Are you looking for anime series to watch on Netflix? Picking the right show on Netflix can take quite some time, as there is so much to choose from.
The summer anime season is here, so that means you have enough time to enjoy new anime releases! Whether you want to watch new series or movies on Netflix, please make sure to check the list out.
This list gives you a clear overview of the best series to watch, so don’t worry we’ve got you covered. Some anime shows and movies don’t stay up long on this platform, while other titles stay for a long time.
This can depend on how well the anime performs, property rights, etc. However, all the picks on this list are accessible on Netflix so you can choose great shows with little to no effort.
Remember: this list only consists of anime series to watch so there are no movies mentioned. Try to pick an anime series with the genre of your liking, this makes it easier to choose.
Secondly, the picks for this list apply to European Netflix users, users from the U.S. may have different series. However, most shows can be enjoyed by all regions. There are a total of 20 anime titles on this list, so there are no further questions, find your new anime show to watch!
What anime series on Netflix will you watch? Comment down your pick by placing a comment down below!
1. Blue Exorcist
Your first anime selection for your to-watch list on Netflix. The adventures of these two brothers are a good start.
Blue Exorcist follows the story of Rin Okumura and his brother Yukio Okumura. The problematic Rin Okumura gets attacked by demons from another world one day.
This is because he is the son of Satan and his demonic father wants him to return to Gehenna. To clarify, the world that the humans live in is Assiah, and the world where the demons live is Gehenna.
Satan wants his demon son to return to Gehenna so they can rule over that world together. However, Rin does not want to become part of these plans, and neither does Yukio want this to happen to his brother.
The Okumura brothers decide they want to become stronger to fight against the demons in Assiah and protect their loved ones.
Rin and Yukio start training at the True Cross Academy to become powerful exorcists and complete their purpose.
2. Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul is a dark fantasy anime that tells the story of Ken Kaneki. His life changes completely after what appears to be a normal date with the beautiful Rize Kamishiro.
Their date takes a turn for the worse when Rize suddenly attacks Kaneki, and Kaneki later wakes up in a hospital. He later learns that his body changed horrendously, as Kaneki is now a human Ghoul.
Now you’re thinking to yourself, what is a Ghoul then? Well, Ghouls are supernatural creatures that live only off of human flesh.
This means that Ghouls need to eat either humans or other Ghouls to survive and stay alive.
This anime series takes place in the city of Tokyo, where Ghouls are everywhere. So Kaneki tries to adapt to his new lifestyle and blend into the world of humans and Ghouls.
3. Baki
If you’re a fan of shonen and martial arts anime on Netflix, then you’re in for a treat with Baki.
The animation in Baki is top-notch, and the action is intense. The characters are all likable, and the story is engaging.
The story begins with Baki, he is an aspiring young fighter who strives to be the best martial artist in the world. Bakis’s strength is superhuman-like, and he dedicates his life to becoming the strongest version of himself.
His goal is to surpass his father Yujiro Hanma, hailed as the strongest fighter in the world.
Baki always seeks new challenges and isn’t afraid to take on anyone or anything. His style of martial arts skills allows him to attack in many different ways and ranges.
This martial arts protagonist is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals and nothing stops him from doing that.
4. Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins anime series is a story about a group of former knights with magical powers who were expelled from the kingdom for their crimes.
The name of their group is Seven Deadly Sins and they want to restore order to the kingdom and take down the corrupt monarchy. This group isn’t together from the start so their captain goes on a search to find the remaining members of the group.
The leader of the group is the Sin of Wrath, Meliodas. He goes on a journey to find the other members of the Seven Deadly Sins. He leads the way for his group and is extremely powerful, even though his appearance may let you believe otherwise.
There is enough variety of characters so this makes it easier to pick your favorite character in the show.
A-1 Pictures is the animation studio, known for its work on other popular anime such as Sword Art Online and Blue Exorcist.
This anime is one of Netflix’s earlier original series. Secondly, this anime has been praised for its unique take on the fantasy genre and easy pacing.
5. My Hero Academia
Another great shonen anime series on Netflix you’ll love. This anime also ranked as the #1 show of 2016 on Funimation.
The world is full of people with “quirks,” these are superpowers an individual can possess. A total of 80 percent of humanity possesses a quirk and this amount keeps on increasing.
These superpowers vary from person to person, from fire abilities to gravity manipulation. However, this means that the other percent of the population is quirkless, and so is the protagonist Izuku Midoriya.
Ever since Midoriya was a child, all he wants most is to become a hero who can protect others. However, Midorya being quirkless crushes his hopes of becoming one.
All until he one day meets All Might, he is the number one hero of the world and he is also the favorite hero of Midoriya.
All Might’s quirk is a unique power that can be inherited by others, and he chooses Midoriya to be his successor.
Midoriya later enters the UA high school, which specializes in training heroes. So his journey to becoming a real hero starts there!
6. Vinland Saga
If you’re looking for a historical anime on Netflix with a lot of action, then you’ll want to check out Vinland Saga. This story is about a group of Viking warriors in the late 11th century.
Vinland Saga follows the story of Thorfinn, he is the son of Thors who is a famous and influential Viking.
Thorfinn vows to avenge the death of his father after he got killed in an ambush. As a result, Thorfinn decides to become a mighty warrior and goes on a journey to become the strongest Viking of all.
The person he wants to kill the most is Askeladd, the Viking who ambushed his father. Thorfinn’s resolve only becomes stronger because he has this purpose in mind
He encounters different interesting people on his journey which leads to fighting scenes, adventures, and more. These interactions build up Thorfin’s great character development along the way.
This anime is full of action, adventure, and intrigue, and it’s sure to please fans of historical anime.
7. Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist is the most famous manga by a female writer ever! Whether you’re a fan of shonen anime or not, Fullmetal Alchemist needs to be on your Netflix to-watch list. The story of Fullmetal Alchemist takes place in a world where alchemy is real and a powerful tool in society. Alchemy
The anime follows the adventures of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric. Their mother passes away and they want to brick her back to life with alchemy.
They attempt to perform human transmutation but fail in their attempt to do so.
As a result, Edward loses his right arm and left leg and Alphonse loses his body so Edward attaches Alphonse’s soul to an empty suit of armor.
The Elric brothers then go on a search together to find a way to restore their bodies to their original form.
Their mission also gets more complicated the more they learn about alchemy and the more people they meet.
This is because there are 7 Homunculus trying to stop the brothers in their attempt to find a way to restore their bodies. These 7 beings together are the “The Seven Deadly Sins”.
8. Yu Yu Hakusho
If you’re a fan of shounen anime, then you’ve probably heard of Yu Yu Hakusho. It’s a classic anime that’s been around from 1992 to 1994, and it’s as popular as ever.
Yu-Yu Hakusho consists of action, humor, and many heartfelt moments. This is an ideal combination for some watchers who do not want to only have action, but also need some laughter at times.
Yu-Yu Hakusho follows the story of the teenager Yusuke Urameshi, he gets hit by a car and dies after trying to save a child. Yusuke gets resurrected by the authorities of the spirit realm because they admire his noble sacrifice.
He then becomes a spirit detective assigned to solve supernatural cases. In addition, Yusuke meets friends and two demons that help him become stronger and fight against the spirit demons.
They battle against these beings because these enemies endanger the safety of humans.
Yu Yu Hakusho is an action-packed anime you can watch on Netflix with plenty of humor and heart. It’s a must–watch for any genre fan, and it’s sure to leave you wanting more.
9. Komi Can’t Communicate
Komi Can’t Communicate is a slice of life and romance Netflix original anime series.OLM studio is the animation studio for both seasons.
This studio also produced famous shows like Pokemon, Berserk, and Inazuma Eleven. The writer and illustrator of the manga are Tomohito Oda.
The story of Komi Can’t Communicate begins with the teenager Shouko Komi, who is a pretty and popular girl at her school. She struggles with communication with others because of her social anxiety.
This makes it hard for her classmates and others to understand her because she has difficulty with communication. However, the majority of the school doesn’t know about her anxiety problems.
So they just accept that is just her way of interacting with others. Until her classmate, Hitohito discovers her secret and makes it his mission to help Komi to make 100 new friends.
You’ll love this anime if you enjoy watching romance combined with moments of laughter. The first season is already out so make sure to check it out.
10. Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop is an iconic seinen anime from 1998 that consists of science-fiction, western, comedy, and cyberpunk.
The way to describe this show other than unique is an understatement. Cowboy Bebop takes you on an adventure with the space-cowboy Spike Spiegel.
There is so much that happens that makes it unique, a combination of martial arts fights, hilarious characters, and a fascinating adventure.
In addition, the English opening song “Tank” ranks as one of the top theme songs of dub anime. The soundtrack focuses heavily on Jazz, so it’s easy to listen to.
Cowboy Bebop follows the story of Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and other bounty hunters. They travel in the spaceship ‘Bebop’ to find wanted criminals with a high bounty.
Each member of the bounty hunters aboard has their reason for why they live the life they have now. For example, Spike Spiegel, whose violent past took a heavy toll on him and is plagued by it.
The duo of Spike and Jet later are joined on their journey by the pretty Faye Valentine, bio-engineer Welsh Corgi, and others. What makes this group interesting is that they develop a better bond and connection with one another the more time they spend together.
Cowboy Bebop also is one of the few anime on Netflix where you can equally enjoy the Japanese and English versions.
11. Neon Genesis: Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a Japanese anime series from 1995 produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production and directed by Hideaki Anno.
The Neon Genesis Evangelion anime is one of the most popular series in Japan and is also on Netflix. This series has been one of the most influential and popular anime series of all time.
The story starts with the protagonist Shinji Ikari who gets summoned by his father to the city of Neo-Tokyo-3. He then has to pilot a giant bio-machine called an Evangelion in combat.
Shinji Ikari and the Evangelion fight against mysterious beings known as Angels. These beings threaten to wreak havoc on earth and its inhabitants.
The show has had a lasting impact on Japanese culture and society. It has also been referenced many times by other artists and media outlets such as video games, animation shows, comics, and music videos.
You can expect a good amount of fight scenes and action. However, all this violence is compensated by the removal of some curse words in the English version of Neon Genisis Evangelion.
This is done to make it more watchable for the viewers.
12. Fate/Zero
Fate/zero takes place 10 years before Fate/stay night and follows the events of the 4th Holy Grail War. This is a war between seven mages and their summoned Servants, who are powerful mythological figures from all across history.
These mages and servants fight for ‘ The Grail’, this is a powerful magical source that allows the winning mage to execute extraordinary miracles.
The war for the Grail is a tradition where three head families take their changes by summoning a Servant. What are Servants in Fate/Zero you might think? A servant is a spirit summoning of a powerful/legendary figure of world history.
These beings have the purpose to fight under a Master in the Holy Grail War.
The story focuses more on the masters Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine. Kiritsugu Emiya tries to rescue his daughter from death by entering the Holy Grail War and using the powers of the Holy Grail to do so.
His servant is Saber, and she has to fight against the other Servants to claim victory. Every Servant has their unique power so you can expect amazing fight scenes when they clash with one another.
13. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K is an anime where the original publish was a manga. This anime also is a Netflix original, so both Japanese and English versions are really enjoyable.
The series is about a high school student Saiki Kusuo who has psychic abilities and can use them to read people’s thoughts and memories. He can also even manipulate objects with his mind at top speed.
Even though he has these powers, he uses them mostly to avoid the attention of his schoolmates.
Saiki is as nerdy and simple as they come, a very interesting character indeed. He doesn’t want his classmates to know about his powers so he tries to hide them from them.
The more you watch The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., the more you notice how unseriously funny all the characters are.
You’ll notice how many times you’ll laugh watching each episode. The rare character designs allow the story to give you an interesting experience.
14. Violet Evergarden
Violet Evergarden is a Netflix original anime series from 2018. Buckle up for an emotional and beautiful story of romance and deep feelings.
The story is about a girl who was raised by an autocratic old man to be a tool of war. However, she instead wants to become a person who can understand people’s feelings.
This anime receives a lot of praise, particularly for its beautiful animation, music, and writing. Secondly, Violet Evergarden won the Anime of the Year award at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2018!
The story follows Violet Evergarden, a 14-year-old girl, a former soldier who now works as an Auto Memory Doll. These Auto Memory Dolls help people deal with their emotional issues by writing letters.
You’ll notice when watching why the story gets so much praise for the visuals and music. In terms of animation, this is what you can call peak fiction.
15. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure also is another Netflix anime original series, with multiple seasons to watch. The manga series has been translated into Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese.
The story follows the misadventures of the Joestar family, starting with Jonathan Joestar. The series is divided into 8 parts, which are called “Stages” in Japan. The Joestar family possesses tremendous psychic powers they can use in battle.
The combination of Seinen, western, fantasy, and supernatural power create a memorable adventure. There are many different characters with these supernatural powers so you want to pay attention to the fight scenes!
The world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure gives you a vibe where you go through the story in an unusual but cool way. To clarify, it is not your normal level of story pacing like other anime. There are a total of 5 seasons of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure now on Netflix, including Stone Ocean.
16. Record Of Ragnarok
Record of Ragnarok is a Seinen, fantasy, action, and mythological anime from 2012 with a total of 12 episodes in season one.
The story takes place in a world with humans and is also full of gods from Norse, Greek, and Hindu mythology. So the humans and gods gather once every thousand years to discuss an important decision.
And that decision is: should mankind be wiped out yes or no? The council responsible for the judgment then votes unanimously to wipe out the human race.
However, the great Brunhilde from the 13 Valkyries of Valhalla interrupts the decision and negotiates a way of survival for the humans.
He proposes the idea of a battle event where there are a total of thirteen – one-on-one matches. These matches are between the thirteen mightiest humans and gods of the last thousand years.
The matches take place in the battle arena Ragnarok, so expect a lot of amazing fights!
17. Angel Beats
Make sure to buckle up for this one cause you’re in for an emotional ride. The beautiful opening song of Angel Beats gives you the right kick to start watching, so make sure to listen to it!
Angel Beats follows the story of the 17-year-old boy Yuzuru Otonashi. His journey shows you what happens with humans after they die, and where their souls go to.
Yuzuru Otonashi one day dies and he wakes up with no memories of his previous life where he now is in a dimension between life and death. So he now is in a place where he is neither dead nor alive, some may call it the “afterlife”.
The story of Angel Beats takes place in dimension with the design of a school. This place consists of people who died with regrets and who didn’t want to die. These people feel wrong for being in this dimension and want to fight against their student council president.
The student council president is Kanade “Angel” Tachibana and she has god-like abilities. Otonashi later joins this group of people but feels uncomfortable being there and wants to know the intentions of the “enemy” as well.
18. Kuroko’s Basketball
If you love basketball and/or basketball anime, then Kuroko’s Basketball is your perfect match!
The Teikou Middle School basketball club has won three consecutive championship wins with their legendary starting 5 and sixth man.
This legendary lineup consists of the “Generation of Miracles” and their “Phantom Sixth Man” Tetsuya Kuroko. The “Generation of Miracles” consists of five super-talented prodigies of basketball.
The story starts with Taiga Kagami and Tetsuya Kuroko. They get recruited by the Seirin High School basketball team who is looking for new members. Kagami is a very talented player who can do it all and has an impressive physique.
While Kuroko is unathletic but a gifted passer, also has a true love for the game, and uses his lack of presence on the court to provide for his teammates.
The goal of Kuroko and Kagami is to become champions at the upcoming basketball tournament ” Interhigh”. Kuroko vows to be the supporting “light” of Kagami as his “shadow” on the court.
19. Devilman Crybaby
Devilman Crybaby is yet another Netflix original anime series that’s worth checking out. You’ll get to see a world where humans and demons can become one being, a Devilman.
You have to get used to the art style in the beginning, as the visuals are quite abstract.
The story follows the events of the crybaby Akira Fuduo and his childhood friend Ryou Asuka. They go to “Sabbath” together, a party where you can smell that there is evil doing.
The people at the party get possessed by demons and their bodies turn into cruel and hideous-looking monsters. Akira sees his friend Ryou getting attacked and tries to save him knowing he doesn’t stand a chance.
The demon Amon tries to possess Akira and they merge into a Devilman, now having the power to beat all the other monsters. Akira is a Devilman now and fights alongside Ryou to eliminate the foes that harm innocent people.
20. Beastars
Beastars is a Netflix Original Series from 2019 that packs high-quality animation and a unique storyline. This series is the one to choose if you’re a fan of a combination of shounen, drama, and slice-of-life genres.
The drama in Beastars comes from the clash between the carnivores and herbivores. These beings have opposite survival morals, yet they try to coexist.
The image of Beastars here above already shows this, as a wolf is holding a rabbit between his arms. This storyline takes place with all the animals in Cherryton Academy.
Legoshi is a gray wolf who is a teacher at Cherryton Academy and lives with numerous other carnivore students. There already is a lot of disliking between the animals and something happens that creates more tension.
There is suddenly a murder on the alpaca Tem and that creates more distrust between the herbivores and carnivore animals. Legoshi later meets the dwarf rabbit Haru and this results in a difficult situation for Legoshi. More drama awaits the events of Legoshi and the other animals of Cherryton Academy.
Thanks for the information! Next one on the list will be Vinland Saga
You are welcome Tom! Vinland Saga is a great series to watch indeed.
I will watch Baki Hanma, he looks badass
Thank you again for your reply Serginho! Have fun with watching Baki Hanma.