Netflix was founded in 1997. It started as a DVD rental company, but it has since gone on to become the biggest streaming service in the world. The platform offers hundreds of TV shows, movies, and documentaries, and, over the last couple of years, the Netflix anime catalog has expanded considerably.
The anime industry is filled with detailed stories that feature well-written characters and unique locations. Netflix has developed several of its own anime series, and, for the most part, they have been pretty good. Aside from its own original series, Netflix also offers well over a dozen pre-existing anime, and, although its catalog is vast, the best anime on Netflix stand above the rest in terms of quality and storytelling.
Updated on September 2, 2024, by MArk Sammut: Netflix has a massive selection of anime that is constantly growing (Summer 2024 added a few to the catalog). Terminator Zero just released on the streaming service, and while not likely to go down as an all-time great, it is a respectable entry in the sci-fi franchise. However, it is not quite one of the best Netflix anime.
19 Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (2023)
A Great Addition To The Zombie Anime Genre
The first season of Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead ended in December, and every episode is currently available on Netflix. The series centers around Akira Tendo – a man in his early 20s who feels overworked and underpaid. One day Akira wakes up and discovers that Tokyo has been hit by a sudden zombie apocalypse.
The world as he knew it has collapsed, but Akira loves not going to work and does his best to enjoy his newfound freedom. He even makes a bucket list of 100 things to do before he becomes a zombie. Zom 100 has a dark concept and plenty of horror moments, but it is a vibrant series with good action and characters.
18 Uncle From Another World (2022)
A Wholesome Series With Clean Animation
Uncle from Another World is set in modern-day Japan, and it follows Takafumi Takaoka – who goes to the hospital to pick up his uncle. The uncle was hit by a truck and spent the last 17 years in a coma. However, according to him, he was actually in another world where he learned how to use magic.
Takafumi agrees to let his uncle move in with him, and in doing so, he reconnects with his childhood friend, Sumika. The two friends help the uncle to adjust to modern society, and they get to watch his memories from the other world. Uncle from Another World is a fun Isekai anime with wholesome moments, and the animation is clean.
17 Beastars (2019)
A Fun Story That Deals With Cultural Divides
Beastars’ first season debuted in February 2019, and it was adapted by Orange, a studio that specializes in 3DCG animation. It is set in a world filled with anthropomorphic animals, and it mainly focuses on a tall gray wolf named, Legoshi. He attends Cherryton Academy, and he stays in a dorm with other carnivores.
Things turn upside down when an alpaca named Tem is killed and eaten in the middle of the night. This obviously causes issues between the carnivores and herbivores. Legoshi is part of the drama club, and he takes it upon himself to solve Tem’s death. He ends up meeting a rabbit named Haru along the way, and he develops feelings for her.
16 Kakegurui (2017)
A Well Written Series That Delves Into The World Of Gambling
Kakegurui debuted on Netflix in 2017, and it focuses on an interesting high school girl named, Yumeko Jabami. She may not be a femme fatale, but Yumeko does have a trait that sets her apart from most female anime characters: she is a compulsive gambler.
The anime kicks off with Yumeko transferring to Hyakkaou Private Academy, a school with an elaborate gambling system. All the other students gamble to improve their social and economic status, and the losers become servants to the rest of the student body. Yumeko gambles for fun, and she doesn’t worry about logic. Her keen observation skills allow her to identify gambling scams.
15 The Seven Deadly Sins (2014)
A Fun Action Series With Good Characters & Dark Themes
The Seven Deadly Sins are a group of Holy Knights who serve the Kingdom of Liones, and the anime’s first season sees the majority of the group reassemble after being framed for an attempted coup a decade earlier. The series features gods, demons, angels, giants, and fairies.
The series spans 100 episodes, and it features multiple battles between very powerful characters. The fight scenes are entertaining, and there is a war near the end of the series that offers several surprises. Aside from the action, the series has a fair bit of comedy, and it doesn’t shy away from darker themes either. Unfortunately, The Seven Deadly Sins loses quite a bit of steam in its later seasons, suffering from a convoluted plot and inconsistent animation.
14 Fate/Apocrypha (2017)
A Good Story With Battles That Feature Some Of History’s Strongest Heroes
The Fate series revolves around various Holy Grail Wars. Each war features powerful mages who summon legendary heroes from history. These servants fight and kill each other until only one hero and master remains. The winners get their wishes granted by the Grail. Fate/Apocrypha is unique because it pits two warring mage factions against each other, and both sides get to summon seven heroic servants.
The mages can all use some level of magic, and every heroic spirit possesses magic and enchanted weapons of their own. Fate/Apocrypha features some of the strongest characters in the franchise, including Vlad the Impaler, Achilles, Atalanta, Frankenstien’s Monster, Karna, and Mordred. The animation is superb, and several of the battles clearly had high production costs. The characters all benefit from being well-written too.
13 Baki (2018) + Baki Hanma (2021)
Features Over-The-Top Characters & Martial Arts
Baki the Grappler began its manga run in 1991, and in 2018 Netflix released an anime that covers the second half of the series. The story focuses on Baki Hanma, a young fighter who trains to become a powerful warrior like his father.
The series focuses on five inmates who break out of prison, and they all head to Japan to fight Baki in a series of no-rules hand-to-hand brawls. The animation is spectacular, and the action sequences are intense, especially since the fighters are capable of performing unnatural physical feats. The final season ended this past August, and it was just as over-the-top as the previous seasons.
Baki
and
Baki Hanma
both have 39 episodes.
12 Kengan Ashura
A High-Octane Martial Arts Anime With Non-Stop Great Action
Little separates Baki and Kengan Ashura in terms of quality, and the shows are seen as something of a double feature (to the point of spawning a crossover). That said, the latter is arguably more consistent, at least when it comes to pure action. Kengan Ashura revolves around an underground tournament that pits businesses against each other, with each organization choosing a fighter to represent them. While not devoid of political shenanigans, the anime almost solely consists of fights, with each episode revolving around one specific round.
Although not exactly deep, Kengan Ashura is an absolute thrill ride that barely has anything resembling a dull moment. Once the tournament gets going, which happens fairly early in season 1, the story never lets off, delivering one great (and brutal) fight after another.
11 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Great Characters, Worldbuilding & Animation
Cyberpunk 2077 had a rocky launch, but it is now a well-made game set in a fun new world. Fans of the series returned to that world in September 2022 with the premiere of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. The first season received a great deal of praise for its characters, animation, and worldbuilding.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners comes from Studio Trigger, which is responsible for series like Kill la Kill and Darling in the Franxx. It follows David Martinez, a young street kid who is just trying to live in a city obsessed with tech and body modifications. In doing so, he decides to become an outlaw mercenary. There won’t be a second season because it was meant to be a standalone story.
10 Demon Slayer (2019)
Stunning Visuals & Action Scenes
Demon Slayer offers stunning visuals and great characters, which is why it took the anime world by storm in 2019. The story focuses on Tanjiro Kamado, a teenage boy who joins the Demon Slayer Corps in order to find a cure for his sister’s demon curse. The series shows just how strong the bond between siblings really is, and it has quite a few action scenes.
The demons are humans who gave up their humanity in exchange for power and long life, but the series does a fantastic job of making audiences care about these villains, who are all tragic in some way. Demon Slayer‘s animation and fight scenes took a major leap forward in season two, and they have continued to improve with each additional season. The Hashira and Upper Moon Demons prove just how strong they are, and Muzan gets to demonstrate how terrifying he is.
Netflix has the first three
Demon Slayer
seasons, but not 2024’s
Hashira Training Arc
.
9 Violet Evergarden (2018)
A Character-Driven & Thought-Provoking Anime
Violet Evergarden focuses on an Auto Memory Doll named Violet who works as a ghostwriter for people who are physically unable to write or express themselves. Before being a doll, Violet was an abandoned child who became a skilled soldier who fought in a large-scale war. Over the course of the series, Violet tries to reintegrate back into society, but viewers get to see just how hard such a task is for someone dealing with survivor’s guilt.
Mostly telling small-scale stories, Violet Evergarden is a powerful drama that explores the aftermath of war, diving into various people who are trying to piece their lives back together. While not every episode is of the same quality, at its peak, Violet Evergarden might be the best anime on Netflix.
8 Death Note (2006)
One Of The Best Psychological & Supernatural Anime
There are multiple live-action adaptations of Death Note, but most fans consider the 37-episode anime to be the best adaptation of the story. It also happens to be one of the best anime on Netflix thanks to its unique premise. Light Yagami starts off as an ordinary high school student, but when he discovers a Death Note on the ground, his entire life changes.
Related
Best Anime By Madhouse, Ranked
Madhouse is one of the most successful animation studios, with an impressive selection of popular anime series.
When a person’s name is written in the notebook, they will either die of a heart attack or from a specific cause which is also written down. Light uses this ability to kill criminals, and he does this to create a world without crime. These murders draw the attention of a world-renowned detective, and what follows is a spectacular game of cat and mouse.
7 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (2012)
Focuses On A Family That Deals With Supernatural Threats
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has a fairly unique art style that may not be appealing to everyone, but it is definitely a series that deserves a watch as it is one of the best anime on Netflix. The show does not center around one specific character, instead, it follows several members of the Joestar family. Their names can usually be abbreviated to “JoJo.”
This universe mirrors the viewer’s own, except for the fact that it is home to several supernatural beings and abilities. There have been eight JoJos in total, and each of them has led very different lives until the need to combat supernatural beings arises. So far, the anime has covered the first five parts, all of which are available on Netflix. More excitingly, The entire STONE OCEAN Arc, which features the first female JoJo, is also available.
6 One Piece
An Epic Shonen Journey Built Over Decades And More Than 1000 Episodes
What is there still to be said about One Piece? Eiichiro Oda’s manga is an institution by this point, and Toei’s animation adaptation has been airing consistently for roughly two decades. The Straw Hats are iconic by this point, and their escapades will be remembered long after the story comes to an end (which, believe it or not, will eventually happen).
Netflix has become an oddly great place to consume One Piece. Not only is the full anime series available on the platform, but the live-action adaptation is also part of the platform’s library. It was even good enough to warrant a second season, which nobody predicted before its debut. Admittedly, it is difficult to convince anyone to start a show with 1000+ episodes, but One Piece captivates audiences thanks to its great world-building, lovable characters, and addictive sense of adventure.
5 Hunter X Hunter (2011)
An Entertaining Shonen Series With One Of Anime’s Best Power Systems
Many consider Hunter x Hunter to be one of the best shonen anime of all time, and it certainly deserves to be on that list. The series follows a young Hunter named, Gon Freecss, who meets a lot of friends and villains while searching for his father, Ging. His best friend Killua was raised to be an assassin, and his friend Kurapika is out to destroy the criminal group that wiped out his clan.
The series has a lot of light-hearted moments, but it does become violent and dark when it needs to be. Most of the characters fight with Nen, which is basically their life energy, and it happens to be one of anime’s more complex yet balanced powers.
4 Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You
A Beautiful Love Story
It took more than a decade, but Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You finally received a continuation; furthermore, season 3 might be the best one yet, which is saying something. At its heart, this anime is a fairly conventional “opposite attracts” story with a hint of “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but those themes are mostly just there to get things going.
Before long, Kimi ni Todoke becomes a cute slice of life romance about two charming teenagers who are taking the slow road to a relationship. The series was worth watching even when only two seasons were available, but the revival makes it far easier to recommend. All three seasons are on Netflix too.
3 Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)
An Iconic & Critically Acclaimed Sci-Fi Series
Neon Genesis Evangelion is set fifteen years after a global cataclysm, and a teenager by the name of Shinji Ikari is forced to fight colossal monsters known as Angels. He uses a special bio-machine called Evangelion, and he encounters other pilots as well. He forms bonds with them, and secrets are eventually revealed.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a critically acclaimed series that deals with human behavior and the dark aspects of the human mind. It also takes a great deal of imagery from cosmology and older interpretations of the Jewish and Christian faiths. The fights are good, and the character work is excellent, but more importantly, it is one of the best thought-provoking anime of all time.
2 Vinland Saga (2019)
An Amazing Historic Anime With Amazing Characters & Writing
Vinland Saga is animated by Wit Studio, the studio that animated the first three seasons of Attack on Titan. The story centers around Thorfinn, the son of a former Viking commander who wishes to see the paradise known as Vinland. One day, a Viking comes to their home and enlists Thorfinn’s father, but the Viking’s actual goal is to have his father killed.
Thorfinn sneaks onto his father’s ship and watches his father die at the hands of Askeladd. He vows to avenge his father, and he wishes to do so by defeating Askeladd in a duel. The series has a good amount of action and bloodshed, and the animation is impressive. There is a good amount of politics in the series, and it shows how revenge can turn a sweet young boy into a rabid killing machine. The entire second season is also available on Netflix, and it features incredible character development for Thorfinn, who is now trying to live a normal life free of revenge.
1 Monster (2004)
Arguably The Best Mystery Anime Of All Time
Monster is a psychological thriller that is considered to be one of the best anime of the mid-2000s. For many, it is also one of the best mystery anime of all time. The acclaimed series is set in the modern day, and it follows Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a young brain surgeon who loses his social standing when he saves a young boy instead of the local mayor.
A decade later, one of his former patients turns out to be a serial killer, and he takes it upon himself to stop the killings. Johan Liebert proves to be one of the most manipulative and sadistic villains in anime, and the voice acting is stellar. Monster may be dark, but it is a beautiful and complex series with great characters and fantastic pacing.
