his quest to become a Pokémon Master. Based on the video games, this global phenomenon evolved into highly sought-after trading cards, manga, spinoff series, animated features, and the live-action Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) with a wise-cracking Ryan Reynolds as the famous furry sidekick.

Where to watch Pokémon: Indigo League: Netflix

Cast: Veronica Taylor, Ikue Ōtani, Rachael Lillis, Eric Stuart, Nathan Price

Scavengers Reign (2023)

Based on the short film Scavengers (2016), this adult sci-fi series follows a crew of survivors stranded on a dangerous alien planet with a bizarre ecosystem. It’s no longer survival of the fittest; the characters must adapt both physically and psychologically to living in this eerie new environment.

What stands out about Scavengers Reign is just how otherworldly the planet Vesta feels. Sporting a minimalist, hand-drawn aesthetic, the show is richly detailed, leaning into a visual language that’s both immersive and isolating, complemented by a haunting soundtrack. Existential and original, it’s a show about space that gives new meaning to the term breathtaking.

Where to watch Scavengers Reign: Netflix

Cast: Sunita Mani, Wunmi Mosaku, Alia Shawkat, Bob Stephenson