The Best Anime and Animated Series on Netflix

What are the best anime and animated TV series on Netflix? The 12 titles below features the voice talents of John Mulaney, H. Jon Benjamin, Judy Greer, Mamoru Miyano, Romi Park, Rie Kugimiya, Bella Ramsey, Megumi Ogata, Makoto Furukawa, Yui Ishikawa, and Tatiana Maslany. Nick Kroll and Duncan Trussell not only lend their voices, but they are co-creators too on their respective series. The TV shows below also come from the minds of Gorō Taniguchi, Ichirō Ōkouchi, Tetsurō Araki, Yasuhiro Irie, Luke Pearson, Hideaki Anno, Tomohiro Suzuki, Reiko Yoshida, Adam Reed, and Guillermo del Toro.

You will find some more animated TV shows in our list of best TV series. If you’re looking for more TV series on Netflix, we’ve recommendations for some select other genres as well that you should check out.

The Best TV Series on Netflix

The Best Comedy Series on Netflix

The Best Comedy-Drama Series on Netflix

1. Archer (2009 – Present)

   The suave, titular spy and his colleagues at an intelligence agency spend more time bickering with each other than they do solving cases. Evolved in later years to take on an anthology format, allowing the adult animated series to experiment with new settings and new characteristics for its ensemble.

2. Big Mouth (2017 – Present)

   A bunch of middle schoolers navigate the wonders and horrors of puberty in this adult animated comedy, with ‘hormone monsters’ serving as over-sexualised shoulder angels that personify their thoughts and fears. A Netflix original.

3. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (2006 – 2012)

   In an alternate timeline where the all-powerful Holy Britannian Empire has conquered Japan, this anime follows a teenager bestowed with the power to make anyone obey himself, as he sets out to take revenge and put an end to the tyranny.

4. Death Note (2006 – 2007)

   In this Japanese anime, a high school student starts to erase those who he deems unworthy after coming into possession of a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone by simply writing their name in it, prompting an elite police force to find and stop him.

5. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009 – 2010)

   This faithful adaptation of the famous manga centres on two brothers looking for a Philosopher’s Stone to restore their bodies after a failed experimental attempt to resurrect their mother goes awry. But they’re not the only ones after the stone.

6. Hilda (2018 – Present)

   A fearless, blue-haired girl (Bella Ramsey) moves from her home in the wilderness to a bustling city that feels like it’s in late 20th-century Scandinavia, where she befriends humans and monsters alike. A Netflix original.

7. The Midnight Gospel (2020 – Present)

   From the creator of Adventure Time, an adult animated series about a space caster (Duncan Trussell) — a podcaster in space — who travels the universe using his malfunctioning universe simulator to interview people living in dying worlds. Podcast material comes from Trussell’s actual podcast. A Netflix original.

8. Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995 – 1996)

   In this beloved anime that ended quite controversially, a teenage boy, living in post-apocalyptic times, is pushed by his father to join an elite team of pilots who operate giant mechs and battle giant extraterrestrial evil forces. For a parallel ending, try the 1997 movie The End of Evangelion, also on Netflix.

9. One-Punch Man (2015 – Present)

   Saitama, a superhero who can defeat any enemy with a single punch, seeks a worthy opponent as he battles boredom and depression in this Japanese anime.

10. Steins;Gate (2011)

    A self-proclaimed “mad scientist” chances upon time travel in this short-lived anime series, and then must journey through time and space to battle an evil, international organisation that will do anything to get their hands on the new tech.

11. Tales of Arcadia (2016 – 2021)

    Guillermo del Toro turns his love for monster stories into a trio of animated series for all ages — Trollhunters, 3Below, and Wizards — following a teenage boy who stumbles onto a mystic amulet, two royal teen aliens evading intergalactic bounty hunters, and a secret apprentice embroiled in a time travel saga. Culminates in a movie, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, out in July 2021. A Netflix original.

12. Violet Evergarden (2018 – Present)

    With a ghastly war behind her, a young girl with bionic arms who was raised to be a living weapon, decides to become a ghost-writer as she tries to uncover her past and the meaning of the last words spoken to her by her adoptive father in this anime series. A 13-episode anime followed by a “Violet Evergarden Special” and spin-off film “Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll”, both also on Netflix.