Top Ten Anime you can watch right now on Netflix
Superb. Japanese. Animation. Looking to watch some of the finest Anime Series of the moment? Check out this top of the best Anime on Netflix
TOP TEN ANIME YOU CAN WATCH RIGHT NOW ON NETFLIX | LIST-EM. Article Image by Bones Studio
This absolute sh*tshow of 2020 is finally over, so I thought it would be fun to make a small list of some good Japanese animation you can watch right now to make these 2021 a little bit easier.
As always, this is completely based on my tastes and you can disagree with me.
As a side note, this isn’t a “best-to-worst” kind of list.
Since most of these are so different from each other that comparing them would make no sense.
With that out of the way, strap up, here are the Top 10 anime you can watch right now on Netflix.
01 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD
This jewel, that came straight out of the mind of the extremely talented Hiromu Arakawa, is a staple of every top ten anime of all times, and for good reason.
FMA: B is the second adaptation of Arakawa’s original work (the first one being Fullmetal Alchemist 2003, a decent anime that finished before the manga, so they went with an original anime-only ending).
Brotherhood is an extremely close adaptation of the manga and the golden standard of how things should be done.
The pacing and animation are top-notch, and it will keep you hooked from episode 1.
The score’s almost perfect, and both the opening and ending theme songs (all 10 of them) are complete bangers.
Fullmetal Alchemist follows the duo of alchemist brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric on their quest to find the philosopher’s stone.
A simple premise that is taken to its peak thanks to Arakawa’s superb characterization, perfectly crafted plotline, and deep and interesting villains.
A definitely must-watch anime you should check out on Netflix now.
02 NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
Evangelion is one of the most influential anime series ever made, no doubt and it's live on Netflix right now.
The magnum opus of Studio Gainax and director Hideaki Anno.
A giant-robot-vs-giant-monsters series that centers itself around the psyche of the main characters instead of the usual gun-blazing that most series around that time did.
Since 1995, NGE has amassed a copious fanbase, and rightly so.
With deep, rich characters, an intriguing plotline, and the best animation Studio Gainax could offer, all tied up with a godlike soundtrack, it’s no surprise NGE is still alive and well.
With fans waiting for the last part of the ReBuild (a reboot/sequel of the original series) movies releasing this year -assuming this time it will actually release-, you should definitely watch it, it’s an experience like no other.
As a side note, the -really magnificent- original dub is missing, and it was replaced with a perfectly fine dub by Netflix.
There’s nothing wrong per se, but some fans did find offense in that change, oh well.
03 DEATH NOTE
Keeping up with the trend of absolute anime classics on Netflix, we have Death Note.
This series, much like Brotherhood, is an excellent adaptation of the source material.
Originally aired in 2006, the animation quality (like all Studio MadHouse works) is superb (and looks better than most stuff made today).
Director Tetsuro Araki did a wonderful job at taking the amazing plotline of Death Note and spreading it across 37 episodes.
The pacing is just right to keep you at the edge of your seat and always craving for more until the end of the series.
In Death Note, we follow Light Yagami, a genius teenager that finds a notebook with the power of a death god (shinigami, to be precise).
After testing its powers, he decides to cleanse this Earth of criminals.
Tsugumi Oba’s masterful way of creating morally gray characters is the strongest point of the series, and it will have you cheering for literal villains.
Definitely, something you should watch (and re-watch!), you won’t regret it.
04 PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA
Don’t let the cute art-style confuse you.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a dark, gritty, angsty series that centers around the psyche of the main characters when facing traumatic events.
Sure, it may be a magical girl series, but here we don’t have “power of friendship” moments.
From the mind of Gen Urobuchi (Also known as Urobutcher, if you know, you know) and animated by Studio Shaft, in Madoka Magica we follow Madoka Kaname, as she encounters a mysterious creature called Kyubey, and the possibility of getting any wish she wants to be granted, as long as she becomes a magical girl.
Gen Urobuchi and Akiyuki Shinbo (one of my favorite anime directors) crafted an unforgettable series, breaking the boundaries of what a magical girl anime should be.
With a dark plotline and character progression fueled by pain, grief, and loss.
Madoka Magica is something you should watch if you want a unique experience.
05 MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LION
Now, the first “sports” anime of the top.
March Comes in Like a Lion is a series about shogi not quite like the rest.
Being mostly character-driven (you may be seeing a trend here in this top), author Chica Umino does a fantastic job at weaving a story through the personal development of the main character, Rei Kiriyama, and the people that surround him.
Aside from the story itself, this anime is gorgeous.
Both the animation (thanks again, Studio Shaft) and the art style are so darn pretty, and the scenes where the loneliness and internal conflicts of Rei are shown are basically museum-worthy.
The weakest link of this series is probably the soundtrack, and the soundtrack is pretty good too.
The pacing of the story is slow, but that’s actually a forte.
A recommended watch if you are tired of sword-wielding heroes and bombastic action scenes.
06 LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA
First revealed during Anime Mirai 2013, Little Witch Academia was more of an animation test made by Studio Trigger (an offshoot/split from Studio Gainax) rather than something planned to be a full-fledged series.
Nonetheless, thanks to its popularity, it eventually got a second short film in 2015.
And finally, in 2017, it turned into a complete 25 episodes-long series.
Anyway, enough backstory, LWA is great because of how gosh-darned fun it is.
The characters carry this show easily thanks to how entertaining their interactions are.
I could probably watch 50 more episodes of Akko, Sucy, and Lotte just talking about stuff with some magic sprinkled here and there.
Besides that, the animation is gorgeous (even more so in the original short film) and full of personality, making it really easy to show that this series happens, in fact, in a world full of magic and wizardry.
The plotline is the weakest side of LWA by far, but even so, it works just fine for the kind of series LWA wants to be.
A recommended watch to anyone.
07 TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN
Here we have our second mecha series from Studio Gainax.
TTGL is the cream of the crop when it comes to bombastic action, encouraging one-liners, and ultra-hype fights between robots that throw galaxies to each other.
Thanks to the direction of the talented Hiroyuki Imaishi, the strongest point of TTGL is its animation.
The action scenes flow incredibly good and the attacks have an impact, everything feels smooth and swift.
In Gurren Lagann, we follow Simon, a kid that lives in a colony underground, who finds a robot -Lagann- when he was drilling a tunnel.
After a few key events, accompanied by his role model, Kamina, and a mysterious girl, Yoko, they embark on a journey to the surface.
Gurren Lagann’s plotline is pretty simple and straightforward and serves its purpose, but everything is done in such an epic and over-the-top way that I’m sure the plot could go nowhere and it would still be darn entertaining.
But action and hype aren’t all that TTGL has, there’s also an important human side to the story.
During the series we see Simon (and most of the characters) growing and developing as persons.
The cherry on top would be the godly soundtrack made by Taku Iwasaki.
Watch it if you want an epic journey filled to the brim with non-stop action, with a side plate of character development.
08 TEASING MASTER TAKAGI SAN
Takagi-san is yet another anime to heal your tired soul.
Being a gag comedy, one would think it gets old pretty fast, however, since there is actual plot progression, it’s hard to stop watching this series.
In fact, this got so popular that the original comic has spawned a couple of spin-offs before even finishing.
We follow Nishikata, as he “battles” Takagi, trying to uptease her during their day-to-day activities.
Of course, Nishikata fails miserably most of the time and ends up losing any and all bets and challenges he throws at Takagi.
The thing with this series is that it portrays youthful love in such a nice way that it will take you back to middle-school in an instant.
On the technical side, there’s not much to be said, the animation works fine for the kind of story it is.
Definitely recommended though.
09 CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION
For the final mecha series of this top of anime on Netflix, we have Code Geass, a jewel among the genre that ticks all the boxes on the “masterpiece” checklist.
Made by the extremely talented CLAMPs (you might know them for Sakura Card Captor), we have all the usual suspects of a quality mecha anime.
An evil empire, morally gray characters, political drama, and of course, gun-blazing giant robots.
Code Geass is great because Lelouch (and the rest of the cast) are superbly written.
Lelouch has a single objective, defeating the Britannian empire (throne to which he once was the heir of).
Once he acquires the geass -a mysterious but near-invincible power- he finally can see the way to achieve his goal.
Are plenty of his methods misguided and downright evil? Of course, but that’s what makes this series great -a show of how power corrupts.
As a side note, the animation is awesome, and the soundtrack it’s superb.
A recommended watch to anyone.
10 IS IT WRONG TO TRY TO PICK UP GIRLS IN A DUNGEON?
Now, hear me out.
Yes, all nine anime series before this have been absolute masterpieces, a title that no one in their right mind would grant to DanMachi (the shortened name of this anime) and I agree.
However, DanMachi is, unlike plenty of other light novel adaptations, a) extremely entertaining, and b) doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Basically, this is one of those series you can watch while without having to think too hard.
DanMachi is a pretty basic fantasy series, where we follow Bell Cranel, a young aspiring adventurer, on his road to becoming a renowned adventurer.
Most characters are pretty fun (except for the wet towel that is Ais Wallenstein), and the plot doesn’t try to be unnecessarily convoluted, just a few hints here and there that show how things are way more complicated than what they look at first.
On the technical side of things, JC Staff did a really good job at animating this series, with a pleasing color palette, good character design, and fluid action scenes.
All in all, DanMachi is a pleasant watch, you should give it a try if you have watched everything else on this top.
Anyway, these were my top ten anime series on Netflix, I tried to cover most genres, but my bias for mecha is showing, what do you think?
Would you add/remove anything? (I know you are taking off DanMachi from the list in this very instant).
Let me know down below what are your picks! Or if you just want to trash my taste, that’s okay too.
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