Perfect Animated Shows Are Rare, But Netflix's 2-Part Series Is A True 10/10 Masterpiece

Published Sep 21, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT

Tom is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, with expertise covering everything from hilarious sitcoms to jaw-dropping sci-fi epics.

Initially he was an Updates writer, though before long he found his way to the TV and movies team. He now spends his days keeping Screen Rant readers informed about the TV shows of yesteryear, whether it's recommending hidden gems that may have been missed by genre fans or deep diving into ways your favorite shows have (or haven't) stood the test of time.

Tom is based in the UK and when he's not writing about TV shows, he's watching them. He's also an avid horror fiction writer, gamer, and has a Dungeons and Dragons habit that he tries (and fails) to keep in check.

If there is any TV medium that is exceptionally difficult to get right, it is animation. Great animated TV shows require more than eye-catching character designs or technically impressive action sequences. Not only do the visuals have to pop, the writing and performances still need to deliver everything expected from a live-action show. When all the elements align just right, animation can accomplish things that simply would not be possible in any other medium. The times that they do, however, are few and far between.

There are consequently very few animated TV shows that can genuinely claim to be perfect. Even some of the medium's greatest entries have weak episodes, inconsistent visuals, or narratives that don’t live up the the quality of the animation. Netflix's Arcane, however, comfortably earns its reputation at flawless. Across two nine-episode seasons, the fantasy series maintained an extraordinary level of quality that defied literally every expectation.

Based on Riot Games' hugely popular League of Legends, Netflix’s Arcane explores the divided cities of Piltover and Zaun, with sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell) at the emotional center of their escalating conflict. Animated by Fortiche Productions, Arcane ultimately became far more than a mere video game adaptation. If any single series can be described as the perfect animated viewing experience, Arcane is it.

The Animation In Arcane Has To Be Seen To Be Believed

The animation in Arcane isn't merely good; it is virtually flawless. That sounds like a bold claim, but its truth is apparent within a single episode. Fortiche combined intricately rendered 3D characters and environments with hand-drawn textures and 2D effects, producing a visual style that feels like a painting brought to life. Even low-action moments like quiet conversations or characters simply traversing from point A to point B have an extraordinary amount of personality, with the animation of both the characters and locations capable of communicating emotions before characters ever speak.

However, action scenes are where the true brilliance of Arcane’s animation shines through. Fights have weight and speed without becoming visually confusing, while the series constantly changes its presentation to match the characters involved. Explosions become splashes of color, memories intrude on the present, and fights can transform into highly stylized visual sequences without losing their narrative purpose.

The fact that Arcane’s animation is so near-perfect makes sense in a way, since it came with an enormous price tag. Reports have placed the combined production and promotion costs for Arcane at roughly $250 million (via Variety), making it one of the most expensive animated series ever produced. What’s more, the level of investment is more than visible in the finished product.

However, as astonishing as its financial cost was, how intelligently those resources were used to make practically every frame distinctive is even more mind-blowing. A huge budget doesn’t guarantee a TV show will be good. Arcane could still have been a flop even with hundreds of millions of dollars poured into it. It’s not the money that makes the animation of Arcane so groundbreaking, it’s the care and dedication that went into its creation.

Arcane’s Story Lives Up To Its Groundbreaking Visuals

Arcane's animation has understandably become a cornerstone of its reputation, but the Netflix series is far from style over substance. Remove Fortiche's groundbreaking visuals and replace them with merely average animation, and the underlying drama would remain incredibly watchable. At its heart, Arcane is a tragedy about two sisters whose relationship is repeatedly reshaped by grief, guilt, political conflict, and decisions that cannot simply be undone.

Vi and Jinx provide that emotional foundation, but Arcane refuses to make its wider conflict straightforward. Piltover is prosperous while Zaun suffers beneath it, yet neither city can be reduced to uncomplicated heroes and villains. Characters like Jayce (Kevin Alejandro), Caitlyn (Katie Leung), Ekko (Reed Shannon), and others repeatedly make choices with understandable motivations and destructive consequences. The Netflix show's broader fantasy conflict remains rooted in intensely personal ambitions and relationships.

That complexity also allows Arcane to work perfectly well for viewers who have never played League of Legends. Its characters originate from an enormous gaming universe, but the series never relies on familiarity with the source material to make its story work. Instead, it reconstructs LoL characters to make them fit a TV narrative, building toward transformations that feel earned within Arcane itself. This approach clearly worked for the TV show, and the fact that it’s not reliant on League of Legends at all is proved by reports that Arcane’s popularity didn’t result in an increase to the game’s player base (via Bloomberg).

The visuals may be what immediately separates Arcane from almost every other animated show, but its storytelling is what makes the series a genuine masterpiece. Netflix's two-season fantasy succeeds simultaneously as a political fantasy drama and action series, one that coincidentally is aesthetically beautiful. Arcane looks unlike almost anything else on TV, yet it would still be exceptional even if it didn't.