It’s been a year of shaking up the Netflix anime library. As the streaming giant expanded its original anime, and anime-inspired series, it slowly stopped renewing licenses. Several series saw their seasons reduced, while others disappeared from the library altogether. Thankfully, the changes ultimately proved to be a sound strategic move. All year, the best anime on Netflix list sifted through the library’s titles highlighting gems among its traditional anime series, new and old. That meant to make the list, a series had all the hallmarks of the distinctive animation and story style and originated in Japan. The tricky part lies in balancing the mix of re-watchable favs with new titles. But whatever your preference: action anime, light novel, slice of life, comedy, supernatural or horror there’s an anime series certain to capture your current mood.
The sheer number of brilliant anime-inspired original content Netflix launched in 2023 didn’t go unnoticed. And given all the jam-packed release schedule up till now, it only makes sense to not debut any new titles in December. So if you’ve been keeping pace with the platform’s roll out, then September standout Castlevania: Nocturne, and November stunners, Scott Pilgrim and Blue Eye Samurai, likely rocked your world. If not then these anime originals need to leapfrog over everything else directly to the top of your cue immediately. Trust and believe, the only obstacle to these titles making the list is their country of (creative) origin.
As we head into December, there are two recent anime series currently streaming so stellar it’d be criminal to end 2023 without them making the list: Pluto and the now finished weekly serial, My Happy Marriage.
Note: As this is a list of anime series to watch, no anime movies were considered for this feature. This list applies to U.S. Netflix subscribers. Some titles may not currently be available on international platforms (yet). This list will also be periodically amended to remove series no longer available on Netflix, as well as add anime shows now available for streaming on the service.
Pluto
Pluto follows AI Detective Gesicht’s investigation into serial murders of the world’s most advanced robots and their human allies. As Gesicht hunts for the identity of the perpetrator, Pluto, he realizes the murders are challenges and Pluto has both him and Atom, also known as Astro Boy, in his crosshairs. Created by Naoki Urasawa (Monster), and reinventing an arc from Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy, Pluto’s comes to extraordinary life with brilliant character design and animation by Studio M2 and an evocative soundscape. Over eight hour-long episodes Pluto explores humanity's drive to innovate and a world where its creations are increasingly indistinguishable physically and self-aware. This well-paced but winding story balances its philosophical musings with action, violence and thrilling cat-and-mouse race to stop a killer. This is more than a battle anime. Pluto never wastes an opportunity to develop its characters, invoke its allegory, or mess with your emotions amidst the mayhem. Simply put, Pluto is a vibrant, emotionally rich sci-fi masterpiece.
Read our review of Pluto.
My Happy Marriage
My Happy Marriage is the story about Miyo Saimori, an unhappy young woman from an abusive family who gets married off to a fearsome and chilly army commander. Set in 19th century Meiji Restoration era-Japan this twelve-episode adaption of Akumi Agitogi’s light novel is a splendid and eye-catching example of the caliber of Kinema Citrus animation work. The character design, landscape shots and close ups are all gorgeous. When paired with a pitch perfect score from the opening to ending My Happy Marriage is a slow burning romance riddled with trials, tribulations pushing its breathtaking narrative. Cinderella wishes her backstory got such a lush and nuanced treatment.
