11 Best Animated Series to Add to Your Streaming Watchlist
Posted inMovies & Series

11 Best Animated Series to Add to Your Streaming Watchlist

Best Animated Series: 11 Shows Worth Adding to Your Watchlist

Key takeaways

  • The best animated series depend on what you want to watch: a complete fantasy adventure, a clever family comedy, a gripping anime, or adult animation with sharper edges.

  • Start with the original animated series if you want the story as it was first told.

  • It’s the most practical pick here when you want something gentle, easy to watch in small doses, and suitable for family viewing.

  • Rankings can help you find candidates, but they can’t account for your preferred tone, age range, or appetite for long-running shows.

Table of contents

The best animated series depend on what you want to watch: a complete fantasy adventure, a clever family comedy, a gripping anime, or adult animation with sharper edges. For a strong place to start, try Avatar: The Last Airbender for an accessible, carefully plotted adventure; Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood for high-stakes anime; or Bluey for warm, short episodes the whole family can enjoy.

This list balances storytelling, distinctive animation, influence, and broad appeal rather than treating any one rating as a final verdict. That distinction matters: audience-voted lists and critics’ guides use different methods, and a standout season doesn’t automatically make every season of a show equally acclaimed. Rotten Tomatoes, for example, says its all-time guide considers critic reviews alongside influence and cultural impact, while its annual roundup ranks individual seasons. IMDb’s animated-series list offers a separate audience-vote perspective.

Best animated series for a first watch

Avatar: The Last Airbender — best all-around adventure

A young hero must master the elements and help restore balance to a world divided by war. That premise gives Avatar room for action, humor, mythology, and a thoughtful coming-of-age story, without making it hard for new viewers to follow.

It’s an especially good pick if you want a series with a clear central journey rather than a collection of unrelated episodes. Its blend of fantasy and character development has helped keep it prominent in audience-driven all-time discussions, including IMDb’s user-created list. Start with the original animated series if you want the story as it was first told.

Batman: The Animated Series — best superhero drama

Gotham’s familiar hero gets a moody, noir-inspired animated treatment, with episodes built around crime, villains, and difficult choices. The series is a strong choice for viewers who like superhero stories but want a darker atmosphere than a bright, fast-moving comedy.

Many episodes can be watched on their own, so you don’t need to commit to a long serialized plot right away. It also appears among the notable entries on IMDb’s audience-voted animated-series list.

Gravity Falls — best mystery-comedy for families

Twins Dipper and Mabel spend a summer in a strange town full of odd creatures and unanswered questions. The show works as a funny, approachable adventure episode by episode, but its clues and running mysteries reward viewers who pay attention.

Choose it if your household wants comedy with a story to follow. Its unusual creatures and eerie moments may be a little much for very young or especially sensitive viewers, so it’s worth sampling an episode together first.

Bluey — best short-form family comedy

Centered on a playful Australian dog family, Bluey turns ordinary activities into imaginative games. Its short episodes make it easy to dip into, and the humor is designed to work for adults as well as children.

It’s the most practical pick here when you want something gentle, easy to watch in small doses, and suitable for family viewing. Unlike the sprawling adventures on this list, there’s no complicated plot to keep track of.

Best animated series for anime fans

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood — best complete fantasy epic

Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric search for a way to repair the damage caused by a forbidden act of alchemy. Their quest grows into a much wider story about power, sacrifice, politics, and the consequences of trying to control life and death.

The series suits viewers who want a substantial plot with an ending, rather than a show that depends on an open-ended premise. It balances action and comedy with heavier material, including war and loss. It’s also one of the anime titles represented on IMDb’s audience-based list.

Death Note — best psychological thriller

A high-school student gains the power to kill anyone whose name he writes in a supernatural notebook. The story quickly becomes a tense contest of strategy, as investigators work to identify the person behind the deaths.

This is a good starting point for anime newcomers who prefer suspense to a long fantasy quest. Its central hook is easy to grasp, and its focus stays on choices, schemes, and their consequences. The subject matter is dark, so it’s better suited to teens and adults than younger children. Death Note also appears on IMDb’s user-created animated-series list.

Blue Eye Samurai — best for striking visual storytelling

Set in Edo-period Japan, Blue Eye Samurai follows a mixed-race swordswoman seeking revenge in a society that treats her as an outsider. The series pairs an intense personal mission with stylized action and a deliberately dramatic visual approach.

Rotten Tomatoes included its first season in its 2023 animated-series roundup, which is a useful sign of critical recognition—but that is a season-level selection, not proof of a universal all-time ranking. (Rotten Tomatoes’ 2023 list) This is a better choice for viewers looking for mature, violent drama than for family viewing.

Best adult animated series

Scavengers Reign — best for imaginative science fiction

After a spacecraft crew is stranded on an alien planet, survival depends on learning how its strange ecosystem works. Rather than treating the setting as a familiar backdrop, the series makes the planet’s interconnected forms of life central to its science-fiction storytelling.

Rotten Tomatoes featured the first season in its 2023 roundup, alongside other notable animated seasons that year. (See the roundup) Choose this one if you enjoy atmospheric science fiction and unfamiliar worlds; it’s less suited to viewers who want a brisk comedy or a simple, reassuring adventure.

Rick and Morty — best for chaotic science-fiction comedy

The show follows scientist Rick and his grandson Morty through dangerous, often absurd trips across the universe. It uses sci-fi ideas as fuel for fast jokes, family conflict, and stories that can turn from silly to bleak without much warning.

It’s a natural pick for adults who like irreverent comedy and don’t mind crude humor or unsettling situations. It isn’t a family recommendation: its tone and content are aimed at mature viewers. The series is among the audience-recognized titles on IMDb’s animated list.

The Simpsons — best long-running sitcom

The Simpson family’s misadventures offer a familiar entry point into adult animation, with everyday family life, satire, and a large supporting cast. Its long run makes it a good fit if you want a show you can return to rather than a compact story with a fixed ending.

There’s no need to begin at the beginning to understand the basic setup. Pick it for episodic comedy and a broad range of characters; look elsewhere if you want a tightly plotted series that builds toward one conclusion. It appears on IMDb’s audience-based list, though that list is not a critic consensus.

South Park — best for sharp, provocative satire

Four boys in a small Colorado town become the center of comedy that regularly takes aim at public figures, social debates, and current events. Its humor is intentionally crude and confrontational, making it a more specific taste than a general-purpose sitcom.

Choose it if you like satire that pushes boundaries and are comfortable with offensive language and adult subject matter. If you want gentler comedy—or a show for children—this isn’t the right pick. Like The Simpsons, it’s a long-running option rather than a short, complete story.

How to choose the right animated series

  • Want one story with a clear journey? Start with Avatar: The Last Airbender or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

  • Prefer mysteries and suspense? Try Gravity Falls for a family-oriented comedy or Death Note for a darker thriller.

  • Watching with younger viewers? Bluey is the gentlest starting point here. Avatar and Gravity Falls are better options for families ready for fantasy danger and occasional eerie scenes.

  • Looking for adult animation? Pick Rick and Morty for sci-fi comedy, The Simpsons for sitcom episodes, or South Park for more provocative satire.

  • Want visual world-building? Try Blue Eye Samurai for historical action or Scavengers Reign for speculative science fiction.

Rankings can help you find candidates, but they can’t account for your preferred tone, age range, or appetite for long-running shows. IMDb’s list reflects user votes, while Rotten Tomatoes’ all-time guide describes a broader editorial approach that considers reviews, influence, and cultural impact. Neither settles the question for every viewer—and a season-focused ranking should be read as a judgment about that season, not necessarily the whole series. Rotten Tomatoes explains its all-time list, while its 2023 guide focuses on seasons.

The best first pick depends on your mood: choose Avatar: The Last Airbender for an inviting fantasy adventure, Bluey for short family viewing, or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood for a more involved anime story.