Top 5 Netflix Original Anime you don’t want to miss
Carolina
Argentinian Carolina has an extensive movie background in the cinematic universe. She is our resident TV analyst and a seasoned expert in global streaming platforms. She showcases her comprehensive knowledge through her love for Netflix 'Originals', Frozen, The Good Place, and The Dragon Prince.
Japanese animation, or as it’s widely known as ‘anime‘, has become part of our pop culture, and it has stopped being just a niche for a selected group. It’s literally – everywhere!
Besides the already known streaming services dedicated to anime such as Crunchyroll or Hidive, Netflix has quietly turned into a great source of anime as well. Up to the point they have joined forces with Japanese studios to produce their own series’.
As happens with live-action movies and series, among the anime labelled as a Netflix “original”, there are some series which have only exclusive distribution by Netflix, but they didn’t produce them.
Anime Made by Netflix or distributed by Netflix – it’s unimportant.
Top 5 Netflix Anime
In this list, I’ll show you a mix of both originals and exclusive anime series you can find on Netflix. So you can get your fix of Anime without needing any specialist services.
1) Devilman: Crybaby
Based on Devilman manga by veteran Go Nagai (Mazinger Z), directed by Masaaki Yuasa, and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, the creator of Code Geass, this series was produced by Netflix.
It’s available for worldwide streaming on Netflix since its premiere on January 5, 2018.
The story follows Akira Fudo, whose best friend Ryo Asuka tells him that an ancient race of demons is back to take the world from humans.
Ryo suggests to Akira that to defeat these demons, the best strategy is to become one of them. By doing it, Akira turns into Devilman, who possess the powers of a demon retaining his human soul.
This adaptation is the most truthful to the source material than previous ones, only changing the setting for a modern one and adding new characters.
It has a total of 10 episodes of 25 minutes each. A curious fact: the series was made on Adobe Animate, but instead of having been animated on Flash, it was hand-drawn animated.
Watch it: https://www.netflix.com/title/80174974
2) Hero Mask
Aimed at a mature audience, this series was produced by Studio Pierrot for Netflix. The first season was premiered worldwide on December 3rd, 2018, with a total of 15 episodes, and the second season was released on August 23, 2019, with 9 episodes.
James Blood is a passionate detective working for the elite “Special Service of Crime” (SSC) division within the Capital Police Department in an alternative version of London.
Sarah Sinclair is the assistant to Crown Prosecutor Monica Campbell. When Sarah witnesses how Monica falls drop dead in the middle of the street, she knows that her death has to be part of the high profile case she was investigating that involved the ‘LIVE corporation’.
After the police station is attacked by someone who James believed dead for a long time, he teams up with Sarah to uncover the truth.
This leads them to get involved in a conspiracy where the LIVE corporation, prisoners that supposed to be dead, and masks that give people superpowers are the main components.
Watch it: https://www.netflix.com/title/80200027
3) Castlevania
A hybrid of American animation with anime aesthetic, Castlevania is based on the Japanese video game saga by Konami.
Originally planned as a direct to video movie, the project later expanded into a series consisting of two seasons and a total of twelve episodes.
Warren Ellis, a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter famous for having written several legendary sagas for Marvel and Vertigo, was in charge of writing the script.
Ellis met with Koji Igarashi, who is the video game producer and creative director working in Konami and the lead producer of the Castlevania video game series. Igarashi had the last word approving the script for the series.
The series consists of an adaptation of the video game Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, and it follows Trevor Belmont who protects the nation of Wallachia from Dracula and his minions.
After Dracula’s human wife is burnt at the stake accused of witchcraft, he declares war on the nation of Wallachia unleashing a horde of demons to haunt out the people.
Monster hunter, Trevor Belmont joins forces with the magician Sypha Belnades and Dracula’s son Alucard.
If you’re a game console fan or a fan of Anime, this is one well worth checking out.
Watch it: https://www.netflix.com/title/80095241
4) Knights of the Zodiac (Saint Seiya)
Saint Seiya, known as Knights of the Zodiac, is a classic anime from the 90’s whose popularity was mostly in Europe and Latin America.
When Netflix announced a remake a couple of years ago, expectations rocketed among fans around the world.
Co-produced by Netflix and Toei Animation – the studio behind the original series, this new version is far different from what fans were expecting. It is aimed mostly to a new young generation with no previous experience with the franchise.
The first season consisting of six episodes was released worldwide by Netflix on July 19, 2019. The Japanese voices are only available on Netflix Japan, while the rest of the world has versions dubbed into other languages.
The story is a shorter and direct to the point version of the original one. Seiya is a young teen who is recruited by Mitsumasa Kido to become a fabled Bronze Knight. An elite group of warriors whose mission is to protect Saori Kido, the new incarnation of the Greek goddess Athena.
Watch it: https://www.netflix.com/title/80186926
5) Violet Evergarden
Even though this is labelled as a ‘Netflix original’, actually it’s not.
Netflix holds exclusive worldwide streaming rights, but Kyoto Animation produced it, and it aired on Fuji TV in Japan. In a rare case, Netflix released each episode weekly a day after Japan.
Based on the light novels series written by Kana Akatsuki, the story is set in an alternate world very similar to England around the time of the WWI.
Violet Evergarden is a young girl who was trained as a child soldier to fight in the war. After being gravely wounded losing one of her arms, she’s sent home and is under the care of Claudia Hodgins, a former army commander and president of the CH Postal Company.
The story follows Violet’s struggle to get back to society after the war and understanding how human’s emotions and feelings work and can be expressed. In the meantime, she’s trained as an Auto Memory Doll, women who ghostwrite letters or anything else they are asked.
Watch it: https://www.netflix.com/title/80182123
Not in your Netflix region?
Netflix doesn’t stream all shows in all regions. Each region gets access to different content.
However, by using an app called a VPN you can dial into other regions and access more content, but more importantly, more anime! Including the Top 5 listed above.
We recommend using ExpressVPN because they’ve got a 49% discount deal running right now and there’s a 30-day money back guarantee.
But check out NordVPN and CyberGhost VPN too if you’ve got time, they work similar and ultimately – the choice is yours!
Summary
If you’re an anime fan or just an adult fan of animation, you can’t miss what Netflix has been cooking for the past three years in this matter.
Mostly series aimed at an adult audience, packaged with action, mystery, drama, and crime.
These anime series are a must-see for anyone looking for a good balance between animation quality, great stories, and compelling characters.
Best of all you don’t need to subscribe to any further services as you can use your regular Netflix account to watch!
What’s your favourite Anime available on Netflix? I would love to know so drop me a comment in the box below.
