The 15 Best Animated TV Shows of the 2020s So Far, Ranked
Updated
Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel.
A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated.
Other interests of Diego's include reading, gaming, roller coasters, writing reviews on his Letterboxd account (username: DPP_reviews), and going down rabbit holes of whatever topic he's interested in at any given point.
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All in all, the 2020s have been a pretty terrific decade for television all across the board. This includes, of course, one of the most important versions of the medium: Animation. Animated TV shows are plentiful, and this decade has been no exception; but truly exceptional ones, ones that are guaranteed to go down in history as some of the best of their type, are but a precious few.
The 2020s' best animated shows are proof that this medium is perfect for creators who want to fully unleash their imaginations with some of the most limitless visuals possible. From comedies guaranteed to run for many more years to tragically canceled genre shows, the best animated series of the decade are all must-watches for fans of these kinds of stories.
15 'Common Side Effects' (2024–Present)
Adult Swim has been delivering the world's best animated shows for adults since its formation in 2001, and their output over the course of the 2020s has been no exception. Case in point: Common Side Effects, a nearly perfect animated experiment that contains plenty of the kind of surrealism, sharp humor, and delightful weirdness that has kept Adult Swim fans tuning in for decades.
Indeed, it's one of those animated shows where every episode is a masterpiece, blending together deep philosophical questions on the nuances of the good-versus-evil dichotomy, sharp social commentary about the government and Big Pharma, and a high-stakes conspiracy thriller that never lets up. With its second season fast approaching, now's about as good a time as any to dive into what's sure to continue growing into one of the decade's biggest animated cult classics.
14 'Adventure Time: Distant Lands' (2020–2021)
Talking about animated cult classics from the big screen is a conversation that's never complete without at least mentioning Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time, perhaps the single most beloved show the Cartoon Network has ever produced. Many creative ideas were pitched for the final seasons of the show but ended up being scrapped. That's where the anthology miniseries Adventure Time: Distant Lands came in, to allow the writers to develop those unproduced ideas and deliver one last emotional send-off for these characters.
The result is one of the best sci-fi anthology shows of the last decade, a gem that anyone who even slightly enjoys Adventure Time should consider essential viewing. Emotional, profound, beautifully animated, and full of powerful character moments that never fail to hit home, it's bound to be remembered as just as much of a classic as the original Adventure Time a couple of decades from now.
13 'The Owl House' (2020–2023)
The Disney Channel has also produced its fair share of legendary animated cult classics, Dana Terrace's The Owl House easily being among the biggest. Praised not just for its incredible LGBTQ+ representation (unprecedented within the Disney space), but also for its wonderful animation, world-building, and character writing, it's a fantasy gem that everyone who loves the genre should consider checking out.
It's a great show for younger audiences, full of relatable characters and enrapturing storytelling; but it's such a wonderful, groundbreaking masterpiece of an animated show that even older audiences should be perfectly capable of thoroughly enjoying it. Funny, touching, and oh so creative, it's everything that any fan of animated fantasy could possibly ask for in a TV series.
12 'Smiling Friends' (2020–2026)
The world of animated adult comedies is a minefield. For every Simpsons, Family Guy, or South Park, there's a lackluster imitation with far too much of a reliance on vulgarity and juvenile humor. Smiling Friends is different. One of the best comedy shows of the 2020s so far, it's one of the most original and delightful shows that Adult Swim has come up with in years.
The series is already a cult classic, and it's only guaranteed to keep growing if the network continues to give it chances to do so. The episodes are quite short, so it's remarkably easy to watch in little bursts; the surreal humor and delectably bizarre animation are a real treat; and the whole thing feels like a fever dream in the best ways imaginable.
11 'Pantheon' (2022–2023)
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AMC+ didn't just cancel Pantheon after just one season; they removed it from their platform entirely, even though the second season was already finished. Amazon Prime Video then picked up the show and re-released both seasons to finish off the story. It's a tragic trajectory for what's easily one of the best animated sci-fi shows of the 21st century, as well as one of the most underrated sci-fi shows ever.
Its animation, while good, isn't its greatest asset. Instead, it's the engrossing world-building, enthralling story, and fascinating characters that give the show structure. With thematically rich explorations of concepts like consciousness and what it means to be human in a technological world, it's quintessential sci-fi at its best.
10 'Tear Along the Dotted Line' (2021)
There are a few networks that have stood out as avid defenders of the value of animated television, and Netflix is among those platforms. They have made several of the 2020s' best animated shows, and the Italian adult dramedy Tear Along the Dotted Line is not only one of the best, but also one of the most criminally underrated.
There was a sequel series a couple of years later, titled This World Can't Tear Me Down, that was also phenomenal, but there's no beating the original. Tear Along the Dotted Line is among the best animated series for adults, an emotionally riveting and surprisingly amusing contemplation of Italian society, the complexities of life, and the weight of existence. Even knowing the hard-hitting experience that one's in for with this show, it's still enough to make the coldest of hearts shed a tear.
9 'Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War' (2022–Present)
Based on Tite Kubo's manga series Bleach, and a direct sequel to the original 2004 anime series of the same title, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War happens to be one of the greatest and most universally acclaimed anime series of the 2020s so far. It's everything that any fan of the source material, or even just of anime in general, could possibly hope for in a show.
On the one hand, Thousand-Year Blood War (in which Kubo himself was heavily involved) fixes a lot of the manga's shortcomings. Add to that the tremendous maturity and thematic depth of the narrative, the high stakes of the action, and the wonderfully cinematic visuals, and you get an anime gem that's bound to go down in history as a bona fide classic.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Netflix Character Would Be Your Best Friend? Dustin · Emily · Wednesday · Gi-hun
Some friends drag you out of the house. Some sit with you on the worst night of your life. Netflix has written both, plus the one who tells you the truth you have been avoiding all week. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually do friendship, and find out which of them was always going to end up in your corner.
🧢Dustin(Stranger Things)
🗼Emily(Emily in Paris)
🕷️Wednesday(Wednesday)
🟢Gi-hun(Squid Game)
01
How do you usually end up making a new friend? The origin story says a lot about the friendship that follows it.
02
What is a perfect Saturday with your best friend? Friendship is mostly built out of very ordinary hours.
03
You call them at two in the morning. What happens? This is the real test of a friendship, and everybody knows it.
04
What do you want from them when you are clearly wrong? The best friendships are the ones that survive being corrected.
05
What do your friends actually value about you? The friend you attract says something about the friend you are.
06
You have a falling out. How does it go? How a friendship repairs itself matters more than how it breaks.
07
What do you actually need a best friend for? Everybody is missing something. The right friend fills that gap.
08
Ten years from now, what keeps the two of you close? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who you get.
The Group Chat Has Spoken Your Best Friend Is…
Four Netflix characters, four completely different ways of showing up for somebody. This is the one who fits how you actually do friendship, and what having them in your life would be like.
Dustin Henderson
You do not do friendship at half volume, and neither does he. What you want is somebody who says yes to the plan before you have finished describing the plan.
- Dustin is the friend the entire show runs on: loyal past the point of sense, enthusiastic about everything, and incapable of leaving anybody behind.
- You have the same instinct. Your friendships are loud, specific and slightly ridiculous, and they last for decades because of it.
- He is also the one person who would take your strangest interest completely seriously, which is far rarer than it sounds.
- You would have a group chat. It would never once be quiet.
Emily Cooper
You are the friend who makes things happen, and so is she. Together you would be mildly exhausting to everyone around you and completely delighted with yourselves.
- Emily treats an ordinary Tuesday as something that could be turned into an occasion, which is either the best or the worst quality in a friend depending on your energy levels.
- You share her refusal to sit still. Neither of you has ever accepted a night in when something was happening somewhere else.
- She is far more loyal than people give her credit for. She defends her friends loudly, publicly, and occasionally before checking the facts.
- She would post the photo without asking. You would forgive her, because it is a very good photo.
Wednesday Addams
You have no patience for pleasant lies, and she has no ability to tell them. What looks like coldness from the outside is the most reliable friendship on this list.
- Wednesday never says a kind thing she does not mean, which makes the rare ones count for an enormous amount.
- You would rather be told the truth than be made comfortable. She is constitutionally incapable of offering you anything else.
- Underneath all of it she is ferociously protective. She simply refuses to make a performance out of caring.
- Do not expect a birthday message. Do expect her to ruin anyone who wrongs you.
Seong Gi-hun
You look after whoever is having the worst day. So does he. It is the least strategic way to move through the world and the best possible quality in a friend.
- Gi-hun is not the strongest player in Squid Game, or the cleverest. He is the one who keeps choosing to protect somebody else, over and over, at genuine cost to himself.
- You have the same instinct. You notice who is struggling and you stay with them, long after anybody would blame you for leaving.
- He is a flawed friend, and that is part of why it lands. He lets people down, then comes back and tries again, which is more than most manage.
- He would give you his last chance and never once mention that he had done it.
8 'Scavengers Reign' (2023)
Yet another victim of animated television—and animation in general—not receiving the respect it deserves from higher-ups at streaming platforms, Scavengers Reign was canceled after only one season, yet it's still one of the most stunning animated shows that have been released this decade.
While its creators are very much ready for a second season, there's currently only one for viewers to delight in—but oh, how easy it is to revel in the masterwork that is Scavengers Reign. Mesmerizing in the gorgeous quality of its animation, gleefully weird in all the best ways, and full of the kind of creative and thematic flair that's guaranteed to make any televisual story an all-timer, this is a show that fully and urgently deserves a second chance.
7 'X-Men '97' (2024–Present)
1992's X-Men: The Animated Series is often praised as one of the greatest superhero TV shows in history, and for good reason. As such, a lot was riding on Disney+'s modern revival of the show. It's nothing short of a marvel (pun fully intended) that X-Men '97 lived up to expectations, and then some. It, too, is one of the best of its genre.
Exquisitely nostalgic in its visuals, writing, and action scenes, this is a perfect watch for people who adored the original series and wanted to see it continue. However, it's also a perfect starting point for people craving quality X-Men content who don't necessarily want to go back to the '90s classic. Fresh, incredibly fun, and an extraordinary adaptation, it's the mutants' best adventure since Days of Future Past.
6 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End' (2023–Present)
No list of the best animated series of any decade could ever possibly be complete without at least a mention of an anime series; and, of the 2020s, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is arguably the best of the medium. Based on the manga series, this shōnen gem is simultaneously a must-see for fantasy anime fans and a solid entry point for people looking to get into it.
Frieren has received tremendous critical acclaim, and it's all been well-earned. With a cozy, welcoming atmosphere, rich world-building and lore, and some really interesting characters, it's a comfort show unlike any other. The series has a great sense of humor, some fantastic action scenes, and exceptional production values, making it a must-see gem of 2020s animation.
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