Great Anime Films & Series to Watch on Netflix

Last Updated on July 26, 2023

While anime networks are a dime-a-dozen across the internet, Netflix offers a decent selection of animated films and series from across the pond that could make your eyes pop and your sides hurt while your heart goes pitter-pat. A lot of the very best anime is available on Netflix. Whether you’re into supernatural horror, giant robots, high school romance, slice-of-life drama, fantasy action, or pure comedy, anime is a tour de force of animation while providing a feast for your senses. Below is a rotating list of some of the Best Anime on Netflix. Even if something’s not in your wheelhouse, give it a shot. Variety of the spice of life and anime is a far-reaching medium that often defies expectations.

All the anime films and series listed below are on American Netflix. Enjoy! 

Aggretsuko

Workplace comedies give audiences some of the most relatable laughs that mirror their everyday lives. Now, apply that relatability to a vibrant anime with a cutsie art style, dark humor, and a hardcore black metal soundtrack, and you’ve got Aggretsuko. This delightfully deranged series focuses on Retsuko (Erica Mendez), a 25-year-old red panda navigating the frustrations of her thankless office job. In addition to tolerating her extreme co-workers, an overtly misogynistic boss, and an ever-increasing workload, Retsuko still knows how to party. By day she’s an office grunt, but by night, Retsuko performs death metal at the local karaoke club, exorcising her inner demons and making it through the day.

Aggretsuko is a slightly manic animated series about just trying to make it through the day and avoid becoming the target of a nasty office-related rumor mill. The show’s grim humor pairs increasingly well with the adorable art, and the characters offer a bit of levity for those with unrewarding office jobs.

Arcane: League of Legends

When Riot Games announced an adult animated series adaptation of the mega-popular video game franchise League of Legends was in production, I’m not sure that anyone anticipated the look and quality of the finished product. Arcane: League of Legends is a stylish steampunk action adventure created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee.

Set in Utopian Piltover and the oppressed underground of Zaun, the story follows the origins of two League of Legends champions, Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell), as a bizarre power threatens to tear them apart. Using a unique art style akin to Telltale or Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Arcane invites viewers to a world changed by ancient technology and war for power that threatens the lives of everyone hoping to survive a wicked sea change. Prepare for gorgeous animation, intriguing characters, and action that leaps off the screen. Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with the League of Legends video game. Arcane is an inviting experience for all audiences. Still, it’s got plenty for existing fans of the franchise too. Enjoy!

Bee and Puppycat

Bee is a total space case, and she’s about to meet PuppyCat, a companion who turns her life upside down. Created and written by Natasha Allegri, Bee and PuppyCat shows what happens when normality takes a vacation, and a strange new friend grants you the ability to break reality. Think about Everything Everywhere All At Once’s madness, but with fewer butt-plug battles. Despite meeting a cat-dog hybrid, Bee still has to pay the bills. As Bee fills various temporary job positions, each opportunity thrusts her into strange worlds in outer space.

I’ll warn you now, the Bee and PuppyCat series is weird. Like, really weird. I don’t want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say there’s more Bee and PuppyCat than meets the eye. As the duo defies the laws of reality and travels to distant realms, they encounter a space princess, warlocks, and bizarre characters living among the stars. Beautifully animated, Bee and PuppyCat explodes with imagination, humor, and heart. You never know where the series will take you next, and that’s only the beginning of the fun that awaits you when you watch this excellent series.

Bubble (2022)

There are days when it’s hard to keep your feet on the ground, but in Bubble, everything is about to take off and upend the fabric of reality. After bubbles that disturb the laws of physics rain down on the world, Tokyo becomes a carnival of creative traversal as a new world is born. Children who lost their families rise, find new identities, and discover ways to make a broken city whole again.

Bubble hails from an impressive creative team, including director Tetsuro Araki (Attack on Titan), a script by Gen Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica), character designs by Takeshi Obata (Death Note), and music by Hiroyuki Sawano (Promare), with animation production by Wit Studio (Attack on Titan). Visually mind-blowing, Netflix’s Bubble pushes the limits of modern animation to create an emotionally-impactful tale of exploration, found family, and discovery. 

Castlevania

Humankind might be a miserable pile of secrets, but it’s no mystery that Netflix’s Castlevania is one of the best anime series on the streaming service. Created by Warren Ellis and inspired by the legendary Konami video game franchise, Castlevania unleashes chaos as the supernatural underworld rises from the depths to plunge the world into darkness. Featuring beloved characters from the Castlevania game series, Powerhouse Animation, Mua Film, and Tiger Animation deliver a thrilling recreation of the source material with new twists, ferocious enemies, and dazzling animation perfect for Vampire Hunter D and Boogiepop Phantom fans.

Richard Armitage, James Callis, Alejandra Reynoso, Graham McTavish, Theo James, Adetokumboh M’Cormack, Jaime Murray, Bill Nighy, and Emily Swallow star was new and classic characters, each with a cross to bear as Dracula unleashes hell on a forsaken world. Find a Wall Chicken, don’t fear the Reaper, and enjoy one of the most incredible video game adaptations ever!

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

When Cyberpunk 2077 launched on PC and video game consoles, the game was a buggy, nightmarish failure. However, CD Projekt Red worked around the clock to improve the experience. Eventually, the game exceeded expectations and paved the way for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, an animated series from Studio Trigger. Edgerunners blows the world of Cyberpunk wide open, hacking into what fans love about the mythology and enriching the experience like never before.

Set in Night City, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners presents a world overrun by corruption, cybernetic obsession, gang violence, and class divides that threaten to destroy society overall. Split into six districts, sections of the city war for control, while others fight to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. In Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, a savvy street kid named David defies the law by becoming an “edgerunner,” a high-tech, black-market mercenary looking to change the system. Filled with spectacular animation, and astonishing world design, Edgerunners is partly-responsible for getting gamers to give Cyberpunk 2077 another chance, saving the franchise from ruin. The show packs action, intrigue, and fascinating twists into a stylish package any anime fan is pre-programmed to adore.

High-Rise Invasion

Do you want to see a dead body? Would you like to watch something f*cked up about mysterious killers, an unlikely hero, and enough fan service to satisfy Ikki Tousen and Cat Planet Cuties enthusiasts? Why not give High-Rise Invasion a try?

In this mature anime series, a young girl named Yuri witnesses a masked figure split a man’s head with an axe! Fun, right? As if that’s not scary enough, the killer sets his sights on Yuri. In a strange world of skyscrapers, the only way out is down. The unknown killer’s motivation is also bizarre. They seem to want their victims to commit suicide instead of dying outright. What sort of twisted world is Yuri caught up in? Will she survive? Are there others like her? Will she make friends or become a killer herself? High-Rise Invasion is not for the faint of heart but can be triggering. If you decide to watch this one, please understand there are mature themes throughout. Proceed with caution, and enjoy the ride!

Lookism

People sometimes look in the mirror and don’t like what they see. For Park Hyung Seok, an obese and socially inept high school student, every day is a living nightmare. He’s bullied daily, going home with fresh bruises, leaving his self-image shattered and needing nurturing. After moving to a new school in Seoul for the chance at a fresh start, he wakes up in the body of someone fit, handsome, and, most importantly, different. When Park Hyung is in his new body, his old body sleeps. He can switch bodies by waking the other one up, but life is better when everyone adores you. Why would he ever go back?

Lookism is a comedic drama series about acceptance, discrimination, and the divides between traditionally attractive people and those shunned by society for being less than perfect. As Park Hyung switches between bodies, his life spirals out of control. He’ll need to make significant decisions about who he wants to be and whether or not he can ever be comfortable in his original skin. Lookism is light on action, but it makes up for the lack of explosions and sci-fi shenanigans by telling a poignant story about self-image, worth, accepting who you are, and having the strength to change without cosmic intervention.

Romantic Killer

If you thought we would make it through this entire list without hitting one of the quintessential anime staples, Romance, think again! Romantic Killer is a hilarious, in-your-face romantic comedy about Anzu Hoshino, a single gamer girl living her best life as a chocolate and cat-obsessed otaku. Anzu has no time for or interest in romance. But as she begins playing a poorly programmed 3D otome game, a bizarre flying wizard named Riri emerges from the screen and calls Anzu “subject one,” the first person to experience a real-life dating game harem storyline.

Soon, Anzu is up to her neck in boys, but not as charming or mysterious as Tsukasa Kazuki, the most attractive guy at Anzu’s school. Anzu has no plans to comply with Riri’s manipulative game, but avoiding romance can be impossible, and deep down, Anzu hates to lose.

Romantic Killer is a side-splitting comedy with lively characters, an endearing lead, and art that feels like it leaped right off the manga page. There’s action to enjoy, but at its core, Romantic Killer is for anime fans who live for drama! Grab a warm blanket and a box of your favorite chocolates, and get ready to fall in love!

Super Crooks

Superhero fatigue be damned! We’re bringing Super Crooks to the list! Based on the comic book series by Mark Millar and artist Leinil Francis Yu, Super Crooks shows what happens when a small-time crook hires a group of eight supervillains to execute an unbelievable heist! Exploding off the screen with eye-popping visuals, dynamic camera work, and personality to spare, Super Crooks is an over-the-top ride with superpowers popping off left and right! 

Motonobu Hori makes his solo directorial debut with Super Crooks, with Dai Satō penning the series from Millar’s story. The animation comes from Bones, the same studio responsible for Soul Eater, Wolf’s Rain, Angelic Layer, Scrapped Princess, and more. Watch Super Crooks if you’re in the mood to follow a motley crew of characters into a twisted world of crime, deception, and death-defying antics!

Vampire in the Garden

Sometimes, short-and-sweet is better than an epic excursion with twists and turns. Suppose you’re looking for an anime with over 1,000 episodes, strap in for One Piece, Gundam, or Doraemon. However, if you’re in the market for a five-episode banger overrun with vampires, sink your teeth into Netflix’s Vampire in the Garden. Kellen Goff, Megumi Han, and Xanthe Huynh star in this horror story about a divided world where two girls explore the forbidden. Momo wants to play the violin, but the would-be vampire Queen Fine has other plans.

Wit Studio produces this beautiful story about war, the forbidden art of music, and the desire to change the tide to end a vicious cycle of death, destruction, and heartbreak. Across five episodes, Vampire in the Garden explores a dark fate while humans and vampires struggle for equilibrium. Will the war end before Momo and Fine discover peace? You’ll have to watch the mini-series and find out.

Yasuke

Created by Lesean Thomas (Children of Ether, Black Dynamite, Canon Busters), Yasuke is a Japanese animated series based on the historical figure known as the Black Samurai. Set in an alternate-reality 16th-century feudal Japan teeming with magic and technological wonders. Twenty years after the fall of Lord Oda Nobunaga, Yasuke remains committed to reconciling with his past. While visiting a remote village, he becomes entangled in a mission to protect an ailing girl, Saki, with mysterious and magical powers. While supernatural forces shadow their every step, Yasuke and Saki depend on one another for guidance, redemption, and survival.

Yasuke stars Jun Soejima (Japanese) and LaKeith Stanfield (English) as the honorable Yasuke. Kiko Tamura (Japanese) plays Saki alongside Maya Tanida (English). Fusako Urabe (Japanese) plays Natsumaru, a lady samurai and outsider. Ming-Na Wen provides the English-speaking voice for Natsumaru. The series includes music by Flying Lotus, with direction from LeSean Thomas and Takeru Sato.

Yasuke feels like Lone Wolf and Cub with shades of Samurai Champloo, Afro Samurai, and Sword of the Stranger. This anime has engaging action, dramatic villains, exciting plot twists, and heroes whose acts of bravery are legendary on and off the screen. 

What do you think is the Best Anime on Netflix? Let us know in the comments!