The Best Animated Series on Netflix, from ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ to ‘BoJack Horseman’

Netflix isn’t a stranger to many genres these days, making it hard to sort your way through all sorts of films, shows, and specials. That’s particularly difficult when it comes to its animated offerings. Netflix offers cartoons aimed at all ages and demographics — from preschoolers to tweens and teens to raunchier adult audiences — through a variety of animated titles in its catalogue. The platform releases shows and movies made in the medium frequently, and even if it’s easy to tell a kids show from “Big Mouth” (wait, is it?) it can be tough to sort through the crowded genre.

What’s worse, animation can often be ignored or disregarded in entertainment and it seems at times on the platform. Consider the case of “Tuca & Bertie,” a truly original and lovely show that had just one season at the streamer before it was forced to fly the coop for Adult Swim.  (The channel still cut the show short after Season 3). Or how “BoJack Horseman,” in spite of being perhaps the best original Netflix has ever produced, got an extended sixth season to wrap the show instead of the full-length seventh season the creator reportedly intended.

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So, let’s give the medium’s presence on the platform its due. Like a lot of its content in general, Netflix’s animated offerings are very hit or miss. For every gem, there is a massive dud. Aside from “BoJack Horseman” and “Big Mouth,” the majority of its adult animated shows tend to be overly edgy misfires that are better left ignored. The streamer both licenses Japanese animated series for exclusive international distribution and produces some of its own, and the quality of those original productions varies wildly. Also, it has “Cocomelon.”

Netflix also has an extensive library of acquired content, and that includes bonafide classics like “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “Neon Genesis Evangelion.” Combined with its better original work, and you have one of the better libraries of animated programs in streaming. If you don’t know where to find the cream of the crop, look no further than here. Read on for our list of the 10 best animated shows currently on Netflix. Entries are unranked and listed in alphabetical order.

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